Suella Braverman confronts Met chief over soft stance on anti-Israeli protesters chanting ‘jihad’ as police are told they ALREADY have ‘extensive’ powers to crack down on ‘distressing’ behaviour
- Do you know the names of the people in the videos? Email [email protected]
Suella Braverman confronted the Met chief over the handling of anti-Israel protests today as police were told they have ‘extensive’ powers to tackle ‘distressing’ behaviour.
The Home Secretary challenged Scotland Yard commissioner Sir Mark Rowley over the softly-softly approach at a meeting this morning.
Ministers have called for police to use the ‘full force of the law’ over the ‘disturbing’ scenes in London at the weekend – which included crowds chanting ‘jihad’.
Downing Street insisted that officers already have enough powers to deal with such situations, suggesting they need to ‘deployed’.
However, Keir Starmer has waded into the row by warning the government needs to address ‘gaps in the law’.
Around 100,000 people attended a rally on Whitehall on Saturday, where protesters scaled buildings and shouted ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ – which Ms Braverman has condemned as a call for the ‘destruction of Israel’.
In one demonstration outside the Egyptian embassy, police watched as members of the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir – which has been banned in almost all Arab countries – were filmed shouting ‘jihad’ and calling for ‘Muslim armies’ to fight Israel.
But the Met insisted the ‘word jihad has a number of meanings’ and it did not believe any offences had been committed.
The group’s leader, Luqman Muqeem, previously said Hamas terrorists were ‘heroes’ for massacring Israelis and the attacks of October 7 had ‘made us all very, very happy’.
During the main protest on Whitehall, a man was filmed waving a black and white Islamic flag while reportedly shouting in Arabic: ‘God’s curse be upon the Jews’ and ‘God’s curse upon Israel’. He was arrested for inciting racial hatred.
Another protester held a placard reading ‘I fully support Hamas’ – which was responsible for the deaths of 1,400 Israelis during a wave of cross-border terror attacks.
Meanwhile, Transport for London is under pressure to sack a Tube driver who led passengers in anti-Israel chants including ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’. TfL claims not to know his identity.
The phrase is a reference to the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, a territory that includes the state of Israel. When it is followed by ‘Palestine will be free’ the chant implies the dismantling of the Jewish state.
Do you know the names of the people in the videos? Email [email protected]
In a demonstration outside the Egyptian Embassy in London on Saturday members of the extremist group Hazib ut-Tahrir were filmed shouting ‘jihad’
The group’s leader Luqman Muqeem (pictured) previously said Hamas were ‘heroes’ for killing Israelis and the attack of October 7 had ‘made us all very, very happy’
During a separate demonstration on Saturday, a man was filmed waving an Islamic flag while reportedly shouting: ‘God’s curse be upon the Jews’ and ‘God’s curse upon Israel’
One protester on Whitehall held a placard reading ‘I fully support Hamas’ – which was responsible for the deaths of 1,400 Israelis during a wave of cross-border terror attacks
A source close to Mrs Braverman said before the meeting that she would be ‘asking Sir Mark for an explanation over the response’ by police to incidents that took place on the same day as the pro-Palestinian protests in the capital.
The source added: ‘There can be no place for incitement to hatred or violence on Britain’s streets and, as the Home Secretary has made clear, the police are urged to crack down on anyone breaking the law.’
Visiting the Port Talbot steelworks this morning, Sir Keir told broadcasters: ‘There’s been a huge increase in hate crime in the last couple of weeks, tragically. We’ve all got a duty to clamp down on hate crime whatever political party we’re in.
‘Obviously, the police are independent operationally, so these are decisions for them.
‘I think there have already been identified some gaps in the law in a previous review under this Government and I think the Government needs to look at whether there are gaps in the law that need to be addressed as well.’
However, the PM’s official spokesman played down the prospect of beefing up the law.
READ MORE – Stars led by Tom Stoppard and Dame Maureen Lipman sign ‘October Declaration’ against anti-Semitism in Britain
‘Some of these scenes will have likely been incredibly distressing for people to witness, not least to the UK’s Jewish community who deserve to feel safe at what must be an incredibly traumatic time,’ he said.
‘We do believe the police have extensive powers in this space and we will continue to discuss with them so there is clarity and agreement about how they can be deployed on the ground.’
Pressed if there are then no plans to give police more powers, he said: ‘I’m not aware of any, no.’
During Saturday’s Hizb ut-Tahrir rally, video shared on social media showed one speaker asking a crowd ‘What is the solution to liberate people from the concentration camp called Palestine?’
To this the crowd chanted ‘jihad! jihad! jihad!’.
A poster held by organisers of the rally read: ‘Muslim Armies! Rescue the People of Palestine.’
Robert Jenrick said yesterday that there would be discussions with the Met after the force said it believed no offences had been committed.
The immigration minister also vowed to kick people who ‘spread hate or support proscribed terrorist organisations like Hamas’ out of the country, suggesting those who held visas could have them revoked.
