Antisemitic graffiti sprayed on bank in London on eve of Holocaust Memorial Day

The Metropolitan Police is investigating two alleged cases of antisemitic and white supremacist graffiti in south London on the eve of Holocaust Memorial day, officers have confirmed.

The walls and windows of the Blackheath branch of Barclays in Greenwich were daubed with stars of David and the word “Jews” alongside what appears to be a Celtic cross – a hate symbol recognised by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the letters WP – a potential acronym for “White Power”.

Police believe the graffiti was painted between 11pm and midnight on Saturday 25 January, and investigations remain underway.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said it had also been made aware of a separate incident on the windows and walls of a Caribbean takeaway some 2km away in Charlton.

Also sprayed in white paint, the graffiti depicted the same Celtic cross and WP acronym alongside a swastika. It is not clear if the two incidents are linked.

Cllr Danny Thorpe, leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich, said the authority had worked through the night to remove and cover the graffiti.

He said: “As a council we work hard to promote community cohesion and challenge prejudice and the language of hatred to make our borough a better place.

“Tomorrow, we will be standing together as one community – across boundaries of faith, age, gender and ethnicity – to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

“The incident last night highlights the relevance of tomorrow’s service and the importance of reflecting on the past and passing on the lessons learnt to future generations so that we continue to confront racism and hatred on our streets and speak out against oppression.”

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said they had been informed of the potential hate crime by the mayor of London’s office. They added: “Hatred has no place in our society, in our politics or on our streets.”

It comes less than a month after a synagogue wall and shop windows in north London were covered in graffiti depicting a red Star of David together with a reference to the 9/11 terror attacks – with the Metropolitan Police investigating the incident as a “racially motivated hate crime”.

Historian Simon Schama, whose books include The Story of the Jews, said at the time: “Taken together with the stabbings in New York something truly monstrous is rising from the slime.”

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