Man arrested over 'anti-Semitic' chanting on train

by Jack Mendel

A 44-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence, following an appeal by the British transport police (BTP).

They appealed for information after an alleged incident of anti-Semitic chanting on a train travelling between Watford Junction and Milton Keynes on Saturday, 15 August.

A man from Northampton was arrested, before being bailed pending further enquiries until Monday, 26 October.

Four other men will be spoken to in due course, according to a statement from the BTP.

Initially they released images of a number of West Ham fans who were alleged to have chanted ‘anti-Semitic abuse’ on a train.

According to PC Michael Botterill a man “boarded the train at Watford Junction, took his seat in the first class carriage. A group of West Ham fans were already seated and, as the train pulled away, they began to sing anti-Semitic songs. The man, quite rightly, took offence to these vile songs and challenged the group over their language. However, they refused to stop and continued with their chanting.”

PC Botterill said “This sort of casual racism has gone unchallenged for too long. We know the vast majority of football fans are decent people, but for those who continue to make life unpleasant for the travelling public, our message is clear: We will not tolerate your yobbish behaviour.”

The BTP called for the media to “cancel any plans to run or re-run the appeal” based on the images that were previously released.