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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.

A vandalised Kosher restaurant is seen near a bridge with 'Free Palestine' painted on it, in Golders Green in London, Britain, October 9, 2023. REUTERS/Anna Gordon
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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?

A Tube train bridge, branded with 'Free Palestine' graffiti, is seen in in Golders Green, London, Britain, October 9, 2023. REUTERS/Anna Gordon

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
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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.

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Indian court sentences 14 to life in Bitcoin extortion case

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Indian court sentences 14 to life in Bitcoin extortion case

Indian court sentences 14 to life in Bitcoin extortion case

A former BJP legislator and 11 police officials have been convicted for the 2018 abduction of a Surat businessman in a plot to seize over 750 Bitcoin.

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Lib Dems eye Labour-held cities as they target ‘seats not votes’

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Lib Dems eye Labour-held cities as they target 'seats not votes'

They demolished most of the “blue wall” at the general election, and now the Lib Dems are eyeing up Labour voters.

Strategists see an opportunity in younger people who, over the course of this parliament, may be priced out of cities and into commuter belt areas as they seek to get on the housing ladder or start a family.

Insiders say the plan is to focus more on the cost of living to shift the party’s appeal beyond the traditional southern heartlands.

“There’s a key opportunity to target people who were 30 at the last election who over the next five years might find themselves moving out of London, to areas like Surrey, Guildford,” a senior party source told Sky News.

“We also need to be better at making a case for a liberal voice in urban areas. We have not told enough of a story on the cost of living.

“We need a liberal voice back in the cities – areas like Liverpool, where there is strong support at a council level that we can use as a base to build on.”

Liverpool is a traditional Labour heartland but in January lost its first local authority by-election there in 27 years to the Lib Dems.

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Carl Cashman, the leader of the Lib Dems on the city council, says it’s a result that shows the potential to make gains in areas where the party came third and fourth at the general election.

Carl Cashman is the leader of the Liverpool Liberal Democrats
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Carl Cashman is the leader of the Liverpool Liberal Democrats

“One of the cases I have been making to the national party is that Liverpool should be a number one target.

“We are almost at the end of the road when it comes to the Conservatives, so we need to start looking at areas like Liverpool,” he said, adding that Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle could also be ripe for the taking.

However, the party faces a challenge of making a case for liberalism against the rising tide of populism.

Sir Ed Davey, the party leader, is trying to position himself as the only politician who is not afraid of holding Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to account.

He has recently unveiled a plan to cut energy bills by changing how renewable projects are paid for and says he will boycott Donald Trump’s state dinner. It is these green, internationalist policies that insiders hope can hoover up support of remaining Tory moderates unhappy with the direction of Kemi Badenoch’s party and progressive voters who think Labour is more of the same.

However, strategists admit it is difficult to cut through on these issues in a changing media landscape, “when you’re either viral or you’re not”.

‘Silly stunts’ here to stay

Farage has no such problem, which Davey has blamed on a national media weighted too heavily in favour of the Reform UK leader, given the size of his party (he has just four MPs compared to the Liberal Democrats’ 72).

But the two parties have very different media strategies. This week, on the same day Farage held a Trump-style press conference to announce his immigration deportation plans, with a Q&A for journalists after, the Liberal Democrat leader went to pick strawberries in Somerset to highlight the plight of farmers facing increased inheritance tax.

Sir Ed Davey takes part in strawberry picking with Tessa Munt, the MP for Wells & Mendip Hills. Pic: PA
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Sir Ed Davey takes part in strawberry picking with Tessa Munt, the MP for Wells & Mendip Hills. Pic: PA

Some Lib Dems have questioned whether the “silly stunts” that proved successful during the general election are past their shelf life, but strategists say there will be no fundamental change to that, insisting Sir Ed is the “genuine nice guy” he comes across as and that offers something different.

The Lib Dems ultimately see their strength as lying not in the “airwaves war” but the “ground war” – building support on the doorstep at a local level and then turning that into seats.

“Our strategy is seats, not votes. Theirs is votes, not seats,” said the party source, suggesting Farage’s divisiveness might backfire under a first past the post system where people typically vote against the party they disklike the most.

“The next election won’t be about who is saying the meanest things.”

‘Don’t underestimate us’

There is broad support within the party behind that strategy. Cllr Cashman said a greater use of social media could help attract a younger demographic, along with putting forward “really fundamental, powerful liberal ideas” on issues such as housing.

But he said Davey is “never going to do the controversial things Farage does”.

“The way we reach people, the traditional campaigning, is what makes us strong. Just because we are not always on the airwaves, do not underestimate us.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Pic: PA
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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Pic: PA

For Liberal Democrat peer and pollster Dr Mark Pack, there are reasons to be confident. On Friday, the party won a local council by-election in Camden, north London – “Sir Keir Starmer’s backyard” – with a swing from Labour to the Lib Dems of 19%.

It is these statistics that the party is far more focused on than national vote share – with Labour’s misfortunes opening an opportunity to strategically target areas where voters are more likely to switch.

“One of the lessons we have learned from the past is that riding high in opinion polls doesn’t translate into seats.

“We are really focused on winning seats with the system in front of us. There is a route to success by concentrating on and expanding on what we have been good at.”

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Tories call for investigation into Angela Rayner over her tax affairs

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Tories call for investigation into Angela Rayner over her tax affairs

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner should face an ethics inquiry over her tax affairs, the Conservatives have said.

It comes after The Daily Telegraph claimed Ms Rayner, who is also housing secretary, avoided £40,000 in stamp duty on a second home in East Sussex by removing her name from the deeds of another property in Greater Manchester.

Stamp duty is a tax paid in England and Northern Ireland when someone buys a property over a certain price.

The newspaper also claimed Ms Rayner previously suggested the Greater Manchester home remained her primary residence, saving around £2,000 in council tax on her grace and favour home in central London.

Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake has written to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Laurie Magnus, requesting he investigate whether Ms Rayner broke ministerial rules.

In a letter to Sir Laurie, Mr Hollinrake described Ms Rayner’s arrangements as “hypocritical tax avoidance, by a minister who supports higher taxes on family homes, high-value homes and second homes”.

As housing secretary, Ms Rayner is responsible for overseeing council tax and housing policy.

More on Angela Rayner

Read more from Sky News:
Lib Dems eye Labour-held cities as they target ‘seats not votes’
Three arrests in Epping ahead of more protests

Mr Hollinrake said the statements she had given on her residency were “contradictory”, but conceded she had broken no laws.

A spokesperson for Ms Rayner has said she “paid the correct duty” on the purchase “entirely properly” – and “any suggestion otherwise is entirely without basis”.

A Cabinet Office spokesman added that Ms Rayner “has followed advice on the allocation of her official residence at all times”.

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