Britain's top police officer has ordered an urgent inquiry into a decision to excuse a Muslim officer from guard duty at the Israeli embassy during Israel's recent offensive on Lebanon, police said. "An urgent review into the decision not to post an officer at the Israeli embassy" was ordered by Sir Ian Blair, head of the capital's Metropolitan Police, a police spokesman told AFP on Thursday.
The Sun newspaper said the probe targetted policeman Alexander Omar Basha, saying he had asked for a special dispensation because of moral objection to Israel's bombing campaign on Lebanon. Quoting Blair, the spokesman said: "He said: 'Having learned of this issue, I have asked for an urgent review of the situation and a full report'."
The spokesman added that while police sought to balance the needs of an individual with those of the force, the police force took precedence. The officer, whose wife is Lebanese and father is Syrian, is attached to Scotland Yard's diplomatic protection unit, according to The Sun.
The head of the Association of Muslim Police, Dal Babu, told the BBC that Basha felt "uncomfortable and unsafe" guarding the embassy during the conflict. "This is an issue around the welfare of a particular officer. "The officer is from the Middle East. He has relatives (who) are Muslims and Christians and for welfare reasons, he's asked to be posted elsewhere for a short period of time," Babu said.
