Gideon Falter Claims UNRAVEL

Even before the more complete footage emerged, showing the encounter between Gideon Falter, head man of the so-called Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, and senior officers of the Metropolitan Police, during the passage of a Palestinian solidarity march in the vicinity of the Aldwych on Saturday 13th April, doubts had been cast on the narrative offered to the media.

Falter claimed that he was merely going for a walk in central London. He was not, unless one counts being backed up by several others and a film crew as merely going for a walk. He claimed that he was just crossing the road, but he was not: the only conclusion that can be reached from viewing the footage is that he was trying to walk head-on at the march, provoking a confrontation.

He and his colleagues were guided back onto the pavement and told they could cross the road at a crossing point. The cops would have had good grounds for arresting Falter for assaulting a Police officer, and a breach of the peace. But the right-leaning part of our free and fearless press had already decided on its narrative, confirming its status as more bad faith actors.

Also confirmed as a bad faith actor was (thankfully) former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who has effectively admitted that she wants Mark Rowley sacked because he will not stop the Palestine solidarity marches, which she smears as “hate marches”, despite their passing off overwhelmingly peacefully, and including in their number thirteen Jewish organisations.

What the press, and Ms Braverman, cannot or will not take on board is that the longer footage shows Falter apparently looking to provoke. The cops were taking action to stop that happening. And it was not the first time Falter had pulled this one, except this time he and his pals were on foot, and they had previously hired a van to, presumably, drive against the march.

So there arrived this morning the inevitably tedious headlines. From the Telegraph, caught doing an Anti-Semitism on its front page with its attack on George Soros, we get “PM refuses to back under-fire Met chief - Sir Mark Rowley faces questions over force’s ‘appalling’ treatment of Jewish man”.

The Daily Brexit, still called the Express, a routine source of bigotry, told “No 10 fails to back Police chief over protest row”, while the Murdoch Times, whose owner memorably complained about the “Jewish owned press” on an open Twitter feed, had “PM appalled by Jewish man’s ordeal”, and the Mail, source of a viciously anti-Semitic attack on the memory of the late Ralph Miliband, had “JEWISH LEADERS CALL ON MET CHIEF TO QUIT”.

Sadly, the cavalry has arrived too late to save Gideon Falter. He was told that “At every single march there are thousands of Jewish people marching”. He said there were not, but the evidence is overwhelming. Rivkah Brown concluded “As suspected, this incident was a setup. Gideon Falter wasn't just passing through: he'd organised a stunt to rile protesters, and the police attempted to prevent the altercation he was clearly gunning for”.

Former Met CS Dal Babu added “I have watched the thirteen minute clip that’s on [Sky News] & it’s a totally different encounter to the one Gideon Falter … has reported …The narrative that’s been pushed is not accurate”. He also concluded that an arrest for breach of the peace would be justified.

As did former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal: “Having now seen the longer video of the police interaction with Gideon Falter, I see that we have been misled. The officer may have been more careful with his words, but Mr Falter was provocative to the point that an arrest for breach of the peace might have been justified”. Even the BBC was standing firm.

On the Radio 4 Today Programme, presenter Mishal Husain asked Suella Braverman if she’d seen the whole footage. Ms Braverman said she’d seen enough. Ms Husain told her “I suggest you watch the whole video ... as you're basing what you're saying on incomplete information”.

Gideon Falter is, meanwhile, threatening defamation proceedings. For being found out, perhaps? This wagon has now lost its wheels. End of story.

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