For those of you who have access to the Daily Telegraph (highly unlikely you'll see this reported in the Guardian or FT) there is a video of a police officer harassing a Jewish man at yesterday's Palestine Action demo. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/06/24/police-jewish-man-on-bus-palestine-action-protest/Here is the transcript of the article. Met officers warn two counter-protesters that their actions could be breach of peace after they were forced to hide on bus The Metropolitan Police has been accused of “two-tier” policing after a Jewish man said officers threatened to charge him for waving an Israeli flag at a Palestine Action demonstration.The protest group clashed with police in Trafalgar Square on Monday, with 13 arrested after violence flared within the crowd of 500 activists.But the Met was accused of “two-tier” justice over the actions of its officers after two Jewish counter-protesters had to hide inside a double-decker bus as the “mob” outside chanted “Zionist scum”.Footage shared with The Telegraph showed police warning them that “waving an Israeli flag” could be a breach of the peace.Isaac Grand, 22, and another Jewish man, 28, who declined to be named, accused the Met of “two-tier policing” over the threat.Mr Grand said: “It was a clear case of two-tier policing. A hostile mob surrounded the vehicle, shouting abuse and threatening me – but instead of protecting me or arresting those responsible, the police threatened me with a public order offence.”Mr Grand and his friend started their two-person counter-demonstration against the group, which is soon to be proscribed as a terrorist group, by waving the Israeli flag.Using a megaphone, Mr Grand’s companion told the crowd: “Ban the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]. Rape is not resistance. Terrorist supporters off our streets. Am Yisrael Chai [the people of Israel live], now and forever.”But when the hostile crowd surrounded the pair and chanted “Zionist scum!”, they had to board a nearby double-decker that had been blocked by the protest.As they were taken to the bus, the two men shouted and swore back at the pro-Palestine protesters who were chanting slurs at them.Footage on board filmed by Mr Grand, a trainee barrister, shows him being told by a Met officer: “You are creating a breach of the peace.”Mr Grand replied: “What did I do, officer?” to which he replied: “You’re waving an Israeli flag.”Asked by Mr Grand if it was a criminal offence, the officer said: “No it’s not. But it is now... look at them protesting for Palestine.”Mr Grand argued that he had merely exercised his rights to free speech and protest.The officer then said: “Yeah, yeah, but there’s a time and a place, isn’t there?”He went on to say: “You’re perfectly within your right to protest, but I’m not going to let two rival protest groups clash, yeah? That’s why you’re on here [the bus].”Later, Mr Grand told The Telegraph that the fracas was provoked when “a young man from the crowd grabbed the flag”, with his companion adding that the crowd had attempted “to topple us to the ground”.His companion said: “I’m sure it would have devolved into a much worse situation had the police not got there so quickly.”Mr Grand continued: “At that point the bus was surrounded by this big Palestinian mob. It was terrifying.“We had already been harassed, then they grabbed our flag, now we were trapped on this bus. It didn’t seem like the police had any control over the situation. It seems to be almost anarchy at these protests.“It’s simply terrifying to exercise your rights to freedom of protest. You can’t have an opinion in this country. The Met Police won’t let you.”He said that he intends to make a complaint about the officers’ conduct.It is understood that officers were seeking to protect the Jewish men from danger and recognised the risks of releasing them into the crowd alone.The men left the protest unharmed on foot with a policeman escorting them, whom they thanked when they parted ways.A Met Police spokesman said: “This was a challenging protest which saw 13 arrests and a number of officers assaulted.“Protesters surrounded police officers on multiple occasions and when two counter protesters started waving an Israeli flag and shouting on a megaphone, they surrounded them too.“Officers intervened to protect the two men. They were held on an out of service bus for their own safety and not because they had committed a crime. When it was safe to do so, officers escorted them out of the area.“As the officer explained at the time, the men had every right to protest, but it was unwise for two people to walk into a crowd of 500 people with opposing views and not expect a confrontation to follow. Had the situation been reversed with 500 pro-Israel supporters and two pro-Palestinian, the officers would have done the same thing.”The video is worth the watch. Two tier policing in action?You will now understand why I no longer visit central London at all. My own hometown where I was born 77 years ago! Frankly, I would like to be there but my partner and children are worried for my safety.
Lucille Grant ● 29d