Antisemitic Attacks

Barry Gardiner Excerpts

Monday 20th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dan Jarvis]

I agree with pretty much all of what the hon. Member said, and I join him in commending the important work of the police and the fire service. On proscription, he knows that it is the long-standing policy of successive Governments that we do not talk about it, because that would be helpful to our adversaries, but we do look very carefully at the extent to which we can deploy proscription in a meaningful, targeted and effective way. The hon. Member should also understand—I know that he does—that it is but one tool in our armoury. There are many other things that we can do, and there are many other things that we are doing and will do.

[Barry Gardiner (Brent West) (Lab)]

The hate-filled attack on the Kenton synagogue in my constituency is the latest in the series of disgusting attacks on Jewish buildings that the Minister outlined. But these are more than attacks on buildings; they are calculated attacks on the whole Jewish community, designed to destabilise and instil widespread fear. This is the very definition of terrorism.

I am grateful to the police for their swift response and the arrests that they have made in relation to some of the attacks, but I believe it is vital that the Government and the Met treat these as terrorist attacks, not simply as criminal damage. I would also ask that the Home Office, and perhaps the Home Affairs Committee, examines the involvement of foreign actors and the ease with which they are able to launch such attacks. For too long, London has been regarded by some hostile regimes as a safe base from which to operate and a place where money can be laundered. That British Jewry lives under the dark shadow of antisemitic hatred is something that, sadly, we have all come to understand but must never come to accept.

I pay tribute to the work of the CST and the security personnel at Kenton, who are always there to greet those of us who visit to ensure the safety of us and the whole congregation. In the London borough of Brent, we like to pride ourselves on the multicultural nature of our community and the harmony between all those from different faiths and cultural backgrounds, but good community relations have to be worked at—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order. I am sure that the hon. Member will ask his question.

[Barry Gardiner]

I ask the Minister to reinforce the fact that those good community relations are built not simply on the toleration of the views of others but on—

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

Order. I call the Minister.