A group of pro-Palestinian protesters have interrupted a speech by Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, accusing him of being “complicit in genocide”.
David Lammy was making an appearance at the Institute for Public Policy Research in London to outline his party’s plans to clamp down on “dirty money” in the UK.
But the first 10 minutes were dominated by the Israel-Hamas war as one by one, protesters popped up from the audience to attack Labour’s position on the conflict.
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Mr Lammy said at least five times that he and his colleagues “had been calling for a ceasefire for months”.
But each time he thought the protest had come to an end, another activist stood up.
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Some unfurled banners while others held up the Palestinian flag, asking questions like: “How many people have to be killed in Gaza before you stop arming Israel?”
A number also made inaudible claims around donations made to the Labour Party from members of the Jewish community.
But these allegations were returned with an angry response from Mr Lammy, who called those protesters “shameful and antisemitic”.
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The incident came on the day the government’s independent adviser, Lord Walney, recommended sweeping measures to crack down on protests, including making protesters pay for policing of events and allowing members of the public to claim compensation from them.
But campaign groups accused the peer of launching an “attack on democratic rights”.
It also came as the High Court ruled the government’s attempt to lower the threshold for police intervening in protests was unlawful – though ministers have vowed to appeal the ruling.
