Starmer won’t rule out army deployment to protect UK Jews amid antisemitic surge
EXCLUSIVE: PM meets Shomrim and faces protests as he visits Golders Green after double-knife terror attack
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has refused to rule out bringing in the army to help protect Britain’s Jews as the country faces what many now describe as a national emergency over a tidal wave of antisemitic hate.
Speaking to Jewish News after visiting Golders Green and meeting with Shomrim volunteers who intervened during Wednesday’s knife attack, Starmer was asked if troops could now be brought in to protect the community.
He replied: “That sense of emergency is there.”
Also asked whether his wife, Lady Victoria—who hails from a Jewish family—and their children now felt unsafe as many in the community do, the Prime Minister said he did not want to “personalise” the issue, but added: “What I will say is that I am acutely aware of the anxiety and concern felt across the whole of the Jewish community.”
Starmer was heckled by a group of around 150 protesters linked to the Stop The Hate group as he arrived at the Hatzola North-West headquarters, some of whom held banners reading “Keir Starmer – Jew Harmer.”
Also attending the meeting were Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, and some of the 60 Shomrim volunteers working to protect the local community.
Reflecting on Wednesday’s “appalling terrorist attack,” Starmer noted that just a week ago he had travelled to Kenton United Synagogue after an arson attack there.
He said: “I understand just how viscerally people feel a level of concern and anxiety about their safety, about their security, about their ability to express who they are, what their identity is, whether it’s in their schools, in their hospitals and health settings, whether it’s on the streets or in their synagogues.”
Pressed on whether the UK could follow countries like France, which deployed thousands of troops on the streets in 2015 during a wave of antisemitic attacks, Starmer said: “Well, that sense of emergency is there.
“The Cobra meeting I held yesterday afternoon was an emergency Cobra meeting, because it was very important to bring people together to coordinate our response, the immediate response to the incident, and of course, to make sure that further security was needed was put in place.
“And some of the actions you’ve seen today came out of that emergency Cobra this morning, again, urgently.
“I had a meeting with the criminal justice agencies, all relevant partners in criminal justice, where, respecting their independence, of course, I made it very clear that what we need to see is swift, effective and visible justice, because I think an element of confidence in response will only be there if people see the outcome of what action is taken by the criminal justice agencies.
“So across the board, we are in that spirit of taking emergency cobras, bringing people together urgently to deal with the situation.”
In response to a direct question about whether his wife, like other British Jews, felt scared to live in this country, he added: “Well, if you’ll forgive me, I don’t want to personalise it to my family. What I will say is that I’m acutely aware of the anxiety and concern felt across the whole of the Jewish community.”
Starmer also said he was determined to come to Golders Green to be able to acknowledge what Shomrim and other community members did during the terror attack that left two Jewish men hospitalised.
He told volunteers at the Jewish community ambulance centre how much he “appreciated” their response to the suspected terror attack.
Speaking to the group at Hatzola Northwest, Starmer said the attacks “could have been a lot worse” if it had not been for the work of the emergency personnel.
He added that he felt it was “really important” for him to come to Golders Green the day after the attack.
Speaking to one of the volunteers, Home Secretary Mahmood said: “Keeping the community safe, running to towards risk is sadly necessary.”
Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
As the Prime Minister left the compound he was heckled by protesters organised by Stop the Hate, with one shouting that Sir Keir was a “traitor”.
Later at a meeting attended by the Home Secretary, Sir Mark Rowley, Hazola officials, local MP Sarah Sackman, councillor Dean Cohen, and others, the PM said there had been extensive discussions on the next response. “We went through a number of issues with them, in terms of funding, in terms of security, in terms of how we all join up the security work we need to do,” he said.
“We also touched on protests and the understandable concern about the repeated nature of the protests.
“Some of what is chanted, some of the banners that are there, and that’s why we’ve got a review in that regard.
“Also, about basic safety in relation to this community, that’s felt very, very strongly.
“We also had a discussion about malign state actors.
“They wanted to know that we are bringing forward legislation that will be fast-tracked.”
Starmer recently confirmed that proscription of the IRGC would be included in the King’s Speech on May 13 ahead of the next session of Parliament.
The knife attack in Golders Green on Wednesday left two Jewish men hospitalised and has been widely condemned as an act of terrorism.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said the suspect, a British national born in Somalia was referred to the Government’s Prevent counter-extremism programme in 2020.
The Met said: “We can confirm the suspect was known to the Prevent programme and was subject to a Prevent referral in 2020, which was closed in the same year.
“Given the investigation remains ongoing, we will not be providing any further information in respect of this matter at this time and we remain focused on securing justice for the victims of this attack.”
Shomrim and police responded rapidly to the incident, and a suspect was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder and terrorism offences.
Authorities have since stated that the investigation is ongoing, with counter-terrorism officers leading efforts to determine the full circumstances and any potential links to wider threats against the Jewish community, including from Iranian groups.
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