Met Police antisemitism row - live: Mark Rowley
faces calls to quit after officer’s Gideon Falter comment
The Met Police commissioner will meet members of
London’s Jewish community with mayor Sadiq Khan on Monday to discuss ’community
relations’
Jabed Ahmed
Amy-Clare
Martin
‘I was being treated like a criminal for being
Jewish’
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The
Metropolitan Police commissioner faces a difficult week ahead as he attempts to
rebuild relations between the force and London’s Jewish community.
Sir Mark
Rowley has faced calls to quit after an antisemitism campaigner was threatened
with arrest at a pro-Palestine protest, where officers described him as “openly
Jewish” and said his presence was “antagonising” demonstrators.
An officer
told Gideon Falter, the chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism
(CAA), he would be arrested if he did not leave the vicinity of a Gaza protest
in central London.
The force
issued a statement apologising for the incident, but was forced to apologise
for its apology after suggesting opponents of pro-Palestinian marches “must
know that their presence is provocative”.
Mr Falter
and former home secretary Suella Braverman called for Sir Mark to be sacked,
accusing him of emboldening antisemites by failing to curtail the regular
demonstrations through the capital.
The
commissioner will meet members of London’s Jewish community with mayor Sadiq
Khan today to discuss “community relations”, and is expected to speak to
representatives of organisations including the Board of Deputies of British
Jews, the London Jewish Forum and the Community Safety Trust.
KEY POINTS
Sir Mark Rowley will meet members of London’s Jewish
community with mayor Sadiq Khan today to discuss ‘community relations'
Gideon Falter: ‘I being treated like a criminal for
being Jewish'
More than 7,000 people sign petition calling for Sir
Mark to be sacked
13 minutes ago
Watch: Sunak pledges support to Mark Rowley after
'openly jewish' Met Police comment
Sunak pledges support to Mark Rowley after
'openly jewish' Met Police comment
Jabed
Ahmed22 April 2024 11:35
26 minutes
ago
Pro-Palestine
march organiser accuses Gideon Falter of trying to ‘provoke’ an incident
The
director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has accused the Campaign Against
Antisemitism of trying to “provoke” an incident to get the protests banned.
In a head
to head with Gideon Falter on Sky News,
PSC director Ben Jamal claimed Mr Falter had attended the march with a film
crew to “provoke a confrontation”.
He told
Sky’s Kay Burley: “The nature of the incident was not as Mr Falter has tried to
portray it.
“The
reality was he came to the march with an entourage of four to five people and
film crew, sought to break through the stewards, physically pushes himself past
the police in order to walk in front of the march to provoke and to try to stop
it.”
He said the
officer’s remarks to Mr Falter were “quite disgraceful”, but insisted the CAA
is determined to get the pro-Palestine marches banned.
“Since the
marches started they have tried to stop them, they have even called to bring
the army on to the streets to stop the marches happening,” he added.
“Now they
are using the tactic of coming to the marches trying to provoke an incident so
that they can say there are scenes of disorder and therefore the marches should
not go ahead.
“These are
disgraceful antics. They should be shunned by anybody who believes in the right
to protests and democratic freedoms.”
Responding,
Mr Falter said: “I find that absolutely astonishing. I was not going to try to
provoke something. What exactly does he think I’m trying to provoke by being
openly Jewish?
“I was not there to counter protest. I was not
there with film crews. I was simply Jewish in the vicinity of these marches.”
Jabed
Ahmed22 April 2024 11:22
28 minutes
ago
Suella
Braverman admits she has not seen the whole video of the altercation between
officers as Mr Falter
Former Home
Secretary Suella Braverman has faced backlash for calling for the resignation
of the Met Police chief without having watched the full video of the incident
involving Mr Falter.
Speaking on
Radio 4’s Today Programme this morning, Ms Braverman was asked: “You’ve called
for the Met police chief to go. Can I ask, have you seen the whole video
involving Gideon Falter?”
Ms
Braverman replied: “I’ve seen clips of the video that have been published, but
this is more about the last six months.”
When Ms
Husain proposed that Ms Braverman’s comments were based on “incomplete
information,” the politician responded: “The police have chosen a side.”
“I suggest
you watch the whole video,” the presenter added.
Suella Braverman and BBC presenter clash over
'openly Jewish' video
Jabed
Ahmed22 April 2024 11:20
51 minutes
ago
Rishi Sunak
says he has confidence in the Met Commissioner
Rishi Sunak
has expressed his confidence in under-fire Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir
Mark Rowley after an officer referred to an antisemitism campaigner as “openly
Jewish” and threatened him with arrest.
Mr Sunak
refused over the weekend to back Sir Mark, who former home secretary Suella
Braverman has said should quit.
But on
Monday the PM told a Downing Street press conference: “I share the shock and
the anger that many are feeling when they saw the clips over the weekend.
“And you
know what I would say about Mark Rowley and the police, they do have a
difficult job, of course I appreciate that.
“But what
happened was clearly wrong. And it’s right that they’ve apologised for that.
“And yes, I
do have confidence in him, but that’s on the basis that he works to rebuild the
confidence and trust of not just the Jewish community, but the wider public,
particularly people in London but more broadly.
“And you
regain that trust and that confidence by making it clear that the police are
not tolerating behaviour that we would all collectively deem unacceptable when
we see it because it undermines our values. And I think that is critical. And I
know the Home Secretary will be meeting the commissioner later today.”
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