By Katie Spencer, Sky News Reporter
Protests are in danger of becoming privatised, campaigners have told Sky News.
Thousands of people will gather later to join the Campaign Against Climate Change's march through central London, but its organisers have told Sky News they were shocked to be told by the Met Police that they would have to pay thousands towards road closures and for private security.
"We were very surprised to be told that we need to hire a private traffic management firm to close the roads for us," organiser Claire James told Sky News.
"The costs to organisations like ourselves is really significant. It's an important democratic right to protest and it should be something the state facilitates.
"We're really worried it could create a situation where the right to protest ends up being limited to those that can afford to pay those costs."
The Met Police has traditionally always taken the lead when it comes to helping organisers prepare for protest marches.
But it recently said campaign groups must be prepared to contribute more towards the costs, like producing a traffic plan which can be more than £10,000 and hiring certified road stewards, which can be around £120 a day per steward.
Two marches planned for this weekend - the Campaign Against Climate Change and the Million Women Rise march - were expected to be among the first to have to pay.
However, the Met has now agreed to help with resources.
In a statement, it said: "We have been discussing this issue for some years with our partners, including Transport for London and local authorities.
"We will continue to engage with our partners and protest groups to ensure everyone is clear where responsibilities lie.
"Many protest events take place throughout the year without the need for any policing presence, leaving police officers in local communities where people want to see them."
Campaigners insist few groups could afford to pay the costs.
However, with drastic cuts to policing budgets, it is an area where many forces are keen to make savings.
Chris Armitt, the national police lead for protests, told Sky News forces they are having to "weigh up" where resources are most needed.
"We will facilitate lawful and peaceful protests as it's a fundamental right of democracy, but if that starts to be prohibitively expensive for the police service, for the local authority and for anyone else, then you've got to ask the question, is it proportional?
"I think it's quite realistic to say to organisers 'we need you to do things in different ways, we need you to consider whether you can provide some of the supervision and stewarding for the event'."
