Hertfordshire police commissioner demands LBC suspend O’Brien over antisemitic broadcast

Hertfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has called for James O’Brien to be suspended and an independent investigation launched after the LBC presenter broadcast an antisemitic claim targeting Jewish children in Hertfordshire.

Jonathan Ash-Edwards said the remarks – in which O’Brien read out a listener message falsely alleging Jewish children are taught at “Shabbat school” that Arabs are “cockroaches to be crushed” – posed a “direct risk of provoking further antisemitic incidents”.

In a formal letter to LBC’s senior managing editor, Ash-Edwards wrote: “Hertfordshire suffers from one of the highest numbers of antisemitic incidents reported to the Community Security Trust. In 2024, it had the fourth highest number of incidents nationally.”

“This is not a question of free speech. It is a question of broadcasting standards and judgment,” he continued. “The decision to read out the message was a conscious and deliberate choice, aggravated by LBC’s decision to publish the clip on social media.”

He said both O’Brien and the station had breached Ofcom broadcasting rules and demanded to know what steps LBC would take to ensure its producers do not allow similar antisemitic tropes on air in future.

The letter also cites condemnation from CST, the Board of Deputies, the Jewish Leadership Council, and Campaign Against Antisemitism – which described the claim as a “modern blood libel” and “reckless”.

Ash-Edwards posed four questions to LBC, including whether O’Brien would be suspended, and how the message was selected for broadcast. He warned the incident could inflame tensions in Hertfordshire, which is home to one of the UK’s largest and fastest-growing Jewish communities.

LBC has not responded to requests for comment. O’Brien issued a short on-air apology on Wednesday, saying he regretted “taking those unsubstantiated claims at face value” and was “genuinely sorry”.