Morale within the Metropolitan Police is at “rock bottom” as pressure mounts on Britain’s largest force over its handling of pro-Palestinian protests, insiders have warned.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted on Monday that Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley retains his confidence following a row over the treatment of an antisemitism campaigner who was threatened with arrest by an officer during a Gaza march and told that his “openly Jewish” appearance risked antagonising protesters.
Scotland Yard has since twice apologised for the incident – withdrawing an original apology and issuing a further statement following complaints of “victim blaming” from Gideon Falter, the man whose verbal exchange with officers was widely shared on social media. Mr Falter is chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, a group which monitors anti-Jewish hatred.
The Met has faced a backlash over its dealing of the incident, including from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan who said the way it had been dealt with was “insensitive and wrong”.
But both serving and former Yard officers raised questions about the toll being taken on frontline personnel from policing of the protests, saying that staff faced having their leave cancelled and were being left unable to carry out their “normal job” of patrolling London’s boroughs.
The Metropolitan Police Federation (MPF), which represents rank-and-file staff, said officers were being asked to do a “near-impossible job” during the protests and found themselves liable to “trial by social media” over incidents where they had been required to act spontaneously with “no benefit of hindsight”.
In a statement, the MPF said the burden of policing the central London protests was having a knock-on effect on the service provided elsewhere in the capital. Scotland Yard, which paid tribute to the professionalism of officers during demonstrations, acknowledged having had to “abstract” personnel from their normal roles during the demonstrations but insisted its local policing commitments were being met.
In January, the Yard revealed that policing both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli marches had cost it £26.5m since the Hamas massacres on 7 October, 2023.
The MPF said: “Every weekend Metropolitan Police officers are having their leave and days off cancelled to facilitate these protests – while their normal job patrolling their local boroughs is just not getting done.”
The organisation added: “Whilst the protests we have seen are in the main peaceful, the constant criticism and the trial by social media our officers suffer whilst policing them is unfair to hard working police officers.
“Our colleagues on the front line are in a near-impossible job. Damned if we do, damned if we don’t, whilst trying to keep London moving and keep people safe.”
Insiders at the Yard, whose leaders including Sir Mark have faced months of criticism over issues including the handling of the antiwar protests related to Gaza and broader questions over professional standards within the force, said the latest row had further damaged already low morale.
One former officer said: “Things are at absolutely rock bottom in terms of morale. There is no doubt that the wrong words were used in the case of Mr Falter. But the pressures officers are working under are immense.
“There are just not the resources available to police these protests and get the day job done at the same time. There is a very strong sense that you are permanently only a hair’s breadth from a social media pile-on just for doing your job. And that has a very real effect on people’s willingness to do that job.”
Police chiefs have repeatedly emphasised that they have an obligation to facilitate peaceful protest amid a global outcry over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. But the demonstrations have at the same time become a touchstone for complaints from some politicians and campaigners over what they say is a lenient attitude to hate speech from some taking part in the marches.
Mr Falter on Monday reinforced his criticism of the treatment he received, accusing Sir Mark of failing to protect Jewish Londoners from feeling intimidated by the marches.
The warnings of low morale in the Met, which has some 46,000 staff, follow the revelation of evidence earlier this month that nearly a third of officers intend to resign from the force within the next two years or “as soon as they can”.
The findings of an annual welfare review of officers by the MPF found that nearly eight in 10 had experienced “stress, low mood, anxiety” or other health difficulties over the previous 12 months. A further 84 per cent of Met officers said they would not recommend joining the force.
Responding to the survey, the Yard said it recognised that it had not been able to recruit as many new officers as it would like but said it faced the same struggles as other public-sector organisations in offering starting salaries that match the high cost of living in London.
Responding to the criticism that borough patrols have been reduced to provide officers for protest marches, a Met spokesperson said:
A Met Police spokesperson said: “While we have acknowledged on several occasions having to abstract officers from their regular roles to meet the demands of policing large scale demonstrations and protests, the Met is well-resourced and able to meet its commitments so that local policing continues. We are able to call on support from other forces if necessary, for example the most recent demonstration from last weekend. We are grateful for the support from those colleagues.”
The spokesperson added: “We understand the significant impact these events have on our officers and appreciate their continued hard work and professionalism in sometimes very difficult circumstances.”