Q&A: The rise of antisemitism, Russell Brand & knife crime
5/5/202624 min
As the number of antisemitic attacks on British Jews continues to rise, in this Q&A episode Neil explains some of the reasons why this type of hatred has become so commonplace on our streets, and how it has changed since his days as a police officer in London. He and Andy discuss whether more policing is part of the solution to the problem, and what role education plays in tackling antisemitism. Please note, this episode was recorded before the Golders Green terror attack on 29th April.
They also give their view on whether Russell Brand - who is set to go on trial for rape and other sexual offences and who denies all charges - should be allowed to give a series of high-profile interviews to promote his book when he is facing such serious accusations.
Later, Andy and Neil reveal some of the reasons why deaths from knife crime were down 21% in the last year, and who's legally responsible if a driverless car causes an accident.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
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Neil Basu· Host0:28
[music] This is a Global Player original podcast. You have this incredible inability for people to separate the actions of the Israeli government from an individual Jewish person in another country.
Andy Hughes· Host0:43
We seem to be really in the eye of the storm at the moment with these, all these anti-Semitic attacks happening.
Neil Basu· Host0:48
A lot of hate crime is going unsolved, so the, the detection rate for hate crime is not what it was.
Andy Hughes· Host0:53
Mm.
Neil Basu· Host0:53
But the recording is still high, so that's a double whammy for your safety and security if you're one of those groups.
Andy Hughes· Host0:58
Since, um, October 7th, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, anti-Semitic attacks, they've more than doubled.
Neil Basu· Host1:06
Walking to and from school or a synagogue for them is a matter of fear, and that cannot be right in 2026.
Andy Hughes· Host1:14
No.
Neil Basu· Host1:14
[music] The Crime Agents.
Andy Hughes· Host1:17
Hello, and welcome to the Q&A episode of The Crime Agents with me, crime journalist Andy Hughes.
Neil Basu· Host1:22
And me, the ex-cop Neil Baso.
Andy Hughes· Host1:23
Let's get cracking. Uh, David on Instagram is the first question. "Should people who are the subject