The Met Police was going through questions over its impartiality final night time after a image emerged of officers posing with a masked child holding a Palestine flag.
Scotland Yard admitted it was ‘not advisable’ for the two officers to have agreed to be pictured with the child at the pro-Palestinian march yesterday, which was marred by shows of antisemitism.
The force was additionally branded a ‘shame’ after a video posted on X confirmed officers in riot gear standing and watching as punches had been thrown in an unpleasant brawl in Trafalgar Square. The Met mentioned it’s ‘making enquiries’ and it was ‘clear the response of officers was not what we might hope to see’.
It comes after Home Secretary Suella Braverman provoked a political storm final week by warning of a ‘notion that senior police officers play favourites in terms of protesters’.
Concerns about the obvious political biases of Met Police officers has been a recurrent theme at protests in recent times, most notoriously when a number of officers ‘took the knee’ at a Black Lives Matter march in 2020.
Since then, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has sought to stamp out woke gestures at public occasions, saying earlier this 12 months that there have been ‘only a few causes policing must be hooked up to’.
Yesterday there was a livid response to the image of the two officers posing with the child, given the sensitivities surrounding the march resulting from surging ranges of antisemitism in the capital.
The Met Police has admitted it ‘was not advisable’ for 2 officers to pose for a image with a child at a pro-Palestine march
The force issued a response on X, previously recognized as Twitter, after the image drew vast criticism on social media
An officer crouches down and speaks to a man throughout a sit-In protest at Victoria Station in demand of ceasefire in Gaza
Daniel Sugarman, director of public affairs at the Board of Deputies, mentioned: ‘I’m simply questioning what on Earth these officers had been considering.’
Heidi Bachram, who first highlighted the picture on social media, mentioned she was anxious about ‘police impartiality’, including: ‘This isn’t bettering relations or lowering tensions.’
A Met Police spokesman mentioned: ‘We all the time encourage our officers to be partaking and pleasant with the public.
‘However, in the context of a protest about such a contentious problem we acknowledge that it was not advisable for the officers to comply with pose for the {photograph}.
‘No motion might be taken in opposition to the officers who we’ve got no cause to suppose had been doing something aside from attempting to positively have interaction.’
In a extensively shared video on X, a night time-time brawl may be seen breaking out in the center of Trafalgar Square with a lit-up National Gallery in the background.
A quantity of officers wearing riot stand in a line and watch as punches are thrown while a girl’s voice may be repeatedly heard asking: ‘Can somebody inform me why the police are on stand down?’
As the mud settled on a protest which attracted tons of of 1000’s of supporters this weekend, a grim collection of antisemitic incidents had been coming to gentle.
Both the Met Police and the British Transport Police (BTP) revealed a collection of footage of people they wished to talk to relating to alleged hate incidents.
Among these being hunted is a girl who was filmed yelling ‘demise to all Jews’, two males pictured sporting Hamas headbands, a group of 4 who known as professional Palestine protesters ‘vacationer c***s’.
Tens of 1000’s of pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered throughout the ‘Day of Action’ protests in London on November 4
Transport Police officers are surrounded by a number of hundred activists at Embankment station following the protest at Waterloo station in October
Police conflict with far-proper counter-protesters in Parliament Square yesterday
Officers detained and arrested scores of counter-protesters at the rally, which the Met mentioned was attended by 300,000 individuals
This signal, seen at the rally, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being the ‘mastermind’ behind ‘all evils’
A placard displayed at the protest in contrast Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi chief Adolf Hitler
Protesters holds a banner telling individuals to ‘resist and combat Zionism’ as they march via central London on Saturday
An indication at the protest featured cartoons showing to depict depict Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman
Another particular person on the Met’s record of suspects is a man who was filmed saying: ‘Hitler knew the best way to deal with these individuals’
Also included is a girl who was seen marching with a placard that entwined the Nazi swastika with the Star of David, a number of males dressed as Hamas terrorists and a girl who was filmed yelling ‘demise to all the Jews’ at London Victoria station.
In one other chilling clip taken on the march itself, a pro-Palestinian protester overtly mentioned throughout an interview with a fringe media outlet: ‘Hitler knew the best way to deal with these individuals.’
The Met and the BTP had been mentioned to be investigating movies filmed in London Waterloo and Victoria stations ‘which present unacceptable abuse together with antisemitic language, as effectively as threatening behaviour’.
The BTP appealed for details about a group of males, together with one in an Arsenal soccer shirt, who had been filmed yelling abuse at some of the Palestine supporters in Waterloo.
The Arsenal fan is seemingly the first to hit out, calling the group of people ‘terrorist f***ers’.
Another man then steps ahead, agreeing: ‘Yeah who are you? You terrorist c***’.
