Pressure to dismiss the London Police Chief due to demonstrations in support of Gaza

London – London’s Metropolitan Police Chief, Mark Rowley, is facing calls for his resignation due to the police’s leniency with pro-Palestine protests.

The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism and former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman called on Sir Mark Rowley to step down or be sacked, accusing him of “encouraging anti-Semitism,” according to the British PA Media agency.

In an editorial in the British newspaper The Sunday Telegraph, Braverman called on Rowley to resign, saying that people who were blatantly anti-Semitic were being waved off by the police.

Civil Aviation Authority chief executive Gideon Walter said in a statement: “Racists and extremists saw the inaction of the Metropolitan Police under Mark’s leadership as justification for continuing to demonstrate, and were encouraged by his failure to act at the moment when it should have signaled a renewed resolve to eradicate this crime.”

He added, “What the Metropolitan Police – under Mark’s leadership – did to the Jewish community over the course of 6 months is absolutely unforgivable, and it is time for him to go.”

Other figures including British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden also strongly criticized the Metropolitan Police, but stopped short of saying Rowley should go.

For his part, Rowley said that every member of the Metropolitan Police is determined to ensure that London is a city in which everyone feels safe, adding, “We fully understand the extent of the danger that Jews and Muslims feel in London since the attacks on Israel.”

Earlier, Rowley stressed the police’s commitment to enforcing British law, which allows freedom of protest, noting that the decision to ban demonstrations requires a real threat of riots.

Since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza on October 7, London has witnessed several marches and demonstrations in support of Palestine and demanding a permanent ceasefire, an end to genocide, and an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The British continued to show support for the Palestinian people, despite the government’s pro-Israel stance.