PM attends prayer service for Israeli victims – as 5,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally outside Israeli embassy
Rishi Sunak has attended a prayer service for Israel following an unprecedented attack by Hamas – as pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside the Israeli embassy.
The prime minister made an address at a synagogue in north London – and said: “I wanted to come here and stand with you in this hour of grief as we mourn the victims of an utterly abhorrent act of terror.
“To stand with you in this hour of prayer as we think of those held hostage, and your friends and loved ones taking refuge in bomb shelters or risking their lives on the frontline.”
Mr Sunak went on to say that Hamas “are not militants, are not freedom fighters, they are terrorists”.
“Their barbaric acts are acts of evil… teenagers at a festival of peace gunned down in cold blood. Innocent men, women and children raped, abducted, slaughtered. Even a Holocaust survivor taken away as a captive.”
The PM went on to say there was “no question of balance” – and he stood with Israel.
In Westminster earlier, hundreds of people also attended a Jewish community vigil – with security minister Tom Tugendhat and shadow foreign secretary David Lammy among the speakers.
There were chants of “let our children go” by the crowd, and organisers claimed up to 2,000 people were in attendance. Many held photos of Noa Argamani, an Israeli woman who was kidnapped by Hamas militants.
Over in west London, an estimated 5,000 people gathered near the Israeli embassy in Kensington – with some shouting “Free Palestine” and “Israel is a terrorist state”.
Parts of the building were boarded up and a huge police presence was in attendance. A Palestinian flag was draped on top of a lamppost nearby, with a firework fired towards the embassy.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: “We are aware of instances of suspected criminal damage in Kensington High Street.
“Officers are on scene, intervening and gathering evidence. We are actively seeking to locate and arrest those suspected of being involved in any criminal activity.”
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Flares set off outside Israel embassy
Palestine Solidarity Campaign, one of the groups behind the demonstration, said: “The offensive launched from Gaza can only be understood in the context of Israel’s ongoing, decades long, military occupation and colonisation of Palestinian land and imposition of a system of oppression that meets the legal definition of apartheid.
“This is the context in which we need to understand the cycle of violence. If violence is to end, both that of the oppressor and the oppressed, then we must all take action to end the root cause – Israeli apartheid and oppression of Palestinians.”
Israel under ‘huge’ rocket barrage – live updates
Police ‘step up patrols’
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has joined Metropolitan Police officers on a patrol in Golders Green – an area of north London with a prominent Jewish population.
It came hours after a kosher restaurant in the area had its window smashed and cash register stolen, while “Free Palestine” was graffitied on a nearby railway bridge.
Police have said they are investigating the attack
The incident is being investigated as a potential hate crime by the British Transport Police, with local authorities describing it as a “deliberate attempt to intimidate the Jewish community”.
Earlier, Ms Braverman had urged police forces across England and Wales to step up patrols – as past unrest in the Middle East had been used “as an excuse to stir up hatred against British Jewish communities”.
She added: “The barbaric attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists who have massacred civilians and kidnapped the most vulnerable, including the elderly, women and children, is truly sickening.
“The UK stands unequivocally with Israel in her fight against this evil.”
Communities minister Lee Rowley has urged protesters not to attempt to glorify Hamas’s attack on Israel.
He told Sky News that Hamas has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK – and while there is a right to protest, there is not a right to glorify terrorism.
Rishi Sunak has hosted an emergency COBRA meeting on the ongoing situation in Israel and Gaza.
Read more:
Haunting messages left by Israelis taken hostage
How attack caught Israel off guard
What is Hamas, and why is it in conflict?
Number 10 has said it would be “utterly despicable” for anyone to use the events in the Middle East as a “pretext” to threaten or attack Jewish communities in Britain.
Greater Manchester Police has also deployed additional officers to key locations in a bid to step up the protection of communities and respond to any incidents.
Superintendent Rachael Harrison said: “This is an extremely worrying time for some of our communities and our thoughts are with those who are affected.
“We are doing everything we can to keep people safe and ensure they feel reassured by our presence.”
Danny Darlington, Bernard Cowan and Nathanel Young have died
Grieving families have paid tribute to British nationals “murdered” in Israel over the weekend.
They have been named as Bernard Cowan, Danny Darlington and Nathanel Young.
More than 10 Britons are feared dead or missing in the country, Sky News understands.
Fresh appeals have been made for information on what would have been the 20th birthday of Ellis Cox, who was shot dead in Liverpool last June.
A number of people have been arrested in connection with the murder at Liver Industrial Estate, but no one has been charged yet.
The 19-year-old’s family and police have paid tribute to him and called for those with information to come forward.
He was shot in the back after a confrontation between his friends and another group of up to three males on Sunday 23 June.
Ellis Cox who was shot dead in June 2024. Pic: Merseyside Police
His mother Carolyn paid tribute in an appeal to coincide with what would have been his 20th birthday.
“He was so kind… so laid back, so calm, so mature for his age. And he was just funny. Very funny.
“He was my baby… no mum should have to bury a child. He was my life. And I don’t know what to do without him.”
Mum Carolyn Cox (left) and aunt Julie O’Toole (right) are looking for answers
Meanwhile, his aunt Julie O’Toole said he was “the sort of person I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to say anything negative about. He was loyal, fiercely loyal… everything was about his family”.
