Rishi Sunak has condemned pro-Palestine protesters who have staged a demonstration outside Keir Starmer’s house.
The demonstrators called on the Labour leader to support an arms embargo on Israel. The group, called Youth Demand, hung a banner outside Starmer’s home that read “Starmer stop the killing” surrounded by red hand prints, and laid rows of children’s shoes at his front door.
The protesters said in a video on X that weapons being manufactured in the UK were being “used to cause genocide”.
The Metropolitan police said three people were arrested on Tuesday under section 42 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, a power designed to “stop the harassment of a person at their home address”.
Sunak, whose home in North Yorkshire was targeted by climate protesters last year, said such incidents would not be tolerated. In a post on X, the prime minister said: “I don’t care what your politics are, no MP should be harassed at their own home.
“We cannot and will not tolerate this.”
James Cleverly, the home secretary, said on X: “This is unacceptable. There is no excuse for harassing and intimidating politicians and their families in their homes.”
The government is under pressure to publish the legal advice it has received on whether Israel is violating international humanitarian law in Gaza. Several Conservative MPs and grandees called on ministers to stop arming Israel after three British aid workers were killed by Israeli airstrikes in the region.
Starmer has urged the government to publish its legal advice. David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, said arms sales should be halted if there has been a “serious breach” of international law.
In a statement from Youth Demand, Ella Ward, a 21-year-old participant in the demonstration, said: “In normal circumstances it would be seen as crossing a line to show up at someone’s house, but these are not normal circumstances and we can’t continue with business as usual.
“I’m taking action to call on Starmer to commit to stopping the killing.”
The Met deputy assistant commissioner, Ade Adelekan, said: “Politicians and their families should be able to go about their daily lives without feeling threatened or intimidated.
“It’s completely unacceptable for protest to take place in the vicinity of a politician’s home. There are plenty of appropriate places to protest in London, anyone who chooses to target a private home can expect to be dealt with by officers.
On Monday Youth Demand sprayed Labour’s headquarters with red paint, and later said that 11 people had been arrested in relation to that incident.
