Antisemitic offences in London have increased by over 1,000% this month compared to last year, police have said.
The Metropolitan Police said there had been “a significant increase in hate crime across London” and that officers had made 21 arrests for hate crime offences, amid the Israel-Hamas war.
These arrests included a man detained on suspicion of defacing posters of missing Israelis in Camden and another man in relation to 10 incidents of Islamophobic graffiti on bus stops in New Malden and Raynes Park.
The Metropolitan Police said there had been 218 antisemitic offences between October 1 and 18, compared to 15 in the same period last year – an increase of 1,353%.
They added that Islamophobia offences during the same period had increased from 42 last year, to 101 this year – an increase of 140%.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said police would “not stand by” if hate crimes took place and promised that officers would “intervene swiftly”.
Mr Adelekan said that over 1,000 officers would be deployed to police a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London on Saturday, adding that speeches would take place on a stage away from the Cenotaph after “concerns last week” about its location.
He added that police had been deployed to 445 schools and 1,930 places of worship “to provide reassurance”.
Commander Dominic Murphy, from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said that police remained conscious that events overseas could “inspire events in the UK”.
