Starmer says some protests may need to be halted, citing cumulative impact on Jewish community
Keir Starmer has suggested there may be circumstances in which protests should be halted, arguing that repeated demonstrations are having a "cumulative" impact on the Jewish community even as he insisted he will defend the right to peaceful protest.
Asked in a radio interview whether he wanted tougher policing of language on marches or to stop some protests altogether, the prime minister replied: "I think certainly the first, and I think there are instances for the latter." He said many in the Jewish community had raised concerns about the repeated nature of pro-Palestinian marches.
"I accept that, which is why we intend to deal with cumulative effects," he said, adding that the government would "look at what further powers we can take". Starmer’s comments follow the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, north London, on Wednesday.
Police have declared the attack a terror incident. Essa Suleiman, 45, appeared in court on Friday charged with attempted murder.
The attack is the latest in a string of violent incidents targeting Jewish people, and comes as a government-commissioned review of public order and hate crime legislation — launched last year after two Jewish people were killed in an attack outside a synagogue in Manchester — remains unpublished despite being expected to report in February.
Earlier this week, Jonathan Hall, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, called for a "moratorium" on pro-Palestinian marches, saying it was "clearly impossible at the moment" for the protests "not to incubate within them some sort of antisemitic or demonising language".
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis has also urged a temporary ban on the marches following the Golders Green attack, arguing the protests have contributed to a "tone of Jew hatred within our country". The Stop the War Coalition, which has helped organise previous marches, criticised the call for a moratorium.
The group said it condemned all forms of antisemitism and racism but argued it was "wrong" to link the demonstrations to attacks on Jews. Responding to concerns about conflating protests with violence, Starmer said he would "defend the right of peaceful protest very strongly" and uphold freedom of speech.
He added that there are "very strong, legitimate views" about the Middle East and Gaza and that "we all have deep concerns about it". The government is now considering the cumulative impact of repeated protests and whether additional powers are needed, with the review of public order laws still awaited.