The prime minister has said he is “making sure” places of worship have adequate security to protect against threats from the escalating war in the Middle East.
Speaking at Downing Street, Sir Keir Starmer said the “government is reaching out to communities across the UK, Jewish and Muslim alike, making sure that places of worship have appropriate security.”
He said “we should come together in this moment", and that the "scared" Britons stuck in the region "come from all backgrounds".
"The armed forces who protect them come from all backgrounds too,” he went on.
His spokesperson later said the prime minister recognised that “Jewish communities and Muslims community will be very worried. Conflict washes up on our shores – we’ve seen that repeatedly.”
Also on Thursday, community secretary, Steve Reed, met with the Community Security Trust (CST) to discuss Jewish safety.
He said after the meeting: "I want the Jewish community to know that we stand firmly with them during what is a deeply distressing time. We will not tolerate antisemitism or any attempt to divide our communities, and we will not hesitate to stamp it out.
“I visited the CST today to see their extraordinary work to help keep British Jewish communities safe, and it was humbling to meet the volunteers and staff who dedicate themselves to that mission.”
In his Downing Street, address, Starmer defended his decision not to join the initial strikes on Iran, after he declined a US request to allow American planes the use of British bases, but said that Iran had now “fired missiles at ten countries that did not attack them”.
He said the measures to increase the UK’s preparedness for war with Iran had been increased in recent months.
"Long before" the US-Israeli strikes began, Starmer said the UK was increasing defence assets in the region "to defend our interests".
Throughout January and February, the UK was moving defensive assets to Cyprus and Qatar, including fighter jets, air defence missiles and advanced radar systems to ensure the UK was "in a heightened state of readiness,” Starmer said.
When the strikes began on Saturday, UK jets "immediately" entered the skies and were able to shoot down multiple drones, at least one of which was heading towards a base housing British military personnel.
The UK is "constantly resupplying our jets and our missile stores," Starmer went on, stating that jets had been refuelled mid-air.
He said the UK still believed in a “negotiated settlement with Iran where they give up their nuclear ambitions.
“All of my team are having discussions all the time with the Americans," he added.
The prime minister said he did not know how long the war would go on, but the UK is looking at "further scenarios into the future".
Donald Trump has said the US campaign had been projected to last four to five weeks but could “go far longer than that”.
Starmer revealed that he last spoke to the US president on Saturday evening, meaning the pair have not spoken since Trump criticised Starmer as “no Churchill”.
Starmer has also not spoken to the Israeli prime minister since the US-Israel strikes on Iran.
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