Braverman demands action from Met Police over lack of action after protesters cheered 'jihad'
Braverman is expected to raise the incident at a scheduled meeting today with the Met Commissioner
PA
Suella Braverman is set to challenge the Met Police’s chief Sir Mark Rowley over the force’s response to protesters who chanted “jihad” at a pro-Palestine protest.
Hundreds of people attended the rally in London outside the Egyptian and Turkish embassies over the weekend.
Some protesters were recorded shouting “jihad, jihad” when asked by a speaker what should be done to “liberate people in the concentration camp called Palestine”.
However, the Met Police posted on social media to say specialist counter-terrorism officers has assessed the footage and found no offences.
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The force said that the word “jihad” had numerous meanings.
Yet the Met said that they would be visiting the speaker to “discourage any repeat of similar chanting”.
The Home Secretary is expected to raise the incident at a scheduled meeting today with the Met Commissioner, to discuss the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has killed thousands of people.
Braverman will tell Sir Mark Rowley later “there can be no place for incitement to hatred or violence" on UK streets and police should "crack down on anyone breaking the law”.
“The Home Secretary is already due to meet the Metropolitan Police commissioner tomorrow [Monday] to discuss the ongoing Israel-Gaza protests and will be asking for an explanation over the response to incidents which took place on Saturday,” a source close to Braverman said.
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Hundreds of people attended the rally in London outside the Egyptian and Turkish embassies over the weekend
PA
Defending their decisions, a spokesperson for Met Police said: “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 in the operations room who have particular knowledge in this area.
“They have assessed this video, filmed at the Hizb ut-Tahrir protest in central London 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.”
The literal meaning of Jihad is struggle or effort but is commonly referred to when describing a bloody, holy war.
Braverman will tell Sir Mark Rowley later 'there can be no place for incitement to hatred or violence' on UK streets
PAImmigration Minister Robert Jenrick appeared to disagree with the Metropolitan Police’s statement.
He said: “Chanting Jihad on the streets of London is completely unacceptable ... it needs to be tackled with the full strength of the law.”
Commentators also voiced their frustrations with the Metropolitan Police’s response to the video.
Stephen Pollard, editor-at-large for the Jewish Chronicle, said: “Look at the video this is responding to.
“As I keep saying, the Metropolitan Police aren't part of the solution.
“They are part of the problem. As we know in other contexts, something has gone very wrong with the Met.”
Meanwhile, The Sunday Times' deputy political editor Harry Yorke added: “This is a joke.”You may like
