Heartbreaking new pictures of murdered Dee women released by family

The peers sat shiva with them and spoke about the family's resilience as a source of "strength and inspiration" to members of the government.

At the end of their meeting, which lasted approximately 45 minutes, Lord Polak said: “Today of course is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Memorial Day. And in some ways, you as a family have experienced your own holocaust.

“I just hope and pray that in the day to come you will be able to remember the happy days you had as a family.”

Speaking to the JC, Lord Ahmad, who is the Minister of State for the Middle East, said: “Rabbi Dee and the entire family has I think been a great inspiration and source of strength to many of us in government. The rabbi’s powerful message of feeling only sorrow for those who harbour so much hate has really resonated with myself, Rishi and others.

“Today was about the family. It’s not about any sort of political statements. My being here is both personal and important to me. It’s important as a representative of government, and I’m really grateful to my very dear friend Lord Stuart Polak for being able to come together with me, to sort of bridge the gaps in our understanding and learn from each other.

“Today was a very good example of families showing immense fortitude and not feeling hate or enmity towards those who committed these abhorrent acts, and is something we can all learn from.”

Dee’s siblings, brother Benjamin Shaw and two sisters Gaby Sweidan and Stephanie Trompeter, repeated their thanks to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly for his “strong and clear” condemnation of the terrorists.

Referring to a letter written by Cleverly to the Dee family – which was called a “landmark document” by Rabbi Leo Dee during a conversation with the JC – the siblings said they were pleased to hear the government “unequivocally” condemn the terrorists and that there “was no justification for the killings”.

Shaw said: “It’s greatly appreciated, and I think necessary, that the government make clear that any acts of terrorism, wherever they are, are completely unacceptable.

“The message must be clear and hopefully, eventually, the message will get through to the terrorists that every time you carry out these attacks it’s not going to get you brownie points, it’s going [to get you] negative points.

“To use the word unequivocal – as Cleverly did – then that makes it clear to perpetrators of terror that there is nothing to be gained from committing these acts. It gets you nowhere.”

Speaking to the JC, Shaw added that the actions of his brother-in-law had helped to inspire him personally.

“Having been in the shiva house in Israel, where you had thousands of people a day coming to pay their respects, Leo has been an inspiration. Both Leo and I had to speak publicly in front of all these hundreds of people, with cameras aimed at you, broadcasting to the world – something I’d never normally feel comfortable doing – but suddenly you find the strength and rise to the occasion.

“So many people have come out from across the Jewish community and from outside it to support us, and it helps in trying to make something good out of what is unmistakably a tragedy. It means so much that Lord Ahmad and Lord Polak came today.

“I think this period has been particularly hard on the girls in the family. And it’s likely to be much, much tougher once the formal shiva process [begins], you know, because you can be so exhausted with all the people coming through and with the media interest, you haven’t got time to maybe mourn in your own way.”

Shaw also made a personal appeal to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to visit the family once he returns from a trip to Japan.

“We as a family would really appreciate if Mr Cleverly would come to our home so we can formally thank him in person,” he said.

“I think what he’s done is to go further than anybody in the British government has before. I think the moral leadership by Mr Cleverly is fantastic and I – we all – would like the opportunity to show our appreciation.”

Speaking to Lucy Dee’s two sisters, parents, and brother in the latter’s living room, Lord Ahmad, who is currently fasting for Ramadan, said he had been raised by his mother to view Judaism “as the foundation of the Muslim faith".

“She said that as Muslims, we believe that faiths are there to support each other,” he said. “Like a house, Judaism is the foundation. And without the foundation of Judaism there would not be the walls of Christianity, and without the walls of Christianity there would not be the roof of Islam. The other doors and windows represent other faiths and beliefs and how, ultimately, we come together in the house of God.

“To an eight-year-old munching on his toast, it was a very colourful but digestible understanding that religion was not about conflict but about learning from each other,” Lord Ahmad added.

“Yes, those people who committed these abhorrent acts should be held to account and brought to justice, but you don’t use the word hate. It is used too quickly too often. [Dee’s] words in the last few days has not been about fermenting hate or looking backwards; he has shown remarkable compassion and strength at a time of incredible adversity – and he’s a living, working example of how communities find their inner strength by working together.”

Speaking to the JC, Lord Polak also touted his “friend of many years”, Lord Ahmad. “We are as a community very fortunate I think to have somebody like Lord Ahmad at the helm. He understands, cares, and has taken the time, even during Ramadan, to come and visit. And the statements he made immediately after becoming aware of the tragedy brought comfort in a difficult situation.”