Charlotte Church poses for selfies as she joins pro-Palestine protesters marching through London as Board of Deputies says British Jews do not feel safe in the capital on demo days

Charlotte Church joined a pro-Palestinian march through central London weeks after sparkling a backlash by attending a concert in aid of Gaza and singing a lyric that critics claimed could be construed as anti-Semitic.

The 38-year-old singer is among an all-woman line-up of speakers set to call for a ceasefire in the occupied territory following the march from Park Lane to the US Embassy in Nine Elms south of the river.

Wearing a brown coat, a green leopard-print top and a black and white Palestinian keffiyeh scarf, she was seen posing for selfies with other marchers at the front of the procession in the latest march organised by a group of anti-war organisations.

The latest march comes days after the Board of Deputies of British Jews claimed Jewish people feel central London is unsafe for them during the protests – adding that some felt the rallies were meant to ‘intimidate’ Jews.

Thousands are believed to be in attendance at the rally, organised by a coalition of groups including Stop the War, Friends of al-Aqsa and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, with a route agreed with the Metropolitan Police. 

Ms Church said she joined the pro-Palestine protest to ‘show solidarity with the people of Palestine for all that they are suffering through’.

She said: ‘I am here today to call for an immediate ceasefire, to ask our Government and governments all over the world to send as strong message as we possibly can. 

‘But a strong, a peaceful a loving message, that’s what every single march that I’ve been on for Palestine has been about.

‘There’s been singing there’s been drumming, yes, there’s been emotion, but in the majority that emotion has been love, has been compassion because that’s why we’re all here.

‘We’re all here because we cannot bear what we’re witnessing. We cannot bear to see civilians, children, women slaughtered.

‘And so we are here because our hearts are so full of love for the Palestinian people.’

The Welsh singer was seen hugging and chatting with fans ahead of the March on Saturday. 

Ms Church was criticised for singing a song construed as anti-Semitic during a pro-Palestine concert last month.

The Sing for Palestine event featured a song with the lyric ‘from the river to the sea’ – which some opponents of the slogan claim is a call for the destruction of Israel.

But the singer later said she would ‘do it again 100 times’ and denied being anti-Semitic, criticising Israel for creating ‘hell on Earth’ with its concentrated military bombardment campaign in Gaza since October. 

The gathering assembled at the bottom of Park Lane for noon before beginning its procession behind Buckingham Palace, along Grosvenor Place. 

Protesters arrived at the US embassy just after 2pm, where a stage was set up for the speeches. 

Demonstrators chanted ‘Free free Palestine’, ‘What do we want? Ceasefire; when do we want it? Now’, and the controversial slogan ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’.

They also waved Palestine flags and carried banners which read ‘Stop the war on Gaza’, ‘30,000 dead’ and ‘Ceasefire now’ as they set off from Hyde Park Corner.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was seen at the march taking selfies with fans. 

Actor and right-wing activist Laurence Fox was also pictured in the vicinity of Saturday’s protest. 

The route ran along Vauxhall Bridge Road and over Vauxhall Bridge itself before proceeding along Nine Elms Lane and stopping outside the US Embassy near Battersea Power Station.

Speakers during the event include Church, British-Palestinian activist Leanne Mohamad, Labour MP Beth Winter and Fran Heathcote, general secretary of trade union PCS.

A significant police presence assembled at Hyde Park Corner, close to the start of the procession route. The assembly is required to disperse by 5pm.

The Met says it is asking all attendees to ‘comply with orders and requests from our officers’, vowing that ‘those who are found to be breaking the law will be dealt with accordingly’.

But Daniel Sugarman, the director of public affairs at the Board of Deputies, said: ‘Many British Jews do feel that the centre of London is unsafe for them during these marches. This includes Synagogues in the area.

‘Many feel that the point of these marches is to intimidate, and that ultimately this is to intimidate those who believe Israel has a right to exist – which most Jews do.’

It comes after Britain’s counter-terrorism tsar warned that London is becoming a ‘no-go zone for Jews’ during weekend protests. Robin Simcox, the Home Office‘s independent advisor on extremism accused the Government for letting extremists go ‘unchallenged for too long’.

But responding to Mr Simcox’s comments, Mr Sugarman said he does not ‘feel particularly comfortable with the language of ‘no-go zones’,’ but added: ‘I also don’t feel particularly comfortable with non-Jewish people who are currently mocking that language.’

Mr Sugarman said: ‘Many British Jews feel extremely disturbed by the weekly marches through the centre of London.’

