Who is Maya Hadzhipetkova? Met Police investigates PCSO who stopped gospel singer Harmonie London from singing Christian songs

On January 29, 2024, Christian gospel singer Harmonie London posted a video on Instagram of volunteer officer Maya Hadzhipetkova telling her she was "not allowed to sing church songs outside of church grounds." The incident, which happened over the weekend outside John Lewis on Oxford Street, showed the latter telling London that she could not perform before sticking her tongue out at the singer. The video was posted with the caption:

"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."

According to MailOnline, Metropolitan Police is looking into the issue by reviewing the 40-minute-long body-worn footage of the incident. There are reportedly no laws in the UK against singing on pavements - Christian or otherwise.

Part-time special constable Maya Hadzhipetkova is a globetrotting Costa coffee worker who lived in Bulgaria before moving to the UK.

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Police volunteer Maya Hadzhipetkova has traveled all over the world before settling in the UK

According to The Daily Mail, Maya Hadzhipetkova lived in Bulgaria before moving to Cyprus in 2009. Five years later, she moved to the UK, where she held a couple of odd jobs, which included working as a pub manager at the Black Lion in Kilburn, west London.

Per her now-deleted LinkedIn page, she was employed at Costa Coffee as a Barista Maestro, managing a team of workers. Hadzhipetkova also enjoyed a globetrotting lifestyle, with her Facebook page filled with pictures of her in Dubai, Egypt, Paris, Portugal, Amsterdam, and the US.

As per MailOnline, Maya Hadzhipetkova is an eclectic pet enthusiast. She has owned three cats, three rabbits, a hedgehog, and even a snake. According to her Facebook page, one of her favorite quotes is:

"Sometimes the truth sounds rude. I always say the truth. It doesn't make me a rude person but an honest one."

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Maya Hadzhipetkova's refusal to let Christian busker sing is met with backlash

Maya Hadzhipetkova faced immense online backlash after refusing to allow a Christian gospel singer to sing outside church grounds.

In Harmonie London's video, Maya Hadzhipetkova can be seen telling the singer:

"No miss, you're not allowed to sing church songs outside of church grounds, by the way."

London retorted, "You are, you are, you are." However, the officer insisted that no one was allowed to sing Christian songs outside of church grounds "unless you have been authorized by the Church to do these kind of songs”. As Hadzhipetkova walked away, London followed her and continued to say:

"Are you saying that you don’t care about the Human Rights Act?"

The officer stuck her tongue out as a response to this. London appeared affronted by the officer's attitude and felt that her human right to freedom of religion was breached. And she was not alone. Several people joined the singer in condemning Maya Hadzhipetkova's behavior.

Appearing on GB News, politician Ann Widdecombe said that singing church songs is "committing no offense at all" and the police officer should be "struck off the force."

Former police officer and anti-crime campaigner Norman Brennan posted on social media:

"Folks, this is not a good look. Some of us are trying hard to help policing get back public lost support respect and confidence and this does not help."

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London's video, titled "Unpaid volunteer officer doesn’t like gospel songs," went viral, amassing 495k views on Instagram at the time of writing this article.