The Government could launch a crackdown on some of the chants used at pro-Palestine protests, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
The Prime Minister’s intervention came after pro-Gaza marchers went ahead with demonstrations on Tuesday, the second anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel.
The anniversary came less than a week after knife-wielding terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, killed two men at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester.
Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died in the attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
Students took part in protests at universities in London, Sheffield, Edinburgh and elsewhere, shrugging off claims by the Prime Minister that to do so would be “un-British”.
Among the chants heard at the protests was: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
Some consider the slogan to be antisemitic as they believe it calls for the eradication of Israel.
Proponents of the chant claim they are calling for an end to conflict in Gaza and the West Bank.
During a trade mission to India, Sir Keir was asked what action he would take after the protesters defied his calls to step down their demonstration on the anniversary of October 7.
He pointed to work being carried out by Shabana Mahmood to review protest laws, adding: “I’ve asked the Home Secretary to look more broadly at what other powers are available, how they’re being used, and whether they should be changed in any way.
“I think we need to go further than that in relation to some of the chants that are going on at some of these protests.”
Ms Mahmood announced over the weekend that police will be given greater powers to restrict protests by allowing them to consider the “cumulative impact” of repeated demonstrations.
The Home Secretary said repeated large-scale pro-Gaza protests had caused “considerable fear” for the Jewish community.
She will also review existing legislation to ensure powers are sufficient and are being applied consistently by police forces. This will include powers to ban protests outright.
Writing in The Times before the protests, Sir Keir said their timing was “un-British” and showed “little respect for others”.
He was joined by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and the Liberal Democrats’ Sir Ed Davey in criticising the planned marches.
Universities UK had urged students and staff participating in the protests to remember the sensitivity of October 7.
Defend Our Juries, a protest group campaigning against the proscription of Palestine Action as a terror organisation, said Sir Keir’s comments showed its fears of broader curbs on free speech were being realised.
A spokesperson said: “This announcement further confirms what we’ve warned about all along: that proscribing Palestine Action would pave the way for further authoritarian crackdowns on our fundamental rights to free speech in this country.
“It’s astonishing that Labour is doubling down on this anti-democratic agenda, even after widespread backlash from human rights groups, legal experts, and free speech advocates across the political spectrum over their decision to ban a domestic protest group for the first time in British history.
“Every day in Gaza, the equivalent of a classroom of children is being killed by Israeli forces — yet our Prime Minister is talking about banning chants. That says everything about how little he values Palestinian lives.”
