The prime minister met the chief of the Metropolitan Police this afternoon - and had vowed to hold Sir Mark Rowley "accountable" for his decision to greenlight the demonstration on 11 November.

Sir Mark had resisted calls to try and block a march taking place - and said that, after looking at intelligence, the legal threshold for a ban had not been met.

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In a statement, the prime minister reiterated that the march is "disrespectful", but said: "Freedom is the right to peacefully protest. And the test of that freedom is whether our commitment to it can survive the discomfort and frustration of those who seek to use it, even if we disagree with them. We will meet that test and remain true to our principles."

He added: "It's welcome that the police have confirmed that the march will be away from the Cenotaph and they will ensure that the timings do not conflict with any remembrance events.

"There remains the risk of those who seek to divide society using this weekend as a platform to do so. That is what I discussed with the Metropolitan Police Commissioner in our meeting.

"The commissioner has committed to keep the Met Police's posture under constant review based on the latest intelligence about the nature of the protests."

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PM 'picking a fight with police'

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had accused Mr Sunak of "cowardice" for "picking a fight" with the police.

He tweeted: "Remembrance events must be respected. Full stop.

"But the person the PM needs to hold accountable is his home secretary. Picking a fight with the police instead of working with them is cowardice."

Home Secretary Suella Braverman had called the pro-Palestinian demonstrations "hate marches" - and said anyone who vandalised the Cenotaph on Armistice Day "must be put into a jail cell faster than their feet can touch the ground".

Downing Street denied seeking to put pressure on the Met, which is operationally independent, and insisted the meeting was about "seeking assurances" that their approach is "robust".

The Met has said its officers were already preparing for remembrance events over the weekend and "we will do everything in our power to ensure that people who want to mark the occasion can do so safely and without disruption."

In a statement on Tuesday, Sir Mark said: "The laws created by Parliament are clear. There is no absolute power to ban protest, therefore there will be a protest this weekend."

He added that the use of the power to block moving protests is "incredibly rare" and must be reserved for cases where there is intelligence to suggest a "real threat" of serious disorder.

Sir Mark explained that the organisers of Saturday's rally have shown "complete willingness to stay away from the Cenotaph and Whitehall and have no intention of disrupting the nation's remembrance events".

"Should this change, we've been clear we will use powers and conditions available to us to protect locations and events of national importance at all costs."

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Organisers say protest will be 'well away' from Cenotaph

Tens of thousands have demonstrated in London in recent weeks over Palestinian deaths in the Israel-Hamas war - with 29 arrested during a fourth week of protests last Saturday, during which fireworks were thrown.

Organisers of this Saturday's protest say it will be "well away" from the Cenotaph - going from Hyde Park, around a mile from the war memorial in Whitehall, to the US embassy - and won't start until after the 11am silence.

Several cabinet ministers have spoken out about the situation, with Health Secretary Steve Barclay telling Sky News that 11 November was the "wrong day" for protest action in London.

He said: "There is a legal threshold and the commissioner is of the view that that legal threshold has not been met.

"Obviously, the Home Office and colleagues will discuss that over the course of the day."