'If somebody is calling for jihad…': UK police warns as hate crimes rise

As London's Metropolitan Police geared up for more protests in the city amid Israel-Hamas war, antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes continued to rise dramatically, it said. The Metropolitan Police noted that it had recorded 408 antisemitic offences against Britain’s Jewish communities this month, compared to 28 in the same period last year. Islamophobic hate crimes were up from 65 offences in October 2022 to 174 so far this month while the police has made 75 arrests linked to the conflict and its counterterrorism officers are investigating 10 potential breaches of terrorism laws.

"We’ve been clear over the last week that wherever possible we will police up to the line of the law,” Met Police Commander Kyle Gordon said.

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“Our most experienced and knowledgeable officers are working on the policing of these events, making sure we are utilising all legislation to its fullest extent. I would encourage anyone who sees any crimes happening at the moment to report it to the nearest police officer,” he said, adding, “Any footage or images of potential crimes should be reported to us – we have specialist teams whose role is to scour thousands of pieces of content identifying crime.”

Thousands of officers will be on duty to “provide reassurance” to those who want to make their voices heard at the demonstrations and also to “proactively” deal with anyone who breaks the law, the force said. It would also be working to minimise disruption to other Londoners and businesses in the UK capital, it said.

On chants of “jihad” at previous protests which have been condemned as unacceptable by UK's government, the Met Police said, “If somebody is calling for jihad specifically against Israel the officers will intervene, gather the information. We'll be working with colleagues (from counterterrorism) in relation to what the best course of action is.”

The Met Police has placed strict restrictions on the route to be followed by demonstrators under Section 12 of the UK’s Public Order Act and a separate condition has been imposed under Section 14 of the Public Order Act.

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