The police have launched an investigation into London grime rapper Wiley over a series of antisemitic tweets.

The artist, whose real name is Richard Cowie Jr, has already been dropped by his management company and denounced by many including home secretary Priti Patel.

On Friday, Wiley released a stream of tweets, including claims that “[t]here are 2 sets of people who nobody has really wanted to challenge #Jewish & #KKK but being in business for 20 years you start to undestand [sic] why.”

He also wrote: “Hold some corn Jewish community you deserve it”. The phrase “hold corn” is slang for being shot, something which the Campaign Against Antisemitism says it has reported to the police as incitement to racial hatred.

After his account was briefly suspended, he was back tweeting on Saturday, until being banned from Twitter for seven days.

Met Police Officers in Tower Hamlets issued a statement on Saturday saying: “We have received a number of reports relating to alleged anti-Semitic tweets posted on social media.

“The Met takes all reports of anti-Semitism extremely seriously. The relevant material is being assessed.”

There have also been protests against Twitter over its initial handling of the incident, including a 48-hour “walkout” by high-profile Jewish figures including Tracy-Ann Oberman and historian Simon Sebag-Montefiore.

The Community Security Trust criticised the platform for allowing the tirade to continue unchecked for several hours, calling for tougher regulations.

It too had contacted the Met over the tweets, and was “pleased” that they were investigating.