Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) has ordered a comprehensive review of antisemitism in the NHS, saying there are too many cases "simply not being dealt with". The Prime Minister announced that Lord John Mann, the Government's independent adviser on antisemitism, would lead the review as part of a wider crackdown on antisemitism across the UK.
During a visit to the Community Security Trust (CST), Starmer also announced a £10 million boost for security at sites including synagogues and Jewish schools. He told the CST: "We have heard loud and clear in the last few days and weeks that words are not enough, action is what matters."
NHS management training insufficient
Announcing Lord Mann's review, Starmer said: "We've already put in place management training in relation to the NHS, but I think we need a wider review. Because in some cases, clear cases are simply not being dealt with."
A separate review published in July by Lord Mann and former Conservative minister Dame Penny Mordaunt had already warned of rising antisemitism across British society, including a "specific unaddressed issue" within the NHS.
Oxford University criticised over slow response
Starmer also criticised universities that had been "too slow" in dealing with cases of antisemitism, singling out the University of Oxford. The university is understood to have suspended a student on Wednesday after he was arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred.
The student is alleged to have chanted for Gaza to "put the Zios in the ground" during a protest in London on Saturday. Starmer said: "Look at Oxford this week. That was a slow reaction to the clearest of cases."
Rising hate crime figures prompt action
The announcement comes in the wake of the terrorist attack at the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester on 2nd October that left two men dead. Figures released by the Home Office last week suggest antisemitic hate crime remains near record levels.
Starmer said: "The figures are all going in the wrong direction. And it's not just the figures, it's the feeling of insecurity and the fear that it instils in our community."
Additional police protection promised
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood (Labour), who accompanied the Prime Minister on his visit to the CST on Thursday, said she was reviewing protest legislation and providing additional police protection outside synagogues and other locations. She added that the "bigger question" was how to improve community cohesion so that Jewish children could "go to school without learning what a lockdown is".
Mark Gardner, chief executive of CST, described the meeting as "very straightforward and very productive". He said: "Security is a bandage. We don't want to live behind high walls for the rest of our lives."
The Government said that it would also look at how best to support Muslim communities, which have experienced an increase in hate crime over the past year.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
