Mark Rylance, known for his role in the BBC’s Wolf Hall, has joined singer Charlotte Church and actor Juliet Stevenson in condemning the Metropolitan Police’s decision to ban a pro-Palestine protest planned outside the BBC’s Broadcasting House headquarters in London. The protest, initially scheduled for Saturday, 18 January, was intended to begin at Portland Place before marching to Whitehall.
The Met imposed the ban on Thursday, citing concerns over “serious disruption” to a nearby synagogue on the Jewish holy day, as congregants attend Shabbat services. The decision has drawn criticism from over 150 signatories, including prominent organizations like Liberty, Amnesty International UK, and Greenpeace.
In a statement issued Friday, the signatories accused the Met of “misusing” its powers. “The BBC is a major institution – it is a publicly-funded state broadcaster and is rightly accountable to the public. The police should not be misusing public order powers to shield the BBC from democratic scrutiny,” the statement read. It further noted, “The excuse offered by the police is that the march could cause disruption to a nearby synagogue which is not even on the march route.”
The statement emphasized that there had been no incidents of threats to synagogues during previous pro-Palestine marches. “Any suggestion that pro-Palestine marches are somehow hostile to Jewish people ignores the fact that Jewish people have been joining the marches in their thousands,” it continued.
Other notable signatories include musician Brian Eno and actor Maxine Peake. They collectively asserted, “The rights to protest and free speech are precious. It is not acceptable in a democratic society that, in the face of an ongoing genocide in Gaza, people should be barred from protesting at the BBC. We call on the police to drop their objections and allow the protest to go ahead as planned.”
The Met stated that it had considered the views of local community and business representatives, including members of a nearby synagogue, before deciding to impose the ban. Commander Adam Slonecki, leading the policing operation, said the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) had refused to alter its plans, compelling the force to act. “We will continue to engage with the PSC and we hope they will rethink and put forward an alternative proposal in the coming days,” Slonecki added.
The Central Synagogue, located a few hundred yards from Broadcasting House, was cited as a concern by the Met. The police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, has faced criticism from the chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, over the force’s handling of pro-Palestinian protests near synagogues.
The protest organizers had chosen the BBC as the starting point due to what they described as the corporation’s “pro-Israel bias,” a claim the BBC denies.
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