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Shabana Mahmood has given the ban the green light, marking the first time a demonstration has been blocked in London since 2012.

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The Home Secretary has banned the Al Quds march in London which was scheduled for Sunday after a request from police.

London's police force asked Shabana Mahmood to ban the march over fears of serious disorder because of its links to Iran.

Ms Mahmood has given the ban the green light, marking the first time a demonstration has been banned in London since 2012.

Al-Quds Day is an annual event first held after the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 to oppose Zionism and support Palestinians.

On Tuesday night, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "The Home Secretary has consented to the Metropolitan Police banning Sunday’s Al Quds march and any associated counter-protest marches. This will be in place from 16:00hrs on Wednesday, 11 March and last one month.

"The Al Quds march is uniquely contentious having originated in Iran and in London is organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, an organisation supportive of the Iranian regime and was due to take place on Sunday, 15 March.

"The threshold to ban a protest is high and we do not take this decision lightly; this is the first time we have used this power since 2012."

Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, is said to have assessed that the risk of serious disorder had reached the threshold that justified such action.

Thousands were expected to attend the march amid the US-Israeli strikes on Iran and the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Counter-protesters were also expected to descend upon London to demonstrate against the Iranian regime.

Labour MPs had previously called for the march to be banned on Thursday, describing it as a "hate march" because of the organiser's links to the Iranian theocratic dictatorship.

The last time a demonstration was banned in London was 2012, when marches by the far-right English Defence League were blocked by the coalition government over fears of serious public disorder.

Speaking to LBC, courts minister Sarah Sackman called for Ms Mahmood to take action against the march.

She told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: "I'm on record as having called out this march even before the current conflict in the Middle East.

"Those expressing support for the malign regime in Iran and the IRGC and its proxies have no place in our society.

"They shouldn't be on the streets of London calling for hate and hostility against this country that's thoroughly anti-British. And I expect the police and the Home Secretary to take the necessary action against those people.”