A senior Foreign Office diplomat has been arrested for inciting racial hatred after an angry tirade at his gym.

News reports today said that Rowan Laxton, 47, allegedly shouted "f***ing Israelis, f***ing Jews" while watching television reports of the Israeli attack on Gaza last month.

He is also alleged to have said that Israeli soldiers should be "wiped off the face of the Earth" during the rant at the London Business School gym near Regents Park. The Daily Mail said that the tirade continued even after other gym users asked him to stop.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office declined to comment on the case because it was "currently subject to police inquiries", but it is believed that Mr Laxton, who heads the FCO's South Asia Group, is working normally.

A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said: "A 47-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an incident that took place on the 27th January following a complaint received by police from a member of the public. He was bailed pending further inquiries and is due to return at the end of March to a Central London police station."

The maximum penalty for inciting religious hatred is a seven-year prison term or a fine or both. (Continues)
Source