Rochdale MP says pro-Palestine graffiti on Cenotaph 'unacceptable' as police guard memorial
The defacing of a war memorial in Rochdale with pro-Palestine graffiti is “unacceptable”, the MP for the area has said.
The cenotaph, at the Esplanade in Rochdale, had its poppies stripped by vandals and 'free Palestine' sprayed onto it on Tuesday.
Police and the local council are investigating and Rochdale’s MP Tony Lloyd criticised the “desecration” by vandals.
He wrote on X: “Rochdale prides itself on its diversity and strong links with our armed forces and with the situation in Gaza and Israel, and the upcoming Remembrance Sunday, we must recognise the importance of these ties.
“The desecration is unacceptable and is rightly being investigated by police.”
The graffiti has since been removed, Lloyd added.
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The incident comes as the Metropolitan Police said it would not ban a pro-Palestine march in London on Armistice Day this Saturday.
Organisers of the march had shown “complete willingness to stay away from the Cenotaph and Whitehall and have no intention of disrupting the nation’s remembrance events”, Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley said.
The Rochdale memorial was guarded by police community support officers on Tuesday evening, while there has been an increase in local police patrols following a spate of incidents.
A spokesperson for Rochdale Borough Council said: "On the afternoon of Tuesday, 7 November, graffiti was sprayed on the Cenotaph.
“This is totally unacceptable and is also being investigated by police. The graffiti will be removed as soon as we are able to.”
The spokesperson added that the council is “proud of our strong links with our armed forces community”.
‘Criminal disrespect’
Chief Superintendent Nicky Porter, Greater Manchester Police Rochdale district commander, said the force would “not tolerate the criminal disrespect of the town’s Memorial Gardens”.
The defacing comes after another incident on Monday, where two teenagers were charged with intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance.
Anyone with information about Tuesday’s incident in Rochdale is asked to contact GMP quoting 1294 07/11/23 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Yahoo News UK has contacted Greater Manchester Police for an update.
What are the issues surrounding the Armistice Day march?
The planned demonstration has been organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, who are calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
However, the timing of the march – on Armistice Day and on Remembrance weekend – has angered critics.
Security minister Tom Tugendhat, who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, said that he didn't think it was an "appropriate moment for a protest", and that he had written to the mayor of London, Westminster Council and the Metropolitan Police asking them to "look very carefully at the powers that they have".
Prime minister Rishi Sunak has also criticised the timing of the demonstration, while home secretary Suella Braverman described it as a “hate march”.
The planned route would take tens of thousands of demonstrators from Hyde Park – about a mile from the Cenotaph – to the US embassy in Vauxhall, south of the River Thames.
But the protest organisers said they “have no intention of marching on or near Whitehall, in order not to disrupt events at the Cenotaph”.
The Met Police signalled that they were considering banning the march but the force’s head, Sir Mark Rowley, later said that the intelligence on the potential for serious disorder does not meet the threshold to apply to prohibit the it.
