ROBERT JENRICK: It's time we stood up against those who defend terrorists

For excessively agelong we person harboured those who hatred us. We are present a twelvemonth connected from the October 7 massacre that saw 1,200 guiltless Israeli citizens tortured, raped and murdered by barbaric Hamas terrorists.

But for the 101 hostages that stay trapped successful the hands of Hamas, including a Brit, the ordeal inactive isn't over.

Now, arsenic then, we indispensable basal with Israel arsenic they enactment to rescue the hostages and decision the Islamist militant groups connected their doorstep intent connected their annihilation.

The effect present successful Britain to this evil onslaught exposed a profound sickness astatine the precise bosom of our society. Thousands instantly took to the streets present successful the UK to observe the biggest nonaccomplishment of Jewish beingness since the Holocaust. Before Israel had adjacent responded, masked protesters were seen valorising Hamas, throwing projectiles and vandalising buildings.

Since then, our state has go unrecognisable from the liberal, tolerant federation we similar to pridefulness ourselves on.

Tens of thousands took to the streets to chant 'from the stream to the sea' – a genocidal chant knowingly, oregon unknowingly, calling for the elimination of Israel. The emblem of Hamas and Hezbollah were proudly flown successful London, and chants of jihad rang retired successful Oxford Street from masked men acting with impunity.

At the clip I, and different colleagues, raised concerns implicit the constabulary response. While the French banned marches riddled with anti-Semitism and violent sympathisers, we simply had to ticker on.

I've seen the constabulary ace down harder connected shot fans than the mobs defiling our warfare memorials and attending events organised by those with links to Hamas.

Our governmental elite appeared cowed, too. When an Islamist mob gathered extracurricular Parliament the nighttime earlier a crunch parliamentary ballot connected the ensuing conflict, the Speaker caved to the extracurricular pressure. It was near to a fewer of america successful the House to telephone retired the Islamists down it and their hard-left sympathisers, and request a robust response.

With specified a cowardly effect from our leaders, this sickness successful our nine has grown.

We person seen an detonation of anti-Semitism, and polling retired contiguous shows an astonishing 16 per cent of young British adults judge that attacks carried retired by Hamas were justified, which rises to 28 per cent for those who place arsenic 'very left-wing'.

It's clip we stood up and showed a backbone. The longer anemic politicians specified arsenic Sir Keir Starmer support a conspiracy of soundlessness implicit Islamism, the much fractured our nine volition become.

That means systematically rooting retired those who despise Britain and our values who person nary close to stay here.

As Immigration Minister I revoked the visas of those who valorised Hamas aft October 7 – determination is nary excuse for Yvette Cooper not to bash the same, wherever possible, for immoderate of those supporting Hezbollah arsenic we saw astatine the weekend.

Yes, the increasing menace from incels being radicalised online is simply a concern, but Labour should not beryllium distracting our stretched counter-extremism experts from what the information shows is the biggest problem: Islamist extremists sowing part connected our streets and successful our communities.

We urgently request to amend our laws to combat the standard of extremism connected our streets. The threshold for prosecution is presently 'incitement' oregon 'encouragement', and truthful cheerleaders of violent groups negociate to gaffe beneath the transgression threshold. Any look of enactment for terrorism, whether it's designed to provoke emulation oregon not, should person nary spot successful our society.

And we indispensable yet adjacent the loopholes to proscribe extremism groups. We tin nary longer hold to proscribe the IRGC. So we indispensable seizure the extremist groups, not progressive successful coercion – similar Friends of Al Aqsa oregon the Palestinian Forum successful Britain – but that harm our communities and nationalist order, by creating a caller class for banning organisations.

There is nary clip to waste. Our state is fractured, divided by those who despise us. We indispensable basal up and combat back, oregon hazard losing the caring and tolerant state we each love.