Police have dropped their investigations into an alleged attack on a 78-year-old poppy seller during a pro-Palestinian rally due to “insufficient evidence”.
The Daily Mail splashed reports on its front page this week after army veteran Jim Henderson said he was punched and kicked as he tried to pack up his stall at Waverley Station in Edinburgh.
British Transport Police said officers had conducted an “extensive” review of CCTV footage and spoken to key witnesses.
They said the investigation would not be taken any further because of “insufficient evidence”.
At the time Henderson told the Daily Mail he was punched in the back as he bent down to collect his things.
“And then I got another punch in my side” he said.
The veteran told the paper he had served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles with the Royal Corps of Signals, 32 Signal Regiment.
The reports were published amid heightened tensions ahead of Armistice Day in London, with Suella Braverman and the right-wing press accused of whipping up a storm by fabricating the bogus belief that people going on a peace march hold the Cenotaph in contempt.
Further reports this week add weight to those suspicions, with Diane Abbott calling this front page a “crude attempt to actually incite violence”.
Related: Welsh politicians back call for immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip
