The Met Police dismissed complaints about a pro-Palestine protester glorifying the October 7 terror attacks as “almost petty tit for tat”. Video footage shows a Metropolitan Police Liaison Officer telling a British-Israeli man to “calm yourself down”, after he reported pro-Palestine demonstrators “singing about October 7”.
The clip ends with the officer telling the man “let’s not try and put a spin on things”, after he told the officer that he accused the pro-Palestine activists of being Hamas supporters to which they allegedly replied “Allahu Akbar”. In another clip, a pro-Palestine supporter can be heard shouting: “I love October 7”. He can then be heard saying: “I love any organisation that starts with H”, an apparent endorsement of Hamas and Hezbollah.
Hamas is a proscribed terrorist group in the UK, and it is illegal to express support for them. The British-Israeli man lodged a formal complaint with the Met over the dismissal of his report.
However, the official response from the Met defended the officer’s actions, saying: “[The sergeant] said that these weekly protests at Swiss Cottage have become quite heated and there have been almost petty tit-for-tat allegations with absolutely no foundation from either side, in what seems to be an attempt to legitimise their own cause by attempting to get the police to do what they want, despite there being no evidence, or evidence to the contrary.”
The response went on: “This was almost bordering on making a false report and wasting police time, however, [the sergeant] said that he believes that the response he gave was proportionate and appropriate in the circumstances.”
According to The Telegraph, the pro-Palestine protester was subsequently arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred and inviting support for a proscribed organisation, but he was not charged.
At the same event, another Jewish man was charged with a public order offence after holding up a cartoon satirising the chief of Hezbollah.
A Met spokesman said: “The man who was filmed making the comments in Swiss Cottage on Sept 20 was arrested the following day.
“It would obviously have been preferable if he had been arrested at the time, but officers who were present say they did not hear the remarks.
“A complaint was submitted in relation to the actions of those officers. It has been considered by professional standards officers and no evidence of misconduct was found.”
The spokesman added: “Public order policing generally is challenging.
“Officers are not expected to be experts in the nuances of every issue at every protest they are deployed to. They could be policing a protest on the conflict between Israel and Hamas one day and a protest on tensions in Kashmir the next.
“They are expected to do their best in challenging circumstances, not taking sides and ensuring that groups with opposing views can both protest peacefully, often in close proximity to each other.
“They won’t get every decision right nor will they spot every offence as it happens. That would be an unrealistic expectation. There may be times when they need to prioritise the avoidance of disorder, over words being said by those involved.
“We are not solely reliant on officers’ immediate actions. We have a dedicated public order crime team who can take investigations forward, just as they did in this case, even if they come to light after events have concluded.”
The CPS is now “urgently reviewing” its decision not to charge the pro-Palestine activist following The Telegraph’s report.
