Met Police antisemitism row - live: Gideon Falter says police response ‘shambolic’ as Sunak backs Mark Rowley
Gideon Falter, the chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), denies these claims
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Gideon Falter has renewed his criticism of the Met Police, claiming he has not been offered a meeting with Sir Mark Rowley as the commissioner suggested.
Sir Rowley and London mayor Sadiq Khan met with members of London’s Jewish community, including the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the London Jewish Forum and the Community Safety Trust, earlier today.
In a statement, Mr Falter said: “Since the incident, the Met has issued and withdrawn a series of statements, some apologetic and some belligerent. There have also been suggestions in the media that the Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, has offered to meet with me. No such meeting has been offered”.
“The Met’s response to this incident has been shambolic,” he added.
This comes as prime minister Rishi Sunak expressed his confidence in under-fire commissioner Sir Mark.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference this morning, Mr Sunak said: “What happened was clearly wrong. And it’s right that they’ve apologised for that.
“I do have confidence in him, but that’s on the basis that he works to rebuild the confidence and trust of not just the Jewish community, but the wider public, particularly people in London but more broadly,” he added.
Gideon Falter: “The fault lies squarely with Sir Mark"
Gideon Falter has said Sir Mark Rowley must resign and if he doesn’t, he should be removed by mayor Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary James Cleverly.
In a statement, Mr Falter said: “Some individuals have also been wheeled out to suggest that I provoked the crowd, or that there is somehow more to the story than it appears from the footage. A former Chief Superintendent has even outrageously suggested that I assaulted a police officer and should have been arrested. This has now gone far beyond victim blaming.
“These tactics are desperate, but they reveal the Met’s priorities. Therefore, at this point, it is not clear what any meetings with the Commissioner, who has the distinction of presiding over the worst surge in antisemitic hate crime on record, will achieve. It is time to hold him to account. The fault for this policing policy, which we have seen play out for half a year now on our streets, does not lie with frontline officers, including those with whom I interacted who have been put in an impossible position by the leadership. The fault lies squarely with Sir Mark. It is time for him to go, and if he does not resign, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and the Home Secretary, James Cleverly, should remove him from his post.”
Gideon Falter: ‘The Met’s response to this incident has been shambolic'
Gideon Falter has renewed his criticism of the Met Police, claiming he has not been offered a meeting with Sir Mark Rowley as the commissioner has said.
Earlier today it was announced Sir Rowley and London mayor Sadiq Khan will meet members of London’s Jewish community, including the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the London Jewish Forum and the Community Safety Trust.
In a statement, Mr Falter said: “It is by now clear to everyone that the Met’s policing policy at these weekly anti-Israel marches represents the inverse of how policing should work. Police should be protecting those believed to be under threat, not threatening them with arrest to appease suspected violent racists.
“Since the incident, the Met has issued and withdrawn a series of statements, some apologetic and some belligerent. There have also been suggestions in the media that the Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, has offered to meet with me. No such meeting has been offered, and any suggestion otherwise, if they came from the police, could have been a ploy by the Met, which is scrambling to save the Commissioner’s job.
“The Met’s response to this incident has been shambolic. Instead of meetings to try to contain the damage, it is extremely telling that the Met does not appear to have even started investigating the potential crimes that were committed by some of the protesters who surrounded me and which were caught on camera. The Met has certainly not been in touch with me about those.”
Former Met Police chief superintendent says he would have arrested Gideon Falter
Former Met Chief Superintendent Dal Babu said if he had been policing the march he would have considered arresting the campaigner for “assault on a police officer and a breach of the peace”.
Mr Falter said in response: “I think it’s a pretty outrageous thing to say, I think it’s a pretty outrageous thing to be giving any credence to.”
“I was Jewish. I was crossing the street,” he told Sky News.
Mr Falter added: “I did not assault a police officer. How on Earth can anybody say that? I’m quite clearly in the video trying to continue to walk where I was going.”
The former commissioner said the video shows Mr Falter pushing policing officers “out of the way” which amounts to “common assault”.
He also defended the police, adding: “I think the police dealt with it and tried to be as sensitive as possible.
“I think the police officer was offering to take Mr Falter and his group to a place where they could cross more appropriately. Mr Falter was refusing to move and wanted to cross at that particular place against the march.”
Former Met Police chief superintendent says Mr Falter tried to ‘push’ past officers
After watching a 13 minute-long video clip of the incident, former Met Police chief superintendent Dal Babu said the video was “very illuminating” and showed Mr Falter attempting to push past officers.
