Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell have been interviewed under caution by the Met Police. It was over the force’s alleged lies about events at the pro-Palestine march on Saturday 18 January. Meanwhile, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has hit back at the Met – accusing the police of falsifying events.
Corbyn and McDonnell: questioned under caution
BBC News reportedly found out that:
MPs Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell have agreed to be interviewed under caution by police following a pro-Palestinian rally in central London on Saturday, the BBC understands.
The former Labour leader, 75, and former shadow chancellor, 73, will voluntarily attend a police station in the capital as the Metropolitan Police investigates what it says was a coordinated effort by organisers to breach conditions imposed on the event.
They will be interviewed on Sunday afternoon.
Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell to be interviewed under caution by police after London pro-Palestinian rally, the BBC understands https://t.co/EHllgrKSkG
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) January 19, 2025
Sky News were ahead of the rest of the corporate media – ‘doorstopping’ the two MPs after they were interviewed:
Spoke to Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell as they left a police station, following reports they were interviewed under caution after yesterday’s pro-Palestine rally 👇@SkyNews https://t.co/MJPgIyF5xw pic.twitter.com/kTuR5aENFX
— Josh Gafson (@JoshGafson1) January 19, 2025
This evocative image also now bears further relevance:
You think Corbyn being arrested will do one iota of damage to peoples opinions of him? think again fascist pigs. https://t.co/9XroqVJaeW pic.twitter.com/cv8yylof0J
— Tobias T (@TobiasTaylor) January 19, 2025
The Met Police are liars
As the Canary previously reported, people at the march are saying that no one forced their way through the police line. People are claiming that the police agreed to it.
Corbyn’s response to the Met was:
This is not an accurate description of events at all.
I was part of a delegation of speakers, who wished to peacefully carry and lay flowers in memory of children in Gaza who had been killed.
This was facilitated by the police. We did not force our way through.
When we reached Trafalgar Square, we informed police that we would go no further, lay down flowers and disperse.
At that point, the Chief Steward, Chris Nineham was arrested. We then turned back and dispersed.
I urge the police to release all bodycam footage and retract its misleading account of events.
So, people on X hit back at the cops interviewing Corbyn and McDonnell:
48 people are still in custody and MPs are being questioned by police for participating in peaceful protest. A real line has been crossed here. This need to be fought be everyone who believes in free speech. https://t.co/sqvOJwAjL6
— Nick Dearden (@nickdearden75) January 19, 2025
The right to protest is under serious threat. In truth, it has been for some time – firstly under the Tory government before July 2024 & now under Starmer’s Labour government. We have to resist this authoritarian clampdown on our democratic rights & freedom of assembly. https://t.co/ng168ZHj0L
— People's Assembly (@pplsassembly) January 19, 2025
Meanwhile, the PSC has issued the following statement about the Met Police’s actions on 18 January.
PSC statement
The Metropolitan Police has promoted a misleading narrative about the events in Whitehall and Trafalgar Square, claiming that a peaceful delegation pushed through police lines in an attempt to justify their repressive actions on Saturday 18 January. This could not be further from the truth.
On Saturday 18 January, we organised a rally on Whitehall to call for a permanent end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Despite our long-standing record of peaceful demonstrations, the police, under political pressure from pro-Israel groups, banned our planned march to the BBC. In response, we announced plans for a rally and a peaceful protest against this anti-democratic ban.
Ahead of the rally, we publicly called on the police to rescind the restrictions they had imposed and allow our march to go ahead. We had also made clear that if they refused to do so we would hold a rally and protest against the ban as part of that rally. The police were fully aware of these statements and our intentions.
On the day, we were confronted with extremely heavy-handed and aggressive policing. With less than 24 hours’ notice, the police had imposed a series of complex restrictions preventing people from assembling at various points on Whitehall at various times of the day – notably an area at the centre of Whitehall from which rally participants were excluded for part of the day to allow space for a children’s marching band to proceed up and down.
As a result, a number of people were arrested without warning, on flimsy pretexts including simply for inadvertently standing in this central area at the wrong time. We understand that a total of 77 people were arrested on the day, 66 of them for alleged violations of these orders.
Corbyn and McDonnell: on the right side of history
At the end of the rally, it was announced from the stage that, as an act of protest against the police ban, a delegation of organisers and rally speakers – including an 87-year-old Jewish Holocaust survivor, politicians including MPs, and prominent cultural figures – would walk silently and peacefully towards the BBC.
It was clearly stated that the delegation expected to be stopped by the police and that no attempt would be made to push through police lines – the delegation would simply leave the flowers they were carrying at the feet of the police and disperse in an orderly and dignified manner. They anticipated being stopped at the line of police that had been constructed at the top of Whitehall.
When the delegation reached this police line, they were not stopped as expected but were instead invited to proceed into Trafalgar Square by the police who said, ‘please filter through.’ When the delegation reached the other end of the square, they encountered a line of police which prevented them from going any further.
They formally requested that the delegation – a maximum of 25 people – be allowed to proceed. The police officer in charge said he would need to ‘pass this up the line for a decision.’ While the delegation was awaiting that response, the police violently and for no apparent reason arrested the chief steward of the rally, Chris Nineham.
An outrage
At this point, the delegation laid their flowers as they had said they would do and dispersed, and Ben Jamal and Ismail Patel used a megaphone to call on the crowd that had gathered around them to do the same, which people then did. At no stage was there any organised breach of the conditions imposed by the police. There is a large amount of video evidence confirming all of these events.
This is a direct assault on freedom of assembly and democracy. The police’s actions, including their false statements after the event, are deeply troubling. We demand the immediate release of all those arrested and remain resolute in our campaign for freedom and justice for the Palestinian people.
Featured image via the Canary
