The Metropolitan Police have urged organisers to cancel or delay a planned Palestine protest after the Manchester synagogue attack.
The force said yesterday's incident at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall had sparked "significant fear and concern" within communities.
It urged organisers Defend Our Juries to reconsider a protest due to be held in Trafalgar Square, London, tomorrow.
The demonstration, due to be attended by at least 1,500 people, is being held in opposition to Palestine Action being proscribed by the Government.
Pro-Palestine activists were told to converge on 19 locations around the UK yesterday evening
|REUTERS
The designation as a terror group means that membership of, or support for, the direct action group is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The Met Police said in a statement: "The horrific terrorist attack that took place in Manchester yesterday will have caused significant fear and concern in communities across the UK, including here in London.
"Yet at a time when we want to be deploying every available officer to ensure the safety of those communities, we are instead having to plan for a gathering of more than 1,000 people in Trafalgar Square on Saturday in support of a terrorist organisation.
"By choosing to encourage mass law breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries are drawing resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most.
"We urge them to do the responsible thing and delay or cancel their plans."
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Demonstrators marched along Whitehall on Thursday evening
| REUTERSDefend Our Juries said in a post to social media yesterday that it had received a letter from the Met Police requesting the activists to consider "pausing your activity and postponing it for another weekend".
In response, the group said: "As you know we are making two demands of the government: that it reverse the ban on a domestic protest group that poses no risk to the public; and secondly that the government take action in line with its obligations to prevent genocide.
"It is unfortunate that the Home Office has not decided to rescind the ban in the wake of the ever-growing defiance and has chosen instead to put an increasing and unnecessary strain on police resources.
"According to your letter, it appears the political oversight in proscribing Palestine Action, which aimed to save lives in Palestine, is taking away from the police protecting the community from those who seek to take lives.
The group went on to urge the force to "choose to prioritise protecting the community" instead of "arresting those peacefully holding signs in opposition to the absurd and draconian ban of a domestic direct action group"
A group of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested after clashing with Met Police officers in London yesterday evening, with some chanting "death to the IDF" just hours after the attack at the Manchester synagogue.
Video footage obtained by GB News' contributor Jack Hadfield shows police clashing with protesters in Whitehall after they gathered in solidarity with the members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a convoy of around 40 boats carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Pro-Palestine activists were told to converge on 19 locations around the UK between 5.30pm and 6pm, including in central London and Manchester Piccadilly station.
The Met Police confirmed 40 people have been arrested, six of those being for assault on police officers, while the majority were for breaching conditions.
Elsewhere on Thursday evening, hundreds of activists assembled outside Manchester Piccadilly Station before marching towards Piccadilly Gardens, waving Palestinian flags, banging drums and chanting.
The demonstrations in Manchester were held around five miles away from the synagogue which was the scene of a terror attack yesterday, leading to the deaths of Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz.
The suspected offender, later named as Jihad Al-Shamie, also died after being shot by firearm officers
Two people died following the attack at the Manchester synagogue yesterday
|PA
The attack happened on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Three people, including two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s, have been arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.
Four people were initially treated by paramedics for both vehicle and stab wounds.
Greater Manchester Police declared a major incident at the time of the incident and said it had "declared Plato", the national code-word used by police and emergency services when responding to a "marauding terror attack."