Starmer warns Iran conflict being used to divide UK Jews and Muslims
PM urges unity as political rivals accuse him of appeasing Muslim voters
The Iran conflict is being used as a means of dividing different communities within the UK, including the Jewish and Muslim populations, Keir Starmer has warned.
Speaking during a visit to a community centre in London, the Prime Minister said: “It is a really sad feature, isn’t it, at a time like this, that some people will try and use it as an opportunity to divide?
“On two levels we’re working: The first is we have to be really conscious that where people want to divide at the moment in relation to this conflict, it’s in the space of trying to divide the Muslim community and the Jewish community.”
At the Tories’ spring conference in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, at the weekend, Kemi Badenoch said: “Starmer is too scared of upsetting certain sections of Labour’s target voters to act in our national interest.”
Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, and Badenoch have both suggested the Prime Minister has refused to join US and Israeli attacks on Iran for fear of upsetting Muslim voters.
Claiming that some opposition politicians wanted to “point fingers and divide”, the PM said: “[They] say we can’t be one country, we can’t be one set of communities. I totally disagree with that.
“I think one of the great things about our country is we’re a diverse country where we prove that different people can live by and alongside each other in a tolerant way with our values.
“And actually, that’s more just an observation on who we are as a country, it’s what we are as a country. That is us – and we should hold that close, we should be proud of it.”
Brook Mitchell/PA Wire
His comments come ahead of the planned Al Quds Day protest planned for March 15 in central London, a major pro-Iranian regime march which communal leaders have warned is linked to antisemitism and extremism.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has been urged to ban the annual march, with MPs and peers from across the political divide supporting the call.
Asked about the decision on whether to allow the demo to go ahead, a Downing Street spokesperson said the final call was the responsibility of the Metropolitan Police.
Starmer also stated that the Government was spearheading efforts to strengthen social cohesion across the country.
He added, “There is a broader cohesion plan we’ve been working on for some time, which is not just a reaction to this conflict; it is much broader, which is how we bring the country together.
“One of my biggest concerns at the moment is that there are people in politics who want to set up grievances between different groups of people, to point fingers and divide and say that we can’t be one country, we can’t be one community. I totally disagree with that.
“I think one of the great things about this country is we’re a diverse country, where we prove that different people can live alongside each other in a tolerant way, with our values.
“Actually, that’s more than just an observation on who we are as a country. It’s what we are as a country. That is us. We should hold that close. We should be proud of it.”
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