Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of “emboldening” what he calls pro-Palestine “hate marches” following Britain’s recognition of Palestinian statehood, as violent clashes between protesters and police erupted in central London just hours after two people were killed in a terror attack at a Manchester synagogue.
The attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall on Thursday morning left two people dead and three others in serious condition, sparking nationwide shock and prompting urgent security reviews at Jewish sites across Britain. The attacker, identified as Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, a British citizen of Syrian descent, drove directly at members of the public outside the synagogue before attacking people with a knife during Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Within hours of the Manchester attack, pro-Palestine demonstrations erupted across 19 locations throughout the UK, with the most violent scenes occurring outside Downing Street where 40 people were arrested, six of those for assault on police officers. The protesters had gathered in solidarity with members of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza that had been intercepted by Israeli forces earlier in the week.
Farage Condemns ‘Vile Scenes’
In a strongly-worded video message posted to social media on Friday, the Reform UK leader condemned what he described as celebrations of the Manchester attack by pro-Palestine activists. Farage said: “I’ve never seen such vile scenes on our streets”, claiming that protesters who gathered in Whitehall on Thursday evening were not demonstrating but “actually celebrating” the synagogue attack.
“The scenes of Jewish people being butchered on the streets of Manchester yesterday I think have shocked many of us deeply, deeply to the core,” Farage said in his video statement. He added that he felt “more worried about the state of broken Britain than I ever have before.”
The Reform leader specifically targeted a planned Saturday protest in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action, organised by Defend Our Juries, calling it “a hate march” and evidence of “societal breakdown.”
Home Secretary Condemns Protests as ‘Un-British’
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood joined the criticism, branding pro-Palestine protesters who said they don’t support Jews in the UK as “un-British” and “utterly disgraceful”. Speaking to GB News, Mahmood said she didn’t want British Jews to “live a smaller Jewish life because of the fear of antisemitism.
Mahmood called for demonstrators to “step back” from plans to hold marches in coming days, claiming this would show “some love and some solidarity” with Britain’s Jewish community following the attack. She expressed disappointment that organisers had not heeded calls to cancel protests scheduled for the weekend.
One protester outside Downing Street was heard shouting: “I don’t give a f*** about the Jewish community right now,” comments which Mahmood condemned as fundamentally contrary to British values.
The Manchester Terror Attack
The attack occurred at approximately 9:31 a.m. local time on Thursday when Al-Shamie drove a car into people outside the synagogue and then began stabbing victims. Within seven minutes of the attack, police shot and killed the suspect, who was wearing what appeared to be a suicide vest that was later found to be non-viable.
The two men killed in the terror attack were named as Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, from Crumpsall. Four others remain hospitalised with serious injuries.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed that three additional suspects are currently in custody – two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s – arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said the terror attack had come following an “unrelenting wave of Jew hatred on our streets, campuses, on social media and elsewhere,” adding: “This is the day we hoped we would never see, but which deep down, we knew would come.”
Gaza Flotilla Sparks International Incident
The London protests were triggered by Israel’s interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which included Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg among its passengers. The Israeli military intercepted dozens of boats sailing as part of an aid flotilla towards Gaza, detaining hundreds of passengers, drawing condemnation from multiple nations.
Israel’s navy intercepted all but one of the boats in the international flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip, with the Israeli Foreign Ministry stating that over 400 people were safely taken to the port of Ashdod for processing. The flotilla was attempting to break Israel’s 18-year blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged enclave.
The interception sparked protests in cities across Europe, with Italy’s largest union calling for a general strike in response. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry described the Israeli action as “an act of terrorism,” whilst Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the expulsion of Israel’s diplomatic delegation from his country.
Palestine Action Ban Controversy
The weekend’s planned protests come amid ongoing controversy over the government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation in July. More than 1,500 people have pledged to descend on the capital in support of the group, risking arrest as they do so at a demonstration in Trafalgar Square on Saturday.
Over 1,600 have already been arrested after holding signs as part of the Lift The Ban campaign, with 857 arrests on September 6th alone. The Metropolitan Police has urged Defend Our Juries to cancel Saturday’s planned demonstration, warning it would divert resources needed for community protection following the Manchester attack.
The Met wrote to the group overnight, raising concerns about the amount of police resources the protest would divert at a time when “visible reassurance and protective security” is needed in communities across London. However, Defend Our Juries has refused to cancel, stating on social media: “Don’t arrest us then.”
Starmer’s Palestine Recognition Under Fire
Farage’s criticism comes weeks after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the United Kingdom’s decision to formally recognise a Palestinian state more than 100 years after the Balfour Declaration on 21 September. The decision, taken alongside Canada and Australia, has deepened divisions within British politics.
Speaking on LBC radio earlier this year, Farage had said that recognising Palestine “at this moment in time, while Hamas exists… would be wrong” and that “to do it now is wrong. It rewards terrorism”. He has consistently argued that the move would embolden extremists rather than advance peace.
The UK government had initially warned in July that it would recognise Palestine by September unless Israel took “substantive steps” to end the war in Gaza and commit to a peace process. When these conditions were not met, Starmer proceeded with recognition, describing it as necessary to “keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the recognition, stating that “a Palestinian state will not be established west of the Jordan River” and describing it as a reward for Hamas’s terrorism.
Security Concerns Mount
The convergence of the Manchester attack and widespread protests has created what police describe as unprecedented pressure on security resources. Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the head of counterterrorism policing, confirmed patrols at synagogues and other Jewish sites had increased across the country.
Prime Minister Starmer, who was attending a European summit in Copenhagen at the time of the Manchester attack, returned immediately to London to chair an emergency COBRA meeting. He described the attacker as a “vile individual” who attacked Jews “because they are Jews.”
The Jewish Leadership Council and Board of Deputies of British Jews issued a joint statement saying the attack “was sadly something we feared was coming” amid rising antisemitism in the UK.
Political Divisions Deepen
The events have exposed deep political divisions over Britain’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Reform UK, which has been rising in opinion polls, has positioned itself as strongly opposed to pro-Palestine activism, with Farage announcing at the party’s conference that Reform would ban the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation if elected.
Meanwhile, the Labour government faces pressure from multiple directions – from those demanding stronger action against Israel over Gaza, and from those arguing that recognition of Palestine rewards terrorism. The Home Secretary, herself the first Muslim woman to hold the position, has attempted to draw distinctions between legitimate protest and support for proscribed organisations.
As Saturday’s planned protests approach, with potentially thousands expected to attend despite the risk of arrest, the situation remains volatile. The Metropolitan Police has deployed additional resources across London, whilst community leaders on all sides call for calm.
The Manchester attack, coming during Yom Kippur when synagogues were packed with worshippers, has heightened fears within Britain’s Jewish community. Combined with the ongoing protests and international tensions over Gaza, it represents what many observers describe as one of the most challenging moments for community relations in modern British history.
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Image Credit:
Nigel Farage — photo by Gage Skidmore, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
