Muslim Police Officer Excused Israel Guard Duty

Daily Mail, 05/10/2006
By John Steele, Crime Correspondent

Scotland Yard said today that a decision to excuse a Muslim police protection officer from duties guarding the Israeli embassy during the Lebanon conflict in August was not taken for “politically correct” reasons but because the armed constable expressed concerns about the safety of his relatives in Lebanon.

A report in The Sun newspaper alleged that that senior officers within the Metropolitan Police Diplomatic Protection Group gave Pc Alexander Omar Basha a special dispensation after he raised “moral” concerns because of Isaeli bombings in Lebanon.

This claim unleashed a fierce debate about the duties of a police officer. But representatives of the Muslim Police Association denied the decision was based on moral concerns, suggesting it was a “welfare issue.”

The Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner, Paul Stephenson, appeared to support this assertion.

In a statement, he said: “Impartial policing of all communities is fundamental to policing the UK. This is non negotiable. Every day Met officers put their duties above their political, religious or ideological views. The Met has a long history of policing difficult demonstrations, marches and events, no matter what the personal view of the officers involved might be.

“Upon joining the police service, officers swear an oath of attestation, which says that they serve 'without fear or favour'. If on this or any other occasion that principle has been broken it would be wholly improper.”

However, he added, “at the height of the Israeli/Lebanon conflict in August this year, the officer made his managers aware of his personal concerns which included that he had Lebanese family members.

“Whilst the Israeli Embassy is not his normal posting, in view of the possibility that he could be deployed there, a risk assessment was undertaken, which is normal practice.
"It was as a result of this risk assessment - and not because of the officer's personal views, whatever they might have been - that the decisions was taken temporarily not to deploy him to the Embassy

“This is not about political correctness. I want to make it clear that this decision was taken on the basis of risk and safety.”

In an interview on BBC Radio Four’s Today programme, Supt Dal Babu, chairman of the Association of Muslim Police, said: “What we need to do is just really put this entire issue in perspective. This is about the welfare of an individual and not about a moral issue. I think we are going down a very, very slippery road if we start having postings based on individual officers’ conscience.”

In a separate BBC radio interview, Supt Babu added: “This should have remained a private matter, a matter about welfare issues for an officer who has got Christian and Muslim relatives in Lebanon.”