08 August 2024 , 19:06
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A Labour councillor has been arrested by the Met Police and suspended from the party for calling on far-right protesters’ throats to be ‘cut’.
Ricky Jones, a borough councillor in Dartford, Kent, is thought to have made the call at a demonstration in east London on Wednesday evening.
He has since been arrested for an offence under the Public Order Act following the incident in Kent on Wednesday evening, the Metropolitan Police said.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, in which the original video of his statement was linked, the force said: ‘Officers have arrested a man aged in his 50s at an address in south-east London.
‘He was held on suspicion of encouraging murder and for an offence under the Public Order Act. He is in custody at a south London police station.’
A Labour spokesperson said the violent imagery was ‘completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated’.
Met Police previously said they were investigating it as a matter of urgency (Picture: Dartford Labour)
In a video from Hoe Street in Walthamstow, which was filled pavement-to-pavement with anti-racism demonstrators, Mr Jones was filmed allegedly saying: ‘They are disgusting Nazi fascists and we need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all.’
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted the footage to his X, formerly Twitter, account and asked: ‘Why has #TwoTierKeir not taken action?’
A Labour spokesperson said: ‘This behaviour is completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated. The councillor has been suspended from the party.’
It means Mr Jones will be unable to sit on the Labour benches at Dartford Borough Council meetings.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of the significant public concern around this video. Officers are investigating as a matter of urgency.’
Mr Farage is among several online commentators who have alleged police and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are dealing with some protesters more harshly than others, known as two-tier policing.
Mr Jones has been contacted for a statement.
Sir Keir said on Wednesday convictions and prison sentences for some of the people involved in the disorder were evidence of ‘the swift action’ that authorities are taking, and warned: ‘If you provoke violent disorder on our streets or online, you will face the full force of the law.’
Sir Mark Rowley, who leads the Met in London, has previously rejected accusations of two-tier policing as ‘complete nonsense’.
He said on Wednesday: ‘We have commentators from either end of the political spectrum who like to throw accusations of bias at the police because we stand in the middle, we operate independently under the law without fear or favour.’
Speaking after the anti-racism demonstration in Walthamstow, Sir Mark told broadcasters: ‘It went off very peacefully last night – a couple of locations we had some local criminals turn out and try and create a bit of antisocial behaviour and we arrested a few of them.’
Demonstrators also gathered in several cities throughout England, including Bristol, Brighton, Liverpool and Sheffield.
The gatherings were held in a bid to counter several days of disorder and rioting, which have led to more than 480 arrests, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Participants have damaged buildings including Southport Islamic Society Mosque, Spellow Library in Liverpool, a Citizens Advice office and next-door police station in Sunderland, and Holiday Inn hotels in the Midlands and Yorkshire.
Courts have heard some led chants, including the phrases ‘We’re taking our country back’ and ‘Allah, Allah, who the f*** is Allah.’