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The Rt Hon Sir Oliver Dowden KCB CBE MP

Member of Parliament for Hertsmere
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Oliver Responds to Policing Around the Maccabi Tel Aviv v Aston Villa Match

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Wednesday, 14 January, 2026
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Oliver in Chamber

Oliver raised his concerns in Parliament over the policing around the Maccabi Tel Aviv v Aston Villa match and how the Jewish community feel under siege.

He asked a question to the Home Secretary following a Ministerial Statement on the matter. 

Oliver said: "The Jewish community in this country, including many in my constituency, feel under siege right now. Sadly, this is not an isolated example; it is just another example of where elements of the British state appear to err on the side of the aggressor in the name of community cohesion. We have another example before us. Will the Home Secretary, in her capacity as a senior member of the Government with responsibility for tackling extremism, take the same robust approach to schools that are banning Jewish Members of Parliament from visiting them on exactly the same community cohesion grounds? It has to stop, and a more robust approach must be taken by the Government."

The Home Secretary responded: "The incident of banning a Jewish Member of Parliament from the school is obviously disgraceful, and the right hon. Member will know that other senior members of the Government have already spoken out about this case. It is unacceptable. I hope he will see that the approach I have taken since I have been Home Secretary is to ensure that the law of our land is applied equally without fear or favour and in a consistent manner that gives every community across the country a sense of what they can expect from their local police, without feeling that they are in a postcode lottery and that it very much depends on the nature of the particular chief constable and the approach they take locally. That is exactly what I am trying to achieve with protest powers and with wider thresholds in relation to the Public Order Act where I have asked for an independent review by Lord Ken Macdonald KC, which will report soon. My intention is to ensure that every citizen of our country knows when it comes to all matters of law and order that we are all on exactly the same footing, and that is right for all our citizens."

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The Rt Hon Sir Oliver Dowden KCB CBE MP Member of Parliament for Hertsmere

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