Man arrested after bus passenger reading prayer book punched and targeted with anti-Semitic abuse in north London

A 48-year-old has been arrested after a man reading a prayer book on a bus was punched and targeted with anti-Semitic abuse during a hate crime attack in north London.

At around midday on December 6, a 36-year-old man was travelling on a bus towards Aldgate reading a prayer book when another man boarded the bus in Stamford Hill.

Police said the suspect made a "number of anti-Semitic comments" directed at the victim, before also verbally abusing a group of teenage girls on the bus.

Scotland Yard said: "At this point, the first victim intervened and tapped the suspect on the shoulder.

"The suspect then punched the victim in the arm.

"Police were called and the victim got off the bus in the region of Stamford Lodge."

Officers arrived at the scene but the suspect could not be found.

A man, 48, has now been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence in connection with the incident.

He remains in police custody after his arrest on Friday morning at his home address.

Detective Superintendent Adam Ghaboos, from the Met’s Central East Basic Command Unit, said: “We have a large Jewish community in Hackney who have the right to live peacefully without being victimised because of their faith.

“My officers will thoroughly investigate all hate crimes that are reported to us and I would strongly urge anyone who has been the victim of hate crime, be it physical or verbal, to report it to police as soon as possible.”

Anyone with information about hate crimes is asked to contact police immediately via 101.

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