A Green Party candidate posted on social media referring to "Jewish cockroaches" in an unhinged rant about Gaza. Raja Ateeq, who is standing in the Rushall-Shelfield ward in Walsall, posted a Pro-Palestine message in December 2023 comparing people of the Jewish faith to the insect.

His bizarre post, which was shared just two months after the October 7 terror attacks on Israel, claimed that "Jewish cockroaches" would not want to return to Gaza, adding that "400K Jewish (sic) have flown out of Israel". Mr Ateeq signed off his ramblings with the words "Palestine will be free".

Mr Ateeq's Facebook page still shows him carrying the Green Party banner in his profile picture. His page is also awash with pro-Palestine photos and posts and he also shares his passion for the Pakistani cricket team.

When the post was highlighted by the Jewish News, a Green spokesman said: "Mr Ateeq has removed the tweet and recognises that it was wrong to have posted it."

Nationally the Prime Minister has branded Green Party leader Zack Polanski “disgraceful” and “not fit to lead any political party” for reposting online criticism of the Met Police officers carrying out an arrest of the Golders Green terror suspect.

The Green leader, who was also criticised by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley for his actions, has apologised for “sharing a tweet in haste”.

Sir Mark told the Times that British Jews are facing their greatest ever threat in the wake of a recent spates of attacks on their community.

He also said that Jews are at the centre of a “ghastly Venn diagram” of hate from all sides, and warned antisemitism is a growing threat to their safety in part because of social media. Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, meanwhile, said there was a “deeply troubling rise in antisemitic incidents across the country”.

Sir Mark also said he is “concerned” about the scale of upcoming protests in the capital, and said police are looking at what conditions and powers should be used in respect of those events.