By SCM REPORTER
MET bosses have sensationally AXED a controversial Iranian-backed march through the heart of London following fears of a bloodbath on our streets.
In a move not seen for 14 years, the Metropolitan Police used emergency powers to ban the Al Quds Day march and all counter-protests for an entire month.
Scotland Yard warned that “extreme tensions” between rival factions and a “volatile” Middle East meant the risk to the public was simply too high to ignore.
The decision comes as counter-terrorism cops revealed they have foiled more than 20 Iranian state-backed plots on UK soil in just one year.
Last week alone, four people were nicked for allegedly spying on Jewish communities for the Tehran regime. The Met also pointed to a horror stabbing at the weekend sparked by “opposing views” on the Iranian government.
Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, the Met’s public order chief, said:
”Overall, the context is so uniquely complex and the risks are so severe that placing conditions on the protest will not be sufficient to prevent it from resulting in serious public disorder.”
The ban kicks in at 4pm tomorrow (Wednesday) and will last for 30 days. It is the first time the high threshold to stop a march has been met since 2012.
Cops are now bracing for a “challenging, potentially violent” weekend. Extra boots will be on the ground, with officers drafted in from across the country to deal with any troublemakers.
Organisers of the march—the Islamic Human Rights Commission—have been told that anyone attempting to defy the ban and take to the streets will be nicked.
While moving marches are banned, “static” rallies can still technically happen. However, the Met has warned they will slap “strict conditions” on any gathering to keep the peace.
Previous Al Quds marches have been marred by “antisemitic hate crimes” and arrests for supporting terror groups.
Police chiefs insist they aren’t “policing taste,” but are doing everything possible to prevent “injury to members of the public, protestors, and police officers.”
