Police will not automatically arrest protesters calling for Jihad with officers instead calling the control room for advice, the Met has said.

Speaking ahead of a pro-Palestine protest on Saturday, Commander Kyle Gordon, who will lead Met policing operations across London this weekend, said phrases like jihad would be taken in “their own individual circumstances”.

Pushed on what officers would do if an activist was calling specifically for Jihad against Israel he said they would intervene, but did not confirm they would be arrested.

“If somebody’s calling for jihad, specifically against Israel, the officers will intervene, gather the information, report back to us and we’ll be working with colleagues and [counter terror] team who are in the command suite with me in relation to what the best course of action is. 

“Again, you’ll forgive me but hypotheticals don’t take into account the myriad of circumstances that may exist at the time.”

Police have been heavily criticised after attendees of a rally by Hizb ut-Tahrir chanted “jihad” and the force said it could have had “a number of meanings” and concluded that no offence had taken place.