Antisemitic Attacks

David Pinto-Duschinsky Excerpts

Monday 20th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[David Pinto-Duschinsky (Hendon) (Lab)]

On Saturday, my constituents awoke to the news of a despicable antisemitic attack at the heart of our community, at the former headquarters of Jewish Futures on Hendon Way. As the Minister said, this is not an isolated incident; we have seen the abhorrent attacks on Hatzola just a mile down the road in Golders Green, and on Finchley Reform and Kenton United synagogues, both nearby. Many of my constituents face discrimination and abuse every single day for no other reason than that they are Jewish. I am working intensively with the police and I am grateful for all they are doing, but, as the Prime Minister has said, we must not just ensure that our Jewish community is safe; we must ensure that Jewish people in Hendon and across the whole country are able to live full and proud Jewish lives, free from fear. Will the Minister share more about what additional measures are being taken both to protect the community in the wake of these despicable attacks and to ensure that the Jewish members of my community are not forced to live smaller Jewish lives?

[Dan Jarvis]

I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for the assiduous representation of his constituents and his constituency. The threats he describes are abhorrent and completely unacceptable. The notion that some members of our Jewish communities might be forced to live less Jewish lives is totally unacceptable. It is the Government’s responsibility to ensure that our response is proportionate to that threat. Along with ministerial colleagues in the Department, we have been in constant contact with the Metropolitan police over the past few days. I met Deputy Commissioner Matt Jukes this morning to look at what more we can do to ensure that the police have the resources they need.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the police for their work in recent times, which has been an impressive effort. They have stepped up to the plate and their response has been impressive, but we need to ensure that, collectively, we have the resources in place to continue that for as long as is necessary, to provide the reassurance required in constituencies such as the one that my hon. Friend is proud to represent. I give him an assurance of the seriousness with which we take this matter and I would be very happy to discuss it with him further.