Top cop admits making major mistakes handling pro-Palestine marches as cost of policing them hit £42.9million
A POLICE chief has admitted major mistakes were made handling pro-Palestine marches.
The Met’s Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist also conceded that a protester shouting “jihad” should have been arrested sooner.
His comments come as a hard-hitting report by Policy Exchange highlights how police, prosecutors and the courts have failed to prioritise the rights of the public over disruptive demonstrators.
Mr Twist said: “When we look back at the policing of protests over the last eight months, we know we didn’t get everything right — particularly in the early stages in October.
“On occasion we did not move quickly to make arrests, for example, of the man chanting for ‘jihad’.
“That was a decision made following advice from lawyers and the CPS.
“We are now much more focused on identifying reasonable grounds for arrest, acting where needed, and then investigating.
“It’s very likely arrests would be made more quickly.”
Pro-Palestine protests were held every week in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks that killed 1,200 people and saw 240 taken hostage on October 7, 2023.
Figures show £42.9million was spent on policing protests in London between last October and June.
Mr Twist has also hit back at accusations of two-tier policing in how officers dealt with pro-Palestine protests and those held by the far-right.
He said: “We base policing tactics on the threat, harm and risk based on the information and intelligence available to us.”