A recording of a police officer in Sadiq Khan’s London telling Gospel singer Harmonie London she was “not allowed to sing church songs outside of church grounds” has gone viral on social media.
Metropolitan Police volunteer officer Maya Hadzhipetkova, speaking with a thick foreign accent, can be seen insisting that Christian hymns cannot be sung “outside of church grounds unless you have, uh, unless you’re authorized by the church to do this kind of songs [sic],” which is untrue.
The footage then cuts to the policewoman and another officer walking away from the scene while being challenged on whether or not her false statements contradicted the Human Rights Act. The officer responds by sticking her tongue out at the camera.
The interaction generated significant backlash for the Metropolitan Police on X, formerly Twitter, with the force responding to users saying they were “working to understand the context in which these comments were made.”
The Metropolitan Police claimed the dispute centered on “a specific by-law related to busking.” Still, X users questioned this, as busking is an entirely separate issue from whether “church songs” can be sung “outside of church grounds.”
The force then flipped the script, complaining X users were making “personal and hurtful” comments about their officer and warning: “This is unacceptable.”
We once were a Christian country.pic.twitter.com/R7UQFd7N8Z
— Fr Calvin Robinson (@calvinrobinson) January 29, 2024
