The Jewish demonstration outside the Phoenix cinema in support of the screening of a documentary about the October 7 massacre was “one of the highlights of my time in politics”, the Tory candidate for Finchley and Golders Green has told the JC.

Alex Deane said he had “never seen such an effective counter-protest”, and it served to remind people of the community’s strength in the face of the anti-Israel protests that have rocked London since the October 7 massacre.

He was also strongly critical of the way the protests have policed, saying they had “turned central London into a no-go area, which is completely unacceptable. The Metropolitan Commissioner should be told this by the mayor – who is supposed to be the mayor for everyone, not the mayor for everyone except Jews”.

Deane said he had great respect for his Labour opponent Sarah Sackman, calling her a “palpably decent” person with whom he looked forward to having a serious and civilised debate.

However, he said that “behind her in Labour are people who go on those marches and carry banners and chant slogans that support Hamas. The party got rid of Jeremy Corbyn, but it did not get rid of Corbynism, and on the Labour front bench are people who supported him – including Keir Starmer”.

Deane, a public affairs consultant, is not Jewish, but told the JC he is a staunch supporter of Israel. He attacked shadow foreign secretary David Lammy’s apparent support for the decision by International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan to seek warrants for the arrest of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Yoav Gallant, saying Lammy was “showing his true colours in backing it”.

“Our ally Israel, a liberal, democratic society, was attacked by a proscribed terror group – and yet Israel is expected to fight with one hand tied behind its back”, Deane said. “Why does Israel have to sign off its plans for an offensive in Rafah? If we were attacked by France, we would not be asking Israel to approve our battle plans.”

He praised his voters – of whom more than 20 per cent are Jewish, the highest proportion in Britain – describing them as a “sophisticated electorate who love a debate”. This, he went on, made it all the more shockling that the retiring Tory incumbent, Mike Freer, had been “hounded out” of public life when his office was firebombed earlier this year.

“Sarah and I have our policy differences, but the important thing is that we both believe in ballot boxes”, Deane told the JC.