Starmer considers police crackdown on chants at pro-Palestine protests
Chant controversy prompts review of how police handle Gaza rallies
- Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called for a police crackdown on specific chants heard at pro-Palestine protests, following student demonstrations across UK university campuses.
- His comments came after students defied his earlier calls against such protests, which coincided with the second anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attacks.
- Sir Keir highlighted chants like "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free", which some consider antisemitic.
- He has now asked the home secretary to review public order powers and police handling of protests.
- The prime minister's remarks follow a terror attack at a Manchester synagogue where two men were killed, and he previously described the protests as "un-British" and an "excuse to attack British Jews".