Starmer Proposes Ban on Pro-Palestine Marches Following London Stabbing

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated in a BBC interview on May 2, 2026, that some pro-Palestine marches could be banned. He said people who use the phrase 'globalise the Intifada' could be prosecuted. Starmer described the chant as 'extreme racism' and said those who use it 'should be prosecuted'.

He said he thought it would be appropriate to completely bar some pro-Palestine rallies in some cases. The term intifada came into popular use during the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1987.

Starmer's comments followed a stabbing attack in Golders Green, northwest London, on April 30, 2026, where two men were stabbed. A 45-year-old British national born in Somalia was remanded in custody on May 1, 2026, accused of attempted murder in the Golders Green stabbing. Starmer visited Golders Green on April 30, 2026, following the attack.

He visited the scene of the attacks and a Jewish volunteer ambulance service on May 1, 2026. The UK increased its security alert level to severe on May 1, 2026, in part because of the Golders Green attack. British police arrested more than 500 people during a mass vigil in central London last month to oppose the ban on campaign group Palestine Action.

Separately, a 26-year-old Kurdish man from Syria arrived in the UK on a small boat and was sent back to France in November 2025. French authorities rejected the asylum claim lodged by the 26-year-old Kurdish man from Syria.

The rejection letter from French authorities stated that Syria is safe for the 26-year-old Kurdish man from Syria. Syria is not on the recently updated EU list of safe countries for asylum seekers to be returned to. The asylum interview in France for the 26-year-old Kurdish man lasted one hour and 12 minutes followed by a further interview of 49 minutes.

The 26-year-old Kurdish man fled Syria last year after the village chief told him the YPG had his name on a list for forced conscription. The 26-year-old Kurdish man fled Syria with family members including his mother and younger siblings using smugglers to cross from Syria to Turkey. Smugglers separated the 26-year-old Kurdish man from his family in Turkey and forced him into a different lorry.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced a deal in July 2025 to stop small boats crossing the Channel by returning one small-boat asylum seeker to France in exchange for bringing one asylum seeker from northern France legally to the UK.

Since September 2025 under the one in, one out system, as of 24 April 2026, 561 people have been removed to France after arriving in the UK on small boats.

Under the returns agreement with France, more than 600 illegal migrants have been deported from British soil since July 2025. Nearly 60,000 illegal migrants have been returned since July 2025, up 31% on the 19 months prior. 602 asylum seekers arrived on small boats in the UK on 18 April 2026.