Prime Minister Condemns "Vile" Terrorist After Manchester Synagogue Attack
Prime Minister Keir Starmer gave a statement from 10 Downing Street on Thursday evening (Alamy)
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned the "vile" terrorist who "attacked Jews because they are Jews" outside a Manchester synagogue.
Two members of the Jewish community were killed in the attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in north Manchester on Thursday morning, and the Prime Minister held an emergency COBRA meeting in the afternoon in response.
A further three people are in hospital with serious injuries, and the attacker was shot dead by Greater Manchester Police, having been also wearing a "vest with the appearance of an explosive device".
The attack has been declared as a terrorist incident and two further arrests have been made.
In a statement from Downing Street on Thursday evening, Starmer said it was clear "hatred is rising once again" and "Britain must defeat it once again".
"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," he said.
The PM promised the Jewish community that he would "do everything in my power to guarantee you the security that you deserve, starting with a more visible police presence, protecting your community".
"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."
Labour MP Patrick Hurley told PoliticsHome that it was important that "the voices of the Jewish community are heard and acted upon". He is the MP for Southport, where three girls were killed in a mass stabbing last year, which led to violent riots in the town and across the country.
Hurley said the Manchester attack was a "racist attack" targeting the Jewish community "on the basis of their ethnicity", similar to the targeting of the Muslim community in the Southport riots last year.
He called on people to "think twice about how their own politics are perceived by people who are in a minority and under threat".
"There's been a perspective around the flying of the English flag, the flag of St George and the Union Jack, and people have objected to that on the ground that it makes people feel unwelcome," he said.
"Maybe thought needs to be given around what sort of flags might make the Jewish community feel unwelcome as well, and whether or not people need to take a step back around their own activism and their own politics.
"Offer that olive branch and that hand of support and friendship to the Jewish people across the UK, who will accurately be feeling under threat right now, and they will be feeling scared and intimidated.
"I wouldn't say anybody from any authorities or any state agencies should step in, but I think people should just be mindful of what they do."
Home Office data suggests that religious hate crimes against Jewish people in England and Wales have doubled in the last year, and offences against Jewish people made up a third of all religious hate crimes recorded by police.
Multiple faith leaders have condemned the attack. Bishop of Manchester the Right Reverend Dr David Walker said: “Such acts of violence have no place in our communities. Manchester is a city built on diversity, mutual respect, and unity."
Imam Qari Asim, co-chairman of the British Muslim Network, said he was “horrified” by the incident, which he described as “utterly abhorrent and has no place in our society”.
