Preacher who called for gays to be killed ‘mocks’ policeman for Help for Heroes band
Radical preacher Anjem Choudary, who has in the past called for gay people to be killed, has been caught on camera attacking a police officer for wearing a ‘Help for Heroes’ wristband.
The 48-year-old is the former UK head of the Islamist group al-Muhajiroun or Islam4UK, banned in the UK in 2010.
He suggested at a press conference in 2009 that gay people should be stoned to death, and was last year arrested alongside eight other men on suspicion of membership of a banned organisation.,
The preacher is seen in the video accusing the police officer of a “political agenda”, and of being a member of the far-right English Defence League.
Taken at Forest Gate, East London, on 13 June Choudary is heard going on a rant at the officer for wearing the wristband for the charity which helps ex-servicemen.
He says: “Why is it that millions of people come out on the streets to condemn the soldiers who murdered people in Iraq and Afghanistan and yet you are supporting them with your Help For Heroes band?
“You are not supposed to support the British Government in their foreign policy are you? And you have a and where you are supporting the soldiers of this country.”
Responding, the police officer says it is “not really relevant, is it”, to which the preacher responds: “Obviously he has no opinion. I’m not surprised. Obviously you don’t need to be incredibly intelligent now to be an officer.”
Some reports have suggested that the wristband was then removed by the police officer, as he appears not to be wearing it later in the video, but this is unclear from the video.
Dress code rules allow on-duty police officers to wear Help for Heroes wristbands, British Legion Poppies and Police Memorial Day pins.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “Wearing the wristband is a personal choice of the individual and its their choice when they want to wear or remove it.”
He called shops stocking the magazine an “act of war”.
