David Lammy booed at vigil for Manchester terror attack victims

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Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy was heckled and booed as he addressed a vigil for the victims of the Manchester synagogue attack.

The crowd at the vigil accused Mr Lammy and the government of allowing antisemitism to grow in the UK and called for an end to regular pro-Palestine marches.

Mr Lammy, who is also Justice Secretary, was also criticised over the government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state, as he sought to offer a message of unity following the attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, on Thursday.

Two worshippers died in the attack on Thursday.

One of the deceased were one of two people accidentally shot by armed police while attempting to prevent a knife-wielding terrorist from entering a synagogue, with the being injured.

Three others remain in hospital with serious injuries following the attack, which took place on Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day.

As he took to the stage in the pouring rain on Friday afternoon, Mr Lammy faced calls of “go to Palestine, leave us alone”, apparently in response to the government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state.

One woman shouted “shame on you”, before the crowd began chanting it.

Ahead of Mr Lammy’s speech, one man could be heard to shout: “My children’s school was closed today. You have allowed this to happen.

“You are all guilty. You have allowed Jew hatred in Manchester, on the streets. You are all guilty. We do not want you speaking here today.”

Another could be heard to shout “Empty words. We want action.”

As Mr Lammy began his speech with the word “friends”, there were scoffs and laughter from some in the crowd.

Another cry heard was “stop the marches”, and Mr Lammy had to pause several times as the shouting continued.

Others shouted “you’ve allowed it to grow on the campuses” and “you have blood on your hands”.

The Deputy Prime Minister told the crowd: “We stand in solidarity with the Jewish people, because an attack like this is never felt alone.

“Wherever you are in our country, Jewish people, our friends, our neighbours, our loved ones are terrified by the events of yesterday – of becoming targets, victims of antisemitic hate, simply for who they are.

“But I know this about Britain’s Jewish community, a community I have known all of my life: You are strong, you are resilient, and you will never be cowed, and that’s what I want you to know today – that our country, those of all colours, all faiths and none, stand with you.”

Uproar resumed in the vigil crowd as Mr Lammy said “that is why we stand in defiance of those terrorists who seek to divide us”.

There were shouts from attendees, and one man could be heard saying “you enabled it, every Saturday”, in reference to the regular pro-Palestine marches through London and other cities.

The Justice Secretary continued: “We cannot, must not, let them divide us – we must show them who we really are, not what they want us to become or to believe.”

Mr Lammy concluded his remarks by asking those who are planning pro-Gaza marches over the weekend to “reflect with all human dignity, grace and understanding” and to “stop and stand back”.

After the Deputy Prime Minister finished speaking, another person shouted: “They called for our death in the past. Walk past a university some day.”

Joanne Lazarus, 61, from Whitefield, Bury, shouted “shame on you” and “you’re embarrassing” at Mr Lammy as he spoke at the vigil.

She said she wanted the government to stop pro-Palestine marches.

She told the PA news agency: “I took the chance to make my voice heard. I can’t take these marches every single Saturday.

“I’ve been into town on a Saturday and have been told I’m a baby killer and to ‘go home’.

“That hatred is felt through the whole of the UK and through what happened here yesterday. I knew it would happen.”

Ms Lazarus, who attended the Heaton Park Shul when she was younger, said she did not think Mr Lammy would “care” about the response he received at the vigil.

Tony Levene, a local Jewish man who barracked the Deputy Prime Minister, chanting: “Shame on you! Empty words!” claimed the attack on the synagogue, where he said he got married, was a result of a lack of government action over hate-speech.

Mr Levene said: “We have been knowing that this could happen on the streets of Manchester for years and finally we were shocked, but it wasn’t unexpected.

“People were allowed a few years ago to drive around London and shout, ‘eff the Jews, rape your daughters’ nothing happened to them, not one of them was prosecuted. This is here at home. Forget Israel. This is here, in England, this is allowed to happen.

“Once you allow that to stem, you get the result of yesterday.

“We’re bored of words. Words are no good anymore. The politicians cannot keep saying word, over word over word. We demand action.

“This is a direct result of the government rewarding terrorism, not holding back, allowing hate speech, this is where we are today. They have blood on their hands.”

Eddie Edwards, who said his grandfather was murdered in a concentration camp, said he was due to do a security shift on the synagogue where the attack took place and his father-in-law, aged 89, was due to arrive just five minutes after the attack.

He said: “Hamas has thanked the British government, Keir Starmer and David Lammy, for recognising a state, it is rewarding terrorism. It is rewarding what happened on October 7.

“We just want action now, not words.”