Synagogue Attack: Shabana Mahmood Urges Pro-Palestine Protesters Not To March This Weekend
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood has called on pro-Palestine protesters not to take part in events this weekend as a mark of “solidarity” with the Jewish community after two people were killed in a terror attack on a Manchester synagogue.
She said they should take a “step back” and imagine it was their loved ones who had died before deciding whether to go ahead with their plans.
Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66 were killed after Jihad Al-Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent, drove into a group of people outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue before launching a knife attack on Thursday morning.
Three other worshippers remain seriously ill in hospital. The attacker was shot dead by armed police.
Pro-Palestine marches went ahead as planned across the UK on Thursday night, and saw dozens of arrests made in London following clashes with police.
The campaign group Defend Our Juries is due to hold a demonstration in Trafalgar Square on Saturday protesting against the proscription of Palestine Action.
On BBC Breakfast on Friday, Mahmood said: “The freedom to protest is a precious freedom in this country, but what I would say to people that are planning to go on a protest is just to take a step back for a minute.
“Imagine if you had lost a loved one to a terror attack in this country, and just because you have a freedom it doesn’t mean you have to use it all the time.
“Sometimes a little unity, a little solidarity, some love and friendship to other people is required. I was very disappointed that those protests went ahead last night – 40 arrests were made, including for assaulting police officers. We will not tolerate that behaviour, those individuals will face the full force of the law.
“I do think carrying on in this way does feel un-British, it feels wrong and I would ask people who are thinking about going on protests this weekend to take a step back, imagine it was you and just give this community a chance to grieve and to process what has happened.”