Four arrests following video of anti-Semitic abuse in north London

From a Metropolitan Police news release and Jewish News

Officers investigating a video which appeared to show anti-Semitic abuse being shouted from a car in north London have made four arrests.

Enquiries were carried out and officers traced a car to the A40 in Hillingdon. The police helicopter was deployed and officers stopped the car at approximately 18:30hrs. Four men were arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order offences. They were taken into custody at a west London police station where they remain.

That would fit with the verbal report on TV news that one of the vehicles was registered in Slough, a town west of London. That is the route in that direction. Other vehicles are known to have come down from the northern towns of Bradford in Yorkshire and Oldham in Greater Manchester. 

In scenes reminiscent of the darkest days of Islamic State, three individuals could be seen standing up through the sunroofs waving Palestinian flags. The six cars, emblazoned with Palestinian flags on their bonnets and back windows, are seen stopping at traffic lights before driving on in the direction of Golders Green and the North Circular. They were later filmed near Brent Cross.

Two of the vehicles are understood to be untaxed. Their owners are believed to have driven from Bradford and Oldham. The CST assisted the police to identify the cars by matching them to cars from earlier in the convoy.

Conservative and Labour Friends of Israel groups say it is “inexplicable” that a convoy of cars from which pro-Palestinian activists screamed antisemitic and misogynistic abuse was able to travel across north London without being stopped by police. In a rare joint letter sent to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, CFI and LFI officials raised concern about the length of time spent before reports of the antics of those driving the vehicles were investigated by officers. The letter also raised concerns about antisemitic imagery seen at the anti-Israel protest in central London on Saturday including “footage of a chant celebrating and calling for the death of Jews”.

Kier Starmer, leader of the Labour party and even Sadiq Khan, mayor of London have condemed the hate, abuse, threats and obscene language. I don’t have much time for Khan but he is right to condemn this. The only person of promience not to have condemed it (so far as I can see) is Jeremy Corbyn.