Mick Hartley

Well, Braverman's gone now. It was, I suppose, inevitable. Still, this, from "an anonymous Met police officer", is worth noting:

Suella Braverman was right to accuse police chiefs of 'double standards' in how they tackle different protests. And I should know – because for the past decade I have served as an officer on the Met's frontline.

What I have witnessed in recent weeks, as tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters have repeatedly marched through London, has left me in despair about the future of a force to which I have dedicated my professional life.

We have seen appalling anti-Semitism, with mobs calling for jihad against Israel. My colleagues have been ordered to police these intimidating displays of disorder with the lightest of touches.

It was the same with Black Lives Matter protests and, for a long time, the hugely disruptive stunts by groups such as Just Stop Oil.

In contrast, anti-lockdown demonstrations during the pandemic were robustly dealt with by officers in full riot gear.

It is obvious to me – and to many of my fellow officers – that there is a clear bias.

This 'playing favourites' is a symptom of years of wokery and political correctness that have completely transformed the culture of the Met – and which mean the force cannot cope any longer with disputes that involve inter-ethnic conflict. Put simply, senior officers are terrified of being accused of racism if they fully enforce the law against pro-Palestinian protesters.

When there is a group of extremists within a large crowd chanting something that is clearly a hate crime – such as calling for Jews to be killed – you might expect police to force their way through and make arrests.

But in the minds of senior officers, this could spiral into a major physical confrontation, which is not an image they are comfortable with. Indeed, the idea that it is the police's job to physically confront criminals is completely lost on many of those who lead the Met.

So instead, officers are encouraged to film the protesters and try to make arrests later. The problem with this kid gloves approach – along with the obvious point that sometimes the offenders are not found – is that it causes huge damage to public confidence. Many ordinary people will conclude the police are just not on their side….

Certainly they dealt with the Tommy Robinson idiots briskly and efficiently – and quite right too. People chanting antisemitic slogans and openly supporting a terrorist organisation that glorifies killing Jews, not so much. 

It's the same worry about accusations of racism that we saw in the response to those child-grooming scandals in northern towns like Rotherham. Sadly, it's not just the police…