‘Make arrests not excuses’ over hate crimes, Met Police told at Scotland Yard protest after ‘jihad’ incident

Hundreds of campaigners protested outside Scotland Yard last night, calling for greater enforcement against hate crimes in London amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel.

Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has been in dispute with ministers over how to police protesters shouting “jihad” after the word was used at a side event to a large pro-Palestine protest on Saturday.

Campaigners held banners reading “Enforce the Law” and “Make arrests, not excuses” outside the Met Police headquarters on Wednesday evening (October 25). They say there have been too few arrests and lax policing, as well as excuses for why certain chants and signs and phrases are not hate crimes.

According to Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), there has been a 1,350% surge in antisemitic hate crimes since Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.

Gideon Falter, chief executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said the Met Police needs to do more to ensure the Jewish community feel safe in London.

“As Jews and as Londoners I’m extremely concerned about the things we’ve seen over the last two weeks,” Mr Falter told LondonWorld.

“But Saturday was really something appalling. It was an embarrassment to the Met Police but for Jews it was appalling to see people with this kind of opinion being able to walk freely through London.”

He continued: “We’re asking the Met Police as friends, as people who are deeply appreciative of the police to please make arrests not excuses.

“Having people on the streets calling for jihad makes us feel very unsafe, people who are walking down the streets with antisemitic placards, people who are openly supporting terrorist organisations it makes us feel incredibly unsafe.

“All we need to see is when people like that raise their heads that the police take action and protect not just Jews but people of the whole country, as people who espouse terrorism are enemies of the whole country, not just Jews.”

Several speakers addressed the crowds outside Scotland Yard including ex-Labour MP,Lord Ian Austin and author Hen Mazzig who said he does “not feel as safe” as he did before the recent conflict started.

The Met Police later said that two people, a man and a woman who were in separate cars, were arrested for racially aggravated public order offences after racist abuse was allegedly directed at a group protesting outside New Scotland Yard. They are both in custody.

Over the weekend a video of a Hizb ut-Tahrir protest surfaced on social media, where a member of the crowd could be heard chanting words including "Jihad, Jihad" waving a black flag.

The Met Police initially responded saying no offence had been identified from the clip. He was later taken into custody and arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred.

Sir Mark Rowley has said that the laws around hate crimes may need to be redrawn.

After meeting home secretary Suella Braverman this week, Sir Mark said police were "ruthless in tackling anybody who puts their foot over the legal line".

But he added: "Our job is to enforce that line, it’s Parliament’s job to draw that line. And the thought that maybe events at the moment … maybe some of the lines aren’t quite in the right place.”

Downing Street said there are "no plans" to give police more powers to deal with chants deemed to be extremist.