‘Zionist devil’ insults hurled at Labour MP canvassing outside mosque

A Labour candidate was forced to abandon leafleting outside a mosque on Friday after a crowd barracked him as a “Zionist devil” with “the blood of Palestinian children on his hands”.

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, who is fighting for re-election as the MP for Slough in Berkshire, was driven off by men hurling abuse over Labour’s stance on the conflict in Gaza.

Videos posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, show Mr Dhesi handing out flyers to men leaving the Masjid al-Jannah mosque in the centre of Slough after Friday prayers.

But as Mr Dhesi tries to distribute the election material, a group of men hurls invective at the Labour politician while recording the encounter on their camera phones.

“You’ve got the blood of Palestinian children on your hands, you Zionist devil, get out,” shouts one man.

In another video recorded from a different angle, a second man accuses Mr Dhesi of supporting “genocide”.

“He’s a liar! Ignore him the way he ignored Palestine on the ceasefire vote,” the man says.

“He supports Keir Starmer when Keir Starmer says Israel has the right to kill our brothers and sisters, Israel has the right to starve our brothers and sisters, Israel has the right to cut off electricity to our brothers and sisters… He refused to vote for a ceasefire.”

The man intersperses his verbal attacks on Mr Dhesi with calls for people to vote for Azhar Chohan, an independent candidate who is backed by The Muslim Vote – a campaign group that aims to get Muslims to vote against Labour over Gaza.

“He ignored Palestine, he supports genocide,” the man shouts. “Vote Azhar Chohan for Slough.”

After a few minutes, Mr Dhesi and two supporters are forced to extricate themselves from the crowd and leave the area.

One of the men continues to pursue them down the street while filming on his phone. “It’s a place of worship, we don’t need Zionist devils like you,” he shouts. “You’re not welcome, don’t come back here again. This guy, he’s got the blood of Palestinian children on his hands… don’t ever come back here again.”

At one point, several men are also heard chanting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

On Friday evening, Mr Dhesi said on X: “Attempts to intimidate, by a small group campaigning for an opponent, won’t deter me from continuing to speak up for all, including for peace in Palestine.

“Grateful to all, especially from our Muslim community, who were appalled by such behaviour and sent messages of support.”

Mr Dhesi received support from figures including Lord Walney, the government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, who described the scenes as “disgusting”.

The news comes amid safety concerns for parliamentary candidates while on the campaign trail.

Rosie Duffield, the gender-critical Labour candidate, said on Friday that she would not be taking part in local hustings in Canterbury because the “constant trolling” she had suffered online had made her fear for her own safety.

Mr Dhesi has previously spoken about how he received death threats last November after abstaining on a motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The party changed its position earlier this year to call for an immediate ceasefire.

In the local elections in May, Labour experienced a voter backlash in some parts of the country with large Muslim populations.