Adviser warns London a 'no-go zone for Jews every weekend'

London has become a "no-go zone for Jews" during weekend pro-Palestinian marches, the government's counter-extremism commissioner has said.

Robin Simcox also urged ministers to "be willing to accept higher legal risk" when tackling extremism.

Rishi Sunak's spokesman said the PM took concerns of extremism "extremely seriously" and noted a rise in both antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.

March organisers said Jewish people did not need to be scared of the events.

Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Simcox said Mr Sunak had been right to point to an increase in extremist disruption.

He said he now needed the "policies to meet the scale of the challenge".

Mr Simcox said the creation of a new definition of extremism, which the BBC understands will be set out next week, had a "clear purpose" and would be used "to guide future decisions over who the government does and does not engage with and fund".

He also said the government already had "more power to tackle extremism than it sometimes thinks".

"We have not betrayed democracy if extremists are no longer able to operate television channels," he said.

"And we will not have become an authoritarian state if London is no longer permitted to be turned into a no-go zone for Jews every weekend."

"All these things and more have become normalised in the UK," Mr Simcox added.

A spokeswoman for Mr Sunak said that Mr Simcox was "referring to intimidation by a minority at protests in London at weekends".

"We have sadly seen an increase in anti-Muslim hatred as well as antisemitism," she said.

"The PM would continue to urge those taking part to be mindful of the upset and distress it can cause. Peaceful protest is fundamental to our democracy."

Last month, the Community Security Trust charity, which aims to provide security to the UK's Jewish community, published figures suggesting reports of antisemitic incidents in the UK had reached a record high last year.

A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism told BBC News its own recent polling "corroborates Mr Simcox's warning, finding that 90% of British Jews say that they would avoid travelling to a city centre if a major anti-Israel demonstration was taking place there".

Jonathan Wittenberg, senior rabbi of Masorti Judaism UK, said that he felt the demonstrations were "partly" pro-Palestinian but had "very minute, more radical elements at heart", which are "very intimidating for Jews".

He told BBC Radio 4's PM programme: "When they are taking place, and in the aftermath, it is very frightening and disturbing for... the Jewish citizens of London and that is not at all as it should be.

"On the other hand, that doesn't make the whole of London, all the time, a no-go zone for Jews."

Rabbi Wittenberg said he felt many demonstrators were not protesting against Jews but do want to express concern for Palestinian people and backing for "a political, two-state solution" - which he also supports.

But he said Israel was "really the only country in the world where people protest against its very existence" and it was "very difficult to cope with that as a Jew because its our only country in the world".

The issue of extremism has risen on the political agenda in the aftermath of claims by Lee Anderson, a former Tory deputy chairman, that the mayor of London Sadiq Khan was controlled by "Islamists".

Mr Sunak said the comments were "wrong", suspended him from the party and gave a speech in which he warned of forces "trying to tear the country apart".

John Rees, a Stop the War Coalition national officer, insisted there was "absolutely no need" for Jewish people to be frightened by the demonstrations.

He said he understood why some might feel scared, but blamed Mr Sunak for frightening the Jewish community, saying the prime minister had been "irresponsible".

"Of course, if the government decides to whip up that kind of fear, then people are going to feel that, of course they are," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

The Director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Ben Jamal, echoed these comments, describing Mr Simcox's remarks as "disgraceful" and said there are "members of the Jewish community" who attend the pro-Gaza rallies.

Brendan Cox, whose Labour MP wife Jo Cox was murdered by neo-Nazi extremist Thomas Mair a week before the Brexit referendum in 2016, said Mr Simcox and the government were using extremism as a political tool.

"The government has a responsibility not to play politics with extremism," he said on X, formerly Twitter.

"Today its 'advisor on extremism' manages to write an entire article... which focuses on just one type of extremism and refuses to even mention anti-Muslim hate - despite an explosion in its prevalence.

"If the government looks like it is using extremism as a political tool in the run-up to an election it will set back what should be a shared national goal. Please don't do this. It's too important."

Mr Simcox was appointed to his advisory role by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel in July 2022, having served in an interim capacity since March 2021.

He is a former Margaret Thatcher Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, an ultra-conservative US-based think tank.

Since the start of the conflict in Gaza, regular pro-Palestinian marches have taken place in London.

Last month, Home Secretary James Cleverly urged the groups to end their protests saying "you've made your point".

In an interview with the Times, he questioned whether the demonstrations added "value" to their call for an end to fighting in Gaza.

The groups have argued that anti-Muslim "hysteria" from some MPs and pressure from the government have provoked the Metropolitan Police into heavy-handed and "discriminatory" policing of "peaceful mass protests".

Update 19th March: This article was updated on the morning of publication to include reaction to Robin Simcox's comments, including those questioning the accuracy or appropriateness of suggesting that London had been "permitted to be turned into a no-go zone for Jews every weekend." On 19th March we added a response from Ben Jamal of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, who made the point that Jewish people attend the pro-Gaza marches.