Greens’ Polanski says he would discourage ‘globalise the intifada’ chant but warns against march bans
Zack Polanski has said he would discourage pro-Palestine protesters from using the chant “globalise the intifada”, but the Green party leader warned against specifically outlawing the phrase or banning a protest planned in London later this month.Speaking earlier in the weekend, Keir Starmer called for “tougher action” against marchers using the chant after last week’s attack on Jewish people in Golders Green, saying pro-Gaza marches risked having a cumulative effect of being intimidating.While the Metropolitan police already have a policy of arresting people who chant “globalise the intifada”, Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, said any further action would await an ongoing review of protest laws.Speaking on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Polanski said outlawing the chant would overly restrict freedom of speech.He reiterated his apology for sharing a post on X that criticised police for the way they arrested a suspect after two Jewish people were stabbed in Golders Green, north-west London, on Wednesday.
Footage of the arrest shows two officers appearing to kick the man on or near his head,Polanski said that while he remained concerned about the footage, he apologised “because I accept that X or social media is not the appropriate forum to have that concern”, adding that he was going to discuss the matter privately with Mark Rowley, the Met commissioner,On Friday, Rowley used an open letter to accuse Polanski of undermining his officers by sharing the critical post, something the Green leader argued was a mistake as well: “I also think an open letter from the commissioner also wasn’t necessarily the appropriate forum, but I’m glad we’ve resolved that,I’ve asked the commissioner for a meeting, and I’ll be taking those conversations up in private,”Asked if he agreed with Starmer that “globalise the intifada”, which uses an Arabic word for uprising, was racist, Polanski said: “No, I don’t think that’s correct.
I think it’s important that we make sure that we have freedom of speech in this country and freedom of protest.” He added he did not believe “policing people’s language” would make Jewish people safer.Asked if he would use the phrase, Polanski replied: “I wouldn’t encourage people to use it, because actually I think you can make your point a lot more effectively and not get into this conversation about language.”Speaking earlier on the same programme, Alexander said it was right for police to take action in the face of repeated protests that were “intimidating a particular community, that was always on the receiving end”.She said decision on whether to ban a planned pro-Gaza protest on 16 May was an operational decision for the police, and that any outright ban on chanting “globalise the intifada” would be decided following a review of protest laws by the former director of public prosecutions Ken Macdonald, who is now a crossbench peer.
“We are not talking about an outright comprehensive ban on protest or anything like that,” she said.“We are talking about the cumulative impact upon the Jewish community in particular.Here we will take the steps that are appropriate to deal with this problem, but we will also defend the right to protest.”Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, told the programme that all pro-Gaza marches needed to be stopped, saying they were “creating a climate that is normalising hatred towards Jews”.Asked if police should ban a march in London also planned for 16 May and led by the far-right agitator Tommy Robinson, Badenoch said no.
“Is he creating a climate of intimidation and violence?” she asked,When told that a previous Robinson-organised march last year resulted in a number of arrests, Badenoch said: “This is exactly what I’m talking about,You haven’t been able to say who that was targeted against,”
The Devil Wears Prada 2 to Lenny Henry: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Meryl Streep stars in the long-awaited sequel to the fashion-industry hit, and the comic, actor and bona fide national treasure returns to the stageThe Devil Wears Prada 2Out nowSequels, for spring? Groundbreaking. OK, but this just happens to be one of the most anticipated sequels of the last decade, with Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt returning to their respective roles of high-fashion supervillain Miranda Priestly, journalist Andy Sachs and type-A nightmare Emily Charlton.HokumOut nowAdam Scott (Severance) stars in this Irish-set haunted-house horror about a man whose journey to spread his parents’ ashes involves some unexpectedly spooky twists and turns. Irish former electrician Damian McCarthy writes and directs his first Hollywood feature after a couple of lower-budget homegrown hits.Wild FoxesOut nowValéry Carnoy directs this French coming-of-age drama which premiered at Cannes last year to prize-winning effect
Peter Kay show stopped and 19-year-old in custody after ‘suspicious bag’ found
