Police face ‘two-tier justice’ claims after Green councillor who shared Hamas video avoids sanction

Avon and Somerset Police is facing allegations of “two-tier policing” after a Green Party councillor who admitted sharing a Hamas video faced no legal action.

Abdul Malik, a councillor in Bristol shared a clip in which a spokesman for the terror group described the October 7 massacre as a “supremely defensive act” and said that Israel was an “an animal state… a cancer that should be eradicated”, despite initially denying doing so.

The link to the Hamas video apparently shared by Green candidate Abdul Malik[Missing Credit]

In February, Malik, who is also a magistrate, was reprimanded by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) – the watchdog for his profession.

Although Malik said that he did not support Hamas and removed the post as soon as he became aware of it, the JCIO said that his actions “amounted to serious misconduct”.

It added that he “failed to exercise due care and diligence, both in his sharing of the post and in his initial denial of responsibility, which was publicly discredited and compounded the damage caused by the initial sharing of the post” and that the incident “had a detrimental effect upon the dignity, standing and good reputation of the magistracy”.

Since the decision, Avon and Somerset Police had been under pressure to reveal whether they had taken action against Malik.

The force told the JC in a statement: “The material was reviewed by Counter Terrorism Policing’s Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) and Avon and Somerset Police’s crime assessment unit. Both determined that the post did not breach any legislation.

“The incident was also not felt to meet the threshold required to be recorded as a non-crime hate incident”, it added.

However, the refusal to designate Malik’s post as a non-crime hate incident (NCHI) – a controversial designation for acts that are not criminal offences but are motivated by prejudice against a protected characteristic like sex or race – has sparked outrage in Westminster.

Lord Walney, the government’s former independent adviser on political violence and disruption told the JC it was “extraordinary” that Malik had avoided prosecution.

“Officers understandably hate accusations of two-tier policing but decisions like this will only place them under further pressure and scrutiny”, he added.

Other police forces have, in the past, been criticised for excess use of non-crime hate incidents for less severe cases.

Earlier this year, for instance, Greater Manchester Police recorded a NCHI against Labour MP Andrew Gwynne after it was revealed that he’d sent offensive messages about an elderly constituent in a WhatsApp group.

And, in November last year, the JC revealed that an East London Imam who called for the destruction of Jewish homes faced no sanctions from the Metropolitan Police.

This was shortly after Essex Police prompted uproar over their decision to launch a criminal investigation into a tweet by Allison Pearson, a journalist at The Daily Telegraph.

Lord Young, director of the Free Speech Union, which has campaigned against the excessive use of NCHIs, was scathing of Avon and Somerset Police’s actions.

“I used to think we lived in a police state run by the Keystone Cops, but it's actually worse than that. They're Keystone Cops who've been marinated in radical progressive gobbledegook”, he said.

He continued: “According to their ideological training, Jews have 'white privilege' and therefore aren't as deserving of police protection as members of so-called victim groups."

It should be noted that there is no formal “ideological training” along these lines implemented by the force.

Despite admitting to sharing the Hamas video, Malik was also allowed to remain a member of the Green Party.

In February, a party spokesperson told the JC that: “He has made abundantly clear that he does not endorse its content. Indeed, he has a long history of condemning Hamas in his role in his local mosque. Crucially he has shown learning from the incident and understood the offence and hurt it caused.”

However, Conservative MP Matt Vickers, the Shadow Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire, told the JC that he should have been sacked.

“The JCIO found his actions amounted to serious misconduct and damaged the standing of the magistracy. That alone should have been enough for the Green Party to act”, he said.

“Councillor Malik should resign immediately, and the Green Party must answer for why they continue to tolerate someone who amplified this rhetoric.”

The JC has contacted Malik for comment.