Diplomat arrested after ‘anti-Semitic rant’

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Middle East expert Rowan Laxton, 47, was alleged to have shouted "F***ing Israelis, f***ing Jews" as he watched TV reports of the Israeli attack on Gaza. It is alleged he also said Israeli soldiers should be "wiped off the face of the Earth", in front of other gym users and staff.

Police were called and Mr Laxton was arrested for inciting religious hatred through threatening words and behaviour. He was bailed until late next month.

An onlooker said: "I was in the gym around 9pm and I heard this guy shouting something about f***ing Israelis'. This bald guy was cycling away on his machine in the middle of the exercise room. When another guy approached him he shouted f***ing Jews, f***ing Israelis'.

The gym was pretty full and everyone looked totally shocked. That sort of racist language is totally unacceptable. The gym staff called security and I think the guy was asked to leave."

Mr Laxton is still working as normal as head of the South Asia Group at the Foreign Office. He is responsible for all the UK's diplomacy in that area and for briefing Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who is Jewish.

Mr Laxton, whose wife is Muslim, has worked extensively in the Middle East and has been deputy ambassador to Afghanistan.

The maximum penalty for inciting religious hatred is a seven-year prison term, or a fine, or both. A Met spokesman said: "A 47-year-old man was arrested after a complaint was made about an incident on January 27."