It is said activists with Youth Demand joined Just Stop Oil for a meeting in central London where they reportedly discussed plans to cause chaos from Armistice Day, Monday November 11
Pro-Palestine activists are planning to disrupt Armistice Day events across the UK with a series of “highly coordinated” protests next week, according to reports.
More than 50 activists gathered at an event dubbed “Politics is Broken: People’s Assembly and After Party” at a members-only bar in central London last Saturday to discuss plans, it is understood.
Youth Demand, a Just Stop Oil offshoot, is leading the protests, said to happen in five cities across the UK, including London. Speaking at the meeting last Saturday, Arthur Clifton, a 23-year-old activist with Youth Demand, told the crowd said: “This is the start of our strategy coming into place on November 11. With five cities across the country, Youth Demand will be getting out onto the roads, swarming, causing disruption, [and] getting off before arrests are made, hopefully.”
Brits will on Monday pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for our country. Mr Clifton said he protests would mean “highly coordinated, highly organised disruption on a nationwide level”. He also hinted at further chaos around Black Friday, a major discount day for British retailers and consumers, held on the last Friday in November.
Mr Clifton, believed to hail from London, teased “exciting plans” for the group, cryptically remarking: “That’s all I’m saying.”, reports Express.co.uk. The publication has today exposed the plans following an undercover operation, which saw reporters attend the exclusive meeting in London.
A call to arms on Youth Demand’s Telegram channel dated November 5 urged activists that “in just over a week, our nationally coordinated actions will be popping off all over the country.”
The message, which could be seen as a veiled threat to Remembrance events in five cities, concluded with: “We know we have to shut it down for Palestine.”
Mr Clifton, during his address, did not disclose which cities were at risk, and this information was also absent from the Telegram post. Earlier, Just Stop Oil campaigner Sam Griffiths, who spent time in Wandsworth Prison in 2023 for protest involvement, declared to the assembly: “We are not giving up”.
He continued: “The context has changed. Yes, we’re facing crazy repression, but do we still have the will, the energy and the direction to fight? Yes, the answer is yes… That we can still take action is a profound privilege and one we must continue to use.”
He also criticised the Labour government’s investment of £2.5bn in carbon capture as a “stupid gamble on untested technology,” arguing that cutting emissions directly is a far superior strategy, hence their commitment to intensify Just Stop Oil efforts by 2030.
Meanwhile, the Royal British Legion expressed their hopes to Express.co.uk that Remembrance events across the nation would proceed “without disruption”. A spokesperson remarked: “Remembrance is a time for the nation to come together to remember those who have served in the British Armed Forces protecting the democratic freedoms we all benefit from today.
“While we respect the right of people to protest within the law, we believe the Two-Minute Silence on Armistice Day is a time for remembrance, and we hope Remembrance events can go ahead without disruption.”
The Metropolitan Police have warned that any attempts to disrupt Armistice Day events are “entirely unacceptable” and vowed to take “robust action”. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward stated: “Any attempt to disrupt the solemnity and importance of Armistice Day events is entirely unacceptable.”
He added: “The public would expect us to take robust action against anyone who does so and we will. We have policing plans in place across London to protect those attending public events, and you will see us intervene swiftly to deal with individuals breaking the law.”
