Suella Braverman: Home Secretary condemns 'anti-Semitic' chants in first public comment since Palestine march

Suella Braverman has spoken out for the first time since a pro-Palestine march she decried as a "hate march", to condemn so-called anti-Semitic chants and call for “further action”.

This comes as calls mount for the Home Secretary to lose her job, after she wrote an explosive - and reportedly unauthorized - opinion piece in the Times, accusing the Metropolitan Police of bias towards left-wing protesters and of "playing favourites" with "pro-Palestinian mobs", after the the force said it would allow a mass demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Palestine to go ahead on Armistice Day. Braverman has been accused by both protesters and politicians across the political spectrum of stoking division over her comments.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the under-fire Home Secretary wrote on Sunday (November 12) that "the sick, inflammatory and, in some cases, clearly criminal chants, placards and paraphernalia openly on display at the march mark a new low".

"Antisemitism and other forms of racism together with the valorising of terrorism on such a scale is deeply troubling," she continued. “This can’t go on. Week by week, the streets of London are being polluted by hate, violence, and antisemitism. Members of the public are being mobbed and intimidated. Jewish people in particular feel threatened. Further action is necessary.”

Braverman also praised police for their handling of Armistice Day protests, after being criticised by fellow MPs earlier in the day for not doing so. “Our brave police officers deserve the thanks of every decent citizen for their professionalism in the face of violence and aggression from protesters and counter protesters in London yesterday," she wrote on X. “That multiple officers were injured doing their duty is an outrage.”

The Met Police earlier said nine officers were injured on Saturday, although a number of those injuries are believed to have happened in scuffles with far-right protesters - with different groups attempting to reach the Cenotaph war memorial, and reportedly gathering to intercept pro-Palestine protesters. A group linked to the Palestine march who had been setting off fireworks, however, were later detained by police - with Sky News reporting that some fireworks were aimed at officers.

Despite more than 100 arrests in total, just seven people have so far been charged by the Metropolitan Police following the protests in London, as of Sunday afternoon. They had also launched appeals to find six more, including a few photographed carrying anti-Semitic signs. The march, attended by hundreds of thousands of people, was largely peaceful and incident-free.