Judith Cummins
Main Page: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)Department Debates - View all Judith Cummins's debates with the Cabinet Office
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Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
Before I call the Minister to make a statement on recent antisemitic attacks, I should inform the House that in some cases, charges have been brought. Those cases, including the attacks on the Hatzola community ambulance services and at the Manchester synagogue, are therefore sub judice. In respect of more recent incidents in Kenton and Finchley, arrests have been made but charges have not yet been brought. I remind hon. Members that they should not refer to the details of any specific cases currently before the courts, and that they should exercise caution with respect to any specific cases that might subsequently come before the courts, in order not to prejudice those proceedings.
The Minister for Security (Dan Jarvis)
With permission, I will make a statement about the appalling incidents targeting British Jews and opponents of the Iranian regime over recent days. I will begin with the facts. Counter-terrorism police have confirmed that they are investigating a series of arson attacks and incidents that have occurred in London over recent days. These include an arson attack at a synagogue in Finchley on Wednesday 15 April; a suspected arson attack targeting premises in Hendon linked to a Jewish charity on Friday 17 April; a suspected arson attack targeting a synagogue in Harrow on the evening of Saturday 18 April; and a further incident in the early hours of yesterday morning outside residential premises in Finchley and opposite a synagogue.
These events follow the arson attack on a volunteer-led ambulance service run by the Jewish community in Golders Green on 23 March. Last week, there was also an attempted arson attack on a Persian-language media organisation that has previously been the target of serious threats linked to the Iranian regime and its proxies. Eight arrests have now been made in connection with that incident, and four people have been charged. Jewish communities across the UK will be distressed and dismayed by these abhorrent attacks, and I know that I speak for hon. Members from right across the House when I say that there is no place in British life for antisemitism. Attacks on British Jews are attacks on all of us, and we will do whatever it takes to stop the cowards and thugs who seek to intimidate our Jewish communities.
The police response over the weekend has been decisive. Fifteen arrests have already been made. In addition, a range of capabilities have been deployed to deter potential attackers and to reassure communities. Over the weekend, the Metropolitan police significantly increased the number of officers in and around north-west London. Uniformed and plain-clothes officers have maintained a strong presence around Barnet, and additional stop-and-search powers have been introduced across the borough. Response vehicles and Counter Terrorism Policing resources have been deployed, alongside local policing, to respond to potential threats.
To ensure the police response is a sustainable one, the Government have already committed an additional £5 million for this financial year to support the deployment of specialist officers across the country to support vulnerable communities under Project Servator. That is in addition to the record £73.4 million annual funding for protective security at Jewish, Muslim and other faith sites.
This morning, I visited Finchley Reform synagogue with the deputy commissioner and the local MP, my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Finchley and Golders Green (Sarah Sackman). I met community leaders and saw at first hand the strengthened police presence and the resilience of those affected, and I reaffirmed our commitment to protect all those who have been targeted.
The Government’s commitment to supporting British Jews is an enduring one. We are taking firm steps to root out antisemitism wherever it appears across public life—from our public services to our universities, our charities and beyond. We are backing up our words with action. This includes launching an urgent review of antisemitism in the NHS, introducing mandatory training, and investing £7 million to tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities. This is a whole of society effort, grounded in close engagement with Jewish communities.
We are determined to tackle the issues that have a daily impact on the lives of our Jewish communities. An amendment to existing powers will allow the police to deal with repeat protests by taking into account the cumulative effect of protest activity, and the Home Secretary has asked Lord Macdonald to undertake a review of public order laws to ensure people can go about their lives without fear of intimidation.
The Government have set out our vision for a fair, tolerant and decent country with the recent publication of “Protecting What Matters”, our action plan to tackle threats to social cohesion and counter the scourge of extremism. The plan makes significant spending commitments, including £800 million to expand the Pride in Place programme to 40 new neighbourhoods, plus new investment in community resilience, schools linking and local media. This vital effort requires us to work collectively across Government and with operational partners, and it will be driven forward by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Furthermore, we are actively protecting Persian language media organisations that are at risk. This includes tailored security advice and cyber-protection through to armed police protection where necessary. We have already seen a number of charges and convictions of those seeking to harm journalists in the UK. Through the implementation of the National Security Act 2023 and other means, we are making the United Kingdom an even harder operating target for hostile actors.
Hon. Members will be aware that a group calling itself Ashab al-Yamin—the Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right—has claimed responsibility for a number of these incidents. It has also claimed responsibility for attacks across Europe over recent months targeting Jewish and Israeli interests. I am aware of the public speculation linking that group to the Iranian state. Given that police investigations are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment on who may ultimately be behind these specific incidents, but more generally, we have held and will continue to hold Iran to account for its hostile acts.
Let me be absolutely clear: whether linked to Iran or to any other source, we will never tolerate hostile activity on British soil. Alongside the police and our world-leading security and intelligence agencies, we will do what is necessary to keep our citizens safe. On those criminal proxies used by states to do their dirty work, we will continue to ensure that their actions are met with the full weight of the law, as we saw with the conviction of the Chechen-born Austrian national who was imprisoned in 2023 for conducting surveillance on Iran International’s UK headquarters.
We have already seen the first convictions under the National Security Act for assisting a foreign intelligence service, including that of Dylan Earl, who in October received a sentence of 17 years for masterminding an arson campaign for Russia’s Wagner Group. To anyone tempted by offers of financial reward from foreign states to conduct hostile acts against the UK, my advice and my message is unambiguous: “You will be discovered and the consequences will be severe. Turning a blind eye or pleading ignorance is no defence.”
