ANTISEMITISM CRACKDOWN FAILURE SHAMES BRITAIN

Senior Tory Robert Jenrick blasts 'pathetically weak and cowardly elite class' for failing to protect Jewish people and declares ‘we can root out this cancer if our leaders actually care'

- By Katie Harris and Steph Spyro

SHOULDER TO SHOULDER: Vigil in Manchester yesterday. Above, Robert Jenrick

SIR Keir Starmer is coming under mounting pressure to "root out the cancer" of antisemitism after the synagogue terror attack.

Two worshippers were killed on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, at Manchester's Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Crumpsall.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick criticised the Government and a "pathetically weak and cowardly elite class" for failing to protect Jewish people in Thursday's atrocity, adding: "We can choose to root out this cancer if our leaders actually care."

It came as Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy was heckled and booed at a vigil close to the scene yesterday. It showed the depth of grief and anger as the Jewish community and faith leaders gathered in pouring rain to demand action.

The Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers and senior police officials have appealed for planned proPalestine protests today to be called off amid rising tensions.

Thousands of people are set to demonstrate in London about the Gaza-Israel war and the terrorist ban on campaign group Palestine Action despite emotions running high after Jihad Al-Shamie's attack.

Writing in the Jewish Chronicle, Sir Keir called on protesters to call it off. He said: “Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy — and there is justified concern about the suffering in Gaza — but a minority have used these protests as a pretext for stoking antisemitic tropes. I urge anyone thinking about protesting to recognise and respect the grief of British Jews.

“This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain.”