Rishi Sunak has voiced support for Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley after criticism over the treatment of a Jewish man at a pro-Palestinian march. However, the UK Prime Minister stated that Sir Mark must work to rebuild the trust of the Jewish community, adding that what occurred was “clearly wrong”. Sir Mark had faced calls to resign after antisemitism campaigner Gideon Falter was called “openly Jewish” by police and threatened with arrest. New footage released by Sky News shows Falter telling police officers that he wanted to get to an area on the other side of where pro-Palestinian protesters were marching in London on April 13.
After police officers refused to let him pass, a verbal altercation ensued. An officer claimed Falter was being “disingenuous” and was deliberately walking “right into the middle” of the march. Falter, the head of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, later told the BBC he felt he “was being treated like a criminal for being Jewish”. The Met has apologised and offered to personally meet with Mr Falter.
Home Secretary James Cleverly and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan will meet Met Police commissioner Sir Mark for separate talks on Monday. Although several politicians criticised the force’s handling of the incident, they stopped short of calling for Sir Mark’s resignation. Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper said the incident “clearly wasn’t handled properly” but added that Sir Mark was “leading important reforms” to the Met “and it’s really important that we work with the police”.
Politicians have faced criticisms for their handling of anti-Semitism in recent years. In 2019, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was accused of enabling anti-Semitism, a claim he denied. Efforts to tackle anti-Semitism among Labour came under scrutiny during Sir Keir Starmer’s recent interview with Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain. During the interview, Starmer faced questions over what he had done to address anti-Semitism within the party
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