Police Chief Calls for Space for Operational Independence Amid Protest Dispute

The chairman of NPCC said it’s ’really important that the public debate doesn’t feature in our operational decision making' ahead of rally on Armistice Day.

Police officers and protesters in Parliament Square during the 'March For Palestine' in London on Oct. 28, 2023 Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images

Police need space to make independent operational decisions, a police chief said on Thursday ahead of a controversial pro-Palestinian march on Armistice Day.

Gavin Stephens, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), said it’s “really important that the public debate doesn’t feature in our operational decision-making” because it would “fundamentally undermine” how policing works in the UK.

It comes after the Metropolitan Police resisted pressure to ban the pro-Palestinian rally on Saturday, which the force said carries risks of “criminal acts by breakaway groups” but not enough risks to justify a ban.

It also comes after Home Secretary Suella Braverman publicly called on the police to be tougher on criminality in pro-Palestinian marches, saying there’s a perception that senior officers “play favourites” with protesters.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman during a visit to the Community Security Trust in London on Oct. 9, 2023. Yui Mok/PA

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has since been facing pressure to sack Ms. Braverman from his Cabinet. Downing Street said on Thursday that Mr. Sunak had “full confidence” in the home secretary.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Mr. Stephens said police “need the space to make difficult operational decisions in an independent manner.”

“That space is set out very clearly in law in the Policing Protocol Order which was refreshed earlier this year,” he said.

“The decisions that we take are not easy ones, but we do so impartially, without fear or favour, and in line with both the law and our authorised professional practice.”

In an article published in The Telegraph, the police chief said “outbreaks of disorder” during pro-Palestinian protests “have been addressed swiftly by officers, either at the time, or in collecting evidence for action at a later stage when it is safe to do so.”