Met commissioner denies he was ‘intervening in politics’ with Polanski letter
Morning, welcome to our UK politics blog.
The Metropolitan police commissioner Mark Rowley has denied he was “intervening in politics” after he wrote an open letter to Zack Polanski over the way officers arrested the Golders Green attack suspect.
He accused Polanski of fuelling “rising tensions” after the Green party leader reshared a post on X which said: “Essentially his officers were repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by Taser.”
In the open letter published on social media, Rowley said he was “disappointed” that the politician had amplified “inaccurate and misinformed commentary” that “undermines officer confidence to act”.
The public spat comes days before the local elections, with commentators questioning whether Rowley’s letter breached regulations that prohibit police from engaging in political activity.
Rowley denied the letter to Polanski meant he was “intervening in politics”.
“When somebody influential puts something out there which is incorrect and can undermine the confidence of my officers to protect Londoners, they need to see that I’m supporting them to give them that confidence to carry on and do their job,’ he told Times Radio.
“I’m not intervening in politics. He was intervening in operational policing and I need to defend my officers’ ability to do that.”
A Green party source said: “Zack has seen the video like everyone else, and doesn’t know the full picture and knows it was a very difficult situation for the authorities, but we do need to understand more about the response.”
You can read more on that story here:
In other news, police are assessing if nationwide marches can go ahead, as ministers are pressed on the timing and details of the prime minister’s additional measures on protests.
Yesterday, Keir Starmer vowed to crack down on those “venerating the murder of Jews” at protest marches as the UK terror threat level was raised to “severe” in the wake of the Golders Green attack.
Rowley told broadcasters this morning that he was “concerned” about the scale of upcoming protests, and that his force was “looking hard at what conditions and powers we should use”, while justice minister Alex Davies-Jones claimed it was “a fact” that pro-Palestine marches had seen “antisemitic activity”.
Key events
In other news, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the rise in fuel prices amid the conflict in the Middle East has been driven by wider cost pressures, particularly higher oil prices, rather than retailers increasing prices.
In a monitoring report today, the competition watchdog said it found the difference between the price retailers pay for fuel and the price they sell it at – known as fuel margins – has been “broadly unchanged” since the start of the war on 28 February.
The CMA said there were some increases in fuel margins during March for a minority of retailers and that this would be investigated further.
Oil prices remains above $111 per barrel, with little sign that the US and Iran would reach an agreement to reopen the strait of Hormuz, a key export route for a fifth of the world’s oil.
For more financial updates and other related news, you can follow our business live blog here:
On the Golders Green attack, the Press Association has reported that the man charged with attempted murder following the stabbings in north London on Wednesday had been under the care of South London and Maudsley Trust’s mental health services.
Essa Suleiman, 45, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place over the incident which left two Jewish men in hospital. He is scheduled to appear at Westminster magistrates court today.
A spokesperson for South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are aware of the police investigation taking place across London following the incident at Golders Green.
“This is an ongoing investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this time.”
Watchdog weighs investigation into Farage’s undisclosed £5m gift
Ben Quinn
The UK elections watchdog is considering whether to investigate an undisclosed £5m gift received by Nigel Farage before he announced his candidacy at the last general election.
The move comes after the Guardian revealed this week that the Reform UK leader was given the money by the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.
In a written response to the Conservative party, the Electoral Commission said it was “aware of this matter and are considering it under our regulatory remit. We will consider all the available relevant information and recommend what, if any, next steps the commission will take.”
Farage had previously stated he did not intend to stand as an MP but reversed his position in June 2024, within weeks of receiving the personal gift from the Thailand-based businessman.
Read the full report here:
The Metropolitan police commissioner Mark Rowley said he was “concerned” about the scale of upcoming protests in London.
“There’s some big marches planned for two weeks, tomorrow and the 16th,” he told LBC.
“I’m sort of concerned about the scale of those in this context and we’re looking hard at what conditions and powers we should use in respect of those events.
“Protests can’t be banned, parliament has made it clear, but they can’t be.
While police lack the power to ban demonstrations outright, they can place conditions on marches or, in extreme cases, restrict them to a static event. Keir Starmer said yesterday that the government was “looking at what further measures we can take on protests, particularly in relation to chants, to banners and the repeated nature of protests”.
Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, has called for a temporary ban on pro-Palestine marches, saying it was impossible for them not to “incubate” antisemitism.
The minister for victims, Alex Davies-Jones, said pro-Palestine marches have been “hijacked” by people looking to sow division in the UK.
“We have seen chants of death, calls for global intifada, and that is wrong,” she told Times Radio.
There have been regular pro-Palestine marches in the UK since the latest Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza in 2023, with further demonstrations planned for 16 May. The government has faced calls to ban the marches in light of recent attacks against the Jewish population, with demonstrators accused of antisemitic chanting or holding antisemitic signs.
Davies-Jones said she acknowledged people had “the right to protest the actions of Israel” and that “not everybody on these marches is antisemitic”, but she suggested some protests have been “hijacked by certain individuals who are seeking to cause division and hatred in our country”.
Met commissioner denies he was ‘intervening in politics’ with Polanski letter
Morning, welcome to our UK politics blog.
The Metropolitan police commissioner Mark Rowley has denied he was “intervening in politics” after he wrote an open letter to Zack Polanski over the way officers arrested the Golders Green attack suspect.
He accused Polanski of fuelling “rising tensions” after the Green party leader reshared a post on X which said: “Essentially his officers were repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head when he was already incapacitated by Taser.”
In the open letter published on social media, Rowley said he was “disappointed” that the politician had amplified “inaccurate and misinformed commentary” that “undermines officer confidence to act”.
The public spat comes days before the local elections, with commentators questioning whether Rowley’s letter breached regulations that prohibit police from engaging in political activity.
Rowley denied the letter to Polanski meant he was “intervening in politics”.
“When somebody influential puts something out there which is incorrect and can undermine the confidence of my officers to protect Londoners, they need to see that I’m supporting them to give them that confidence to carry on and do their job,’ he told Times Radio.
“I’m not intervening in politics. He was intervening in operational policing and I need to defend my officers’ ability to do that.”
A Green party source said: “Zack has seen the video like everyone else, and doesn’t know the full picture and knows it was a very difficult situation for the authorities, but we do need to understand more about the response.”
You can read more on that story here:
In other news, police are assessing if nationwide marches can go ahead, as ministers are pressed on the timing and details of the prime minister’s additional measures on protests.
Yesterday, Keir Starmer vowed to crack down on those “venerating the murder of Jews” at protest marches as the UK terror threat level was raised to “severe” in the wake of the Golders Green attack.
Rowley told broadcasters this morning that he was “concerned” about the scale of upcoming protests, and that his force was “looking hard at what conditions and powers we should use”, while justice minister Alex Davies-Jones claimed it was “a fact” that pro-Palestine marches had seen “antisemitic activity”.
