Volunteer Met officer ‘sought to intimidate Al Jazeera journalists’

A volunteer police officer is being investigated over claims he sought to intimidate Al Jazeera journalists who were covering a suspected antisemitic hate crime in north-west London on Monday, Scotland Yard has said.David Soffer, who was off-duty at the time of his alleged involvement, has been referred to the Metropolitan Police’s department of professional standards over his apparent involvement in the altercation between Golders Green residents and the TV journalists.“We’re aware of the footage showing the verbal altercation between local residents and journalists. Freedom of the press is important and journalists must be able to do their job without being subject to intimidation or harassment,” the Met police said on Thursday.“Officers did intervene, but we recognise that there was an extended period where the journalists were put in a difficult situation, which led them to leave the area.“Officers on duty in the area have been asked to be alert to any similar altercations in the coming days. We will be reviewing the footage to identify whether any offences were committed.”The incident occurred amid heightened tensions in the London suburb, which has a large Jewish population.On Monday, people had gathered at the site of the attack on four ambulances belonging to Hatzola, the community ambulance service funded by Jewish giving. One man was heard saying: “No one needs Al Jazeera here.”Reporters from the Press Association heard the group shout at the journalists to “go home” before calling them “terrorist sympathisers” and accusing them of “terrorist propaganda”.It is understood the incident occurred on Monday morning, with the situation calming somewhat later in the day.Soffer, 34, was identified by the investigative journalism organisation Declassified UK on Thursday – after footage had emerged on social media. The outlet reported that the footage showed a group of men surrounding the Al Jazeera film crew, shouting “go home”.It said Soffer approached one of the Al Jazeera journalists, who is Palestinian, calling him a “dog” and a “donkey” in Arabic. “Go back to Qatar,” he was heard to say. “Get out of here, you donkey.”On Thursday, the Met said: “We are aware that an off-duty serving Met special constable was involved in the altercation. The matter has been referred to the Directorate of Professional Standards for assessment.”The Press Association estimated there were approximately 50 people surrounding the Al Jazeera journalists during the altercation. Al Jazeera is an independent news organisation based in Doha that is partially funded by the Qatari government.On Thursday morning, it emerged that two men arrested in connection with the suspected arson attack had been released on bail.The men, aged 47 and 45, who are both UK nationals, were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life after the incident in Golders Green. On Thursday, the Met said the pair had been bailed until April while the investigation continued.The force said searches had been carried out at addresses in the Kilburn and King’s Cross areas of London, where the men had been arrested. Further searches had also taken place at two other addresses in north-west London, the Met added.