Around 4,000 police officers are to be deployed on London’s streets amid fears football hooligans will join a Tommy Robinson-led march on FA Cup Final day this weekend.
In one of its biggest-ever public order operations, Metropolitan Police helicopters and drones will watch over the Unite the Kingdom march and a pro-Palestine demonstration to mark Nakba Day on Saturday.
Specialist armed police units will be on standby, while mounted police, dog teams, traffic units and large numbers of officers with riot equipment will be deployed.
Detectives will also take part in the huge public safety plan on Saturday which includes a ban on some individuals entering Britain to join the Unite the Kingdom protest.
Live facial recognition will also be used for the first time by Scotland Yard during a public order operation, though not on march routes.
It will be deployed at a location in Camden borough to target criminals and suspected offenders on a “watch list” if they take part in the Unite the Kingdom march which is expected to be led by Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
Speakers who engage in antisemitic, anti-Muslim or other hate speech will face arrest, and the organisers of the demonstrations may also be prosecuted for such offences under powers being used by the Met for the first time.
People who chant “death to the IDF” or “Globalise the Intifada” will also face arrest, as will individuals who engage in anti-Muslim hatred.
Police will have powers to force people to remove face coverings and will also be able to issue dispersal orders to make people intent on causing trouble leave central London or face arrest.
Strict restrictions will be imposed on the routes of the two marches and timings.
The marches are taking place after the Golders Green stabbings and arson attacks on the Jewish community in north London and as Donald Trump’s Iran war continues.
In a briefing outlining Scotland Yard’s plans, Deputy Assistant Commissoner (DAC) James Harman said: “Taken together, these factors give us significant cause for concern as we head into the weekend and require a policing plan that provides us with the most assertive grip on the movement of large numbers of people, large groups, and the potential for serious disorder and other criminality that may arise as a result.”
Around 50,000 people are expected by the Met to join the Unite the Kingdom protest, and some 30,000 the march to mark Nakba Day, which commemorates events which caused Palestinians to lose their homes and become refugees during the establishment of Israel.
The turnout figures could end up being higher than currently estimated.
The Nakba Day protest will form up in Exhibition Road in Kensington, before going on to head into Waterloo Place via Brompton Road to Piccadilly before a rally.
The Unite the Kingdom demonstration will form up in Kingsway before heading to Whitehall via Aldwych and The Strand, with a rally due to take place in Parliament Square.
Tens of thousands of football fans will also be heading to Wembley for the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester City.
DAC Harman added: “There comes with it a risk of disorder that needs to be managed, and we need to be mindful this Saturday of the history of football hooligan groups supporting causes fronted by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
“There are no professional men's games in England on that day other than the FA Cup Final, which increases the likelihood of those groups travelling to London.”
Some 660 officers are being drafted in from other forces for the huge public order operation which is expected to cost £4.5 million, including £1.7 million for the bill to pay for police from outside the capital.
“In terms of its scale, the number of officers being deployed, some of the tactics we have in reserve, and some of the tactics we will be using, it's unprecedented in recent years,” said DAC Harman.
The Met could seek to ban the marches but static protests could still be held.
The police chiefs believe their plan will stop any large scale disorder on London’s streets.
More than 20 people were arrested at a Unite the Kingdom march last year, and police are still pursuing around 50 people who committed alleged offences but have so far not been caught.
