DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Existing laws must be used to tackle haters

Once again, pro-Palestinian demonstrators take to our city streets denouncing Israel and demanding ‘intifada from London to Gaza’.

Some call for jihad – generally interpreted as holy war. Others carry black flags reminiscent of the Islamic State banner or distribute leaflets praising the ‘extraordinary heroism’ of Hamas. 

It’s almost as if the massacre of 1,400 Jewish men, women and children never happened.

The police have made a few arrests on suspicion of hate crime but Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says his officers are limited in their actions by the loose legal definition of extremism.

A review of the law has now been ordered in an attempt to bridge the gap between hate speech and terrorism. One suggestion is a new offence of supporting terrorism ‘by implication’.

Once again, pro-Palestinian demonstrators take to our city streets denouncing Israel and demanding ‘intifada from London to Gaza’

The police have made a few arrests on suspicion of hate crime but Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley (pictured) says his officers are limited in their actions by the loose legal definition of extremism

Calling for jihad in the middle of a heated demonstration might be an example. But creating laws can have unintended consequences. Much as the Mail would love to see more of these merchants of hate brought to justice, legitimate free speech must also be protected.

In any case, this is no short-term solution. The legislation would be unlikely to reach the statute book before the end of next year.

READ MORE: When WILL the Met crackdown on the Islamists hijacking the pro-Palestine marches? Fury as extremists carry effigies of dead babies and chant ‘globalise the Intifada’ during massive rally on London’s streets

Our Jewish community needs reassurance now that the police will keep them safe. Sir Mark must find ways to use existing laws to tackle the haters – as he would against any other odious racists.

Burglary matters 

There is a perception, often fuelled by opposition parties seeking to embarrass the Government, that crime is rising inexorably.

Yet the most recent Crime Survey for England and Wales, based on mass polling, shows overall offences down 10 per cent in the year to June.

And although the more traditional metric of police recorded offences paints a less rosy picture, even that isn’t universally bleak. Knife crime and robbery are still significantly below pre-pandemic levels.

However, as Lib Dem analysis emphasises, detection rates remain appallingly low. For key offences such as burglary and car theft they are an affront to justice.

Some 272,000 homes and businesses were burgled in England and Wales in the year to June. Only 6 per cent of investigations resulted in a suspect being charged.

This is simply not good enough. Burglary is a crime of gross intrusion as well as theft, and can leave victims feeling violated and unsafe in their own homes.

But police performance in prosecuting those responsible is so lamentable that in one recent survey 68 per cent of people said the police had ‘given up’ on burglary.

However, as Lib Dem analysis emphasises, detection rates remain appallingly low. For key offences such as burglary and car theft they are an affront to justice (file image)

The College of Policing has now issued guidance to all forces saying they should henceforth attend all residential burglaries and ‘ensure that victims receive a professional response’.

The tragedy is that they need to be reminded of this fundamental duty.

Back-door legislation 

Women’s rights groups are suspicious that the Welsh government may be trying to introduce gender self-identification on the back of legislation designed to increase female representation in its Labour-run parliament.

As part of gender quotas, it would recognise transgender women as women if they have undergone, are undergoing, or are merely ‘proposing to undergo’ gender reassignment from male to female. It is not clear that any proof would be required.

As the fiasco in Scotland showed, gender identification is a massively controversial issue. If the Labour-run Welsh government wants to create its own definition of what constitutes a woman, it should be up front about it and table a separate Bill – not try to sneak it in through the back door.

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