Letter to Metropolitan Police Commissioner: Investigation Into Potential Incitement to Racial Hatred by Mayor of London

Sir Mark Rowley

Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis

New Scotland Yard

Broadway

London SW1H 0BG

By Email: mark.rowley@met.police.uk

13 October 2025

Dear Commissioner,

REQUEST FOR INVESTIGATION INTO POTENTIAL INCITEMENT TO RACIAL HATRED BY THE MAYOR OF LONDON

I write to urge the Metropolitan Police Service to investigate statements made by Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, in a Sky News interview on 10 October 2025, in which he defended the chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as non-anti-Semitic.¹ These remarks have been widely reported (for example, in The Telegraph, LBC, and GB News), and many law-abiding British Citizens are deeply concerned that they risk stirring up racial hatred under section 18 of the Public Order Act 1986, in a manner akin to recent convictions such as that of Lucy Connolly in 2024.²³⁴

As detailed in the attached document Inciting Hatred: Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Defence of the ‘From the River to the Sea’ Chant and Its Role in Fuelling Anti-Semitic Violence in London Protests”  the phrase originates in the Palestine Liberation Organization’s 1964 Charter and Hamas’s 1988 and 2017 Covenants as a call for the destruction of Israel and the expulsion of Jews – a genocidal intent affirmed by experts such as Raymond Ibrahim and Mossab Hassan Yousef (son of a Hamas founder), as well as by U.S. congressional resolutions (H.Res.883 and S.Res.497).⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹ No benign context exists for this phrase; it incites hatred against Jews as a racial and ethnic group. Furthermore, its public use in chants, posters, and placards at protests is prosecutable as abusive behaviour or visible representations under section 18.¹⁰¹¹

In light of the Mayor’s oversight role in relation to the Metropolitan Police Service, I respectfully request that this matter be referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct to ensure independence.

For full evidence supporting these concerns, please see the attached document, “Inciting Hatred: Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Defence of the ‘From the River to the Sea’ Chant and Its Role in Fuelling Anti-Semitic Violence in London Protests”.

I would be grateful if you could confirm receipt of this letter and outline the intended actions.

Yours sincerely,

DR CHAN ABRAHAM

ChanAbraham-ChangingBritainForGood

References

¹ Sky News, “Sadiq Khan defends ‘From the river to the sea’ chant,” 10 October 2025, https://news.sky.com/story/sadiq-khan-defends-from-the-river-to-the-sea-chant-13212345 (see Appendix, Summary of the Reported Statements).

² The Telegraph, “Sadiq Khan: ‘From the river to the sea’ chant is not anti-Semitic,” 10 October 2025, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/10/10/sadiq-khan-from-the-river-to-the-sea-chant-not-anti-semitic/ (see Appendix, Additional Media Coverage).

³ LBC, “Sadiq Khan says ‘From the river to the sea’ chant is not antisemitic,” 10 October 2025, https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/sadiq-khan-river-to-the-sea-antisemitic-5HjdFF5_2/ (see Appendix, Additional Media Coverage).

⁴ GB News, “Sadiq Khan sparks Palestine protest row after claiming ‘from river to sea’ chant is not antisemitic,” 10 October 2025, https://www.gbnews.com/politics/politics-news-latest-keir-starmer-labour-peter-mandelson (see Appendix, Additional Media Coverage; and Review of Cases, Recent Cases).

⁵ Palestine Liberation Organization, Palestinian National Charter, 1964 (see Appendix, Origins and Historical Context).

⁶ Hamas, Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement, 1988 (see Appendix, Origins and Historical Context).

⁷ Hamas, A Document of General Principles and Policies, 2017 (see Appendix, Origins and Historical Context).

⁸ Raymond Ibrahim, “From the River to the Sea: Jewish and Jihadi Conflict,” Darrow Miller and Friends, 1 May 2024, https://darrowmillerandfriends.com/2024/05/01/from-the-river-to-the-sea-jewish-and-jihadi-conflict/ (see Appendix, Assessments by Reliable Authorities).

⁹ Mossab Hassan Yousef, testimony in U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, 2014 (see Appendix, Assessments by Reliable Authorities); U.S. House of Representatives, H.Res.883, 2023, https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/883/text; U.S. Senate, S.Res.497, 2023, https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-resolution/497 (see Appendix, Assessments by Reliable Authorities).

¹⁰ Public Order Act 1986, s.18 (see Appendix, Application of the Public Order Act 1986).

¹¹ Ibid. (see Appendix, Application of the Public Order Act 1986).

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