A group of lawyers in London have launched legal action against the Metropolitan Police accusing them of failing to halt an anti-Islam UKIP protest in October which was framed as a “crusade” against Muslims.
Legal Action for Peace (LAfP), an organisation of lawyers and human rights advocates, has sent a pre-action protocol letter to the Commissioner of the Met, challenging the force’s decision to permit UKIP’s protest on October 25 which was framed as a “crusade” to “reclaim Whitechapel from the Islamists.”
The lawyers claim that by allowing the protest to proceed, even with a re-routed location out of Whitechapel, the Met failed in its statutory duties to protect the British Muslim community from hate speech and incitement to violence.
UKIP is led by the far-right, anti-Islam activist Nick Tenconi.
Enabling hatred and violence
Imran Khan & Partners said: “We have now served a Letter of Claim on the Metropolitan Police Service, putting them on notice of potential judicial review proceedings. We act on behalf of Legal Action for Peace; an organisation of Muslim lawyers and human rights advocates committed to upholding the rule of law and protecting fundamental rights.”
The statement from Imran Khan & Partners added that allowing such a protest was of serious concern in relation to the Human Rights Act 1998, which obliges authorities to “prevent discrimination and protect communities from hate speech and intimidation.”
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The Director for Legal Action for Peace, Ayesha Khan, said: “Freedom of speech does not include the freedom to incite violence. By rerouting but not stopping UKIP’s protest on 25th October, the Met gave the green light to hatred and failed in its fundamental duty to keep all Londoners safe. We are taking this stand because the rule of law must be applied equally to protect everyone. Hate speech that falls outside of the parameters of the law is not free speech.”
The organisation has also issued a public CrowdJustice fundraising campaign with a target of raising £30,000 to support the legal costs for the judicial review claim, arguing that the police’s failure to ban the protest outright abandoned the Muslim community to targeted hate speech and violated core legal duties. This legal action is launched amidst a documented spike in anti-Muslim incidents.
LAfP made it clear that it was pursuing this legal challenge to ensure that public authorities are held accountable for decisions that undermine community cohesion and threaten the safety and dignity of minority groups.
