Projecting a slogan onto Big Ben is an offence under planning legislation,  and the police can prosecute offenders,  according to UKLFI Charitable Trust (“UKLFI CT”).

image: Bella Wallersteiner

UKLFI CT has written to Penny Mordaunt MP, Leader of the House of Commons, and advised her: “While it would certainly be helpful to obtain convictions under the Public Order Act, eg for incitement to racial hatred, it may be simpler to prosecute for the offence under the planning legislation (s. 224(3) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990).  We invite you to draw this to the attention of the Police.”

UKLFI CT has also written to Andrew Percy MP in response to his comments, reported in The Telegraph,  when he raised concerns after pro-Palestinian protesters beamed the slogan “From the River to the Sea” onto the Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben.

The slogan is seen as a call for Palestinians to take over the entire territory from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, and eliminate the Jewish State. It reflects the Hamas 2017 Charter which says “Hamas rejects any alternative to the full and complete liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”

Although large numbers of police officers were present at the demonstration in Parliament Square they decided not to take any action against the beaming of the slogan, saying it was not a criminal offence.

Mr Percy told The Telegraph: “There’s no doubt that chant is genocidal. It denies Jews self-determination in their homeland, calls for the destruction of the state of Israel and, more importantly, it is chanted by people and promoted by groups who are in many cases openly anti-Semitic and who call for Jews to be wiped out.  It should be pursued because it is already a crime to incite racial or religious hatred, and I am sorry that the police are again choosing not to act on a racist genocidal chant.”

Jonathan Turner, Executive Director of UKLFI CT, wrote to Mr Percy saying: “I have noted your comments reported in The Telegraph. While it can be debated whether this amounts to an offence under the Public Order Act, I think it is clear that it is an offence under s224(3) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. It does not fall within any of the exceptions provided in the Control of Advertisements Regulations – it was too large to fall within Class 3D of Schedule 3.”

UKLFI has asked Mr Percy and Ms Mordaunt to take this up with the Police.

Mr Turner added that the planning legislation is also relevant to the situation in Tower Hamlets, where the Met Police have refused to prosecute the flying of Palestinian flags without permission on lamp posts throughout the Borough.