Rushanara Ali MP has condemned a serious homophobic incident which took place in Whitechapel. Responding to a video of the incident, filmed in her constituency, Rushanara said: “This kind of intolerance and intimidation has absolutely no place in modern Britain, and absolutely no place in our capital city.”

Two men have since been been bailed until February and March in connection with the YouTube footage of homophobic harassment.

Rushanara said: “That such abuse is being organised by people claiming to act in the name of local communities is particularly unacceptable, especially as the East London Mosque has already publicly condemned such “patrols”. Speaking out against the homophobic incident, the East London Mosque said: “These actions are utterly unacceptable and clearly designed to stoke tensions and sow discord. We wholly condemn them.”

Rushanara concluded: “ I call on the government and Mayor of London Boris Johnson to reconsider dangerous police cuts in my constituency, so that police, already under real pressure, have the resources they need to deal with hate crimes.”

Tower Hamlets has lost 17% of its police and community support officers since 2010, since the Government came to power, and has also seen crime rise by over 9% in the same period.