Keir Starmer has pledged to crack down on protesters chanting or displaying antisemitic slogans, saying those who “venerate the murder of Jews” should face prosecution. The prime minister spoke after the UK’s terror threat level was raised to “severe” following the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, north-west London.
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), based at MI5, raised the threat level on Thursday evening, meaning a terrorist attack is now judged “highly likely”. The decision came amid a series of antisemitic attacks, including an arson attempt in Hendon, an attack on the Jewish ambulance service, a firebomb at a Harrow synagogue, and the deaths of two Jewish men at a Manchester synagogue last year.
Visiting Golders Green on Friday, Starmer met emergency workers and community leaders, where he was heckled by Stop the Hate protesters, with one calling him a “traitor”. The prime minister said: “If you are marching with people wearing pictures of paragliders without calling it out, you are venerating the murder of Jews. If you stand alongside people who say ‘globalise the intifada’, you are calling for terrorism against Jews, and people who use that phrase should be prosecuted.”
The suspect in the attack, understood to be 45-year-old Essa Suleiman, was referred to the Prevent deradicalisation scheme in 2020 but the case was closed within six weeks. He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder shortly after the stabbings and remains in custody. Starmer promised to increase powers to target antisemitic preachers, with a review of laws on public order and hate crime due to be handed to ministers within weeks.
Meanwhile, one of the organisers of pro-Palestine marches, Stop the War, dismissed any link between the demonstrations and the attacks as “false”. The Metropolitan police said they would review whether planned marches would go ahead, but the government has not called for a pause. Starmer also pledged an additional £25 million for Jewish security services and stronger powers to shut down charities that promote antisemitic extremism.
