Lily-livered Sir Keir Starmer utters the platitudes expected of him and, together with his Chancellor, hands extra funds for policing and for the CST to attempt to stem the tsunami of antisemitism Jews are facing throughout the country. That’s all very well, and most welcome, but it does not get to the root of the problem.

Scarcely a day goes by when there is not an antisemitic incident. Arson attacks are the latest cowardly weapon used by Jew-haters. And it has been suggested that they and others are acting as proxies for Iran.

Ms Badenoch says rightly that Britain is reaching a stage of national emergency, observing that if it were black churches rather than synagogues that were being firebombed and people killed (as in Manchester), that a national emergency would be declared. She goes further, insisting that stage has almost been reached.

The Conservative leader, “as a black woman”, is well placed to comment, lamenting: “I have never seen the level of racism, discrimination, intimidation and attacks that have been directed at the Jewish community.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been proscribed by the European Union — but not by Britain. Why not? This is an organisation that not only terrorises citizens of Iran and whose raison d’etre is the elimination of Israel, but whose arm extends beyond its borders, having a hand in attacks throughout the world, including antisemitic manifestations in this country.

We must not forget that Starmer eagerly joined other leaders ill-disposed towards Israel in prematurely recognising a Palestinian state — a move that emboldened enemies of Israel and Jews in this country. Ms Badenoch did not back such a move.

Starmer should reverse this decision and should adopt her suggestion, reported recently in the Jewish Telegraph, that foreign nationals who are guilty of antisemitic attacks are deported peremptorily.

We need leadership in this country that is not afraid to act decisively.

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