Police hunt for ‘pro-Hamas’ protesters and activist who shouted antisemitic messages after Gaza march

Warning: This article contains images people may find upsetting.

Police have said they are looking for a number of people in connection with racist and antisemitic messages during and after Saturday’s National March for Palestine in London.

The Metropolitan Police responded to a number of photos and clips circulating on social media, making clear officers “will assess and identify any offences” connected with the march.

A spokesperson said: “Where there are offences, investigations will be launched and we will be using all lines of enquiry, including public appeals, to find those involved.”

The force said it was assessing footage of a protester claiming that “Hitler knew how to deal with these people,” and searching for two people who seemingly dressed up as Hamas militants with full-face coverings and headbands. Hamas is a proscribed terror group in the UK, meaning it is an offence to support it.

The Met said it was also “looking to identify” a protester carrying a placard that featured a Star of David emblazoned with a Nazi swastika, and another woman who carried a sign referring depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman next to coconuts – often interpreted as a racist slur.

In response to photos of people holding placards that suggested Gaza was “twinned with Auschwitz” and those that depicted Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a demonic puppet master, the police force said: “Officers are actively looking for these individuals and will take proactive action when they are identified.”

British Transport Police said “an investigation is underway” in connection with footage of a woman shouting “death to all the Jews” on the London Underground.

The force said: “Senior detectives are currently reviewing this footage and an investigation is underway. Anyone with any information regarding this incident is urged to contact police as soon as possible, by calling us on 0800 40 50 40 or texting 61016.”

An estimated 300,000 people attended the march on Saturday, which passed off largely peacefully and without incident – despite violent clashes between police and far-right counter-protesters.

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Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: “While the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) march did not see the sort of physical violence carried out by the right wing, we know that for London’s Jewish communities whose fears and concerns we absolutely recognise, the impact of hate crime and in particular antisemitic offences is just as significant.

“There were also a number of serious offences identified in relation to hate crime and possible support for proscribed organisations during the protest that we are actively investigating.

“Locating and intercepting suspects in a crowd of the size we saw today will always be challenging, but we were further limited in our ability to do so due to the number of officers we had to deploy, from early in the day, in response to violence from the right wing groups in central London.

“We will soon publish images of some of those we suspect have committed these offences and as we have shown in recent weeks, we will pursue all available lines of enquiry to identify suspects and take action even after the conclusion of protests.”