Sunak says Met chief needs to rebuild ‘confidence and trust’ with Jewish community
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Rishi Sunak has said Sir Mark Rowley needs to rebuild “confidence and trust” with the Jewish community in order to retain his support.
The Prime Minister said he would back the Metropolitan Police commissioner on the condition he convinces the public that his officers are not “tolerating behaviour that we would all collectively deem unacceptable”, following claims the force has “chosen a side” on pro-Palestinian protests.
Sir Mark is under huge pressure and has already faced high-profile calls to resign over the force’s threat to arrest an “openly Jewish” man at a rally in London.
Mr Sunak expressed “shock and anger” at the incident, branding it “clearly wrong”, and demanded action from the Met chief to rebuild trust with both the Jewish community and the wider public. He also confirmed James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, will meet the commissioner to discuss the matter on Monday.
Asked if he had confidence in Sir Mark at a press conference in Downing Street, Mr Sunak said: “Yes, I do have confidence in him, but that is on the basis that he works to rebuild the confidence and trust of not just the Jewish community but the wider public, particularly people in London, but more broadly.
“And you regain that trust and that confidence by making it clear that the police are not tolerating behaviour that we would all collectively deem unacceptable when we see it because it undermines our values. And I think that is critical.
“And I know the Home Secretary will be meeting the commissioner later today.”
Earlier, former home secretary Suella Braverman claimed the Met had “chosen a side” on pro-Palestinian marches as she attacked the force over its treatment of Gideon Falter, the head of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, who was stopped by police as he tried to cross the road during a protest in central London.
Mr Falter, who had just come from the synagogue and was wearing a kippah skullcap and carrying a bag containing his prayer shawl, was told by a Met Police sergeant at the scene his presence could inflame tensions.
In the exchange, which was filmed, the officer can be heard saying to him: “You are quite openly Jewish. This is a pro-Palestinian march. I am not accusing you of anything but I am worried about the reaction to your presence.”
Mr Falter said he was approached in a similar way later by another officer, and the Met later apologised, branding the comments “hugely regrettable”.
It is the first time the Prime Minister has declared confidence in Sir Mark since the footage of the incident emerged over the weekend, with Downing Street initially refusing to back him.
Mr Sunak said: “I share the shock and the anger that many are feeling when they saw the clips over the weekend.
“And what I would say about Mark Rowley and the police, they do have a difficult job, of course, I appreciate that. But what happened was clearly wrong. And it’s right that they’ve apologised for that.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mrs Braverman said the Met’s treatment of Mr Falter proved it was failing to “strike the right balance of competing rights” and curb the risk of violence towards Jewish people at a time of “unprecedented anti-Semitism” in Britain.
Mrs Braverman, who has called for Sir Mark to resign, said there had been a “wholesale failure” by the force to “combat anti-Semitism and to maintain the peace on the streets of London over the past six months”.
Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, also said the Met had shown “disrespect” to the Jewish community, while minister Claire Coutinho declined to offer government backing for the embattled head of Scotland Yard.
However, during a round of broadcast interviews on Monday, Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell said he did not personally think it was “very helpful” to call for the Met chief’s resignation.
Urging the police to ban marches which posed a “risk of anti-Semitic violence”, Mrs Braverman told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “What this video shows, and what this incident demonstrates, is that the police have failed to strike the right balance of competing rights.”
“At this point in time there is unprecedented anti-Semitism on our streets, there is disproportionate police resourcing being deployed to police these marches and the police have chosen a side,” she added.
During the exchange, Mrs Braverman was repeatedly asked whether she had seen a video of the incident in its entirety, which gives further context to the confrontation.
Presenter Mishal Husain said it showed an officer accusing Mr Falter of being disingenuous and seeking to antagonise the marchers, asking if that changed Mrs Braverman’s position.
The former minister said she had seen “clips” of the footage, adding: “My complaint is not against the individual police officers – they are all working really hard in really difficult circumstances. My complaint is the wholesale failure to combat anti-Semitism and to maintain the peace on the streets of London over the last six months.”
Meanwhile, Mr Falter said he would turn up at the next pro-Palestinian march and encouraged other Jews and allies to join him.
