At least six foreign nationals are under threat of having their visas revoked for anti-Semitic behaviour or comments, it has emerged.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has warned “if you come to this country, you abide by British values” as fury mounts over the conduct of some pro-Palestine protesters.
Some chanted for “jihad” during a rally in London on Saturday while others have praised terror group Hamas on social media after the slaughter of 1,400 people in Israel on October 7.
And the Daily Express understands at least six foreign nationals in the UK are having their visas reconsidered.
Mr Jenrick said: “Have no doubt about the Home Secretary’s and my determination that people who spread hate in our country have no right to be here.”
He added on Times Radio: “We believe in freedom of speech, but I disagree with your premise that somebody who is here as a visitor to the UK has the right to be anti-Semitic, to threaten British communities and can stay unless that is of criminal standard.
“I think there is conduct which is below the criminal standard, which is wrong, would be accepted as wrong by most reasonable people.
“And if those people are not British citizens, they’re just visitors to our country enjoying the privileges of living here, being amongst fellow British people, then I’m afraid their visas will be revoked and they should leave the country.
“I can’t look a British Jewish person in the eye as Immigration Minister and say that I’ve allowed somebody to remain at our pleasure in this country who is conducting themselves in that manner. That is wrong. If you come to this country, you abide by British values.”
Mr Jenrick wrote to every police chief on Friday night “reminding” them they can alert the Home Office to people celebrating atrocities or engaging in other unlawful or extremist behaviour.
Ministers can revoke foreign nationals’ visas if they are “not conducive to the public good” or a threat to national security.
Protests over the past two weekends have prompted renewed debate over the efficacy of Britain’s hate crime laws.
Sir Mark Rowley, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, warned hate crime laws fail to recognise “the ability” of extremist groups “to steer around those laws”.
He said: “We’re accountable for the law. We can’t enforce taste or decency, but we can enforce the law.
“The conversation finished really around the line of the law. It’s our job to enforce to that line. It’s Parliament’s job to draw that line.
“Maybe some of the lines aren’t quite in the right place.
“The law that we’ve designed around hate crime and terrorism over recent decades hasn’t taken full account of the ability of extremist groups to steer around those laws and propagating the truly toxic messages through social media.
“Those lines probably need redrawing.”
The Daily Express understands ministers, police and the Crown Prosecution Service are examining whether new guidance is needed to give officers clarity they can arrest people using existing legislation.
