A Labour councillor was today arrested on suspicion of encouraging murder after being filmed telling a crowd that far-right rioters should have their throats cut.
Ricky Jones, who sits on Dartford Borough Council in Kent, was seen speaking in Walthamstow, East London, last night as he railed against 'disgusting nasty fascists'.
Speaking to hundreds of people, Jones accused members of the far-right of putting National Front stickers with razor blades hidden behind them on trains.
Jones then launched into an inflammatory speech, saying: 'They are disgusting nasty fascists and we need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all.'
This drew some cheers and sporadic applause from people stood around him, with some people looking shocked at his reference to cutting throats, before he lead the crowd in a chant of 'Free Palestine'.
But today, the Metropolitan Police confirmed he had been arrested at an address in South East London and held on suspicion of encouraging murder and for an offence under the Public Order Act. He is now in custody at a police station in South London.
Jones, who is an organiser for the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) union, has also been suspended by the Labour Party.
Ricky Jones, pictured at the protest last night, during which he said 'we need to cut the throats' of 'disgusting nasty fascists'
His comments referencing cutting people's throats drew a mixed response from the crowd, some of whom clapped and cheered, while others looked shocked
Jones, who sits on Dartford Borough Council, has since been suspended by the Labour Party following his comments
He made the comments during a large-scale anti-racism protest in Walthamstow last night
A Labour Party spokesperson said: 'This behaviour is completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated. The councillor has been suspended from the party.'
A TSSA spokesperson said: 'TSSA remains steadfast in supporting communities that peacefully stand against fascist aggression. We unequivocally do not condone any threats or acts of violence, as these actions are contrary to our values.'
It is understood Jones was administratively suspended from the party, and the whip has been removed, which means he can no longer be called a Labour councillor.
Footage of his speech was shared online by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who wrote on his X account before the news of the suspension had been broken: 'Why has £TwoTierKeir not taken action?'
Mr Farage is among several online commentators who have alleged police are dealing with some protesters more harshly than others, known as two-tier policing.
Reform MP Lee Anderson told GB News: ‘Let’s hope justice is as swift as it was for the protesters who were sent to prison this week for rioting. Over to you, Sir Keir.’
Sir Mark Rowley, who leads the Metropolitan Police in London, has previously rejected these accusations as 'complete nonsense'.
He said on Wednesday: 'We have commentators from either end of the political spectrum who like to throw accusations of bias at the police because we stand in the middle, we operate independently under the law without fear or favour.'
A spokesperson for the Met said: 'We are aware of the significant public concern around this video. Officers are investigating as a matter of urgency. We will update as soon as we can.'
Jones made the comments at an anti-racism demonstration in Walthamstow last night, which saw thousands of people flood the streets after suggestions the far-right could rally in the area.
Counter-protesters turned out in their thousands in order to send the clear message that Britain does not welcome hate
A woman holds signs which say 'smash fascism and racism' and 'love not hate' at yesterday's gathering in Walthamstow
Police officers stand in front of the anti-racism demonstration in Walthamstow on Wednesday night
The rally saw chants of 'Whose streets? Our Streets!' with the attendance in northeast London was swelled by hundreds of pro-Palestine supporters who joined under a heavy police presence.
They had gone onto the streets after it was included in a list of around 100 places that were under threat of being targeted by far-right protesters.
Counter-protesters turned out in their thousands in several UK cities last night - outnumbering 'anti-immigration' protesters when they bothered to turn up - in order to send the clear message that Britain does not welcome hate.
Undeterred, red-faced would-be protesters have taken to social media to row back on their claims - and now claim there was never a plan to target refugee centres in order to waste police time.
But the Telegram group responsible for sharing an alleged hit list of refugee centres for thugs to target was taken down by the typically immovable team behind the encrypted messaging app - who said it breached their rules on inciting violence.
The demos came as scores of arrests and dozens of convictions were sealed in rapid time, following more than a week of unrest after three young girls were killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29.
Several rallies of hundreds-strong anti-racist activists assembled across London.
More than 5,000 demonstrators gathered in Walthamstow to see off far-right rioters - but were told to disperse by police who told them: 'There's no one else here, it's just you guys'.
Today the head of Britain's biggest police force revealed that people suspected of taking part in the riots are being arrested, with 10 taken into custody in London this morning over disorder in Whitehall last week.
A masked rioter runs in front of a bonfire in the middle of the road in Rotherham on Sunday
Riot police are confronted by Far-right activists during an Enough is Enough protest in Sunderland on August 02
Anti-migration protesters attempt to enter the Holiday Inn Express Hotel which is housing asylum seekers on August 4
Sir Mark Rowley told BBC Breakfast: 'These are criminals, they're thugs, they're no patriots.
'We've been out doing some dawn raids this morning, the people who were most violent in the Whitehall protest and violence last week.
'Yesterday and today it's going to be more than 20 people, about 70 per cent of them have got criminal backgrounds - we've got criminal damage, violence, weapons offences, football banning orders - these are criminal thugs.
'Any suggestion they're patriots or they've got a cause that they're protesting about is nonsense.'
The Met chief said the potential riots had 'abated' after a 'show of force' from police across the country and praised communities for rallying together.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I'm really pleased with how it went. We put thousands of officers on the streets and I think the show of force from the police and frankly, the show of unity from communities together defeated the challenges that we've seen.
'It went off very peacefully last night. [There were] a couple of locations where some local criminals turned out and tried to create a bit of anti-social behaviour and we arrested a few of them, but it was a very successful night and the fears of some sort of extreme-right disorder were abated.'
Since the violence began more than 400 people have been arrested and over 100 charged, with the first prison sentences handed out this week.
Separately, the newly elected Labour MP for Rochester and Strood was forced to apologise after offensive social media comments made between 2009 and 2011 were unearthed.
In one post, Lauren Edwards wrote: ‘I want these f****** Estonian retards out of my flat now!’
In another, she appeared to be reluctant to attend a ‘halal Pakistani Chinese’ restaurant, while she accused cleaners working in Parliament of being ‘on recess’ due to her desk being dirty.
‘I have recently been made aware of a small number of tweets that I posted on Twitter from over a decade ago, which I now deeply regret,’ she said yesterday. ‘They were a significant error of judgment on my part, and I apologise wholeheartedly.’
Her predecessor, former Tory MP Kelly Tolhurst, said she was ‘shocked and concerned’ by the posts, adding: ‘She had no concern airing them publicly, only deleting them after public pressure. Holding these divisive and unpleasant views, she now represents our towns and community.’
Mish Rahman, a member of Labour’s national executive committee, said: ‘We missed these tweets on due diligence – I recall “retard” as a key search word. I propose an away day at the “halal Pakistani Chinese grill place” to investigate what the craic is as, on face value, it seems a bit racist.’
