That’s how the Sunday Times reports the “Muslim patrol” story covered by the Mail last week. So far, nobody has produced any evidence that there are “Sharia patrols” operating in east London, suppressing the consumption of alcohol on the streets, as the Sunday Times claims. What we have is a video from Tower Hamlets of two individuals harassing non-Muslims. That’s all. There’s no indication yet that this was anything more than a couple of pillocks staging an offensive stunt.

Of course, the article has been seized on by the English Defence League, as was the earlier piece in the Mail. Here is a selection of comments from the EDL Facebook page in response to the Sunday Times report (or at least to its headline and opening paragraphs – most of the report itself is hidden behind a paywall). As usual, we have the mainstream right-wing press promoting an Islamophobic narrative that inspires the far right to call for anti-Muslim violence on the streets.