Corbyn and McDonnell to face no action after rally

MPs Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell will face no further action after being interviewed by police following a pro-Palestinian rally.

McDonnell said the pair had been questioned by officers after taking part in the demonstration in central London in January.

He told MPs: "It was alleged that we failed to follow police restrictions on the protest. This is untrue, and at all times we followed police instructions".

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the Metropolitan Police of "picking on us two as members of Parliament".

A rally involving several thousand people took place in Whitehall in January after police blocked plans to hold a march from Portland Place, near the headquarters of the BBC.

Police had imposed a condition on the organisers of the rally under the Public Order Act that prevented them gathering outside the corporation's headquarters because of its close proximity to a synagogue and a risk there could be "serious disruption" as congregants attended services.

A further condition required the rally to be confined to Whitehall.

Speaking in the Commons on Friday, McDonnell said: "We can now report that the police have dropped the case against us, and there will be no charges".

He added that in correspondence with their solicitor, the Met had "informed us that our case was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service because as MPs we were to be held to have, and I quote, a 'greater culpability'".

"This is an unacceptable practice that flies in the face of the principle that we are all equal before the law," he added.

"I wish to place on record my concern about this behaviour by the Metropolitan Police".

Speaking after him, Corbyn said: "I saw this whole effort as being a means to try and silence the democratic rights of everyone in our society by picking on us two as members of Parliament".

Former Labour leader Corbyn was re-elected as an independent MP for Islington North after losing the Labour whip in 2020.

Hayes and Harlington MP McDonnell currently sits as an independent, after Labour suspended the whip from him for in July 2024 for voting against the government over child benefit rules.

In a statement on social media, the pair also called for charges to be dropped against Christopher Nineham, 63, of Tower Hamlets, and Benjamin Jamal, 61, who are facing trial next month on public order charges following the protest.

A Met spokesperson said: "No further action will be taken against nine people who were interviewed as part of an investigation into alleged breaches of Public Order Act conditions during a protest on Saturday 18 January.

"The decision in two cases was taken following a review of the evidence by the Crown Prosecution Service, while the remaining seven cases were decided on by police officers.

"Two men have been charged with breaching the same conditions as well as inciting others to do so. They will stand trial next month. A further two individuals remain under investigation."

A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Following a thorough review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police Service, we have decided not to bring criminal charges against two men, aged 76 and 73.

"We have concluded that the case did not meet the evidential test to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against the two men."