The UK Independence Party has been banned from holding a “mass deportations tour” protest in east London because of fears there could be “clashes” with locals.
Metropolitan Police officers imposed Public Order Act conditions preventing the Whitechapel march going ahead on January 31, telling the party to find a less “provocative” location in the capital.
Protestors involved in the march were banned from entering the whole of Tower Hamlets.
It is the second time in three months that a UKIP march has been stopped.
In October, supporters were due to gather in Tower Hamlets but were banned from doing so because of what Scotland Yard called a “realistic prospect of serious disorder” due to the area’s large Muslim population.
Around 75 UKIP demonstrators instead gathered in front of the London Oratory, a Catholic church in Kensington, west London.
The demonstration was part of a series of events taking place across the UK promoted as a “mass deportations tour”, with organisers calling on attendees to “reclaim Whitechapel from the Islamists”, UKIP’s X profile said.
“For the second time in recent months, UKIP has announced its intention to protest in Whitechapel,” James Harman, deputy assistant commissioner for Met operations told reporters at a press briefing.
“When this was proposed in October last year, just two months ago, we imposed public order conditions within the law to prevent that taking place in Tower Hamlets due to a clear risk of serious disruption.
“We have attempted to engage with UKIP in recent weeks but we’ve had only a limited response.
“We encourage them to consider the very real likelihood that their presence in Whitechapel could result in serious disruption, and consider an alternative location.
“We are not saying that all UKIP protests in isolation will necessarily be disorderly, but, we reasonably believe that there will be a hostile local reaction to their presence, which many may see as provocative.
“As police, we just can’t allow that to happen.”
The senior officer said there could be “clashes” if the protest went ahead in Whitechapel.
The force has imposed Public Order Act conditions ahead of the protest, and those who defy the conditions and turn up in Whitechapel will be arrested, he said.
“I will stress, we are not doing so on the grounds of politics,” he said, adding: “This is not a ban… it can still take place elsewhere.”
Geographical restrictions were also imposed by the police on people taking part in the Central London Anti-Fascists and affiliated parties’ protest in Whitechapel on Saturday.
Hundreds of protests are taking place in London each year, piling pressure on Scotland Yard and its resources.
Officers regularly have to keep demonstrations and rival protests apart.
After the killings on Bondi Beach, Sydney, the Met Police warned that protestors at pro-Gaza marches would face arrest if they chanted ‘globalise the intifada”.
Some arrests have already taken place of individuals shouting this comment during protests in the capital.
