Britain’s most senior police officer has said that he would support a review into the legal definition of extremism in response to criticism of the way his officers handled pro-Palestinian protests in London.

Mark Rowley, head of London’s Metropolitan Police force, said his officers would “ruthlessly” arrest anyone who commits a hate crime, but there could only be prosecutions when the law is broken.

“There is scope to be much sharper in how we deal with extremism within this country,” he told Sky News. “The law was never designed to deal with extremism, there’s a lot to do with terrorism and hate crime but we don’t have a body of law that deals with extremism and that is creating a gap.”

Ministers are reviewing the legal definition of extremism in a move designed to counter hate crimes, including antisemitism, according to one government official. This work began with the attacks in Israel, the official said.

The government is also examining potential changes to terrorism legislation, The Sunday Telegraph reported.