Comments by LBC host Nick Ferrari about “Jamaican rapists and paedophiles” have been reported to the Metropolitan Police as an alleged hate crime, HuffPost UK can reveal.
On December 3, during a live broadcast discussion about 23 people being removed from a deportation plane bound for Jamaica due to legal challenges, Ferrari said: “Fairly soon there will be a Jamaican rapist or paedophile coming to a street near you.”
The Home Office had previously said the people being deported were “dangerous foreign criminals” and among them were murderers and rapists, but it declined to provide a full list of convictions when asked by HuffPost UK.
Ferrari’s comment sparked backlash, with many people condemning his words as inflammatory and promoting stereotypes which will stoke division and fear of Black people.
Thousands of people signed a Change.org petition against Ferrari, while campaign groups including the InfluencHers and Windrush National Organisation are calling for him to be sacked.
“We can confirm we have received an allegation of hate crime in relation to an alleged comment made on a radio broadcast on [December 3]. The matter is currently being assessed,” a Met spokesperson told HuffPost UK.
Outraged listeners also flagged Ferrari’s remarks to Ofcom. A spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “We are assessing the complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.”
Discussing the removal of people from the flight, Ferrari had told his listeners: “We spoke a couple of days ago about those Jamaican nationals – the rapists, paedophiles and murderers. Don’t worry, the lawyers have had their say, aided by some celebrities and a lot of Labour politicians.
“Many of them currently now reside in this country, are unlikely to be deported, so probably will be freed. So that’s great work by various celebrities – Thandie Newton is one of them, Naomi Campbell got involved as well [...]. So fairly soon there could be a Jamaican rapist or paedophile coming to a street near you.”
It comes as Labour leader Keir Starmer faced fresh criticism on Monday morning for his “failure to challenge full-blown white supremacism” during his weekly appearance on Ferrari’s LBC show.
During a discussion about Millwall football fans booing players for taking the knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, a caller rang in to explain why her husband had joined in.
“If anything, the racial inequality is now against the indigenous people of Britain because we are set to become a minority,” she said, adding: “We just have to look across to the Middle East. Israel has a state law that they are the only people in that country to have self-determination – well why can’t I, as a white, British female, have that same right?”
Starmer told the caller he doesn’t think that booing was the right thing to do – but neither he nor Ferrari responded to her stance regarding “the indigenous people of Britain”.
“We all have those rights,” Starmer said. “This is about recognising some injustice that’s gone on for a very long time. And I think people were genuinely moved this year and want to make sure that that injustice is dealt with. People will look at it different ways but I think the vast majority of people do want a more equal society.”