Pro-Palestine demonstrators were urged to reconsider today’s event by the Prime Minister and police chiefs in London and Manchester in the aftermath of two people being killed in a terror attack at a synagogue.
Sir Keir Starmer urged the groups behind the demonstration to “respect the grief of British Jews”. Writing in The Jewish Chronicle, he added: “This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain.”
Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police Sir Stephen Watson also urged would-be attendees at the protest to “consider whether this is really the right time”.
Commissioner for the Met Police Sir Mark Rowley added: “At a time when we want to be deploying every available officer to ensure the safety of those communities, we are instead having to plan for a gathering of more than 1,000 people in Trafalgar Square on Saturday in support of a terrorist organisation.
“Continuing such protests within hours of Thursday’s awful terrorist murder of British Jews, when communities are most fearful, will likely create further tensions and some might say lacks sensitivity.”
