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Police officer fired after describing 7 October as ‘resistance’
Blaming mental health, PC Mohammed Nizam spent months posting and engaging with antisemitic content, misconduct trial finds
A police officer has been fired after a misconduct trial found he spent months posting and engaging with antisemitic content, celebrating the deaths of Israelis and describing the 7 October 2023 as an “act of resistance”.
A panel held between 6 and 8 July at the Met’s disciplinary hearing centre at Palestra House on Blackfriars Road, Southwark, heard that PC Mohammed Nizam posted, reposted or ‘liked’ a number of messages and pictures on social media between September 2023 and July 2024.
These include responding to a post from London Mayor Sadiq Khan expressing distress at the terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October with an image reading “you f***ing w**k stain”; liking a post responding to a Jewish commentator accusing him of continuing to “play the Holocaust card to justify Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza”; liking a post referring to the “Zionist-controlled mass media”; re-posting a post mourning the death of an IDF soldier with “suck it” and re-posting a tweet stating that “Israel controls all the Muslim countries but Gaza”.
According to the trial’s report, Nizam accepted the alleged conduct “without reservation”, explained that his mental health had deteriorated following the 7 October 2023 attacks. He described becoming increasingly distressed by images of violence and the killing of children in Gaza, stating that he felt “incensed” by what he saw online.
He accepted that some of the posts he ‘liked’ were antisemitic, acknowledged that he had not considered the impact of his actions and maintained he is not antisemitic, expressing sympathy for the Israeli victims of the 7 October attacks.
He did accept that several of the comments he made would be deemed antisemitic under the IHRA definition. Expressing remorse, he stated that he deeply regretted the posts and recognised that such comments were wholly inappropriate for a police officer.
Nizam added that since the investigation began, he has undertaken “significant personal reflection and education”, “broadened the sources he consulted, including reading Jewish News daily, attending events aimed at improving understanding of antisemitism” and sought advice from members of the Jewish community.
Additionally, he has contacted the Jewish Police Association, who
“provided guidance and recommended materials to help him understand the harm caused by antisemitic content”, attended an online seminar on antisemitism, an event at a synagogue commemorating the Holocaust, and an exhibition displaying artefacts from terrorist attacks.
Officer Nizam said he has deactivated all relevant social media accounts and believes he has undergone “enormous personal growth.”
A statement from the Metropolitan Police said: “Between September 2023 – July 2024, the Officer posted, reposted and ‘liked’ a number of pictures and comments on social media which were alleged to be one sided and/or politically motivated views of the war in Gaza as well as offensive, antisemitic and transphobic messages.
“He accepted the alleged conduct without reservation. He explained that his mental health had deteriorated following the 7 October 2023 attacks, and his mental health continued to worsen at the time of the conduct.
“He accepted during cross examination that some of the posts were made before he had seen images of children being killed. He also accepted that he had ‘liked’ comments alleging that Jewish people exploited the Holocaust, and acknowledged that these were profoundly wrong. He stated that he now understands the gravity of those remarks, describing them as “disgusting”, and reiterated his remorse.”
Dismissing the option of issuing a final warning to the Officer, the Panel decided that his behaviour amounted to “gross misconduct” and his dismissal from his job was justified, noting that discriminatory content posted and reposted, the risk of undermining public confidence, and the reputational harm to the police service “collectively demonstrate a fundamental breach of the standards expected of a police officer.”
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