Under-fire Met boss Sir Mark Rowley defends 'professional' officer who threatened to arrest 'openly Jewish' campaigner at pro-Palestine protest - as police chief fights to keep job

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner has defended the 'professional' conduct of the officer who threatened to arrest an 'openly Jewish' campaigner at a pro-Palestine march. 

Sir Mark Rowley has said the officers who dealt with Gideon Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), in viral footage of the the April 13 march will not face sanctions. 

However, the Met boss has admitted some of the words exchanged during the incident were 'clumsy and offensive' - as 1,500 protesters and Mr Falter are set to descend on a pro-Palestinian march this weekend to press Scotland Yard to keep the streets safe for Jewish people.

It comes as Sir Mark is facing a battle to keep his job as British Jewish groups are calling for his resignation following the 'openly Jewish' incident and other criticisms of how pro-Palestine marches are policed. 

Yesterday, Britain's top police officer had crisis meetings with two politicians that can sack him - Home Secretary James Cleverly and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. 

He said last night that the sergeant at the centre of the row had assessed there was a 'risk of confrontation' due to Mr Falter's presence. 

He told the Guardian 'The sergeant at the scene clearly assessed that there was a risk of confrontation and was trying to help Mr Falter find a different route. 

'I completely understand why the sergeant made this assessment. A couple of turns of phrase were clumsy and offensive … and we’ve apologised for that.

'The wider actions and intent of the officer were professional and in the best tradition of British police trying to prevent disorder.'

Sir Rowley added: 'The public would be horrified if we said: well, it’s obvious if those two groups come together, there’s going to be a massive fight. We’ll stand back and wait till it happens and we’ll pick up the pieces afterwards.' 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Monday that the force needed to rebuild the trust of the Jewish community but added the embattled police chief had his confidence.

Sir Mark held meetings on Monday with Mr Cleverly and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who said he has 'full confidence' in the commissioner.

Representatives of Jewish community groups including the Community Security Trust and London Jewish Forum also met Sir Mark and Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, who leads public order policing, on Monday morning.

The CST said it would continue to push for a reduction in the number of pro-Palestinian protests permitted in central London.

It released a statement after the meeting that said: 'We will continue our dialogue with police later this week to express our concerns regarding the cumulative impact of the repeated anti-Israel protests in terms of disruption and intimidation of the Jewish community.

'We urge the police and Government to work together to find ways to limit this impact through reducing the number of protests, moving them to less disruptive locations and acting firmly and consistently whenever offences are committed by people on the demonstrations.'

After the meeting with Sir Mark, Mr Cleverly said: 'Jewish people will always have the right to be able to go about their daily lives safely and freely, in London and across the UK.

'Sir Mark has reassured me he will make this clear to all sections of the community as a matter of urgency. 

'The Met's focus now is rightly on reassurance, learning from what happened, and ensuring that Jewish people are safe and feel safe in London. I support them in that critical endeavour.

'Public order policing is complex and challenging, but it remains incumbent on Sir Mark and the mayor of London to ensure that London is always a safe and welcoming city.

'The force's focus should be on policing protests properly and fairly, and we will continue to back forces in using all necessary powers to manage these often difficult situations and to keep people safe.'

The force has apologised twice over the incident on April 13, issuing one initial statement and then saying sorry for its first apology which had suggested opponents of pro-Palestinian marches 'must know that their presence is provocative'.

A 13-minute of the exchange shows Mr Falter telling police he wants to cross a road to reach Kingsway in central London as crowds of pro-Palestinian protesters pass.

He tells one officer: 'The Metropolitan Police says that these marches are completely safe for Jews, there is no problem whatsoever.

'You are telling me that I cannot walk to the other pavement. That I have to be escorted by you.'

The officer says: 'I am telling you that I will help you by escorting you over there and that way you will be completely safe, just as we promised, so we are keeping our word.'

Mr Falter has since said he will turn up at the next pro-Palestinian march and encouraged other Jews and allies to join him as more than 1,500 protesters are set to join him to press Scotland Yard to keep the streets safe for Jewish people.

The Met faces potential clashes at the march as the anti-Semitism campaigner threatened with arrest for being 'openly Jewish' launched the 'walk together' campaign.

Gideon Falter is encouraging people to follow the route of a pro-Palestinian march in London to 'force the police to make sure that these things are safe for Jewish people'.

Since the incident on April 13, almost 9,000 people have signed a petition calling for the resignation of Britain's top police officer.

Sir Mark has come under sustained criticism from senior figures, including former home secretary Suella Braverman who told Radio 4 yesterday: 'The police have chosen a side.'

Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell told Sky News: 'There are strategic issues... how we ensure that Jewish people, people of any faith at all, can go about their business.'

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the incident 'clearly wasn't handled properly ... but the police work immensely hard every single day to keep us safe'.