A Metropolitan policeman who was filmed calling a Palestinian journalist a “dog” had already been accused of harassing an Iranian woman in a previous incident, Declassified can reveal.
Special constable David Soffer was at the front of a mob that surrounded Al Jazeera journalists in Golders Green earlier this year. He was filmed calling one of them a “dog” in Arabic, adding: “Go back to Qatar… Get out of here, you donkey.”
Soffer was subsequently arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.
But Declassified can reveal that he was already facing an unrelated internal investigation, over allegations that he followed, intimidated and harassed an Iranian woman in a nearby area of London last year. Documents show that a local resident, Layla Ashoor, filed a complaint accusing Soffer of calling her a “fat loser,” and saying: “Shut up, bitch”. She alleged that Soffer refused to stop following her, despite her requests.
But rather than take action against the special constable, a criminal case was brought against Ashoor for racially or religiously aggravated harassment against Soffer. She pled not guilty and the charges were eventually dropped before the full trial began. “This has left me feeling unprotected and that there is a wider sense of impunity around racialised abuse,” Ashoor told Declassified .
“When I was contacted by police and told I could be arrested if I did not attend an interview, I suffered severe panic attacks and lived for months in fear that I was going to be criminalised. “I went through police interviews and court processes before the case was ultimately dropped and no charges were brought.” ‘Too slow’ Meanwhile, more than two months after the unrelated incident with Al Jazeera journalists , the Met’s investigation into Soffer is still ongoing.
One of the Palestinian journalists who was at the scene told Declassified he was scared for his life. “I was worried someone would come from behind and punch me or stab me,” he said. “I was really worried.”
The journalist asked not to be named due to safety concerns.
“The abuse started an hour earlier, before the filming,” he said. “They called us terrorists and Hamas supporters. And they just harassed us more and more.
“The police were there and they saw it all. They were too slow to respond. And the investigation has been frustrating – it’s been two months and we’ve not really heard anything.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Enquiries remain ongoing following the arrest of a Met special constable on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence in the early hours of Saturday, 28 March 2026.” Declassified understands that Soffer was subsequently de-arrested the same day, after it was determined that arranging a voluntary interview would be more appropriate. He was released and has since attended an interview and the investigation continues. He also remains suspended from police duties.
When questioned about the previous incident involving Layla Ashoor, the Met confirmed that Soffer had been subject to a public complaint relating to “alleged off-duty conduct” in June last year.
The spokesperson said that the case against Ashoor was closed because it “did not meet the evidential threshold for any charges”. But they added: “An internal investigation in relation to the officer’s conduct remains ongoing.”
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