Met Police strategy has ‘emboldened’ mob, says MP
A FORMER Cabinet minister accused the Metropolitan Police of “emboldening” the mob after a counter-protester carrying a sign saying “Hamas is terrorist” at a pro-palestine rally was arrested.
Niyak Ghorbani, 38, was pulled to the ground and handcuffed by officers after an incident close to the march through central London on Saturday.
He was arrested over an allegation of assault but was later de-arrested after officers reviewed footage of the incident. The Met now faces calls to take action against a protester who Mr Ghorbani, an Iranian who lives in Balham, says assaulted him.
Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister, launched an attack on the Met saying that officers were failing to tackle “the mob” and putting free speech at risk.
“This shameful incident is the logical endpoint of consistently prioritising ‘community relations’ over even-handedly
‘The police appear to be punishing those who point out what the law is. We are through the looking glass’
enforcing the law: the mob is emboldened and free speech is threatened,” he said. “Two-tier policing must end.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism said that the response was “outrageous” and disproportionate.
A spokesman said: “The Metropolitan Police’s response appears to have been not only outrageous and disproportionate but potentially actionable.
“For a phalanx of police officers to violently arrest a man who was attacked for observing that Hamas is a proscribed terrorist group while taking no action against his assailants is a breathtaking inversion of the law.
“Not only are the police failing to enforce the law but they appear to be punishing those who are daring to point out what the law is. We have travelled through the looking glass. We are in touch with the victim and our lawyers are examining options.”
During the protest some activists were heard chanting “Zionist scum, off our streets” and several placards showed support for the Houthi militias in Yemen targeting ships going through the Red Sea. One woman held up a placard that read: “One holocaust does not justify another” in defiance of criticism that such comparisons are anti-semitic, and another placard showed a bull depicting Gaza goring a person with a Star of David on their body saying: “Slaying of the beast.” In a video of the incident, Mr Ghorbani is heard shouting, “Shame on you” as officers held him down.
“The [protestors] attacked me from behind and hit me in the head,” he said. “They pushed me and told me Hamas is a protector of Palestine.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said yesterday that enquiries were ongoing. It said: “The man was arrested after an altercation was ongoing.
“Officers then fully reviewed footage provided of the incident, and he was later de-arrested.
“The arrest was not made in relation to the placard.”