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A Tory MP has urged police to act after a war veteran caught up in a pro-Palestine protest while trying to sell poppies claimed he was \u201cpunched and kicked\u201d by the mob.<\/p>\n
Former minister Jonathan Gullis insisted those responsible for the alleged attack on Jim Henderson, 78, in Waverley Station, Edinburgh should be swftly brought to justice.<\/p>\n
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke said: \u201cThose responsible for this act of barbarity against someone who risked their lives for our freedoms, need to be arrested and imprisoned.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice forces across our country need to get a grip on these so-called \u2018protests\u2019, and start enforcing the law with the powers they have!\u201d<\/p>\n
Detailing the alleged ordeal, Mr Henderson, who served in the Royal Corps of Signals, 32 Signal Regiment, claimed station staff were forced to intervene and shove protesters out of the way after more than 1,000 flooded the busy hub.<\/p>\n
He told the Daily Mail: \u201cI was getting shoved backwards – in danger of falling – and one of them stood on my foot and split my toe.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I thought I had got to get the money out of here. So I went down, and as I bent down someone punched me in the back.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then I got another punch in my side. I’ve never known anything like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Henderson\u2019s account comes as tensions grow over a \u201cMillion March for Palestine\u201d planned for Remembrance Day on Saturday, November 11.<\/p>\n
The protest caused the Met Police to issue a fresh please for its organisers to \u201curgently reconsider\u201d, describing the plans as \u201cnot appropriate\u201d during a meeting on Monday.<\/p>\n
But pro-Palestinian groups have defied calls to postpone the demonstration on Armistice Day.<\/p>\n
The coalition of groups, which includes Stop the War and the Muslim Association of Britain, insisted they would press ahead with the demonstration calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, who leads public order policing in the English capital, said: \u201cThe risk of violence and disorder linked to breakaway groups is growing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is of concern ahead of a significant and busy weekend in the capital.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur message to organisers is clear: please, we ask you to urgently reconsider. It is not appropriate to hold any protests in London this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n