Earlier today, the JC revealed that the Mayor of Amsterdam had cast doubt over the figures used by West Midlands Police to justify their support for the ban.
The prime minister also hit back at the Police and Crime Commissioner in the West Midlands, Labour’s Simon Foster, who, in a letter to the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, attacked the prime minister’s decision to criticise the move to ban Maccabi fans.
Foster said that it was “undeniable, that the prime minister’s intervention significantly increased the risks associated with the fixture”.
Starmer “totally” rejected the criticism and said it was “really important that we’re clear that all fans should be able to go and see their team safely and be treated equally. And that is why I intervened, and it was important that I did intervene in this particular case.”
The prime minister spoke to the JC from Bushey United Synagogue, where he spent over two hours listening to members of the local community from all ages and backgrounds speak about the prejudice they have faced.
“All of the experiences were different in different environments, but all had one theme: which was antisemitism. And it was very important for me to hear that. They gave up their time, for me to hear that, and I’ve undertaken to them that that will be something I will mull over, take away, and see what more we can do.”
He continued: “What I was most struck by was the fact that this is a cultural issue where too many people, too many Jewish people in this country, feel that somehow they’ve got to be hiding an identity that they’re proud of because of what is happening to them, and that is intolerable, and I will work with them and others to make sure that the United Kingdom is placed where they feel safe and secure, as they have done in the past and need to in the future.”
The prime minister was also asked about the pro-Palestine demonstration outside St John’s Wood synagogue.
While he did not endorse claims of “two-tier policing”, he said that it was important that the government “look at what powers the police have in relation to protests and whether the powers that are already available are being used to their full extent and appropriately and consistently”.
Starmer continued: “I think we need to be prepared to look at whether more powers are needed. I think there’s a very strong feeling that repeat protests over and over again do have a cumulative impact. And so, I think we need to look at both those aspects, and that’s what the home secretary is doing.”