Met Police chiefs summoned by ministers for allowing ‘jihad’ chant at Palestine rally

Police will be summoned to explain their actions after allowing a “jihad” chant at a London rally on Saturday, the immigration minister has said.

Robert Jenrick reprimanded the Metropolitan Police response to the “completely reprehensible” behaviour, saying the chant was “inciting terrorist violence” and should be tackled with “the full force of the law”.

He claimed many would have been “surprised” by the Met’s analysis that jihad had “a number of meanings” and conclusion that no offence had taken place.

It comes as police said anti-Semitic offences in London have increased by over 1,000 per cent this month compared to last year.

At an event on Saturday organised by Hizb ut-Tahrir, members of the extremist Islamist group erected a banner with the slogan “Muslim Armies! Rescue the people of Palestine”.

In one video clip, a speaker is seen asking the crowd: “What is the solution to liberate people in the concentration camp called Palestine?” In response, several men can be heard chanting: “Jihad, jihad, jihad”.

Commenting on Twitter, the Met said: “The word jihad has a number of meanings, but we know the public will most commonly associate it with terrorism. We have specialist counter-terrorism officers here who have particular knowledge in this area.

“They have assessed this video, filmed at the Hizb ut-Tahrir protest in central London today, and have not identified any offences arising from the specific clip.

“However, recognising the way language like this will be interpreted by the public and the divisive impact it will have, officers have identified the man involved and will be speaking to him to discourage any repeat of similar chanting.”

Mr Jenrick took a much harder line on Sunday, calling for a “consensus” to condemn the behaviour and urging the police to do “everything they can” to protect British Jews.

Speaking to Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, he said: “Chanting ‘jihad’ on the streets of London is completely reprehensible, and I never want to see scenes like that. It is inciting terrorist violence and it needs to be tackled with the full force of the law.”

He said it was ultimately up to police and prosecutors whether to press charges, but argued there was a “broader question” in play about “British values”.

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