HOUSING Minister Matthew Pennycook has insisted that the Jewish community in Britain is safe despite a rise in anti-Jewish hate incidents.
He told GB News: “I do think fundamentally the Jewish community is safe, but I understand the concerns that have been expressed. I understand the fear of rising incidents, particularly in the wake of the attacks on the Manchester synagogue.
“We will do everything in our power as a government to stamp out the hatred that is anti-Semitism to protect the Jewish community, and we stand in solidarity with them today in the wake of this awful, awful incident.”
He added: “Anti-Semitism, as we know, is an ancient hatred. It takes many forms. It rears its head in every generation, and we’ve got to be alert to it. We’ve got to be doing what is necessary to stamp it out.
“But in all honesty, I don’t really want to speculate on who carried out this attack and why.”
He said the government has a number of initiatives to tackle anti-Semitism: “As a government, as I said, we provide additional support to the Community Security Trust, to ensure that Jewish schools, synagogues and the wider community are protected.
“But I understand the concern. I’m just trying to, if you like, draw a differentiation between the general atmosphere, the general rise in anti-Jewish hatred, which we’ve got to bear down on, and the precise reasons for this attack, which at this stage we don’t know.”
On the effects of the Iran war on the cost of living in the UK, he said: “In general terms, our first priority as a government throughout this crisis has been to support people with the potential impact on the cost of living. We’ve already allocated £53 million to support those who rely on heating oil to heat their homes as a result of the decisions we made in the Budget.
“The price cap will reduce on the first of April. That stays in place for three months and gives people the certainty about their bills. We’ve expanded the warm homes discount so we’ve already taken action, and we’ve put ourselves in a good position to weather this crisis.
“In particular with regard to the North Sea, I just want to be very honest with you, your listeners: an extra barrel of oil from the North Sea will not make any difference to the energy bill prices that people are experiencing today, which, as I said, are coming down on the first of April.
“The price of oil is set on the international market. We’re a price-taker, not a price-maker. In this regard, if you’re talking about opening up new fields, they take, on average, ten years to bring online. That’s not going to make any difference.
“I think this crisis shows the value and the appropriateness of our approach to energy security. We’ve got to get off the fossil fuel roller coaster. That’s why those who argue against Net Zero are wrong, and that means clean, home-grown, secure nuclear and renewable energy.”
