Police in London have held a man in his 50s on suspicion of “encouraging murder” after a Labour councillor allegedly called for far-right protesters’ throats to be “cut”.
The party suspended one of its elected representatives who is thought to have made the remark at a London demonstration on Wednesday evening.
Ricky Jones cannot sit on Labour’s benches during Dartford Borough Council meetings in Kent while he is suspended.
The Metropolitan Police reposted a video to X, formerly Twitter, which featured a man who said: “They are disgusting Nazi fascists and we need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all.”
Protesters stood pavement-to-pavement on the road behind him and held placards which read: “Smash fascism and racism by any means necessary.”
The comments are in reference to people who have taken part in violent disorder and riots at towns throughout the country, which have seen a mosque damaged in Southport and hotels, thought to contain asylum seekers, stormed.
In a statement, a Met spokesperson said: “Officers have arrested a man aged in his 50s at an address in south-east London.
“He was held on suspicion of encouraging murder and for an offence under the Public Order Act.
“He is in custody at a south London police station.”
In reference to the video, a Labour spokesperson said: “This behaviour is completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated.”
Protesters gathered in Walthamstow, London, on Wednesday in a bid to counter the violent disorder, which has led to more than 480 arrests, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Speaking after the anti-racism demonstration in Walthamstow, Met chief Sir Mark Rowley told broadcasters: “It went off very peacefully last night – a couple of locations we had some local criminals turn out and try and create a bit of antisocial behaviour, and we arrested a few of them.”
Similar gatherings took place in cities throughout the UK including Bristol, Brighton, Liverpool and Sheffield.
On how the police have dealt with crime during the riots and disorder, Sir Mark said on Wednesday: “We have commentators from either end of the political spectrum who like to throw accusations of bias at the police because we stand in the middle, we operate independently under the law without fear or favour.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said accused who took part in the disorder are being fast-tracked through the justice system, and warned: “If you provoke violent disorder on our streets or online, you will face the full force of the law.”
