Pro-Palestine protest chaos breaks out in London: Activists scale Hyde Park war memorial, shut down streets and swarm elderly couple’s car as police guard Cenotaph – ahead of more than 150 more marches set to sweep across the country this weekend

Pro-Palestine protest chaos broke out across London last night, with Gaza activists scaling some of Britain’s hallowed war memorials and shutting down major roads in the capital.

Flag-waving protesters climbed on the Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner amid a sea of poppies after a demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament last night descended into mayhem.

A video posted online of people on the sacred memorial sparked fury, but a statement from the Metropolitan Police insisted that the protesters had not broken any laws by their actions.

Separate footage shared on social media showed activists dressed in green, red and black swarming around an elderly couple’s car by Trafalgar Square – while police officers dramatically raced to the Cenotaph in Westminster amid fears the protesters would scale the memorial.

The demonstration broke out last night as Sir Keir Starmer suffered a major rebellion over his stance on the Gaza conflict, losing eight frontbenchers as dozens of Labour MPs in the Commons supported an SNP-backed ceasefire.

The incident also comes as more than 150 pro-Palestine marches are set to sweep across Britain on Saturday instead of one London protest, organisers have confirmed. 

A dispersal order was in place across parts of the City of Westminster from 7.50pm yesterday to 2am today. All the roads around Buckingham Palace remained closed as of 7am today, causing disruptions to the morning commute.

The footage of the protesters climbing the monument sparked criticism, but a statement from the police said the protesters had not broken any laws by their actions. 

Scotland Yard said: ‘We know some online have asked why the protesters were not arrested.

‘There is no law explicitly making it illegal to climb on a memorial so officers cannot automatically arrest, but they can intervene and make it clear the behaviour isn’t acceptable. The videos shared online show them doing that.’

Police said the protesters who climbed on the memorial were a breakaway group who had been dispersed at Hyde Park Corner.

‘Most people would agree that to climb on or otherwise disrespect a war memorial is unacceptable,’ the statement said. ‘That is why our officers have made every effort to prevent it happening in recent days.

‘While officers were on scene quickly, we regret they were not there quickly enough to prevent the protesters accessing the memorial.’

Police said one arrest had been made at the protest for possession of an offensive weapon.

Demonstrators will return to Britain’s streets again this weekend as protests have been planned all across the country. 

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), lead organiser of five consecutive weekly marches, said it planned to return to the capital at a later date but was pausing action because of the toll coordinating them had taken.

About 700,000 people are thought to have attended the march on Armistice Day, which saw violent clashes between counter-protesters and police, with 18 officers injured.

Police made 145 arrests and seven people were charged following what was by far the most violent of the five weekly protests.

But this weekend the focus will switch from the capital to smaller regional marches, vigils and speeches across the country in what could prove a challenge for local forces.

Rallies will take place in towns and cities including Newcastle, Oxford, Nottingham, Birmingham and Bristol.

National Police Chiefs’ Council chairman Gavin Stephens said he was confident forces were well equipped to deal with the scattered demonstrations.

‘A huge amount of work is taking place to protect the public, engage with local groups, police protests and take swift and robust action where free speech crosses the line into criminality,’ he added.

‘We are not anti-protest, but we are anti-crime – be that hate crime, public order offences or any other form of criminality.’

In addition to the need for vigilance around hate crimes and incidents of anti-Semitism, forces will have to be conscious of the possibility of more clashes with far-Right counter-protesters.

The Metropolitan Police said its officers were spat at, knocked to the ground, punched and hit by fireworks, bottles and beer cans during the ugly clashes on Saturday.

Officers on the frontline suffered dislocations and broken bones, a spokesman said.

Assistant commissioner Matt Twist described the extreme violence from far-Right protesters towards police as ‘extraordinary and deeply concerning.’ Sergeant Lee Smith was struck in the face by a can of beer, which cut his mouth and split open his lip.

‘The can hit me and I stumbled back and it felt like I had been punched in the face. It was a really horrible situation, but I didn’t want to go to hospital and leave my team,’ he said.

‘I looked around and could see a lot of our younger officers were worried, and it’s not fair that they’re subjected to that.

‘We were isolated and holding the line, but I was proud of our officer’s resilience when responding to the events over the weekend.’ In addition to the violence from the counter-protesters, groups splintered from the main demonstration and caused more trouble – including a gang of about 150 who shot fireworks in officers’ faces.

A PSC spokesman confirmed there would be a pause this weekend on a large march in London but there would be more until Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza.

‘From a logistical point of view, doing the national London marches is putting a huge strain on resources and supporters,’ they said.

‘But it is also strategic and will allow us to involve and empower more people throughout the country, not just those who can come to London.

‘We want to take the message far and wide, particularly in terms of MP constituencies which adds to the political pressure for a ceasefire.’