Former Labour MP: give police powers to ban hate marches

The former Labour MP for Bury South, Ivan Lewis, says that “business as usual” is not an option for the government in the wake of the Heaton Park terror attack, and has called on it to introduce emergency legislation, granting powers to Britain’s chief constables to ban the so-called hate marches.

Mr Lewis, who is president of Higher Prestwich Synagogue, about a 10 minute drive from Heaton Park, told Jewish News: “If the hate marches can’t be cancelled by the government, the police or the mayor, the government must introduce emergency legislation as a matter of urgency— on the grounds that these marches are not conducive to the public good. This is no longer a matter of freedom of speech, but about incitement of hatred against one section of the population — and the country as a whole”.

The bigger question, he said, was ‘what kind of country do we want to live in? There is something terribly wrong here. I am clear that the Muslim community is not the enemy within. But the Islamists most definitely are. The government has to face this issue with courage and conviction.”

Mr Lewis said that the Manchester Jewish community was feeling a mixture of “shock, trauma, sadness and anger. It is a very painful time and I think the attack has confirmed the worst fears of the community.” Though he praised the Greater Manchester police, whose attitude to the community he described as “exceptional”, the former government minister said he believed there would have to be “a full investigation” into how the terrorist and his associates had planned their operation.

He described the government’s recent decision to recognise a Palestinian state as “extremely unhelpful” and added that while he had no expectation of a reversal of the move, he did believe that that was “what should happen”.

But Mr Lewis framed the crisis in much broader terms than the immediate suffering of the Jewish community. “Who organised, funded or incited this attack? If the answer is Iran, there are profound and fundamental implications, not just for British Jews but for Britain.” Unless the government got “a grip on this, rather than run away from it, or pander to it, which is worse — then we are heading for a very difficult future”.

Emphasising that he believed there had to be “dignity and hope” for the Palestinians, Mr Lewis nevertheless said he was aware that “the majority of Jewish families are now asking if they have a future in this country, It is an extremely challenging environment.” He added that he viewed the “demonisation of Israel” as only the latest manifestation of antisemitism.