Lammy: police must act on ‘vile’ swastikas at marches

THE swastika is a symbol of “vile anti-semitism” and the police should bear down hard on those who use it during protests, David Lammy has insisted.

The shadow foreign secretary made the comments after a row erupted at the weekend when a Metropolitan Police officer was filmed telling a Jewish woman that a swastika in and of itself was not necessarily illegal and needed to be “taken in context”.

Mr Lammy dismissed the idea, saying “it’s a hate symbol and it’s got to be treated as such”.

He added it was “outrageous” that Jewish people felt unsafe on the streets of London amid the ongoing pro-palestinian marches.

Speaking on LBC Radio, Mr Lammy said: “All of us know that the swastika is a vile, terrible Nazi image that led to the attempted destruction of the Jewish people and certainly the loss of life of millions and millions of people.

“Not just Jewish people, actually – black people were killed, disabled people were killed, gay men and women were murdered by the Nazis.

“And the idea that a swastika is something where you need ‘context’, when clearly it is aimed at Jewish people particularly given what is happening in Israel-gaza, is horrendous. It’s an outrageous symbol and we’ve got to bear down hard on those that have used it.

“The officer should have known this isn’t about context. It’s about vile anti-semitism on the streets of London making people feel unsafe. It’s a hate symbol and it has to be treated as such.”

Meanwhile, the woman at the centre of the exchange with the officer has condemned Scotland Yard’s approach to the policing of the protests.

Jocelin Weiss, who was filmed arguing with a police officer during the latest pro-palestinian march, said British Jews should not have to accept feeling unsafe in their own country.

She said: “I don’t think that London is necessarily a more anti-semitic environment than anywhere else, it is just the lack of policing that makes it so much worse.”

‘It’s an outrageous symbol to use on a protest and we’ve got to bear down hard on those that use it’