Calls to replace Met’s Mark Rowley with ‘anti-woke’ Manchester chief
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An “anti-woke” police chief who turned around two forces should be parachuted into the Met to counter the effective “decriminalisation” of some anti-Semitic behaviour in London, Conservative MPs have said.
Backbenchers are calling for Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, to be ousted in favour of Chief Constable Stephen Watson of Greater Manchester Police.
Sir Mark, who was appointed as Met chief last year in place of Cressida Dick, has faced mounting criticism over the force’s response to anti-Semitic chants and banners at weekly pro-Palestinian protests since the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel.
MPs suggested that Mr Watson’s zero-tolerance approach to fighting crime had paid dividends since the attacks. They are concerned that an insufficiently “robust” approach by the Met during the early pro-Palestinian demonstrations created a “permissive” environment for hate speech.
Mr Watson, who previously ran South Yorkshire Police and has warned that public tolerance of “woke” policing is at a “high water mark”, is highly regarded among senior Tories.
His approach at Greater Manchester Police, where he required the force to pursue every crime lead, inspired new guidance issued to all forces over the summer, when Suella Braverman, then home secretary, said it was “completely unacceptable” that criminals are often “effectively free to break certain laws”.
A government source said Mr Watson had a “truly transformational” impact on Greater Manchester Police, which he took out of special measures in just 18 months with a “back-to-basics” approach.
Mr Watson issued a public statement on Oct 12, ahead of the first pro-Palestinian marches after the attacks, warning that “there is no place for anti-Semitic hate crime in Greater Manchester”. Although Sir Mark’s deputy and assistant commissioners issued similar messages, the Commissioner’s first public intervention came 16 days after the Oct 7 attacks, on Oct 23, following criticism of officers’ failure to intervene when pro-Palestine protesters chanted “jihad”.
James Daly, the Conservative MP for Bury North, who is a formal criminal solicitor, said: “I have come to the conclusion that a Stephen Watson-run Metropolitan Police would be far more proactive in enforcing the criminal law and would not tolerate some of the anti-social behaviours we have seen on the capital’s streets which at present appear to be going unchecked.
“Stephen Watson is the type of police officer I came across when I first started practising in the courts. Whatever the type of offence, if the evidence is there you will be arrested and prosecuted. In contrast to the previous regime in charge of policing in Greater Manchester this is a revolutionary approach.
“I believe this robust approach to criminal justice should be adopted by the Metropolitan Police, specifically in relation to the recent protests we have seen in London.”
Mr Daly, a member of the Commons home affairs select committee, added: “If protestors make racially inflammatory statements or carry placards with anti-Semitic wording which is in breach of the criminal law, they should be arrested and put before the courts. The Met officers themselves and members of the public who witness such behaviours should be encouraged to make immediate complaints. The right to peaceful protest must not be hijacked by those who wish to spread hate based on another’s nationality or religion.”
Adam Holloway, a second Conservative member of the home affairs committee, added that, while the majority of demonstrators appeared to be genuinely concerned about civilian casualties in Gaza, it was “bizarre” that others brandishing hateful signs or shouting anti-Semitic slogans were “allowed to get away with it”.
He said: “I absolutely agree with freedom of speech but this is a different order. You can’t have people saying these things. We are seeing far too much woke, weak policing. What the public want and what they pay for is robust policing.” Mr Holloway suggested that Mr Watson “come and take over the Met or do some sort of consultancy” for the force.
Chris Clarkson, the MP for Heywood and Middleton, north east of Manchester, said: “From a Manchester perspective I am a big supporter of Steve.
“Steve, for me, has got the balance absolutely spot on. It is about proper policing, not emotional policing. It is about doing what most people would see as necessary to maintain law and order.
“It’s not about taking sides, it’s about making sure people have a right to protest but not to do so in a way that can cause harm and offence to other people.”
Another Conservative MP added that, in London, the Met had effectively “decriminalised a lot of behaviour which we should very much be clamping down on”.
Sir Mark has said there were gaps in the law that meant extremist groups were able to propagate “some pretty toxic messages”.
But, in a report published last week, Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said that chants of jihad at pro-Palestinian marches can be prosecuted as encouraging terrorism.
A spokesman for Sir Mark declined to comment.
In an article for The Telegraph on Oct 24, Sir Mark said: “We are determined to ruthlessly tackle anyone who puts their foot over the legal line.”
But he added: “The events of this moment suggest that perhaps the line of the law is not in the right place. That is a matter for Government and Parliament to consider.”
