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Third man arrested over West Ham fans’ hate chants on Ryanair flight

Police said a 31-year-old man from Dartford voluntarily handed himself in today

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LONDON - JUNE 16: A cemetary caretaker inspects the damage caused by vandals in the East Ham Jewish cemetery, June 16, 2005, in London, England. Anti-Semitic vandals desecrated gravestones and a small number have had Swastikas and slang names sprayed on them. (Photo by Graeme Robertson/Getty Images)

West Ham sponsor Heineken has condemned an "appalling" video showing fans subjecting an Orthodox man to a barrage of hateful chants.

A brand spokesperson told the JC on Wednesday: “We have a long relationship with West Ham, and like them, we were appalled at the contents of the video. There is no place for any form of racism or discrimination, and we support the actions West Ham are taking.”

The clip sparked outrage earlier this week, with Home Secretary Priti Patel describing the chants as “vile”.

Ms Patel told the JC: “The video circulating on social media is absolutely appalling and there is no place in football or our country for this vile, racist, antisemitic abuse. 

“In the UK, we have some of the toughest laws in the world to deal with hate crime, and the police and West Ham Football Club have my full backing to take the toughest possible action against these individuals.”

Essex Police confirmed on Tuesday that a third man had been arrested in connection with the incident.

The force said the 31-year-old man from Dartford voluntarily attended a police station and was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and racially or religiously aggravated harassment.

An investigation was launched after video footage showed supporters on board a Belgium-bound flight chanting at an Orthodox man, “We’ve got a foreskin, how about you?”

On Friday, a 55-year-old man was arrested as he stepped off a flight from Belgium.

On Saturday, a 26-year-old man was also arrested as he left a flight from the Netherlands. 

Both are suspected of committing a hate crime on the November 4 flight from Stansted airport on which the racist chants took place and have been released on bail until December 1.

The 31-year-old man currently remains in custody.

Essex Police Chief Superintendent Tom Simons, who is leading the investigation, said: “Essex Police will not tolerate racism or discrimination of any kind.

“Having been made aware of the incident… officers worked quickly to secure an arrest at the earliest possible opportunity.”

The police inquiry is ongoing and Essex Police requests that anyone with further information or footage of the incident to call detectives on 101.

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