To pay tribute to Ellis, Liverpool City Council will be lighting up the Cunard Building and Liverpool Town Hall in orange on Saturday.
DCI Steve McGrath does not believe Ellis was involved in criminality
Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, the senior investigating officer, spoke about the information gathered so far, six months on from Mr Cox’s murder.
“I’m satisfied that the group that he was with was probably the target… and I would say that’s got something in relation to do with localised drug dealing in that area. But Ellis had no involvement in that whatsoever,” he said.
He added that police are looking for “really significant pieces of evidence now”, including “trying to recover the firearm that was used in relation to this, looking to recover the bikes that were used by the offenders”.
Read more from Sky News:
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Missing sisters made earlier visit to same bridge
Mrs Cox also appealed for people to come forward with information.
“If you know anything, don’t let us get to [his] next birthday and still know nothing.
“We need to get justice for Ellis. And we need to get the people who took him from us off the streets.”
UK
Reward of £20,000 offered to identify parents of three siblings abandoned as babies over eight years
A £20,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the identification of the parents of three siblings found abandoned in London over eight years.
The Metropolitan Police said that despite more than 450 hours of CCTV being reviewed, the parents of the three children, known as Elsa, Roman and Harry, remain unidentified.
However, it is believed their mother has lived in an area of east London “over the past six years”.
Elsa was believed to be less than an hour old when she was found by a dog walker on 18 January last year, in East Ham, east London.
In the months that followed it was found that she had two siblings who were also abandoned in similar circumstances, in the same area of London, in 2017 and 2019.
On Saturday, police said the independent group Crimestoppers had offered a £20,000 reward for information passed to the charity, which will expire on 18 April.
Detective Inspector Jamie Humm, of the Met’s child abuse investigation team, said: “We have carried out extensive inquiries over the past year to try and locate Elsa’s parents.
Baby Roman. Pic: Met Police/PA
Read more from Sky News:
The Commons venue that changed political history
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Missing sisters made earlier visit to same bridge
“This has involved reviewing over 450 hours of CCTV and completing a full DNA structure of the mother.
“We have serious concerns for the wellbeing of the parents, especially the mother, and are continuing to work closely with Newham Council and appeal for the public’s help for information.
“I believe that someone in the area will have been aware of the mother’s pregnancies and that within the community there may be (or) have been concerns for this mother’s welfare.
“Thanks to the DNA work of forensic colleagues, police will be able to eliminate any unconnected person quickly and easily, as such I would ask you to contact police with confidence.”
The baby was found at the junction of Greenway and High Street South in Newham. Pic: PA
Elsa was found wrapped in a towel in a reusable shopping bag, of which police have also released a new image, and was kept warm by the dog walker. She was uninjured.
Police said at the time that it was “highly likely” that she was born after a “concealed pregnancy”.
The Boots bag in which Baby Elsa was found abandoned by a dog walker in Newham on 18 January 2024. Pic: Met Police/PA
The BBC reported that at an initial court hearing, East London Family Court was told it took doctors three hours to record Elsa’s temperature because of the cold, and the Met Office said that temperatures dropped to as low as -4C on the night she was found.
Hospital staff named her Elsa in a reference to the character from the film Frozen.
The police investigation into the identity of the children’s parents continues, and anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 or post @MetCC ref Operation Wolcott.
People can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously at any time on 0800 555 111 or via Crimestoppers-uk.org.
Fresh appeals have been made for information on what would have been the 20th birthday of Ellis Cox, who was shot dead in Liverpool last June.
A number of people have been arrested in connection with the murder at Liver Industrial Estate, but no one has been charged yet.
The 19-year-old’s family and police have paid tribute to him and called for those with information to come forward.
He was shot in the back after a confrontation between his friends and another group of up to three males on Sunday 23 June.
Ellis Cox who was shot dead in June 2024. Pic: Merseyside Police
His mother Carolyn paid tribute in an appeal to coincide with what would have been his 20th birthday.
“He was so kind… so laid back, so calm, so mature for his age. And he was just funny. Very funny.
“He was my baby… no mum should have to bury a child. He was my life. And I don’t know what to do without him.”
Mum Carolyn Cox (left) and aunt Julie O’Toole (right) are looking for answers
Ellis’ mum described him as ‘kind” and “funny. Pic: Merseyside Police
Meanwhile, his aunt Julie O’Toole said he was “the sort of person I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to say anything negative about. He was loyal, fiercely loyal… everything was about his family”.
To pay tribute to Ellis, Liverpool City Council will be lighting up the Cunard Building and Liverpool Town Hall in orange on Saturday.
DCI Steve McGrath does not believe Ellis was involved in criminality
Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, the senior investigating officer, spoke about the information gathered so far, six months on from Mr Cox’s murder.
“I’m satisfied that the group that he was with was probably the target… and I would say that’s got something in relation to do with localised drug dealing in that area. But Ellis had no involvement in that whatsoever,” he said.
He added that police are looking for “really significant pieces of evidence now”, including “trying to recover the firearm that was used in relation to this, looking to recover the bikes that were used by the offenders”.
Read more from Sky News:
The Commons venue that changed political history
Link between A&E waiting times and chance of death
Missing sisters made earlier visit to same bridge
Mrs Cox also appealed for people to come forward with information.
“If you know anything, don’t let us get to [his] next birthday and still know nothing.
“We need to get justice for Ellis. And we need to get the people who took him from us off the streets.”
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