British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBR) meeting this evening following the stabbing of two haredi Jews in the Golders Green neighborhood of London earlier today (Wednesday), the latest in a series of violent antisemitic incidents in the UK.
'I've just held a COBR meeting, bringing together all the relevant partners, including the Home Secretary, the London Mayor, the Metropolitan Commissioner, to coordinate our response and to look at enhanced security. I've also spoken to CST. There is enhanced funding already in place," Starmer stated following the meeting.
He added, "We need to increase that to give the level of protection that is needed. But of course, it's our responsibility to coordinate the immediate response here to this appalling attack, to ensure security is in place. To take other measures, I'm holding a meeting tomorrow with the criminal justice agencies to make sure that we can have effective and swift justice in these cases."
"But we do have to recognize the levels of anxiety and concern there are that I know about in terms of the Jewish community feeling very much exposed and vulnerable, feeling they've got to hide their identity sometimes in the health service, sometimes at school, on the streets where they live. And it's our job to make sure that they feel safe and secure. It's our job to make sure that we absolutely deal with the roots of antisemitism and extremism," he said.
That is what we will do.