Dr Zubir Ahmed

I thank my hon. Friend for his warm words. I join him in commending the Ahmed family for all that they are doing to cement the bonds of community cohesion in his constituency. The Prime Minister’s actions are a clear indication that this Labour Government, under this Prime Minister, value and share bread with all communities and are a friend of the Muslim community. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) for his tireless efforts over the last decade in tackling anti-Muslim hatred; he also is a true friend of Muslims across this country. When hatred takes root in our society it diminishes us all. That is why I am glad that the Deputy Prime Minister is also taking action. Perhaps the Minister might be kind enough to outline some of the details of the new group set up by his Department to tackle anti-Muslim hatred in this country once and for all, led by Dominic Grieve KC, which is welcomed. The Minister will know that this not just an issue for Muslims; it speaks to the wider issue of social cohesion. The Khan review of social cohesion in March 2024 argued that social cohesion is not just about protecting the democratic norms of our country; it has wide-reaching benefits for society as a whole, from helping achieve sustainable economic growth to reducing the threats of terrorism and hate crime, increasing societal resilience to shocks such as pandemics, improving public health, increasing volunteering and strengthening communities, social cohesion and a wide range of adjacent policy areas—areas that I know this Government take seriously. I believe recent events around the world demonstrate that we are at an inflection point in our country. We can roll over to the easy answer to the scapegoating a community, or conversely avoid, as has been done in the past, the difficult conversations that sometimes need to be had within communities. Neither of those attitudes serves any of us well. We should call out hatred when we see it online, at dinner tables, in changing rooms, in public spaces. But in a pluralistic British society, we should also be able to issue challenge to communities when we see failings. I am proud to be an MP on the Labour Benches, because I believe it is only this Government who can achieve that. Many communities with their own separate traditions, but still able to coalesce naturally into one British identity.