How rival protesters were kept apart by 4.5m police operation

"More than 4,000 police officers were deployed to the capital to manage a so-called "sterile zone" between a rally organised by far-right figure Tommy Robinson, and a pro-Palestinian demonstration. Nelson's Column was surrounded by metal barriers. Police officers from Wales in riot uniforms prevented anyone getting from the National Gallery to Pall Mall and Regent Street. Police vehicles lined The Mall from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. On the steps above Churchill War Rooms, a two-meter-high metal barrier blocked the road past the Foreign Office towards Whitehall."

"Every year, pro-Palestinian protesters hold a march on the weekend closest to 15 May to mark the Nakba, the displacement of Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes during the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948-49. But when organisers started talking to the Metropolitan Police about this year's march, they discovered 16 May had already been booked by anti-Islam campaigner Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, for one of his Unite The Kingdom marches. After negotiations, it was agreed that both marches could go ahead, but it meant a huge security headache for the police force."

"Not only were there two rival marches, but the FA Cup Final at Wembley also fell on Saturday. It meant the Met had to stage one of its most significant public order policing operations since the May Day riots of the early 2000s. The operation's aim was to maintain the principle of freedom of speech - that people should be allowed to express their political views, so long as hate speech laws were not broken. But officers' concerns were high because the last time Robinson staged a march, an estimated 150,000 turned up."

"But there were no serious clashes between protesters on the different marches. Tourists trying to navigate major central London landmarks on Saturday were left bemused by an enormous 4.5m police operation to keep rival protestors apart. More than 4,000 police officers were deployed to the capital to manage a so-called "sterile zone" between a rally organised by far-right figure Tommy Robinson, and a pro-Palestinian demonstration."

More than 4,000 police officers were deployed across central London to manage a sterile zone separating a far-right rally led by Tommy Robinson and a pro-Palestinian demonstration. Metal barriers surrounded Nelson’s Column, riot officers from Wales blocked routes between the National Gallery and Pall Mall and Regent Street, and police vehicles lined The Mall from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. A two-meter barrier also blocked a road near the Foreign Office toward Whitehall. No serious clashes occurred between protesters. The pro-Palestinian march marked the Nakba, while negotiations with the Metropolitan Police allowed both marches to proceed after 16 May was booked for a Unite The Kingdom march. The FA Cup Final at Wembley added to policing demands.

Read at www.bbc.com