Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has explained how after taking legal advice he was informed that the chant “From The River To The Sea” does not currently cross a line into becoming a hate crime offence.
Answering questions during his appearance at last Sunday’s Board of Deputies plenary, Rowley said he recognised that for most, if not all of the Jewish community, the chant repeatedly used at pro-Palestine demos was “massively offensive and threatening.”
But he added:”Legally the judgement is it not over the line..
Get The Jewish News Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories
Free Sign Up
“I know that’s not popular, I just need to say as the law is. We have looked at it at length, we have taken legal advice and we spoke to the Crown Prosecution Service. There’s no reassurance in that. That’s just fact.”
But as he responded to Deputies’ questions, Rowley also appeared to suggest, as he has done previously in a report with Dame Sara Khan, that hate crime laws as they currently operate do not always capture some of the challenges found in contemporary society.
“For example it is perfectly lawful to stir up race or religious hate in the UK, so long as you avoid doing it in a way, in a context where there aren’t people there threatened, who are likely to feel a threat to violence, then it’s lawful.”
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley addresses Deputies at plenary, with Board vice-president Andrew Gilbert listening (right)
Pointing to the way this could allow antisemitic conspiracy theories to spread online, with the perpetrator being punished, Rowley said:”That lands particularly heavily on Jewish communities, doesn’t it?
“Because all of the faux academic global conspiracy arguments about Jewish communities you see online, they are infecting the minds of people who get a lot of immediate consumption from non-traditional sources, and increasing antisemitism across the world.
“It’s pretty obvious the intent behind those, but generally they are illegal.”
Rowley noted how The Law Commission had produced a report which had identified similar gaps in hate crime legislation.
During a fascinating session he also noted how flags, sometimes displayed at pro-Palestine demos, often appeared to be supportive of proscribed organisations.
But miniscule differences in letters, or symbols meant those displaying them could argue differently.
In a positive development Rowley said over the past 15 months officers had made more arrests of individuals displaying banners or wearing T-shirts supportive of terror groups such as Hamas on protests than they ever did previously.
“We made lots of arrests at these protests, flags, banners and all sorts of other things showing support for terrorist organisations – ranging from the paraglider things we saw on T-shirts through to out and out and very explicit support,” he said.
“We’ve done more of that than we’ve ever done before and lots of people have been prosecuted.”
Rowley also warned against taking sections of Public Order law on their own to try to justify bans and more authoritarian action by officers, saw entire laws, as passed by parliament, are often “complicated” and also needed to be balanced against human rights legislation.
Rowley also noted how officers had made around 80 arrests at last Saturday’s demo, after an order to stage a static march in central London was breached by some.
Jewish News previously reported on how Rowley had used a speech to Deputies to criticise organisations like the Campaign Against Antisemitism and the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) for “ignoring the reality of the law” with their positions on the demos.Met chief criticises CAA and Muslim group over responses to policing of Gaza demo
He criticised the CAA’s call for the Met to ban the Palestine demos saying:“There is no power in law to ban these protests, is the first point. Secondly, we don’t authorise any protest. The law doesn’t give us that power.”
Responding, the CAA, whose chief executive Gideon Falter once called on Rowley, claimed the Commissioner had “endless excuses, constantly blaming the law or his budgets” for the continued demos in London.
