Failure to ban anti-Israel ‘hate marches’ caused surge in antisemitism, says former UK minister

Former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman says Britain's failure to ban large pro-Palestinian "hate marches" after October 7, 2023, caused a surge in antisemitism. She calls ex-PM Rishi Sunak a "coward" for not backing her stance. Braverman cites 1,926 antisemitic incidents in the first half of 2026 and links the marches to a 2025 synagogue attack.

Former UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has claimed that Britain's failure to speedily ban large-scale pro-Palestinian "hate marches" after the October 7, 2023, Hamas atrocities contributed to rising antisemitism in the country. In an interview with The Times of Israel, Braverman called then-prime minister Rishi Sunak a "coward" for not backing her tough stance on the weekly demonstrations. She said the marches have normalized antisemitism, making it "almost fashionable." Braverman cited Community Security Trust data recording 1,926 antisemitic incidents in the first half of 2026, the second-highest half-year total. She linked the marches to the October 2025 terror attack at Manchester's Heaton Park synagogue that killed two congregants. Braverman's new memoir details her battles with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, whom she accuses of appeasing antisemitism. Sunak fired Braverman in November 2023 after she publicly attacked the police's handling of the protests. Braverman, now a Reform UK MP, also said Sunak failed to follow through on a commitment to proscribe Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.