Police stood by as ‘From the river to the sea’ was projected on to Parliament, says MP
Jewish Tory MP raises concerns after offensive slogan broadcast onto Elizabeth Tower
POLICE stood by as the slogan “From the river to the sea” was projected onto Parliament on Wednesday night, a senior Jewish MP has said.
Andrew Percy, a Tory backbencher, raised concerns after pro-palestinian protesters beamed the slogan onto the Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben.
Last night, the Campaign Against Anti-semitism said the projection of “genocidal language” on to Parliament was “a wake-up call for Britain”.
The Metropolitan Police later said it could not intervene because broadcasting a slogan on to Parliament was not a criminal offence unless the message broke the law, which officers did not believe was the case.
Mr Percy told The Telegraph: “It’s a weak and pathetic response, which we’ve come to expect from the Met - a force that has at times appeared to act more like a PR arm for the protesters than a law enforcement agency.
“There’s no doubt that chant is genocidal. It denies Jews self-determination in their homeland [and] calls for the destruction of the state of Israel.
“It should be pursued because it is already a crime to incite racial or religious hatred, and I am sorry that the police are again choosing not to act on a racist genocidal chant.”
The rally was organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which has been behind recent marches in London.
The Campaign Against Anti-semitism said the pro-palestinian marches had “made our capital a no-go zone for Jews and repel law-abiding Londoners”.
Tory MPS accused Scotland Yard of choosing not to use powers it has under the law to pursue those who promote religious or racial hatred.
One former Cabinet minister warned that the Met was “increasingly losing the trust of the public they are there to serve and protect”, saying: “We are witnessing a subversion of our democracy through the projection of offensive slogans upon our Parliament and the way in which democratically elected members are now being threatened and subject to constant abuse.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “This is a chant that has been frequently heard at pro-palestinian demonstrations for many years, and we are very aware of the strength of feeling in relation to it.
“While there are scenarios where chanting or using these words could be unlawful depending on the specific location or context, its use in a wider public protest setting, such as last night, is not a criminal offence.” It came after Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, prompted angry scenes on Wednesday night by selecting a Labour amendment on Gaza.
He said he had made the decision after being warned of threats to the safety of Labour MPS if they were not allowed to vote on their party’s proposal.
Thousands of pro-palestinian activists had gathered in Parliament Square, chanting slogans that could be clearly heard in Parliament.
Earlier yesterday, Mr Percy had spoken during a Commons debate that saw many MPS express fears over their safety and warn threats from “Islamist extremists” were stifling democracy.
“From the river to the sea” is regarded by many to be an anti-semitic slogan as it implies the eradication of the state of Israel.
He told the Commons of a rising tide of anti-semitism, saying: “For months I’ve been standing up here talking about the people on our streets demanding ‘death to Jews’, demanding Jihad, demanding intifadas as the police stand by and allow that to happen.
“Last night, a genocidal call of ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ was projected onto this building. That message says no Jew is welcome in the state of Israel or in that land. This is going to continue happening because we’re not dealing with it.”
Penny Mordaunt, the Commons Leader, told Mr Percy that the authorities were looking into who projected the message and that prosecutions would be brought. Mr Percy was not the only Tory MP to criticise the Metropolitan Police’s handling of months of pro-palestinian protests in London, with Matthew Offord, the MP for Hendon, north London, saying: “Many of my constituents have faced a level of anti-semitism that we’ve never seen before.
“My constituents remind me not only of the calls for jihad on the streets of London and the Met refusing to do anything about it. They also remind me about men driving through north London threatening to rape Jewish women and the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] then declining to prosecute them.”
Theresa Villiers, the MP for Chipping Barnet, warned there was “a climate of hardline support which has seen anti-semitism on the streets of our capital and my constituents from the Jewish community feeling intimidated about coming into the centre of London”.
Robert Jenrick, a former immigration minister, added: “We have allowed our streets to be dominated by Islamist extremists, and British Jews and others to be too intimidated to walk through central London week after week.
“Now we’re allowing Islamist extremists to intimidate British Members of Parliament. This is wrong. It has to stop.”
Ms Mordaunt said “British Jews are suffering a grotesque level of hatred and abuse which quite frankly shames our country”.
She added: “There cannot be any tolerance or quarter given to those individuals that threaten and try to prevent MPS conducting their business and honouring the obligations they have to their constituents to use their judgment when they come into this place.”
The debate was triggered after chaotic scenes in the Commons on Wednesday night, which were sparked by the SNP’S attempt to force a vote on a Gaza ceasefire.
‘The Metropolitan Police act more like a PR firm for protesters than a law enforcement agency’