Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has condemned pro-Palestinian demonstrations that went ahead on Thursday evening as “dishonourable” and “fundamentally un-British”, hours after two Jewish worshippers were killed in a terror attack outside a Manchester synagogue.
The Home Secretary told GB News she was “disappointed” that protests continued despite the tragedy, calling on demonstrators to “step back” from planned marches in coming days to show “love and solidarity” with Britain’s Jewish community. Her comments came as Metropolitan Police confirmed 40 arrests during clashes outside Downing Street, where crowds protesting against the Israeli navy halting a Gaza-bound aid flotilla confronted officers into Thursday evening.
The terror attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall claimed the lives of two men and left three others seriously injured during Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day. Counter-terrorism police declared the combined car-ramming and knife attack a “terrorist incident”, with the attacker, identified as 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent, shot dead by armed officers at the scene.
Rising Tensions Over Planned Demonstrations
Despite police appeals to postpone demonstrations, activist group Defend Our Juries has vowed to proceed with a mass protest in Trafalgar Square on Saturday. Over 1,500 people have signed pledges committing to join the action and risk arrest, potentially creating what organisers claim could be the Metropolitan Police’s largest mass arrest at a single event.
The group, which has led demonstrations against the government’s proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, responded defiantly to police concerns about resources. In a statement posted on social media site X, the group said: “Today, the Metropolitan Police wrote to us to ask that we postpone Saturday’s mass protest in Trafalgar Square, citing ‘significant pressure on policing’. Our response in short: Don’t arrest us then.”
A separate march by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign is scheduled for 11 October, expected to end outside Downing Street gates. Both demonstrations come amid heightened security concerns following Thursday’s attack.
Government Response and Security Measures
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Friday, Ms Mahmood stressed the importance of separating Middle East events from domestic security. “I would say to people who are planning to go on a protest is to just take a step back for a minute, and imagine if you had lost a loved one to a terror attack in this country,” she said.
The Home Secretary revealed she could invoke special powers if police advised they were unable to manage protests effectively. “I can take my lead from the police, if they were to tell me there was an inability to respond and to police the protests, then there are powers that are available,” she explained.
Shadow Home Secretary Robert Jenrick echoed calls for protesters to cancel demonstrations, branding Thursday’s protests “deeply disrespectful. Speaking to GB News, he said: “Do not incite hatred, do not cause further distress to the British Jewish community on a night like that, even in Manchester, for goodness sake.
Jewish Community Leaders Demand Action
UK Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that many in the Jewish community questioned why marches supporting Palestine Action had been permitted. “Some of them contain outright antisemitism, outright support for Hamas. Not every single person, however there is so much of this, which certainly is dangerous to many within our society,” Sir Ephraim said.
The Chief Rabbi directly linked Thursday’s attack to ongoing demonstrations, stating: “What transpired yesterday was an awful blow to us, something which actually we were fearing might happen because of the build up to this action. You cannot separate the words on our streets, the actions of people in this way, and what inevitably results, which was yesterday’s terrorist attack.”
In a statement released after breaking his Yom Kippur fast, Sir Ephraim described the attack as inevitable. “This is the day we hoped we would never see, but which deep down, we knew would come. For so long we have witnessed an unrelenting wave of Jew hatred on our streets, on campuses, on social media and elsewhere – this is the tragic result.”
He called on the government “yet again” to “get a grip on these demonstrations, they are dangerous”, adding that the attack represented not just “a very dark time” for British Jews “but for all of our society”.
Background: Palestine Action Ban and Mass Arrests
The controversy stems from the government’s July decision to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000, making it illegal to express support for the group. The move has raised fears about freedom of expression in the country, putting Palestine Action on a par with armed groups like al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS), making it a criminal offence to support or be part of the protest group, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Since the ban came into effect on 5 July, police have made unprecedented numbers of arrests. In August, police arrested 522 people at a single protest in London’s Parliament Square, thought to include the highest-ever recorded at a single protest in the British capital. In September, authorities arrested nearly 900 people during another demonstration, with 857 detained on suspicion of showing support for the proscribed group.
According to Defend Our Juries, over 1,600 people have been arrested for peaceful sign-holding under the Terrorism Act since the ban came into effect – more than six times the total number of counter-terror arrests in the whole of last year.
The Manchester Attack
The terror attack occurred at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Thursday as worshippers gathered for Yom Kippur services. The assailant drove a car into people outside the synagogue and then began stabbing them, killing two and seriously wounding four. The suspect was wearing a vest with “the appearance of an explosive device,” police said, though the vest was later “deemed not to be viable.”
Three other suspects – two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s – have been arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism. The two victims have been named locally, though official confirmation is pending.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was attending a summit in Denmark when the attack occurred, returned to chair an emergency COBRA meeting. In a statement, he said: “A vile individual committed a terrorist attack that attacked Jews because they are Jews.”
Growing Concerns Over Community Relations
Ms Mahmood’s stance on the protests has drawn criticism from Palestinian solidarity groups. In July, Mahmood abstained from a vote in parliament that resulted in the proscription of protest group Palestine Action. However, following her appointment as Home Secretary in September, she has backed police actions against demonstrators.
The Home Secretary, Britain’s first female Muslim to hold the position, has attempted to balance security concerns with protest rights. In a recent statement to Parliament following far-right demonstrations, she declared: “You can be English with roots here that stretch back 1,000 years but you can also be English and look like me. The St George’s cross and the Union Jack belong to us all.”
Speaking to LBC about Thursday’s protests, Ms Mahmood added: “I don’t think they do their cause any favours by behaving in this way. If the point of protest is to stand up for something and persuade other people that you are right, then I think this is entirely the wrong way to go about it, but that is on their conscience.”
What Happens Next
Saturday’s planned demonstration in Trafalgar Square represents a critical test for both protesters and authorities. The protest marks the first time demonstrators have carried out a week of ‘Lift The Ban’ mass actions defying the proscription, beginning at Labour conference in Liverpool and ending in Trafalgar Square.
The 1961 Committee of 100’s anti-nuclear demonstration in Trafalgar Square saw a record 1,314 arrests – a figure Saturday’s action could potentially surpass. Defend Our Juries claims the government faces a “Poll Tax moment”, arguing that lengthy arrest procedures at recent protests demonstrate enforcement difficulties.
As tensions escalate between security concerns and protest rights, the coming days will likely prove decisive in determining how Britain balances counter-terrorism measures with civil liberties. The Manchester attack has intensified calls from Jewish community leaders for stricter controls on demonstrations, whilst civil liberties groups warn against undermining fundamental democratic rights.
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed increased patrols around synagogues across London, with similar measures implemented in other major cities. Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitism in Britain, reported that between January and July of 2025, the charity recorded more than 1,500 antisemitic incidents, the second-highest total ever reported in the first six months of any year.
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Image Credit:
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood — photo by UK Government / No 10 Downing Street, licensed under CC BY 3.0
