The Metropolitan Police have sacked an adviser who was filmed leading a "from the river to the sea" chant.
Attiq Malik, chairman of the London Muslim Communities Forum (LMCF), instigated the chant at a pro-Palestine rally in 2021. The chant is frequently understood to be a call for the destruction of Israel.
In the video obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, Malik stated: "We go on BBC, ITV, do we see any of this? No we don't… You watch Sky News, do we see this?
"No. Even on social media what we're seeing is the posts are going up on Insta, Linkedin, Facebook, they're getting deleted.
"What's going on is global censorship by the Zionists, global censorship to silence us."
maliklawyer4
Attiq Malik, chairman of the London Muslim Communities Forum (LMCF), pictured at a rally in Luton in 2021 (Photo: Facebook/Archive)
He ended his speech in Luton by instigating chants of "from the river to the sea" as others responded with "Palestine will be free".
Malik, who works as a criminal defence lawyer, has previously appeared on the Channel 4 programme 24 Hours In Police Custody. Meanwhile, the Met Police describes the LMCF as a "strategic advisory body for the Met".
The lawyer was also present in the Met Police's operations room during protests last month, it was reported.
In a statement on Sunday, the Met Police said the incident had "highlighted past language and views expressed by Malik that appear antisemitic and contrary with our values".
They added: "As a result we will be immediately ceasing our relationship with Mr Malik whilst we investigate.
"We regularly engage with a whole range of community groups, many of which hold strongly opposing views. It is important that we continue to listen to opposing views. This is how we put community voices at the heart of policing London.
GettyImages-1763957232
People protest in support of Palestine on Saturday (Photo: Getty)
"We will continue to engage with the LMCF and the full range of faith and community advisers.”
On Sunday morning, after the story appeared on the front page of The Sunday Telegraph, Malik posted a quote by activist Malcolm X on X/Twitter, criticising newspaper coverage.
It said: "If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing."
Meanwhile, in a separate video of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London last weekend, a Met Police officer was spotted fist bumping a pro-Palestine demonstrator.
Old Bill again. https://t.co/tfOpuPzU8x
— Mark Glanville (@MarcoManasseh) November 6, 2023
Six people have so far been charged after the demonstrations in the capital on Saturday.
Five were charged with failing to comply with conditions imposed under the Public Order Act, and one was charged with failing to comply with a direction given under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act.
One arrest was made on Sunday morning for a public order offence after a man was allegedly heard making antisemitic comments in Parliament Square.
Malik has been approached for further comment.
For all the latest from Israel, click here to see all our coverage.
