Nearly 200 hate crime arrests in London since Hamas terror attack on Israel, says Met Police
The Met Police has made more than 188 hate crime and violence arrests since the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel.
The force said in an update that 98 of the arrests were for suspected anti-Semitic offences, 21 for alleged Islamophobic offences and a further 12 were for “faith hate crimes”.
In addition, it said some 57 arrests were made for public order offences linked to Israel-Gaza protests in the capital.
Of those, 46 people have been charged, with 19 involving allegations of anti-Semitism.
The majority of the protest arrests took place in Westminster, while the majority of the alleged anti-Semitic offences took place in Hackney, which has a large Jewish community.
Met Commander Paul Trevers said: “This is a challenging time for communities in London.
“We continue to see a very concerning rise in both anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate crime. This is absolutely unacceptable.
“No-one should be subjected to hate because of their faith or race, and we are taking action against those who are offending.
“In some cases, our officers have taken accounts of extremely shocking and hateful abuse as well as acts of violence.
"We are working with the Crown Prosecution Service to build strong cases against those who offend.
“We continue to work extremely closely with our faith communities and we know the impact on them is not diminishing."
Scotland Yard said its officers were undertaking extra patrols at places of worship, schools and other premises amid the rise in hate crime.
It comes as the force’s top officer, Sir Mark Rowley, was summoned to No10 Downing Street over concern about a pro-Palestine protest due to take place on Armistice Day.
Rishi Sunak said the planned protest on Armistice Day is “not just disrespectful but offends our heartfelt gratitude to the memory of those who gave so much so that we may live in freedom and peace today".
But he acknowledged that “part of that freedom is the right to peacefully protest".
The organisers of Saturday’s march say the route does not go near the Cenotaph in Whitehall, where Remembrance events are being held, and that they have no intention of causing disruption.
The Met has declined to ask Home Secretary Suella Braverman for the extraordinary power to ban the protest on public order grounds, saying the necessary legal threshold had not been met.