Police constable who posted Netanyahu-Hitler image keeps his job

Greater Manchester Police bosses have decided not to sack a police constable for posting an image on Facebook with the Israeli prime minister’s face superimposed on a photo of Adolf Hitler.

PC Shahid Shah, 39, had been “anti-Semitic” during a “private” debate on Gaza between officers, but a disciplinary panel chose not to fire him, instead issuing a formal written warning for misconduct, after two Jewish officers reported him.

“It is disappointing to hear that a serving police officer behaved in this manner and we are clear that what he did was anti-Semitic and racist,” said Jonny Wineman, from Manchester’s Jewish community.

“We are not party to all the facts in the case but understand that [Shah] showed genuine remorse, leading to a decision short of dismissal. We would expect that, should there be a recurrence or similar behaviour, it will result in dismissal.”

Shah, an ex-soldier based in Rochdale, has been ordered to attend training in equality and diversity, as well as on social media usage, after the fiery exchange in which one officer called Gaza “the world’s largest open prison” while another re-ferred to “genocide”.

“[Shah] caused offence to members of the Jewish community, failed to show initially that he accepted what he had done was wrong and failed to learn lessons from a previous warning about what he had posted on Facebook,” said Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan.