Extract from Home
Office Questions
(Bury South)
(Con): Following the events that took place in Texas
this weekend, will the Home Secretary provide an update on the UK
investigation into the British perpetrator of the attack on the
Congregation Beth Israel synagogue, and on the measures taken to
ensure the security of the UK Jewish community, and can I further
ask whether the perpetrator was known to the security
services?
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (): I thank my hon. Friend
for his question; this is a very important matter. Just prior to
questions this afternoon, I had a bilateral call with my homeland
security counterpart in the US. Let me say a few things. First,
we are working with the FBI—in fact, we have been since the
incident took place—and there is a great deal of intelligence
sharing and work taking place. Of course, when it comes to our
domestic homeland, a range of measures are being undertaken right
now, including protective security for the Jewish community. The
investigation is obviously live, so I am unable to talk about the
specifics.
Extract from Commons
statement on Foreign Interference: Intelligence and
Security
(Normanton, Pontefract and
Castleford) (Lab):...May I take a moment to think of those in the
Congregation Beth Israel synagogue community in Texas who will
still be reeling from their terrible ordeal? People must be free
to worship at synagogues and other
religious sites, free from fear of violence, across the world. It
reminds us that we must be unrelenting in our fight against
antisemitism and against extremism. It is, of course, of deep
concern that the hostage taker was a British citizen. I want to
give thanks to our intelligence agencies and police forces, who
are working in co-operation with their US counterparts and other
international partners to investigate the issue further...