“You saw Mr. Falter put trying to push past, push police officers out of the way and that is a common assault. I think you are getting a more accurate picture of what was happening,” he told Sky News.
He said the police telling Mr Falter he was ‘openly Jewish’ was unacceptable.
“That phrase was unacceptable and police have apologised to Mr Falter quite rightly,” he added.
Watch: Sunak pledges support to Mark Rowley after 'openly jewish' Met Police comment
Pro-Palestine march organiser accuses Gideon Falter of trying to ‘provoke’ an incident
The director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has accused the Campaign Against Antisemitism of trying to “provoke” an incident to get the protests banned.
In a head to head with Gideon Falter on Sky News, PSC director Ben Jamal claimed Mr Falter had attended the march with a film crew to “provoke a confrontation”.
He told Sky’s Kay Burley: “The nature of the incident was not as Mr Falter has tried to portray it.
“The reality was he came to the march with an entourage of four to five people and film crew, sought to break through the stewards, physically pushes himself past the police in order to walk in front of the march to provoke and to try to stop it.”
He said the officer’s remarks to Mr Falter were “quite disgraceful”, but insisted the CAA is determined to get the pro-Palestine marches banned.
“Since the marches started they have tried to stop them, they have even called to bring the army on to the streets to stop the marches happening,” he added.
“Now they are using the tactic of coming to the marches trying to provoke an incident so that they can say there are scenes of disorder and therefore the marches should not go ahead.
“These are disgraceful antics. They should be shunned by anybody who believes in the right to protests and democratic freedoms.”
Responding, Mr Falter said: “I find that absolutely astonishing. I was not going to try to provoke something. What exactly does he think I’m trying to provoke by being openly Jewish?
“I was not there to counter protest. I was not there with film crews. I was simply Jewish in the vicinity of these marches.”
Suella Braverman admits she has not seen the whole video of the altercation between officers as Mr Falter
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has faced backlash for calling for the resignation of the Met Police chief without having watched the full video of the incident involving Mr Falter.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today Programme this morning, Ms Braverman was asked: “You’ve called for the Met police chief to go. Can I ask, have you seen the whole video involving Gideon Falter?”
Ms Braverman replied: “I’ve seen clips of the video that have been published, but this is more about the last six months.”
When Ms Husain proposed that Ms Braverman’s comments were based on “incomplete information,” the politician responded: “The police have chosen a side.”
“I suggest you watch the whole video,” the presenter added.
Rishi Sunak says he has confidence in the Met Commissioner
Rishi Sunak has expressed his confidence in under-fire Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley after an officer referred to an antisemitism campaigner as “openly Jewish” and threatened him with arrest.
Mr Sunak refused over the weekend to back Sir Mark, who former home secretary Suella Braverman has said should quit.
But on Monday the PM told a Downing Street press conference: “I share the shock and the anger that many are feeling when they saw the clips over the weekend.
“And you know what I would say about Mark Rowley and the police, they do have a difficult job, of course I appreciate that.
“But what happened was clearly wrong. And it’s right that they’ve apologised for that.
“And yes, I do have confidence in him, but that’s on the basis that he works to rebuild the confidence and trust of not just the Jewish community, but the wider public, particularly people in London but more broadly.
“And you regain that trust and that confidence by making it clear that the police are not tolerating behaviour that we would all collectively deem unacceptable when we see it because it undermines our values. And I think that is critical. And I know the Home Secretary will be meeting the commissioner later today.”
The exchange between Gideon Falter and police officers at the pro-Palestine march
A 13-minute video of the exchanges between Mr Falter and police officers was published by Sky News.
The footage of the exchange shows Mr Falter telling police he wants to cross a road to reach Kingsway in central London as crowds of pro-Palestine protesters pass.
He tells one officer: “The Metropolitan Police says that these marches are completely safe for Jews, there is no problem whatsoever.
“You are telling me that I cannot walk to the other pavement. That I have to be escorted by you.”
The officer said: “I am telling you that I will help you by escorting you over there and that way you will be completely safe just as we promised, so we are keeping our word.”
Sadiq Khan: Met’s handling of the incident is “concerning”
A spokesman for Mr Khan said the Met’s handling of the incident was “concerning” and its initial statement had been “insensitive and wrong”.
The spokesman added: “The Met have an extremely difficult job – particularly so when it comes to operational decisions taken while policing marches.
“But in the end the Met must have the confidence of the communities they serve and it is right that they have apologised for the way the incident was handled and their original public response.”
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