Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised to do everything in his power to defeat antisemitism and protect Britain’s Jews after the killing of two people at a synagogue in northern England.

Starmer returned early from a European summit in Copenhagen after the attack in Manchester, which spread fear through a community already reeling from a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents.

He described the attacker as a “vile individual” who was motivated by the desire to attack Jews “because they are Jews”.

“To every Jewish person in this country, I want to say this, I know how much fear you will be holding inside of you. I really do,” he said.

“And so on behalf of our country, I express my solidarity, but also my sadness that you still have to live with these fears. Nobody should have to do that. Nobody.”

Starmer’s wife is Jewish and he has previously spoken about his connection to the faith.

When he became leader of the centre-left Labour Party in 2020, he was forced to tackle antisemitism in its ranks after the party was accused of discrimination and harassment of Jews by the UK’s equalities watchdog.

But his government has infuriated the Israeli government by recognising a Palestinian state. Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, said British authorities had failed to curb antisemitism and “effectively allowed it to persist”.

Jewish leaders in Britain have complained about the regular staging of pro-Palestinian marches in London since Israel began devastating the Gaza Strip, killing tens of thousands of Palestinians, in response to an attack on Israel in October 2023 led by Hamas militants. Some 1,200 people were killed in that attack and 251 taken as hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Starmer said there would be more police outside British synagogues and that he would work hard to reassure the Jewish community.

“I promise you that I will do everything in my power to guarantee you the security that you deserve,” he said.

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