Fury as Met officers policing London march 'unaware' that Hezbollah are proscribed terror group

14 October 2024, 21:37

Police unaware that Hezbollah is a proscribed terror group

"Jaw-dropping" footage shows that Met Police officers working at a recent London march were unaware that Hezbollah is a proscribed terrorist group.

The officers, who were policing a march in central London last month, told a concerned bystander who informed them that Hezbollah were a banned group that "your opinion is your opinion".

The Campaign Against Antisemitism said the video was "terrifying". The Met said that officers had been briefed on the status of Hezbollah and Hamas, but admitted the video showed more needs to be done.

The incident took place on September 28, a day after the death of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese group, who are at war with Israel.

Campaigners were protesting against the war, a spokesperson for the Met has since said. But at the time, officers at the scene told the bystander that the event was a vigil for the leader of Hezbollah. Activists at at least one other London march have held up placards defending Nasrallah and Hezbollah.

Read more: Do you recognise these people? Met launches public appeal for those suspected of protest offences at London marches

Read more: IDF forces entry to UN compound in Lebanon after Netanyahu says troops are a 'human shield for Hezbollah'

Approached by the bystander, the two officers said they were unaware of the specifics of the vigil.

"I don't take a lot of political interest because I'm not allowed to", a male officer said.

Asked if the activists were mourning the death of a terrorist, the officer replied: "Your opinion is up to you... your opinion is your opinion."

Confronted with the fact that Hezbollah - sometimes written as Hizballah - is legally proscribed by the government, the officers continued to maintain that this was simply the "opinion" of the bystander.

"That's the view that you stand on and we don't take any views on it," a female officer told him.

The male officer then asked the bystander why he was filming the vigil.

"If you don't support it and you don't believe in it, why are you here?" he asked.

The bystander said in response that he was there to bear witness to the events. The female officer told him to go away because he was "causing a distraction".

Releasing the footage, the Campaign for Antisemitism asked how police are supposed to protect Londoners "when they don’t actually educate their officers on the law".

They added that although the individual police officers in the footage "did not conduct themselves satisfactorily", the primary concern was what the video illustrated about "the training and priorities of the Metropolitan Police as an institution".

A spokesperson for the group said: “This newly-surfaced footage is jaw-dropping. The Head of MI5 has warned about the risk that Iran and its proxies pose to the UK, yet here was a vigil for an Iranian-backed proscribed terrorist group leader on our streets.

"When someone tried to point out to police officers that Hizballah is a terrorist organisation, he was gaslit, told that this was merely his ‘opinion’.

"It is hard to watch the lack of training of Met officers on display here without despairing. For Britain's Jews, acutely aware of Hizballah’s antisemitic genocidal intentions and record, it is terrifying.

"How are our officers supposed to protect us when they don't even understand the law? We will be writing to the Metropolitan Police.”

Eylon Levy criticises the UN for not 'dismantling' Hezbollah

A Met Police spokesperson said: “The proscribed status of Hezbollah, Hamas and other groups is included in the briefings given to officers deployed to police related events, but we recognise that this video shows we need to do more to make sure the details of those briefings are fully understood.

“Contrary to what was said in the video, this particular event was advertised as a ‘Vigil for Lebanon’ and not for Hassan Nasrallah, or Hezbollah, specifically.

"Attendance was limited and officers were in the area throughout in order to identify any offences, including support for proscribed organisations.”

Guidance published by the Foreign Office reads: "The UK government proscribed Hizballah’s External Security Organisation in 2001.

"In 2008, the proscription was extended to include the whole of Hizballah’s military apparatus, namely the Jihad Council and all the units reporting to it.

"Hizballah itself has publicly denied a distinction between its military and political wings.

"The group in its entirety is assessed to be concerned in terrorism."