The former Home Secretary Sajid Javid has called for foreign nationals who commit antisemitism in the UK to have their visas revoked.
During Prime Minister Questions time (PMQs) Rishi Sunak told MPs in the House of Commons that the UK will “not tolerate this hatred.”
He said that existing immigration laws in the UK does not allow for a foreign national to lose their visa or the right to stay in Britain which is “not conducive to the public good.”
This comes as there has been many protests in the UK over the Israel-Hamas war and hate crime against Jews has risen.
Javid told the Commons on Wednesday, “I’m proud to live in the most successful multi-racial democracy in the world, but it saddens me – and I think it shames this whole House – that British Jews have been subject to such vile abuse and hatred in recent days.
“Antisemitism and all hate crimes fly in the face of British values and we should not allow events abroad, no matter how horrific they are, to be used to sow seeds of division in our own country.
“So whilst I welcome all the actions that (Mr Sunak) is taking to fight hate crime, to bring people together, may I ask him to consider urgently an immediate and specific policy of revoking the visas of any foreign national that commits an act of antisemitism or any other hate crime?”
Sunak replied, “I completely agree with (Javid), who himself has done so much over the years to fight antisemitism.
“The increase in incidents we’ve seen over the past week is utterly sickening and this Government will do whatever it takes to keep our Jewish community safe.”
Sunak added, “Under our existing immigration rules we do have the power to cancel a person’s presence in the UK if it is not conducive to the public good.
“We will not tolerate this hatred, not in our country, not in this century.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that since the Hamas terrorist attack in southern Israel on 7 October there has been a “disgusting rise” in antisemitism across the UK.
Sir Keir told MPs that they have a “duty to work in their constituency and across the country to say no to this hate.”
Sunak added, “All of us in this House can play our part in stamping out those who seek to cause division and hate in our society.”
