Met Police adviser led controversial Palestine chant in unearthed footage | UK News

An adviser to the Metropolitan Police has been seen leading a chant of ‘from the river to the sea’ in footage recorded two years ago.

Attiq Malik is a solicitor who chairs an official advisory body for Scotland Yard, and advises the force on their response to protests over the Israel-Hamas conflict, The Telegraph has revealed.

Mr Malik was present in police operations rooms during protests last month, and has previously rallied against ‘global censorship by the Zionists’.

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A video recorded in 2021 was uncovered by The Telegraph which shows Mr Malik instigating chants of ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’.

He was addressing a protest in Luton against an earlier Israeli offensive in Gaza in May 2021.

Holding a microphone, Mr Malik said: ‘We go on BBC, ITV, do we see any of this? No we don’t. You watch Sky News, do we see this? No.

‘Even on social media what we’re seeing is the posts are going up on Insta, LinkedIn, Facebook, they’re getting deleted.

‘What’s going on is global censorship by the Zionists, global censorship to silence us.’

He ended his address by instigating chants of ‘from the river to the sea’, encouraging those at the rally to respond with ‘Palestine will be free’.

The slogan which has faced increased scrutiny in recent weeks as Downing Street described it as ‘deeply offensive’ to many.

Mr Malik is chairman of the London Muslim Communities Forum. Among its formal objectives are to ‘inform and help shape policy and procedure at a strategic level’.

The Met describes the forum as a ‘strategic advisory body’.

The Met’s policing of pro-Palestine marches has been called into question in recent weeks after officers were seen taking no action in response to calls for ‘jihad’.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the ‘river to the sea’ chant could be understood as ‘an expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased’.

She’s asked police to consider whether its use could constitute an offence in some circumstances.

The Metropolitan Police declined to give details of any advice that Mr Malik might have provided in recent weeks.

Ade Adelekan, deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said: ‘We talk to people from all backgrounds to ensure we understand the effect of policing on their communities.

‘As part of this work, the Met supports and works with a number of advisory groups.

‘It may be the case that members of these groups have views we do not endorse. Often they are strongly held. They may also be critical of the Met and policing.

‘We do not take instructions from advisory groups or anyone else and we will always maintain our operational independence.

‘It is right that we listen to those we serve to build a better Met.’

Mr Malik was contacted by The Telegraph but did not respond to questions.

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