Protesters could be required to give more notice to police before being able to stage a demonstration under plans being considered by the Government.

Chris Philp, the policing minister, said the proposal – first put forward by the Home Affairs Committee of MPs – was being studied by the Home Office amid growing concerns at the “unsustainable” cost of the weekly pro-Palestinian protests over the Gaza conflict.

Speaking on Sky News, Mr Philp suggested it could mean organisers of protests involving hundreds of thousands of people would have to give a “couple of weeks’” notice rather than the current six days in order to give police time to prepare.

The Home Affairs Committee warned on Monday warned that forces’ ability to fight crime was being threatened by the time officers were having to devote to pro-Palestinian and roads protests.

The move comes ahead of James Cleverly, the Home Secretary chairing a roundtable with police chiefs at No 10 on Wednesday to discuss what more can be done to tackle the protests and protect MPs.

On Tuesday, the Home Office announced a £31 million package of security measures to protect MPs and other politicians amid increased threats following the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The MPs at the highest risk will be able to have bodyguards to protect them 24/7 and deploy security guards at constituency events or surgeries while police will receive additional funds for extra patrols in hotspots of high community tensions.

Mr Philp urged police to use their powers under the Criminal Justice and Police Act of 2001 to move protesters away from MPs’ homes after pro-Palestinian and Just Stop Oil demonstrators started using the tactic.

“No public representative whether MP or councillor should have people outside their home. Tobias Ellwood [the former defence minister] was prevented going back to his own house by a mob. That’s not a protest. That’s an attempt to add intimidation,” said Mr Philp.

Protesters have ‘made their point’

Mr Cleverly told The Times that the pro-Palestinian demonstrators should stop their Gaza protests because they have “made their point” and are putting a “huge pressure” on policing.

He said the demonstrations, which are now taking place every fortnight in central London, are “not really saying anything new”. He said it was vital that no MP felt “bullied” into changing their stance on the Israel-Gaza war in light of the protests.

“I think the organisers should recognise that they’ve made their point, they’ve made it loudly and they’re not adding to it by repeating themselves,” Mr Cleverly said.

Police have spent at least £30 million deploying thousands of officers to deal with marches in the two months alone since the Hamas terror attack on Israel on Oct 7.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) told the MPs there were more than 900 demonstrations between Oct 7 and Dec 10 last year. Most were in London, but 315 were in other parts of the country.

Three quarters of all 46 police forces were involved during that time with the remainder sending officers to help out others, it said. Several officers were injured, with some taken to hospital

A separate Metropolitan Police submission said from Oct 7 to Dec 17 it spent about £18.9 million on pro-Palestinian protests, split between officers and extra costs.

The NPCC report said other forces, including Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, spent a combined £7.6 million up to Dec 10.

British Transport Police spent about £2 million dealing with activity at train stations. Costs for forces outside London did not include additional expenditure.

The £30 million spent on policing protests would be enough to employ 816 Met police officers on a starting salary of £36,775, pay nearly 600 of the force’s sergeants a salary of £50,079 and train more than 1,210 police dogs.

‘Free speech an ancient right’

John Rees, of the Stop the War Coalition, said the cost was a price worth paying for people to exercise their democratic right to protest.

“We do perhaps have to pay to have people exercise their democratic right. The right to freely assemble and free speech is an ancient right. These demonstrations are over-policed. In the last demonstration, we had 250,000 on the streets. There were 12 arrests. They are overwhelmingly peaceful,” said Mr Rees.