Antisemitism has existed in its many poisonous forms for centuries, but there is no doubt that we find ourselves at a critical juncture as fellow members of our society feel forced in some cases to live a smaller Jewish life. Our response must be unflinching, and I assure the House that under this Government it always will be. We will work relentlessly to ensure that antisemites and those who threaten the Jewish community here have nowhere to hide, and to show British Jews that we stand with them and will do everything in our power to keep them safe. I commend this statement to the House.
Dan Jarvis
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for the assiduous representation of his constituents and his constituency. The threats he describes are abhorrent and completely unacceptable. The notion that some members of our Jewish communities might be forced to live less Jewish lives is totally unacceptable. It is the Government’s responsibility to ensure that our response is proportionate to that threat. Along with ministerial colleagues in the Department, we have been in constant contact with the Metropolitan police over the past few days. I met Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes this morning to look at what more we can do to ensure that the police have the resources they need.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the police for their work in recent times, which has been an impressive effort. They have stepped up to the plate and their response has been impressive, but we need to ensure that, collectively, we have the resources in place to continue that for as long as is necessary, to provide the reassurance required in constituencies such as the one that my hon. Friend is proud to represent. I give him an assurance of the seriousness with which we take this matter and I would be very happy to discuss it with him further.
Max Wilkinson (Cheltenham) (LD)
On behalf of the Liberal Democrats, I want to extend my sympathies to the Jewish community, who will understandably be worried about the disturbing uptick in violence against their community across Britain.
The series of arson attacks on Jewish sites in recent days is an abhorrent trend. The pattern of attacks on Britain’s Jews is clear to see. Without serious intervention, it is only a matter of time before we see another attack like that seen in Manchester last year. We are grateful to hear the Minister’s words today on the action being taken. We must recognise that we have a huge antisemitism problem in this country. We in this House must re-state that again and again until the problem has been stamped out. But that is not enough; the political system must also take action to tackle its root causes.
Earlier today, I met groups representing British Jews, including the Community Security Trust. They told me that British Jews are feeling extremely vulnerable, with some questioning their long-term security in this country. That such sentiment is held by any minority group in Britain in 2026 must give this House pause for thought. That the sentiment is held by the Jewish community, given the centuries of persecution they have suffered, is a tragedy.
A group called Ashab al-Yamin has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks, and others across Europe. What are Ministers doing with our European partners to tackle the cross-country and cross-continent threat that this organisation and others pose? Given the potential links with the IRGC, will the Minister act swiftly to proscribe it? Does he accept that, if those links are substantiated, proscription would be more likely to deliver justice for the Jewish community?
We know that hostile foreign states sometimes try to recruit individuals online to carry out these kinds of attacks on British people. There are rumours that social media has been the recruitment tool used. Does the Minister know what the social media companies are doing to identify, monitor and clamp down on that practice? What are Ministers doing to ensure that social media companies themselves are taking action?
Dan Jarvis
I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who has raised her concerns diligently with me on a number of occasions. I had the privilege recently of visiting JW3, in her constituency, which is a truly inspiring place. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Raymond, the chief executive officer, and to all the staff and volunteers for the incredibly important work that they do. I know it is hugely appreciated in my hon. Friend’s community.
The threat that my hon. Friend describes is totally unacceptable, and I can give her an absolute assurance to take back to her constituents of how seriously we take that threat. I also assure her that we will bring forward and use all the tools at our disposal. There has been a lot of commentary about proscribing the IRGC, and I completely understand why. She will understand that the Government have made a commitment to bring forward a legislative tool that was recommended by Jonathan Hall. It was this Government’s view that we did not have the appropriate legislative mechanism to proscribe a state-backed entity, which is why we have made a commitment to bring forward that particular tool. However, she should be assured that we will not wait for that particular legislative tool to do everything necessary to combat and counter the work of the IRGC. I set out the work we are doing to counter the threat from Iran a moment ago, and I hope that provides some assurance to her and to her constituents.
Dame Karen Bradley (Staffordshire Moorlands) (Con)
I am sure that everyone in this House will have heard stories from friends and constituents who are unable to enjoy a full Jewish life in the way that they should. The Minister is right that this is not just about putting in place more police and security, but about driving out the root cause of antisemitism. In this case, it does seem that the attacks are driven by foreign state actors, so I must agree with the calls for the proscription of the IRGC. This is something that the Government must now look at urgently.
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—
Dan Jarvis
My hon. Friend is right to raise the importance of community relations. He is also right that we have seen a number of clearly calculated attacks in recent times. He will understand that I do not want to get in front of a live and ongoing police operation, and it is not for me to categorise the nature of these attacks, but I again make the point that the Metropolitan police has arrested a number of people over the weekend. Should any further individuals be considering conducting any more attacks, I strongly advise them against doing so.
Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)
Every community should feel safe. Does the Minister agree that we must condemn racism in all its forms—antisemitism, attacks on mosques, the abuse and intimidation directed at other minority ethnic communities, and attacks on asylum hotels by far-right terrorists? The Government’s approach appears inconsistent. Take the handling of visas for divisive far-right figures, such as Valentina Gomez. Her entry has now been blocked, but why was her visa approved in the first place, given the clear risk that she posed to the safety and cohesion of our—
Madam Deputy Speaker
Order. The hon. Member will respect the Chair. I call the Minister.
Dan Jarvis
Every community must feel safe, and this Government will defend against racism wherever it raises its ugly head.