Poppy Day unity plea as thousands prepare to protest in London

FAITH leaders, senior MPs and the Mayor of London joined forces today to issue a plea for calm, respect and unity ahead of Armistice Day and a pro-Gaza march in London.

- John Dunne and Nicholas Cecil

Sadiq Khan called on Londoners to "pull together" and stressed that "diversity is our greatest strength".

London minister Paul Scully said "the streets of London must not become a proxy" for the Hamas-Israel conflict, especially on a weekend "when we remember the horrors of the two world wars". They both appealed for people, including politicians after Home Secretary Suella Braverman's incendiary article accusing the police of "bias" in the way they treat protests, to try to "calm not inflame" situations.

A huge policing operation is set to take place in central London over the weekend, with more than 1,000 officers being drafted in from outside forces - 778 tomorrow and 288 on Sunday.

The thoughts of many Londoners will be on those who fell fighting in past wars to defend the nation and its way of life - or took their own lives so tragically in subsequent years.

Tens of thousands will also take to the city's streets tomorrow to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. The planned route for the march goes from Hyde Park, about a mile from the Cenotaph in Whitehall, to the US embassy in Vauxhall, south of the Thames. The Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, which will be attended by the King and Queen and other members of the royal family, will also take place tomorrow.