Anger as police in Manchester pull down posters of Israeli hostages - after Met slammed for removing flyers of children

31 October 2023, 08:02 | Updated: 31 October 2023, 08:07

A police officer in Manchester tearing down posters of Israeli hostages has sparked anger - just one day after Met police officers were seen ripping down similar pictures of kidnapped children.

Video footage has emerged showing a lone officer, believed to be from Greater Manchester Police, removing a line of posters.

The incident is understood to have taken place on Bury Road, Prestwich.

Nick Buckley, hoping to stand for Mayor of Greater Manchester next year, said: “We need an answer from GMP police immediately. I hope they have a good response - I can’t think of one but please prove me wrong.”

Another person wrote on X: “They should be policing not taking down posters of kidnapped children, for whatever reason, obviously direction from seniors, it doesn't look good nor is it professional.”

A woman can be heard in the video shouting: "Why is the police taking this down? Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me."

In similar scenes in Edgware, north London, two Met police officers were seen tearing down fliers of kidnapped children.

The Met said the officers were taking steps to ‘avoid community tension’.

The two Met cops were seen removing the posters from the shutters of Cullimore Chemist in Edgware, north London, on Sunday evening.

The posters were of hostages taken from Israel and currently being held captive by Hamas.

The officers' actions have been slammed as 'disgusting' by some, though the Met has defended them, saying they were acting to prevent the 'escalation of tensions' in the area.

After the photo of officers removing the posters was posted online, the Met put out a statement to justify their actions.

A spokesperson for the force confirmed that the posters were put up on Saturday night, which they say led to at least two calls from concerned local residents.

"They believed the posters were put on these specific shutters as a retaliation for comments about the conflict between Israel and Hamas that were made on social media by a person associated with the business," the Met said.

"It appears print outs of those comments may also have been put up next to the posters.Both people who reported the posters to us were concerned that it would escalate an already tense situation."

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They added that the officers went to the shop after receiving the calls and "in good faith", removed the posters "in an effort to prevent any such escalation".

It comes after a series of posters were torn down by members of the public in London in recent weeks.

Footage posted online shows a group of people tearing down posters of Israeli hostages in Leicester Square, central London, last week.

Meanwhile, police previously said they were investigating a hate crime after a poster of missing Israeli children was defaced to give them Hitler moustaches in north London.

The leaflet had a picture of Emma and Yuli Cunio, both aged three, who it says were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in the October 7 attack.