‘Arrest more thugs at Palestine marches’
Conservative candidate for London mayor complains protesters get away with ‘unacceptable behaviour’
THE Metropolitan Police must make more arrests at pro-Palestinian protests because “thugs” are getting away with “utterly unacceptable” behaviour, the Conservative candidate for London mayor has said.
Susan Hall said she was “concerned” that officers are failing to “enforce the law” because they do not feel “emboldened enough to go and do their job properly”.
Laying blame for the issue at the feet of Sadiq Khan, she claimed that the mayor of London “sets the tone” for policing but was “soft on crime”.
She said that if elected, the Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley would be left in “absolutely no doubt as to where I stood”.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have become a regular fixture in London since the Oct 7 attack by Hamas and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza.
There has been significant criticism of the Met’s handling of the events. Placards bearing anti-Semitic slogans and imagery are often spotted on the marches, while protesters have also used controversial chants such as “from the river to the sea”, which some people interpret as a call for the destruction of Israel as a state.
In recent weeks, Rishi Sunak has urged officers to “use the powers” they have to maintain public confidence and “not merely manage these protests, but police them”.
However, Ms Hall has gone further than the Prime Minister by explicitly calling for more arrests. Asked whether the Met should be more willing to apprehend protesters who cross the line, she said: “100 per cent.”
She said: “I’m far more stick than carrot, and we have got to be robust, because members of the Jewish community just don’t feel safe coming into London. Freedom of speech is obviously something I will always support,” she said. “But when protests become intimidation, the police have got to step in.”
Ms Hall added: “If we step back, officers aren’t feeling emboldened enough to do their job properly. And we must absolutely support them to do that because if not it’s a very slippery slope.”
Asked why the police felt this way, she pointed the finger at Mr Khan. “I don’t think he’s hearing loud and clear just how frightened the Jewish community are,” she said. “I don’t think he understands just how much the general public want things policed properly… I think he’s soft on crime.”
Ms Hall claimed rank-and-file officers had been “let down” by the mayor, who “sets the tone”.
“My tone would be completely different,” she said. “My tone is go out there, boys and girls, do your job properly, enforce the law. [Khan] needs to sort this out. We’ve never had a situation on our streets that has gone on and on and on like this in the manner it has.”
Ms Hall’s claim that officers are not currently using all their powers conflicts with comments from Sir Mark. Earlier this month, he said: “To suggest that we are not where the law permits, as the law allows policing robustly, is inaccurate.”
Ms Hall refrained from directly criticising Sir Mark, but said: “Sir Mark, were I to be the mayor, would be left in absolutely no doubt as to where I stood and the support he would get to police properly to stop crimes happening, and intimidation is a crime.”
A spokesman for Mr Khan said: “Sadiq is spending record amounts on the Met, including an additional £151 million in this year’s budget for policing and crime prevention. Sadiq has now doubled the amount of funding he’s given to the police since becoming mayor. He has also funded the recruitment of 1.300 new police officers. By contrast his Tory opponent, Susan Hall, has strongly backed the Conservative government’s cuts of more than £1 billion to the Met and youth services since 2010.”
He added: “The mayor has no operational control over the police and any marches can only be banned by the Home Secretary – something the Tory candidate either knows full well, or should do.”
‘We have got to be robust because members of the Jewish community don’t feel safe in London’