UK government stops short of saying 'Up the Ra' chants should be prosecuted after Prime Minister called for charges over 'intifada' chants
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has declined to say that people who shout “up the Ra” should be prosecuted.
It comes after prime minister Keir Starmer declared that pro-Palestine activists who chant “globalise the intifada” should be prosecuted.
Asked whether the Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn believes “up the Ra”, a reference to IRA terrorists past and present, should similarly result in criminal charges, the NIO said such a decision would be for the police and the PPS.
The NIO said: “Chanting this is an insult to all victims of IRA violence.
"No one is above the law and the investigation and prosecution of alleged criminal offences, including those which glorify terrorism, are an operational matter for the PSNI and prosecuting authorities to take forward."
UUP MLA and supporter of Israel Steve Aiken told the News Letter that both such chants should be prosecuted.
"Keir Starmer is about two years too late,” he said of the call to criminalise ‘intifada’ chanting.
"If he’d actually enforced a move against hate speech – especially against ‘globalise the intifada’ and 'from the river to the sea’ right from the beginning, we wouldn’t have had such horrors against our Jewish community in the UK.
"The fact the prime minister is only now doing it shows how weak he’s been and ineffectual.
"He should’ve been doing it from October 7 on. There should be no glorification of terrorism anywhere.
"And for those very naive people who shout ‘up the Ra’, that’s just another example of glorifying terrorism, and they should indeed be reminded that is hate speech – and hate speech should indeed be prosecuted.”
This all comes as a man appeared in court with stabbing two Jews in London.
Sir Keir Starmer, himself a former chief prosecutor, on Thursday said: “If you are marching with people wearing pictures of paragliders without calling it out, you are venerating the murder of Jews.
“If you stand alongside people who say, ‘globalise the intifada’, you are calling for terrorism against Jews, and people who use that phrase should be prosecuted.
“It is racism, extreme racism, and it has left a minority community in this country scared, intimidated, wondering if they belong.”
Sir Keir Starmer also urged the public to “open their eyes to Jewish pain” and vowed to “stamp this hatred out”.
Meanwhile Home Office victims minister Alex Davies-Jones has said that pro-Palestine marches have been “hijacked” by people looking to sow division in the UK, amid calls to ban the demonstrations.
Jonathan Hall KC, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, has called for a moratorium on the marches following the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green on Wednesday, saying they had “incubated” antisemitism.
Asked whether she agreed with Mr Hall, Ms Davies-Jones said it was “a fact” that the marches had seen “antisemitic activity”.
She told Times Radio: “We have seen chants of death, calls for global intifada, and that is wrong.”
London has seen regular pro-Palestine marches since the latest round of the conflict in Gaza began in 2023.
Ms Davies-Jones told ITV’s Good Morning Britain anyone considering attending a demonstration should “check themselves” and “look at who you’re standing next to and what is being said, what they’re wearing”.
A pro-Palestine march and Tommy Robinson-led demonstration are both due to take place on the same day later this month.
The Metropolitan Police said they will impose conditions on routes and gathering points on the parades on Saturday May 16.
One is a demonstration to mark Nakba Day, commemorating the 1948 displacement of Palestinians during the creation of Israel, while the other is a “Unite the Kingdom, Unite the West” rally.