The confrontation seems to escalate as one of the males shouts: ‘Who are you? Who are you f***ing hitting’. He is then held again by one other man as he leaps ahead.
Pro Palestine supporters then hit again, telling the group of males: ‘You are being disrespectful in direction of the lifeless’.
The proper-wing mob then declare in response: ‘Who are you? We had been born on this nation. You f***ing vacationer c***s’.
‘We had been born on this nation,’ one of the males may be heard yelling repeatedly, till one girl replied: ‘So had been we!’
Ms Braverman warned this afternoon the ‘valorisation of terrorism’ at weekly pro-Palestinian protests ‘cannot go on’ as she slammed ‘hate, violence, and anti-Semitism’ on Armistice Day.
Another group of 4 males had been filmed strolling via Waterloo station earlier than shouting vile expletives at protestors
Police are additionally ‘actively in search of’ two males pictured sporting alleged Hamas-style headbands
One demonstrator was pictured carrying a sing that confirmed the Jewish Star of David wrapped round a Nazi swastika with the slogan: ‘No British politician must be a ‘buddy of Israel”
The Home Secretary vowed ‘additional motion’ as she praised the police for tackling each Gaza activists – who’ve been demonstrating each Saturday – and the far proper throughout the chaos yesterday.
The feedback got here after Ms Braverman joined the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in the wake of the grim scenes.
Critics have blamed the Cabinet minister for inflaming the state of affairs by branding the pro-Palestinian protest a ‘hate march’ and accusing Scotland Yard of bias for letting it go forward.
However, supporters insist she was proved proper by the violence.
Mr Braverman wrote on the X social media website this afternoon: ‘Our courageous police officers deserve the thanks of each first rate citizen for his or her professionalism in the face of violence and aggression from protesters and counter protesters in London yesterday.
‘That a number of officers had been injured doing their obligation is an outrage…
‘The sick, inflammatory and, in some circumstances, clearly felony chants, placards and paraphernalia overtly on show at the march mark a new low. Anti-Semitism and different varieties of racism collectively with the valorising of terrorism on such a scale is deeply troubling.
‘This can’t go on. Week by week, the streets of London are being polluted by hate, violence, and anti-Semitism.
‘Members of the public are being mobbed and intimidated. Jewish individuals particularly really feel threatened. Further motion is critical.’
Police made 145 arrests throughout each the pro-Palestine demonstration and a far-proper counter protest on Saturday, with the ‘overwhelming majority’ linked to the counter protest organised led by English Defence League (EDL) founder Tommy Robinson.
Yesterday, the Met Police introduced that seven individuals had been charged in relation to alleged dysfunction at the counter protest, for offences together with felony harm, being drunk and disorderly, assault of an emergency employee and possession of an offensive weapon.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, who led Saturday’s policing operation, mentioned final night time: ‘Public order policing would not finish when demonstrators go house. We have groups of officers who proceed to construct circumstances in opposition to these in custody and launch investigations into those that come to our consideration when pictures and movies are shared on social media.
‘Since the finish of yesterday’s demonstration we have revealed appeals in relation to 6 incidents and I’ve little doubt there might be extra to comply with. Our colleagues at the British Transport Police have revealed a additional two appeals.
‘We urge anybody who has details about the id of suspects, or who has footage or pictures of additional potential offences, to get in contact so we will take the acceptable motion.’
As effectively as the violence of the far-proper group, police needed to detain a ‘breakaway group’ of round 150 masked pro-Palestinian protesters with their faces hid who had been firing fireworks at officers.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman attending the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall
The Home Secretary vowed ‘additional motion’ as she praised the police for tackling each Gaza activists and the far proper throughout the chaos yesterday
Michael Gove was hassled by pro-Palestine protesters as he tried to go away Victoria station
Earlier in the day a separate group of masked Palestinian supporters had been filmed attacking a man who stood subsequent to the march’s route with a signal studying: ‘Hamas is Isis.’
Michael Gove was additionally mobbed by pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Victoria station and needed to be rushed out of the concourse by police.
Footage of the confrontation confirmed activists yelling ‘disgrace on you’, while a later clip captured protesters pursuing him as he tried to stroll up the highway.
Mr Gove mentioned final night time: ‘I’m very grateful for therefore many type messages in the final 24 hours. I’d wish to thank the police for his or her exemplary work getting me house safely yesterday.’
Among these condemning the ugly scenes on Saturday was Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who mentioned on Saturday: ‘I condemn the violent, wholly unacceptable scenes we’ve got seen right now from the EDL and related teams and Hamas sympathisers attending the National March for Palestine.
‘The despicable actions of a minority of individuals undermine those that have chosen to precise their views peacefully.’
