Two Green Party election candidates have been arrested on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred after allegedly posting antisemitic content online, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed.
The two politicians were detained in London on Thursday morning under Section 19 of the Public Order Act and taken into custody for questioning. Neither has been named at this stage.
The arrests come just 24 hours after two Jewish men were stabbed in a terrorist attack in Golders Green, north London, in an incident that has been formally declared an act of terrorism and has sent shockwaves through the capital’s Jewish community.
The timing has intensified scrutiny of the Green Party’s relationship with antisemitism, coming at a moment when leader Zack Polanski is already facing criticism over his suggestion days before the Golders Green attack that Jewish communities’ fears may be a matter of “perception” rather than reality, and over his reposting of content that criticised police for their handling of the terrorist suspect’s arrest.
The Green Party was approached for comment. The investigation is ongoing.
