British police have launched an investigation into whether anti-Semitic postings by members of the Labour Party on social media constitute hate crimes.
The Metropolitan Police said Friday that it is acting on a dossier of information given to London police chief Cressida Dick. A police spokesman says it was handed to her following a radio interview on LBC radio.
LBC had in its possession an internal Labour Party dossier that detailed 45 cases that involved social media postings by party members, including one posting that read: "We shall rid the Jews who are a cancer on us all."
The police statement says the person making the complaint "alleged that the documentation included evidence of anti-Semitic hate crimes. The contents have been examined by specialist officers. A criminal investigation has commenced into some of the allegations within the documentation."
Dick told BBC radio there is evidence a crime may have been committed based on the material given to her.
"If somebody passes us material which they say amounts to a crime we have a duty to look at that and not just dismiss it," she said.
"We have been assessing some material that was passed to me, in a radio studio of all things, about two months ago and we are now investigating some of that material because it appears there may have been crime committed.
"We are liaising immediately with the Crown Prosecution Service and I hope we will be able to clear that up very quickly."
Labour has not been contacted by the police but is ready to co-operate with the investigation.
Deputy leader Tom Watson said the Scotland Yard announcement was "thoroughly depressing" but "sadly I'm not surprised".
The Met chief said the Labour Party itself was not under investigation.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has faced criticism for his handling of complaints about anti-Semitism in his party.
Earlier this year, he acknowledged anti-Semitism had surfaced within the party and apologised for the pain this had caused.
-AP/PA/Reuters
