The Prime Minister has said he is considering a ban on some pro-Palestine marches, and wants ‘tougher action’ on certain phrases used on those marches, such as the chant ‘globalise the intifada’. This comes after a series of attacks on the Jewish community, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green on Wednesday. On Sky News this morning, Trevor Phillips asked Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander whether the government planned to outlaw specific words.
Alexander said the government have given the police more powers to ‘deal with protests’, and supported Keir Starmer’s suggestion that individuals on marches have a responsibility to challenge hateful language. Alexander said that the Home Secretary would take ‘tough action’ after she has looked at Lord Ken Macdonald’s review into UK protests, and didn’t rule out a ban on some words and phrases.
Heidi Alexander: ‘It was disgusting what he (Polanski) did and absolutely abhorrent’
In the aftermath of the Golders Green stabbings, Green Party leader Zack Polanski retweeted a post on X criticising officers who apprehended the suspect for ‘repeatedly and violently kicking a mentally ill man in the head’. In an open letter to Polanski, Met commissioner Mark Rowley said the video was ‘inaccurate and misinformed commentary’, and criticised Polanski for undermining police confidence. Polanski has since apologised for the post.
On Sky News, Heidi Alexander said Polanski’s actions were ‘disgusting’, and commended the police officers who were armed only with their ‘courage and training’. She claimed the situation has demonstrated that Polanski is ‘not fit to lead a political party’.
Zack Polanski: ‘Policing people’s language is not going to make Jewish safety any better’
On the BBC, Laura Kuenssberg asked Zack Polanski whether he agreed that the phrase ‘globalise the intifada’ is antisemitic. Polanski disagreed, and stressed the importance of protecting freedom and speech and freedom of protest. He claimed that Israel has been committing a genocide, in which the UK government is complicit, and said policing language would not improve Jewish safety.
Kuenssberg noted that many Jewish people believe phrases like ‘globalise the intifada’ incite aggression. Polanski argued that there are already laws against hate crimes, and insisted that we do not need new ones. Kuenssberg asked if Polanski would discourage the use of the phrase, as did New York mayor Zohran Mamdani. Polanski said he would discourage it, but told Kuenssberg that the focus of the conversation should be about ‘the people who are dying’, rather than people’s ‘choice of language’.
Kemi Badenoch: Pro-Palestine marches are used ‘as a cover for antisemitism’
On GB News, Camilla Tominey asked Tory leader Kemi Badenoch for her view on the protests. Badenoch claimed the marches are ‘all about Jewish hatred’, and they should be banned. She said Jewish people are ‘harassed and abused’ at the marches, and argued that they are not genuine protests.
Tominey pointed out that Suella Braverman had accused the police of two-tier policing at marches, and had warned that they were incubating hate against Jews, but had been fired by Rishi Sunak. Badenoch said Braverman hadn’t been fired for that reason, and stressed that she is a new leader. Badenoch said she has launched a review into Islamic extremism, and claimed the country also needs to look at the ‘hard left ideology’ which is using ‘antisemitic tropes about capitalism and billionaires’.
Heidi Alexander: ‘People who think we should have a leadership election should give their heads a gentle wobble’
The local elections on the 7 May are predicted to be disastrous for Labour, and Keir Starmer’s leadership is likely to come under enormous strain. On Sky News, Heidi Alexander defended the Prime Minister, saying he was ‘determined to take what he’s learned…to build a stronger and a fairer country’. Trevor Phillips asked if Wes Streeting, Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham were all on the same page as her. Alexander said she likes all of those people, and suggested that the Labour party needs to stick with Starmer to ‘put the country first’ and deliver change, which will ‘take time’.
Comments