Politics
Mahmood threatens fresh clampdown on peaceful protest
Since taking power, Keir Starmer’s Labour government has gone to war with our ability to protest peacefully. Now, home secretary Shabana Mahmood is threatening a fresh clampdown following a knife attack in which Jewish residents of Golders Green were targeted:
"I have already changed the law and I won't hesitate to do so again"
The home secretary in response to being asked if she'll [further] restrict our right to march in support of Palestinians and against Israels genocide & our govts complicity in it pic.twitter.com/ZgHwYWYcC5
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) April 30, 2026
For clarity’s sake, this attack did not take place in the middle of or even on the edge of a protest.
Clampdown
On Wednesday 29 April, a man with a knife attacked random Jewish people in Golders Green. In response, the cynical figures who want you to believe that opposing Israel’s genocide is ‘antisemitism’ sought to blame pro-Palestinian activists.
In the clip at the top, the BBC put the following to Mahmood:
I want to put to you the comments of Jonathan Hall, who’s the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation. And this is in relation to marches specifically, which have been talked about a lot and are again now. And he said it was currently impossible for such marches not to incubate antisemitism. He said, you might say this, the current situation is the biggest national emergency since Covid-19.
To give you an idea of who Jonathan Hall is:
Sure, but this guy also wants to crack down on “extreme” environmentalism, Scottish nationalism, presenting masculinity as toxic and “trying to make white people ashamed”, which suggests he isn’t a particularly rational thinker. https://t.co/JFDeGySK3a pic.twitter.com/zfPAh8xSZE
— Flying_Rodent (@flying_rodent) April 30, 2026
"So you'd stop the pro Palestine, anti-Israel marches in London every week?"
Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation: "I think the govt needs to consider that"
Supporting Palestinians & opposing genocide & apartheid is not antisemitic pic.twitter.com/blsVJUFIYY
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) April 30, 2026
Addressing Mahmood, the BBC asked:
Do you agree with [Hall] about marches? What are you going to do about it? And is this a national emergency?
The home secretary responded:
Well, firstly, let me say that actually yesterday the Crime and Policing Bill became an act of Parliament. So we have now passed laws that do respond to the unique pressures of repeat protests. I made those announcements after the attack on Heaton Park Synagogue last year. We have now passed those laws that will give the police greater powers to deal with the cumulative impact of repeat protests and the unique pressure that they place upon communities.
You’ll note she isn’t saying ‘violent protests’ — she’s saying ‘repeat protests’. That’s because these protests weren’t violent.
There was good reason for these protests to repeat, and that was because the UK continued to support Israel despite its genocidal and expansionist actions. The point of protest is not simply to register displeasure; the point is to enact change.
In the face of these repeat protests, the government had three options:
- Stop backing a genocidal rogue state.
- Accept that people will continue to protest them.
- Clampdown on democracy.
This Labour government chose the third option.
“I won’t hesitate”
Later in the interview, Mahmood said:
I have recognised already that I think our public authorities order legislation insofar as it relates to protests and hate crime incidents at protests is potentially out of date and that legal framework needs a fresh look. Lord Ken Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, has been looking at that for me.
We’re not sure if Macdonald will agree with Mahmood, given that he also once said this:
Ken MacDonald former director of public prosecutions on Palestine Action.
“I always thought it was a good rule of thumb for the government that you shouldn’t bring in laws – especially terrorism laws – that are likely to result in the arrests of multiple elderly vicars” pic.twitter.com/vprGA6AmfE
— Wokerati Marty (@WokeratiMarty) August 21, 2025
Mahmood finished:
He will have his report available later in May and I will respond. I have already changed the law and I won’t hesitate to do so again.
And that’s the situation.
Brits must tolerate unlimited support for genocide and expansionism, and if they don’t the law will be changed to ensure compliance.
Wipeout
As we all know, Labour are about to get wiped out in the local elections:
Median estimate via @Moreincommon_, April '26 pic.twitter.com/OFxPMxmoUV
— Stats for Lefties
Rightly or not, people will use local and by-elections as an opportunity to show their displeasure with the government. With authoritarian nightmares like Mahmood at the reins of power, there is much for people to find displeasure with.
Featured image via the Canary
By Willem Moore
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