Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in London on Saturday in the latest of a series of protests calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, amid continuing fears over anti-Semitic chants and hate speech.

The Met Police had warned those who gathered at Park Lane for the march to Whitehall that they would not tolerate any behaviour supporting terrorism.

Within minutes of the marchers gathering one man was arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred after officers spotted him carrying a placard with Nazi symbols on it.

Around 1,500 officers were being deployed for the protest, which came amid a temporary truce in the Gaza conflict and the release of 24 hostages by the Hamas terror group.

Officers along the route handed out leaflets to provide “absolute clarity” on what was deemed an offence.

Ade Adelekan, the deputy assistant commissioner, said: “This sets out that anyone who is racist or incites hatred against any group should expect to be arrested. As should anyone who supports Hamas or any other banned organisation.

“We will not tolerate anyone who celebrates or promotes acts of terrorism – such as the killing or kidnap of innocent people – or who spreads hate speech.”

The force had come under severe pressure from politicians over the decision to allow that march to go ahead, with Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, accusing it of showing bias in favour of left-wing protesters.

The Stop the War coalition, who organised the protest, rejected the label of “hate march” deployed by Mrs Braverman before she was sacked by Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister.

It asked anyone attending to avoid “any actions that might leave you or others around you open to arrest”.

“We ask that all attending our marches respect these clear anti-racist principles, including in any signs or placards they choose to bring to the march,” the group said in a statement.

The march came as the extremist Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir staged a separate protest outside the Egyptian embassy, where chants of “Jihad” have previously been shouted by its supporters.

The Met said: “This will be their first protest since Oct 28 when use of the word jihad prompted significant reaction. Context matters, but it is a word that clearly causes upset and concern.

“If we think people are inciting violence, terrorism or anti-Semitism – we will act decisively.

Ahead of Saturday, Mr Adelekan said chants using the word “jihad” were causing upset and concern in the Jewish community but were “always contextual”.

A 90-minute march organised by the charity Campaign Against Antisemitism is also due to take place on Sunday, with around 40,000-50,000 people expected to attend.

Scared beyond belief 

James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, said he expected the Met to address the concerns from the Jewish community.

“When a minority in the UK are screaming at us that they are scared beyond belief by what is happening it is incumbent upon UK policing and politicians to listen and respond,” he told the Times.

“What we saw over the last few weeks is the Jewish community in the UK telling us over and over and over again they felt vulnerable.

“The police have to respond to that. In the conversations I have had with senior police officers in the Met and more broadly and in the conversation I had with the mayor of London I’ve made clear it is my expectation that they address those concerns.”

Among those released by Hamas on Friday were 13 Israelis who had been held in the Gaza Strip since the terror group attacked southern Israel nearly seven weeks ago.

They were the first of 50 people to be released from Gaza during a four-day truce that began on Friday. 

Israel also confirmed that it had released 39 Palestinian prisoners as part of the agreement.