Police have called on students to cancel a pro-Palestinian demonstration planned for the third anniversary of the October 7 atrocity, warning that it is “not the right day” for such an event.
Officers have promised a “robust” response if the students ignore the appeal and march through central London on Wednesday, describing the anniversary as “a day of mourning and a day of reflection”.
Student activists have promoted the demonstration on social media, saying they will “take to the street” to “demand an end to the Palestinian genocide”.
The Metropolitan Police said it “sounds incredible”, but despite considerable efforts it has so far been unable to identify anyone prepared to take responsibility for organising the march.
James Harman, the Met’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner for operations, said there were serious concerns about the effect of the protest on students and staff, particularly Jewish members of the university community, as well as concerns about its route and timing.
“We, the Met, have attempted to find and contact the student organisers to ask them to very carefully consider the impact their event will have, and to ask them to hold this event on a different day,” he said.
Mr Harman said locating the organisers had “frankly” proved difficult. He used the opportunity to urge them to reconsider, contact police urgently and arrange their protest for another date.
He also appealed to the estimated 300 students expected to take part, asking them to consider the distress the march could cause on such a significant day and exercise their right to protest at another time.
Pro-Palestine protesters gather outside King’s College London on October 7, 2025, marking the second anniversary of the Hamas attack on the Nova Festival in Israel and Israel’s subsequent attacks on Gaza.
Jewish organisations and senior politicians have already condemned the planned demonstration.
DAC Harman said: “I don’t think it is the right day to be holding that event.”
He added that if the march went ahead, it would not be because the Met had authorised it, but said police would still have to manage the event.
Mr Harman warned that the demonstration, another pro-Palestinian protest planned for Saturday, October 10, and the possibility of disorder ahead of next week’s Holborn and St Pancras by-election could all “fuel further tensions” in London.
His comments follow reports of confrontations during canvassing for Sir Keir Starmer’s seat last weekend.
“We have absolutely no desire to get involved in politics,” DAC Harman said. “We have absolutely no desire to take sides in culture wars or wars of words between opposing groups.”
“That is very clearly not our role,” he added.
However, he said the Met and police have a clear responsibility to prevent serious disorder, violence and hate crime, adding that officers would respond robustly if necessary.
Students marched from King’s College, stopping at several campuses along the route while calling for an end to genocide in Gaza.
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Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman.
Hundreds of students are due to march between four London universities on Wednesday, the third anniversary of the atrocity in which Hamas militants killed more than 1,200 civilians and took 251 hostages.
The protest is being advertised on social media by student activists, who say they intend to ‘take to the street’ to ‘demand an end to the Palestinian genocide’.
The Met said they are ‘making every effort’ through universities and others to identify organisers of the shadowy University of London Coalition responsible for advertising the event.
DAC Harman said: ‘We have found people who are attending, but they are not willing to take responsibility as the organiser of the event. I know it sounds incredible.’
Karen Pollock, chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, condemned all those marching on October 7.
She said: ‘Those planning public demonstrations on this day know exactly what October 7 represents.
‘They know of the savagery, the sexual violence, the murder and kidnapping committed by Hamas, yet they still choose this date.
‘This is a disgusting attack on the memory of the victims of Hamas and those still grieving, carrying the pain and trauma this anniversary brings.’
Raphi Leon, president of the Union of Jewish Students, said holding a protest on a day of mourning for Israeli families was ‘outrageous’.
He said: ‘There are 365 days of the year. The decision to protest on this day is provocative, deliberate and must be condemned to the fullest extent.’
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Lucy Powell said: ‘We certainly shouldn’t be doing anything other than marking those attacks on October 7 with deep mourning for those who lost their lives and those who were victims of that terrible Hamas attack.’
A similar march held on the second anniversary was described by then-Prime Minister Sir Keir as ‘un-British’.
He urged students to call off their action and accused participants of showing a lack of respect but to no avail.
The students plan to march from King’s College London, before heading to the London School of Economics, the School of Oriental and African Studies, and ending at University College London.
Israel has been accused of ‘genocide’ over the thousands killed in its retaliatory bombing campaign in Gaza.
Antisemitic attacks have increased across places of worship, universities and wider society in the three years since October 7.