Boris Johnson slams Met's support on investigation into 'war crimes' committed in Israel-Hamas conflict
4 January 2024, 12:36
Boris Johnson has hit out at the Met for supporting an international investigation into claims of war crimes committed in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
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The former Conservative Prime Minister said he was concerned about the "politicisation" of the Met.
Detectives in the Met's war crimes team have asked people arriving at airports for any information about war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Middle Eastern conflict. Scotland Yard said evidence could be linked to Hamas' October 7 attack or Israel's retaliation.
Officers said that the force has a legal responsibility to help with the investigation, as it could involve British subjects. They said there was currently no UK-based investigation linked to the war.
Mr Johnson, who was also Mayor of London from 2008-2016, told the Telegraph that under his tenure he "made it clear that we would not import foreign wars or disputes onto the streets of London."
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He added that in his view "the Met would be better off fighting knife crime in the capital."
Mr Johnson's criticisms were echoed by Peter Bleksley, a former Met detective, who said his old force should focus more on tackling domestic crime.
Mr Bleksley told LBC's Nick Ferrari: "If you live in the Metropolitan Police district - which is vast, anywhere from Harold Hill to Hounslow, or Brent Cross to Bromley - and you haven't have your phone stolen your bike stolen, your house burgled, or your car broken into, you're a shopkeeper plagued by shoplifting, or you're a victim of fraud, then in all likelihood, the Metropolitan Police are for you an utter irrelevancy".
He added that "millions of victims of crime are actually failed by this organisation, who now take it upon themselves to poke their oar into a conflict many, many miles from home."
Mr Bleksley said: "And the question, of course, in which I support the former Prime Minister, is why is this their their remit? Is this their jurisdiction? I think the answers to those questions are thundering 'no's'."
The Met has put up posters in Heathrow addressing "travellers who have been in Israel/Palestinian Territories."
The posters add: "If you have been in Israel/Palestinian Territories and have witnessed or been a victim of terrorism, war crimes or crimes against humanity, then you can report this to the UK police."
The posters, which are written in Arabic, Hebrew and English, says: "UK policing is supporting the work of the International Criminal Court, which is investigating alleged war crimes in Israel and Palestine from June 2014 onwards.
"Any evidence gathered may be shared with the ICC in support of their investigation."
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Leaders of UK-based Jewish organisations such as the Campaign against Anti-Semitism also criticised the poster campaign.
Gideon Falter, the group's chief executive, called the Met's actions "surreal" and said that "the first duty and priority of Britain’s police must surely be the safety and well-being of British people in Britain".
The Met is investigating about 150 possible terrorism-linked crimes committed online and during protests.
A spokesman for the force said: "As the UK’s investigative authority for war crimes, counter-terrorism policing – through the Met’s war crimes team – has a responsibility to support ICC investigations. The ICC opened an investigation in 2019 into alleged war crimes in Israel and Palestine."
He added that "under the terms of the 1998 Rome Statute, our war crimes team is obliged to support any investigations opened by the ICC that could involve British subjects...
"With higher volumes of British nationals and UK-based individuals currently returning from Israel, Gaza and nearby countries, we anticipate there may be people who have evidence or relevant information to the ICC investigation," the spokesman said.
"We are therefore signposting people to reporting routes where appropriate.
"The Met’s Counter-Terrorism Command also continues to gather direct information and evidence relating to the terrorist attack in Israel on Oct 7 in support of the UK coronial investigations into British nationals who were killed during those attacks.
"At this time, there is no UK-based investigation by the war crimes team linked to the current events in the Middle East."
