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'Shambles': London's Met Police chief accused of bias after addressing pro-Israel group

Organisers of Saturday's pro-Palestine march say Mark Rowley did not engage with pro-Palestine and Muslim groups but focused instead on pro-Israel organisations
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley listens during a meeting with Territorial Support Group public order officers at Lambeth Police Headquarters in London on August 9, 2024 (AFP)
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley listens during a meeting with Territorial Support Group public order officers at Lambeth Police Headquarters in London on 9 August 2024 (AFP)

London's Metropolitan Police chief, Mark Rowley, has come under fire after he told a pro-Israel group on Sunday that his force imposed unprecedented restrictions on a major pro-Palestine rally in London on Saturday that led to 77 arrests.

According to estimates by the organisers, the rally drew over 100,000 people. No previous pro-Palestine rally since 7 October 2023 has seen organisers arrested.

The Met has been widely criticised for initially approving the organising coalition's proposed pro-Gaza march from the BBC headquarters to Whitehall but then reversing course after political pressure.

Pro-Israel groups, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, MPs and peers had reportedly urged Rowley to reroute the protest.

Police said in early January that the route was too close to two synagogues, although this reasoning was criticised by nearly a thousand British Jews, including prominent figures, in an open letter last week.

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After the protest, the Met was criticised for accusing demonstrators of breaking through a police cordon in Trafalgar Square on Saturday, a claim which organisers and protesters, including prominent politicians, strongly deny.

Green Party deputy leader Zack Polanski, a London Assembly member and a speaker at Saturday's rally, wrote to the home secretary on Monday.

"As shown in many videos, police had agreed through negotiation that the delegation could pass through and lay flowers," he said.

"However, they subsequently allowed a much larger group into Trafalgar Square. It is concerning to see Metropolitan Police tweets falsely stating that people were 'forcing through'."

Polanski told Middle East Eye the Met's handling of the protest was a "shambles", adding that he "and thousands of others have been smeared by claims that we forced our way through."

"This fundamentally further erodes trust in our institutions," he said. 

'Serious questions'

Rowley is being drawn into a fresh scandal after giving a speech at an event held by the pro-Israel Board of Deputies of British Jews.

The Met Police chief said they had "used conditions on the protests more than we ever have done before", and that his team imposed "sharper and stronger conditions" on the organisers of the demonstration.

The Board of Deputies supported Israel's war on Gaza and slammed the Labour government for imposing a partial arms embargo on Israel in September.

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It was also one of the groups that reportedly urged the Met to ban the pro-Palestine march's original route.

Several figures and groups questioned Rowley's impartiality on Tuesday, accusing him of engaging with pro-Israel groups while failing to engage with Muslim communities.

Ismail Patel, the chair of advocacy group Friends of Al Aqsa and one of the organisers of Saturday's march, told MEE:

"Mark Rowley meeting with the Board of Deputies - who have been actively campaigning to suppress the rights of the Palestinian solidarity movement - within 24 hours of imposing harsh and repressive measures against us is not only deeply insensitive but profoundly provocative."

He added that the timing and nature of Rowley's address "raises serious concerns about impartiality and fairness in the role of the Met chief".

"Mr Rowley has yet to meet with us or engage with our concerns, let alone address the disproportionate and restrictive conditions he chose to impose.

"He is pushing his knee on the throat of the public's faith in the neutrality and integrity of the Metropolitan Police," Patel said.

Engagement with the Muslims

The Met has not met the London Muslim Communities Forum's independent advisory group for around a year, according to Mohammed Kozbar, the deputy secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain and a former member of the advisory group.

The Met cut ties with Kozbar in early 2024 after The Telegraph reported in 2023 that he praised the founder of Hamas. 

At the time, Kozbar said: "I spoke on the extra-judicial assassination of a paraplegic man who was wheelchair-bound... my comments were made well before this organisation [Hamas] was proscribed."

He added that he condemned the targeting of civilians.

Kozbar told MEE on Tuesday that the Met were "failing to engage properly with the Muslim community".

"They only stopped engaging with the London Muslim Communities Forum's independent advisory group," he added, "but still meet with the representative groups of other faiths and communities.

'The perception of systemic bias within the Metropolitan Police has only grown'

 - Muslim Association of Britain

"Instead, they meet with individuals from the Muslim community to tick the boxes.

"By contrast, the commissioner met the Board of Deputies [of British Jews] just one day after the protest. These are double standards. It shows how they treat the Muslim community."

Speaking to the Board of Deputies plenary on Sunday, Rowley blasted the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), a pro-Israel advocacy group, as well as the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), for allegedly ignoring "the reality of the law" and deploying "small peak political rhetoric".

The CAA accused the Met of "mustering a show of strength only now that it appears that the war might be ending", having not banned pro-Palestine marches in previous months.

The MAB, one of the organisations behind the protest, questioned Rowley's impartiality in light of the Met's engagement with pro-Israel groups.

In an open letter to Rowley on Monday, the MAB said: "Your remarks celebrating the imposition of 'sharper and stronger conditions' on these protests - delivered to an audience aligned with one side of this issue - are deeply inappropriate... and raise questions about whether all communities can expect equal treatment under your leadership."

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The letter continued: "The perception of systemic bias within the Metropolitan Police has only grown under your leadership. 

"The restrictive measures disproportionately targeting pro-Palestine demonstrations, coupled with a refusal to engage meaningfully with Muslim organisations and pro-Palestine representatives, betray an institution failing to serve all communities equally."

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) also criticised Rowley, saying: "Public trust in the Commissioner is further eroded by the lack of acknowledgement of the broader context, including accountability for members of the British government and allegations of war crimes involving individuals potentially returning to the UK. 

"We invite Commissioner Rowley to meet with Palestinian and pro-Palestinian groups to engage in an open and constructive dialogue about the concerns and challenges facing their communities. By fostering direct engagement with all affected parties, the Metropolitan Police can demonstrate a genuine commitment to impartiality, transparency, and community trust."

The Met directed MEE to a statement made at the weekend by Commander Adam Slonecki, who led the policing operation on Saturday: "We approached discussions in good faith, meeting regularly with the PSC and with partners and community representatives.

"Our role is not to take sides. We police without fear or favour and we have taken the decisions we have motivated only by the need to ensure groups can exercise their right to peaceful protest, while also ensuring the wider community can go about their lives without serious disruption."

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