Author: admin

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 4 May 2026.

Leaders from across society are being brought together in Downing Street this morning to drive forward progress on tackling antisemitism in all its forms.

• The Prime Minister is convening leaders from across society in Downing Street this morning to call for action on all forms of antisemitism
• Opening the event, he will call for everyone to stand up and play their part in eradicating hatred
• Influential representatives from business, civil society, health, culture, higher education and policing will take part in individual roundtable discussions with members of the Jewish community, hosted by Ministers

Leaders from across society are being brought together in Downing Street this morning to drive forward progress on tackling antisemitism in all its forms.

The Government has been taking action to protect Jewish communities and tackle antisemitism since coming into power. Following the despicable antisemitic terrorist attack in London last week, a spate of serious arson attacks in recent weeks, and the terrorist attack in Heaton Park in October, the Government is committed to accelerating a whole of society response to antisemitism.

The Prime Minister is convening the event, which will be attended by leaders from the business, civil society, health, culture, higher education and policing sectors, where he will ask attendees to reflect on the forms antisemitism takes in their sector, the work they are already doing to tackle it and how they can go further at pace. Each sector will spend the morning in an individual roundtable meeting, chaired by a Minister.

Opening the event, the Prime Minister is expected to say that every part of society needs to stand up together and refuse to platform hatred or turn a blind eye to extremism.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer will say:

Last week’s terrorist attack in Golders Green was utterly appalling. But it was not an isolated incident. It is part of a pattern of rising antisemitism that has left our Jewish communities feeling frightened, angry, and asking whether this country, their home, is safe for them.

These disgusting attacks are being made against British Jews. But, make no mistake, this crisis – it is a crisis for all of us. It is a test of our values. Values that are not guaranteed, but are earned. Every single day, through our actions.

So, it is not enough to simply say we stand with Jewish communities. We must show it. And that responsibility lies with each and every one of us. That is what today is about. Because only by working together, can we eradicate antisemitism from every corner of society.

The Prime Minister will also convene Ministers this afternoon for a Middle East Response Committee meeting focused on the domestic security implications of the conflict in the Middle East, in particular the heightened threat to Jewish communities in light of recent attacks.

Today’s event builds on commitments made in recent days to accelerate work to confront extremism, protect the Jewish community and strengthen cohesion.

This includes announcing an additional £25 million in funding to increase police patrols, enhance security at synagogues, schools and community centres, and place specialist and plain-clothes officers in communities to prevent serious harm before it occurs. It brings the total funding to £58 million this year – the largest investment a Government has made in protecting Jewish communities in history.

The Government will also fast-track legislation to counter the malign actions against the Jewish community from state actors and strengthening the response of our justice system by working to speed up sentencing for antisemitic offences. A further £7 million investment will also tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 4 May 2026.

The Prime Minister met the Prime Minister of Czechia Andrej Babiš today.

The leaders began by reflecting on the UK’s ambitions for a closer relationship with the European Union to deliver security and prosperity for both sides. 

In the current context, a stronger, more united Europe was key, the Prime Minister added. 

The leaders also discussed the need to continue close collaboration on illegal migration. 

Turning to wider geopolitical issues, the leaders reiterated the need to secure a just and lasting peace to end the war in Ukraine. The Prime Minister also thanked Prime Minister Babiš for Czechia’s ongoing supply of ammunition to Ukraine. 

On the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, the Prime Minister underlined the importance of ensuring the normalisation of shipping in the region to ensure the free flow of trade.

The leaders looked forward to speaking again soon.

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 4 May 2026.

Building on the European Political Community Summit (EPC) in Copenhagen last year, European leaders reaffirmed critical lines of effort on upstream migration in Armenia.

On the occasion of the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Yerevan, the leaders of Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom reaffirmed their commitment to working together to tackle illegal migration.

At the Copenhagen EPC summit, leaders identified several critical lines of effort in pursuit of a ‘whole of route’ approach to tackling illegal migration. They underlined the need to take action against smugglers, ensure domestic and international frameworks are robust, accelerate returns, forge new partnerships, manage upstream migration effectively, and tackle the instrumentalisation of migration, among other issues. Critically, they also agreed on the need to support one another in these efforts.

This year, in the face of significant displacement across Sudan, the Horn of Africa and wider Middle East, these priorities remain as vital as ever and, also on the basis of the lessons learned from the 2015 migration crisis and to avoid a similar situation in the future, leaders agreed on how best to prepare and coordinate efforts.

They agreed on the importance of:

● Surveillance and monitoring: ensuring up-to-date information and monitoring is shared to best support preparedness and a coordinated response.

● Humanitarian assistance: identifying opportunities for targeted interventions to help those in need, and deter flows from source.

● Working with international organisations: partnering with, and supporting the work of key agencies and bodies like UNHCR, the IOM and the Council of Europe.

● Security: maintaining a core focus on security, protection and the effective integrity of both land and maritime borders.

● Targeting organised immigration crime: deploying targeted interventions against people smugglers and human traffickers as well as their supply chains, including through the use of sanctions.

● Governance: ensuring frameworks – both domestic and international – are safeguarded from abuse, so they can meet the demands of the day and so assistance can be targeted to those in need.

● Returns: ensuring robust agreements are in place to both deter migrant movements from source and transit countries and alleviate domestic pressure, including through new approaches.

● A systems-wide response: using all of the above levers, policies and diplomatic tools, to coordinate international efforts and protect the integrity of our borders.

Significant progress has been made across last year’s statement, including new measures, partnerships and successes in the disruption of smuggling activity continent-wide.

Leaders agreed to continue the focus on the most pressing global migration issues, and on opportunities for future cooperation, including at the next EPC Summit in Ireland.