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18th May 2021

Police officer filmed chanting ‘free Palestine’ at march prompts Met investigation

Claudia McInerney

Police officers are supposed to remain ‘impartial’ when carrying out official duties, according to Met police

The Metropolitan Police is investigating a female officer who shouted “free Palestine” during a pro-Palestinian protest over the conflict in the Middle East.

The uniformed Met police officer was captured accepting a white rose and embracing a protestor at the pro-Palestinian march in London.

The woman was also heard shouting “free, free Palestine”, as crowd members cheer.

A spokesperson for the Met Police said in a statement: “We are aware of a video that has been posted on social media which shows an officer joining in with chanting while on duty at a demonstration.

“While officers are encouraged to positively engage with those attending demonstrations, they know they are not to actively participate or adopt political positions. This is vital to ensuring the public have confidence in our officers.

“The Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed and are investigating the full circumstances of this incident and to determine what further action is appropriate.”

On Twitter, the official account for Metropolitan Police Events stressed that officers must remain “impartial” when carrying out their official duties.

https://twitter.com/MetPoliceEvents/status/1394592977549414403