Sir Keir Starmer has said it is clear “hatred is rising once again” following a terror attack on a Manchester synagogue – as he promised Britain would “come together to wrap our arms” around the Jewish community.
The prime minister said: “Earlier today, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day for the Jewish community, a vile individual committed a terrorist attack that attacked Jews because they are Jews.”
Greater Manchester Police said two members of the Jewish community have died and three more are seriously injured, after a car was driven at pedestrians and a person was stabbed outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall on Thursday morning.
The offender is also dead, having been shot by police, and the incident has been confirmed by police as terrorism.
Sir Keir, who returned early from a meeting of European leaders in Denmark, said Jewish buildings, including synagogues and schools in the UK now require round-the-clock protection “because of the daily threat of antisemitic hatred”.
“We must be clear it is a hatred that is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again,” he added.
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Addressing the Jewish community moments after an emergency Cobra meeting, he said: “I promise you that I will do everything in my power to guarantee you the security that you deserve, starting with a more visible police presence, protecting your community.
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“I promise you that over the coming days, you will see the other Britain, the Britain of compassion, of decency, of love.
“And I promise you that this Britain will come together to wrap our arms around your community and show you that Britain is a place where you and your family are safe, secure and belong.”
Sir Keir said “to every Jewish person in this country” he knows “how much fear you will be holding inside of you” and said he expresses “my solidarity, but also my sadness that you still have to live with these fears – nobody should have to do that”.
He then posted on X: “Antisemitism is a hatred that is rising, once again. Britain must defeat it, once again.”
Earlier today, the prime minister told broadcasters on the tarmac in Copenhagen extra police were being sent to synagogues across the UK after the terror attack.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, speaking from the scene in Manchester, said she was “horrified by the antisemitic attack”.
“We will do whatever is required to keep our Jewish community safe,” she said.
“To those who want to divide us, they will fail.”
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, also at the scene, thanked Greater Manchester Police, firefighters who provided emergency care and the North West Ambulance Service for all being on the scene within minutes.
He asked “everyone to show solidarity to the Jewish community this weekend”.
“We always will stand together here in Greater Manchester,” he said.
“We will never let acts that are designed to cause hatred, division in our communities, violence. We will never let them succeed.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement shortly after Sir Keir’s message.
He said: “Israel grieves with the Jewish community in the UK after the barbaric terror attack in Manchester.
“Our hearts are with the families of the murdered, and we pray for the swift recovery of the wounded.
“As I warned at the UN: weakness in the face of terrorism only brings more terrorism.
“Only strength and unity can defeat it.”
