LONDON (Dispatches) – British parliamentarians and cultural figures have criticized the London Metropolitan Police for blocking a pro-Palestine march from starting outside the BBC headquarters on Saturday. 
Organizers of the pro-Palestine march said it had agreed on the route with the police months in advance.
But organizers now face objections from the police after pro-Zionist groups, MPs, and peers reportedly urged Met Commissioner Mark Rowley to change the route after claims it could disrupt a nearby synagogue.
An organizer of the march told Middle East Eye that the police informed them in December that Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis had made representations to them.
Mirvis confirmed in December that he was in talks with the police about the march.
Organizers dismissed the claims as “baseless,” noting the synagogue is not on the route and that “there has not been a single incident of any threat to a synagogue attached to any of the marches”.
In an open-letter, the pro-Palestine coalition criticized the police for “misusing public order powers to shield the BBC from democratic scrutiny”.
The open letter described the BBC as “a publicly-funded state broadcaster” that must be held accountable for its reporting on Gaza.
The organizers accused the police of undermining democratic freedoms by deciding to block the protest marching from the BBC.
“The rights to protest and free speech are precious. It is not acceptable in a democratic society that, in the face of an ongoing genocide in Gaza, people should be barred from protesting at the BBC,” the open letter said.
The open letter was also signed by dozens of British parliamentarians, cultural figures, including actors, academics and trade union activists. 
Among the signatories of the open letter include Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott, musician Brian Eno, and actors Mark Rylance and Maxine Peake. Trade union leaders like Mick Lynch and Dave Ward also signed the open letter.
The open letter highlighted the diversity of the pro-Palestine movement, pointing out that “Jewish people have been joining the marches in their thousands”
It condemned attempts to link the protests to anti-Jewish sentiment as “false and dangerous”.
Activists argue the BBC’s coverage of Gaza has failed to portray Palestinian suffering adequately and view the march as a critical opportunity to hold the broadcaster accountable.