A live show by comedian Peter Kay in Birmingham has been stopped after a “potential suspicious bag” was found around the venue.The Utilita Arena Birmingham was evacuated and a 19-year-old man was taken into custody, West Midlands police said on Friday evening.The force said: “We are assisting with an evacuation at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham after a potential suspicious bag was found.“A 19-year-old man is in custody and as a precaution the site is currently subject of a search. We will provide further updates when we can
Jimmy Kimmel: ‘Trump has three wars going on right now – Iranians, Ukrainians and comedians’
Late-night hosts reacted to yet another call by Donald Trump for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired, more US floundering in Iran and the supreme court effectively dismantling the Voting Rights Act.Jimmy Kimmel woke up on Thursday morning to, somehow, yet another call from the president for his show to be cancelled. As Donald Trump posted on Truth Social: “When is ABC Fake News Network firing seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel, who incompetently presides over one of the Lowest Rated shows on Television? People are angry. It better be soon!!! President DJT”“Or what?” Kimmel laughed on Thursday evening. “If incompetently presiding over not just one of but the lowest rating in history is the reason I should be fired, we should both be out of a job
The Guide #241: Wintour isn’t coming … and her Devil Wears Prada absence is for the best
The Devil Wears Prada 2 has a cameo list more stuffed than the fashion cupboard at the film’s fictional Runway magazine. It runs the gamut from eye-poppingly famous (Lady Gaga, Donatella Versace, Naomi Campbell) to if-you-know-you-know industry famous (Tina Brown, say, or a host of supermodels familiar to anyone on the Paris front row) to “huh, how did they get there?” (Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste, or Chicken Shop Date’s Amelia Dimoldenberg, already on her second cameo of the year after a super-quick turn in an episode of Industry). Missing, though, is the one cameo everyone hoped for, the white – or should that be cerulean? – whale herself: Anna Wintour, Vogue top dog and heavy inspiration in the film for Meryl Streep’s formidable sadist-in-chief, Miranda Priestly.Wintour, though absent from the original Devil Wears Prada, always hovered over proceedings – it’s said that a number of designers steered clear of cameo appearances in the first film for fear of offending her – and Wintour herself, though present at its premiere, always studiously avoided discussing the film. But in recent months there seems to have been a sudden thawing – fond words from Wintour about the film on the New Yorker podcast, then a shock appearance alongside Streep on a Vogue cover – prompting speculation that the be-fringed one might deign to appear in the sequel
Post your questions for Harry Potter and Fast Show star Mark Williams
Twenty-five years have now passed since the first Harry Potter film and, with the HBO reboot due out this Christmas, Warner Bros is ramping up the celebrations. Key among them is the unveiling of a new feature at the studio tour showcasing key moments, costumes and props from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.And this is why Mark Williams is now taking your questions – although, as Potter purists will know, his character doesn’t actually appear in the first film. Arthur Weasley does, however, play a pretty big role in the other seven movies, so let’s muggle through regardless.In the movies, Williams plays the ministry of magic employee, husband to Julie Walters’ Molly Weasley and father of Ron, Ginny, Fred, George, Percy, Charlie and Bill – a role for which he had to dye his hair red
Man who pocketed tiles from medieval priory as boy returns them 60 years later
Fragments of a priory’s medieval tiled floor that spent almost 60 years stashed in a toffee tin after being pocketed by a nine-year-old boy during a family outing have finally been handed back.The three pieces of decorative clay tiles, dating from the late 13th to early 14th century, were taken as a souvenir by Simon White during a family visit to Wenlock Priory in Shropshire in the late 1960s.White, now a 68-year-old retired chartered surveyor, found the fragments in an old toffee tin during a house move and owned up to English Heritage. He told officials he recalled his father encouraging him to take the pieces but had always felt a little uneasy and was delighted when he rediscovered them.“I can remember the day this all happened with my father standing guard,” he said
Woman’s fight for sterilisation raises questions over access to procedure
‘I am invoking Martha’s rule’: how a woman saved her father from near death in hospital
Martha’s rule may have saved more than 500 lives in England since 2024
Solicitors report late flood of no-fault evictions before ban in England
Why routine cancer tests have age limits | Brief letters
Raise tax on alcohol and junk food to cut deaths from liver disease, experts say