Home Office 'did not discuss' Islamophobia risk in wake of Hamas attacks

by Ramzy Alwakeel and Ruby Lott-Lavigna

The Home Office appears to have given no consideration to the threat of Islamophobic hate crime in the wake of Hamas's attacks on Israel, despite warning chief constables about the "obvious risk" of rising antisemitism, openDemocracy can reveal.

It comes as the government is embroiled in a row about its perceived unequal treatment of antisemitism and Islamophobia. Incidents of bothhave soared since 7 October.

Oxford councillor Shaista Aziz said Muslim women were particularly at risk from rising hate crime, and told openDemocracy that the Home Office's lack of action was "outrageous, yes, horrific, yes, but not surprising".

On 10 October, then home secretary Suella Braverman wrote to police chiefs in England and Wales urging them to watch for rising antisemitism, particularly on pro-Palestinian marches.

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The letter asked police to consider whether holding a Palestinian flag on a march or singing "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" could be considered a terrorist offence.

But requests made by openDemocracy under the Freedom of Information Act found that the Home Office held no evidence of any meetings, phone calls, emails or briefing papers from the same period of time regarding the possibility of publishing a similar letter about hate towards Muslim and pro-Palestinian groups.

Aziz said: "It sends a very clear message to British Muslims that 'you're not a priority for us,' as opposed to: 'You are facing a sustained rise in violence and extremism, and it's our job as a government to put things in place to ensure that people are protected.'"

The independent councillor, who quit Labour in October in protest at Keir Starmer's apparent suggestion that Israel's attacks on Gaza were justified, also called out Labour's own record on Islamophobia. She pointed to the fact no one had faced consequences for briefing a deeply offensive line to the press that Muslim councillors quitting the party meant Labour was "shaking off the fleas".

Labour MP Clive Lewis told openDemocracy the "hierarchy of racism" in the government and society at large benefited only the far right. "This doesn't help the Muslim community and it sure as hell doesn't help the Jewish community," he said. "This divide and rule policy is not just wrong – it's dangerous."

Lee Anderson, the Tories' former deputy chair, was suspended from the Conservative Party this weekend after claiming in an appearance on GB News that "Islamists" had "got control" of the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

Conservative ministers have been reluctant to criticise Anderson, who has not apologised. Deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden yesterday refused to say whether his claims were Islamophobic in interviews with both the BBCand ITV, and transport secretary Mark Harper this morning again declined to call them racist – instead telling both the BBC and Sky News that they were simply "wrong".

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Anderson's comments had echoed a column Braverman wrote in The Telegraph last week, in which she claimed that "Islamists" were "in charge" of Britain.

Braverman was forced out of office in November after she accused the police of left-leaning bias, helping incite a far-right mob to storm the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day. She is yet to face repercussions from the Conservative Party for the latest column.

Alba Kapoor, head of policy at the anti-racist Runnymede Trust charity, said: "This latest revelation shows what we have sadly already suspected: that this government has a flagrant disregard for its duty to protect Muslim communities.

"As instances of Islamophobia continue to skyrocket following last October, Muslim communities face persistent racist attacks. But instead of taking any action to challenge that, senior Conservative politicians and former cabinet members are busy stoking Islamophobic sentiment, and building divisive narratives.

"That the prime minister refuses to even call these instances out as racism is a clear sign of a government that is disgracefully failing Muslims across the country. This woeful situation will continue to cause profound harm unless meaningful action is taken to protect Muslim people at this time."

The government stumped up funding to tackle both Islamophobia and antisemitism last year. It has committed £29.4m a year to providing security for mosques and Muslim schools, and £18m a year for equivalent safety measures for synagogues and Jewish schools, until 2025.

But it has had no independent adviser on Islamophobia for 20 months. Imam Qari Asim was dismissed from the role in June 2022, after being accused of backing a ban on a film that was said to exacerbate sectarian tensions between Muslims. Asim said the government's claim that he acted to "limit free speech" was "inaccurate".

A government spokesperson said: "There is no place for hate in our society and we condemn the recent rise in reported anti-Muslim and antisemitic hatred.

"We expect the police to fully investigate all hate crimes and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to make sure the cowards who commit these abhorrent offences feel the full force of the law.

"Following recent events, we have also made further funding available to Muslim and Jewish communities, to provide additional security at places of worship and faith schools."

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