Kemi Badenoch: Leaders must act against ‘radical Islamism’ to keep British Jews safe

Addressing what she described as the “heartbreaking” scenes from Sydney – where 15 people aged between 10 and 87 were killed – Badenoch said the victims were murdered “simply for being Jewish”.

“We need to be honest about what is going on”, she said, adding: “These were targeted attacks. They were driven by that same ancient hatred that has resurfaced with frightening confidence in too many parts of the world here at home, we know that pain too.

"The attack at Heaton Park in Manchester was an act of terror, and it brought fear and anguish to a community that is already living with a disturbing rise in antisemitism.”

Badenoch said that under her leadership, the Conservative Party would treat the issue of rising antisemitism seriously “and that means action”.

“I don't know about all of you, but quite frankly, I'm also tired of standing on platforms in front of good people like yourselves, sharing condolences, demonstrating solidarity. It is not enough. Solidarity is not what it's going to get us out of this problem. Political leaders must have the courage and the moral conviction to do what is necessary to keep us all safe”, she told the reception.

“We know the evil that we face. We see it. We know how it operates, how it abuses our democracy, subverts our institutions and carries out an unholy alliance with the left, it is terrorising people from here to places like Nigeria – where we see Christians being massacred.

“Let us be plain, it is radical Islamism that is a threat to Western civilisation as well as the rest of the world”.

The Tory leader added that radical Islamism was “incompatible with British values of freedom, equality and the rule of law” and that taking action meant “dismantling the extremist organisations that are radicalising our youth”.

She continued: “[Taking action] means protecting Jewish schools and families. It means protests cannot become vehicles for violence. It means revoking the visas of foreign students who abuse their right to be here by glorifying antisemitic terror.

“It means looking at the people who are coming into our country who don't want to be a part of our country, but want to destroy the very things that make us great, and it means doing things like exposing the police when intimidation and two-tier justice led to the ban on Israeli, Jewish fans from Villa Park”.

Badenoch paid tribute to Conservative MP Nick Timothy, one of the MPs demanding transparency from West Midlands Police over their decision to back a ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from their side’s Europa League match against Aston Villa last month, and his “moral courage”, adding: “Speaking out when we see what is wrong is going to be needed if we are going to solve this problem.”

The leader of the opposition also attacked the Labour government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state “while hostages were still being held by Hamas”, and defended the Conservative opposition to the move.

“It wasn't popular. A lot of people said, ‘Why are you saying this?’ But the reason why is to make sure that people understand what moral courage and clarity looks like, because rewarding terrorists overseas emboldens the extremists who are on our own soil. And it's not peace building, it is appeasement”, she added.