A justice minister has urged police to take "robust action" against participants in this weekend's Al Quds Day march in London, citing concerns over support for the Iranian regime. Courts minister Sarah Sackman described the event as a "hate march" that has "no place in British society."
The annual march, organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), is scheduled for Sunday. The IHRC has insisted the event will be peaceful, but the group previously referred to Iran's former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a martyr and a "rare role model" following his death in US-Israeli strikes.
Speaking to LBC, Sackman said: "Those expressing support for the malign regime in Iran and the IRGC and its proxies have no place in our society." She added that such individuals "shouldn't be on the streets of London calling for hate and hostility against this country."
The minister told Times Radio: "I’m clear that hate marches like the Al Quds march has no place in British society and the authorities and the police should take the enforcement action needed against these marches." She said she expected law enforcement to act against those expressing support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which she described as a "malign regime" causing danger both abroad and at home.
When asked whether the march should be banned, Sackman said the decision was not hers but reiterated her opposition, stating: "This sort of thing has no place in our society." In response, the IHRC wrote to Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley, dismissing what it called "baseless" claims that the demonstration is antisemitic or supportive of terrorism. IHRC chairman Massoud Shadjareh said the event had been "good-natured and peaceful" for over 40 years.
