The Metropolitan Police has apologised for “causing offence” to a London singer who was wrongly told she could not continue to sing gospel songs on the street.
The force said that volunteer officer Maya Hadzhipetkov should not have told Harmonie London to stop performing her songs, instructing the performer that she could not “sing outside of church grounds”.
London, who has almost 300,000 Instagram followers, told GB News that the experience was “quite humiliating”.
She said that she was not busking, but was sharing the gospel, something that is “completely within [her] human rights”.
'We got it wrong' admits Met Police as they apologise for PCSO who wrongly told gospel busker to 'stop singing'Geograph/Instagram/GB NewsThe Met has clarified that the breach was due to unlicensed busking rather than the content of the songs she was singing.
However, they added: “The officer was mistaken in saying church songs cannot be sung outside of church grounds.
“We’re sorry for the offence caused and will take the learning forward.”
Speaking to Jacob Rees Mogg on GB News last night, Harmonie London said she felt that the special constable “targeted” her and threatened to seize her possessions.
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Harmonie London spoke to Jacob Rees Mogg about her ordealGB News“It was quite humiliating, I never expected to be treated like that, especially as she said I'm not allowed to sing church songs outside of church. It was just quite shocking,” she said.
“I wasn't busking. I was sharing the gospel so when she came up to me and said ‘you're busking, you're not allowed to, I was actually sharing the gospel, which is completely within my human rights.
“She literally just came over and said, ‘You need to stop. I'm going to seize your equipment’ and she was very angry.
“I just felt a bit targeted just because she went out of her way, and I wasn't doing anything wrong.”
Harmonie London shared the footage of the encounter on her Instagram account
InstagramThe singer shared footage of the incident online, which shows the heated exchange between the pair, which resulted in Hadzhipetkov sticking her tongue out at London.
London titled the clip: “Unpaid volunteer officer doesn’t like gospel songs”
In the caption, she wrote: “Special constables are volunteer police officers who invest their free time to make a real difference to our city. You will get a tremendous amount of pride from giving back to the community.”
There are no laws against singing on pavements.