Will the boss of the Met be forced out over ‘openly Jewish’ row?

London’s police force is at the centre of another controversy – will it have to lose its second commissioner in as many years, asks Kate Devlin

Met commissioner Mark Rowley has been criticised for his force’s handling of the recent pro-Palestine march (PA Archive)

Just a few months ago, the Metropolitan Police looked to be heading towards a period of relative stability. Its controversial former head, Cressida Dick, left in 2022, following a particularly rabid time for the force. And her successor Mark Rowley appeared to be steadying the ship. He was even lauded for taking a particularly hard line on ridding the Met of the “bad apples” he blamed for its woeful reputation. So why is he now embroiled in a row that has seen a high-profile former home secretary call for his head?

What happened?

The row erupted last week after it emerged that on 13 April, police officers had threatened the head of the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), Gideon Falter, with arrest as he walked near to a pro-Palestine protest, and that one police officer had described him as “openly Jewish”.

Another told Falter he would be arrested if he did not leave the area because he was “causing a breach of peace with all these other people”, and called his presence “antagonising”.

What has the response been?

Both the CAA and former home secretary Suella Braverman have called for Rowley to resign or be sacked. Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Braverman said people at the march who were “flagrantly antisemitic” were being “waved on by the police”. Falter has said that frontline Met officers are “not really to blame” as they are being “constantly put in this impossible position by their top brass”.

Other senior politicians have been extremely critical, without quite calling for Rowley’s head. Downing Street let it be known that Rishi Sunak was “appalled”, but stopped short of echoing calls for the commissioner to go. Meanwhile, the deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden warned that it was “hard to think of any other minority that would be treated as disrespectfully as Jews seem to be”.

Who would decide if he had to go?

Rowley could, of course, decide to resign if he feels that growing anger over the incident means he is unable to do his job or carry out the far-reaching reforms, including sacking scores of officers, that he has planned for the force. Above him, both the home secretary James Cleverly and Labour’s mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, have responsibility for holding the commissioner to account.

So, will the Met be looking for a new commissioner?

At this stage it seems unlikely. No 10 has made clear that the government is not calling for Rowley’s head. Instead, ministers seem to be trying to turn the focus onto the London mayor, who does have an oversight role with the Met, less than a fortnight before he is up for re-election.

That said, Rowley will face a series of crunch meetings next week, including with the policing minister. Already the force has stumbled as it tries to clean up its latest mess. It was forced to apologise twice for the incident with Falter, after its first attempt was seen as offensive.

Rowley still faces a difficult week ahead.