He said he that many are ‘extremely disturbed by the weekly marches through the centre of London’ which all feature ‘extremely disturbing slogans’ and antisemitic signs’.

Pro-Palestine protests have cost the Met Police £32.2 million so far as thousands more marchers are set to take to London streets this weekend. 

Britain’s largest police force is bracing for eleven major events in the capital his weekend, including march in support of International Women’s Day, six football matches and a fifth pro-Palestine demonstration.

The demonstration, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, is the fifth major demonstration of the year so far.

A similar protest, organised by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, took place in Edinburgh on Saturday with demonstrators gathering at the foot of The Mound in the Scottish capital.

They have required 35,464 officer shifts, and more than 5,200 officer rest days to be cancelled in order to manage the disruptions, police said on Friday.

Commander Karen Findlay, who will oversee policing across London on Saturday, said: ‘We are clearly operating in a context where we understand our Jewish and Muslim communities continue to be highly concerned about anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hate crime and their own sense of safety in London.

‘We recognise the very real anxiety and fear of individuals who are worried about perceived or actual threats they are subject to.’

Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Simcox said Britain has a ‘permissive environment for radicalisation developing that needs urgently addressing’.

He added that the Government needed to take a ‘leading role’ in tackling all types of extremism.

The counter-extremism tsar said Downing Street now had a chance to take charge of the situation while championing ‘respect for the rule of law, civility, and decency’ – which he said had been in ‘short supply’ since October 7.

It is believed that Mr Simcox hopes there will be tougher restrictions on protests that could include forcing marches to be static demonstrations instead.

A spokesman for the Board of Deputies added: ‘The regular weekend marches in central London are viewed by many in the Jewish community as intimidatory, raising questions about the kind of society we want to foster. 

‘Surely all parts of London should be open to everyone, with no sense of ‘no-go’ zones based on political affiliations or expressions of support for specific causes. Jewish Londoners are proud of their city and will not be frightened away from the place they call home.’

During Saturday’s protest there will also be a counter protest led by Itai Galmudy, however he is only expecting 50-100 people maximum to attend as ‘people are afraid and not everybody’s willing to take the risk’.

Mr Galmudy said he organised Saturday afternoon’s counter-protest with a ‘collective of people that share the same frustrations’ with the pro-Palestine marches, which he argued had ‘ballooned into anti-Israeli hate marches’.

He said he was ‘very concerned’ that counter-protesters might encounter violence, adding that it would ‘probably reflect’ in the number of people attending the demonstration in Victoria, central London.

‘We will just not accept that Jews can’t go out in the street because somebody wants to protest.

‘Those marches have ballooned into anti-Israeli hate marches and we think it’s enough. We don’t want to live in fear and we will not accept it.

‘We want to exercise our democratic right to stand up and tell them that it’s not okay.

‘There is no room in our society for protests that don’t allow other people to live next to them.’

He continued: ‘We know that those (pro-Palestine) protests are not as peaceful as some people tell us they are.

‘I’m concerned for this country because letting the mob run a country is not the way. There is a law and we should all be held accountable to it.’

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has previously called for the Met Police to take tougher action against protesters.

Sunak promised to deal with the ‘root causes’ of the problem and ensure that ‘no extremist organisations or individuals are being lent legitimacy by their actions and interactions with central government’.

Pro-Palestine protesters have been taking to the streets of the capital, and other large cities across the UK, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza since the October 7 attacks last year, where thousands of people have now been killed in the conflict.

During their rallies protesters have brandished banners and chanted ‘from the river to the sea’ – a song deemed anti-Semitic and a direct call for the state of Israel to be destroyed.

Concerns over police resources were also raised by Home Secretary James Cleverly, when he told pro-Palestine protesters to stop their Gaza rallies claiming they have ‘made their point’ and are putting a ‘huge pressure’ on the force. 

He said: ‘I think the organisers should recognise that they’ve made their point, they’ve made it loudly and they’re not adding to it by repeating themselves.’

A home affairs committee said the Government should consider legal changes so demonstration organisers are required to give police more than the current six days’ notice. It also calls on ministers to urgently set out a response to hate crime, amid soaring levels.

Committee chairman Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson said: ‘It is clear that the current demands on policing resourcing and the level of complexity in policing protests are unsustainable without proper reinforcement.’

Police were forced to close Tower Bridge when protesters shut it down last month. 

The bridge became completely engulfed in smoke as activists, some wearing masks and shouting into megaphones, let off green flares in support of Palestine.

The protests have continued to be a source of tension in Westminster with MPs divided over how best to handle the situation.