The Met had said in a statement: ‘The word jihad has a number of meanings but we know the public will most commonly associate it with terrorism. We have specialist counter-terrorism officers here who have particular knowledge in this area.
‘They have assessed this video, filmed at the Hizb ut-Tahrir protest in central London today, and have not identified any offences arising from the specific clip. However, recognising the way language like this will be interpreted by the public and the divisive impact it will have, officers have identified the man involved and will be speaking to him shorty to discourage any repeat of similar chanting.’
Twitter users added a community note under the Met’s tweet which read: ‘The Met Police’s ”What is hate crime?” document states: ”The offence of incitement to hatred occurs when someone acts in a way that is threatening and intended to stir up hatred… Hate content may include: messages calling for violence against a specific person or group”.’
There were chants of ‘jihad! jihad! jihad!’ at the Hazib ut-Tahrir rally outside the Egyptian embassy in London on Saturday
Another speaker was seen saying that ‘the solution is jihad and jihad alone’. The Met Police said it had ‘not identified any offences’ at the event
The Met later tweeted that the word ‘jihad’ had ‘multiple meanings’. Twitter users added a community note under the Met’s post
Suella Braverman will meet with the Metropolitan Police today to express her frustrations following the incidents on Saturday
At the same event, the speaker added that the only solution to liberate the people of Palestine was ‘jihad by the armies of the Muslim countries’.
‘Not by you and me, what training do I have? There are people with arms – in Egypt, in Pakistan, in Saudi Arabia, in Jordan, across the Muslim world – and right now they are boiling like we are boiling.’
Another speaker was seen saying ‘the solution is jihad and jihad alone’.
In general terms the word ‘jihad’ is a reference to a Muslim’s obligation to follow and realise God’s will, but it has in recent years been used by extremist Islamic groups to justify violence against people they consider opponents of the religion.
READ MORE – Labour in chaos as 23 councillors resign over Keir Starmer’s stance on Israel
The group holding the demonstration Hizb ut-Tahrir is an Islamist fundamentalist group that has called for the re-establishment of a caliphate and for the global implementation of sharia law.
It has been banned in almost all Arab countries, as well as Muslim-majority nations such as Turkey, Bangladesh and Indonesia.
Former prime ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair both tried to ban the extremist group which had pledged to ‘wipe out the Zionist entity’ and referred to ‘monstrous Jews’.
The main protest on Saturday saw 100,000 people march down Whitehall calling for a ceasefire.
The conflict began when terrorist group Hamas massacred 1,400 Israelis on October 7, sparking weeks of air strikes from the Jewish state which have killed more than 4,300 Palestinians – according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
A handful of placards incorporated the Star of David into its messaging.
The six-pointed shape is a symbol of Judaism and pre-dates the creation of Israel, though it is also used on the national flag.
Its inclusion on placards – where it replaced the ‘a’ in the message ‘There is blood on your hands’ – was widely interpreted as further evidence of anti-Jewish sentiment.
Video circulating online appears to show the Central Line driver leading a chant of ‘Free, free Palestine’ for the hundreds of people packed tightly into busy train
Those on the Tube train could be seen joining in with the driver’s chants on their way to the solidarity march
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Rishi Sunak – Britain’s first Hindu PM – were depicted with tiny moustaches on a handful of placards.
The obvious inference is that they were being compared with Hitler.
READ MORE – Battle to eliminate Hamas could take three months, IDF warns
One man wearing a grey hoodie and waving a black and white Islamic flag held up a megaphone to his mouth and appeared to be bellowing ‘Hamas’.
The man chanted in Arabic ‘God’s curse be upon the Jews’ and ‘God’s curse upon Israel’, according to the Telegraph.
The Met yesterday said that it had arrested the protester. They posted a photo of him on Twitter, writing: ‘Yesterday this man was filmed shouting racist abuse in Whitehall. Tonight he is in custody having been arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred.’
But critics said the Met’s actions could have come sooner, with some labelling it ‘outrageous’ that officers did not intervene in the event.
The same protester was seen carrying a black and white Islamic flag. This was also seen being waved by other demonstrators.
The Met replied to claims it was an ‘ISIS flag’ by saying it was a banner showing the ‘shahada’, or the Islamic declaration of faith.
Prof Peter Neumann, from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, later told the Telegraph: ‘It’s the Islamic proclamation of faith against a black background. This is often used by jihadists, but not exclusively so.’
The Met replied to claims of ‘ISIS flags’ being waved at the protest by by saying they were actually banners containing the ‘shahada’, or the Islamic declaration of faith. Prof Peter Neumann, from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, later told the Telegraph: ‘It’s the Islamic proclamation of faith against a black background. This is often used by jihadists, but not exclusively so’
Protesters during a pro-Palestine march organised by Stop the War Coalition and Palestine Solidarity Campaign in central London on Saturday
Source: Read Full Article
