Scotland Yard Says No to Staged Sound System at UK Anti-Trump Protest

Scotland Yard has released a statement defending the decision to ban a stage mounted on a lorry at the protest. "As is usual, the Met asked the organizers for a crown management and safety plan which as organizers they have overarching responsibility for."

"On Monday, 9 July the Met received diagrams of where the vehicle was to be positioned, with no mention of sterwarding for this particular aspect of the event. This was not a formal notification of how crown safety would be managed."

"At the heart of our policing operation is the right to freedom of speech and peaceful protest. However we equally have a responsibility to ensure the safety of the public and this current time we do not feel that the proposal from the organizers ensures safety of a crowded place.

Anti-Trump campaigners have turned to social media to vent their frustrations and concerns that the decision is an infringement on free speech and an attack on the right to protest.

The 'Together Against Trump' protest starts at Portland Place and will travel through Regent Street, culminating in a rally at Trafalgar Square.

READ MORE: Melania May Brace Against London Anti-Trump Rage on Her Own

It's since emerged broadcasters have been banned from using helicopters to cover the protest as part of a ban on all low flying aircraft during Trump's visit.

Policing Donald Trump's visit is expected to cost £12 million (US$15 million) with leave cancelled for thousands of officers. Around 4,000 extra officers will be drafted into areas where the US President is visiting; it is the largest deployment of officers since the 2011 London riots.

READ MORE: Carnival of Resistance: Brits to Protest Trump's UK Visit, POTUS to Avoid London

Officers will be expected to work 12 hours shifts, leading to warnings of "unquestionable pressure" by The Police Federation on "a service already creaking at its knees."

"I, and my colleagues at the Federation, have been involved since Mr Trump confirmed his plans to visit, working to ensure that the welfare of our officers who will be working away from home, covering additional hours and over periods when they have had their days off cancelled; and that they are paid for what they do," Simon Kempton, the organization's deputy treasurer in England and Wales said in a statement.

Officers from different forces across England and Wales will be deployed in London on a Mutual Aid agreement, which according to Simon Kempton will leave forces as "a merely reactive service."

"And we may struggle to even be that — and that is all before you throw into the mix that the Football World Cup is also happening over the same period." Kempton issues a stark warning that the army having to take up police positions could become a reality on Britain's streets.

"Would we see the situation where the military were drafted in place of police officers? Green uniforms instead of the blue ones, people would — and should — expect to see? It's a worrying prospect," says Simon Kempton.

Donald Trump is expected to meet the Queen and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May in London and visit Chequers, Windsor Castle, the US ambassador's official residence in Regent's Park and Scotland.