Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has condemned the knife attack in Golders Green in London and called for more action to tackle antisemitism.
He told GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope: “Horrifying news from Golders Green. It appears to be yet another horrendous antisemitic attack on the streets of Golders Green. The man, the perpetrator, is reported to have been deliberately targeting people wearing Jewish clothing.
“I’ve also had a report from someone who was on the scene suggesting he may have been shouting in Arabic during the attack. That is not confirmed, but it’s a report that I’ve received.
“The victims, I understand, are able to walk after the attack. Again, that’s just information I’ve received from someone who’s been on the scene, but clearly, this is an attack which is appalling, antisemitic, and it’s not the first.
“It’s been happening again and again and again and again, and it’s time the government and the country get a lot more serious about protecting Britain’s Jewish community. This just can’t keep happening.
“We’ve seen Iran sponsoring antisemitic attacks. We’ve seen Islamist extremism running rampant, and words from the government are no longer enough. We need much, much tougher action, because Britain’s Jewish community is under attack, and this has to end.”
He added: “Not enough is being done to protect Britain’s Jewish community. The government needs to get a lot more serious about stopping this kind of thing from happening, arresting the perpetrators, and if Iranian agents are behind it, they should be expelled.
“If people who are foreign nationals express extremism, antisemitism or sympathy for terrorism, they should be deported. This just has to end.
“I think increasing the patrols is the most basic action. We do know Iran has been sponsoring these attacks. So we should be expelling, frankly, Iranian diplomats and Iranian spies. We should be urgently banning the IRGC, not sometime in the next session, but as a matter of urgency.
“We should be using counterterrorism surveillance powers to surveil people who may be plotting antisemitic activity, and anyone who is a foreign citizen who is expressing antisemitic views, or indeed any racial or religious hatred, or who is supporting extremism or terrorism, should be deported, because the actions taken so far are just not enough.”
