MINISTER HECKLED AT JEWISH VIGIL

An organiser appeals for calm as Labour's Ashley Dalton is heckled

A vigil held in central London in the aftermath of the Bondi Beach massacre was addressed by hapless Labour junior minister Ashley Dalton on Monday evening.  Dalton was asked to step in when senior minister Steve Reed appeared to flunk out of his scheduled appearance, instead opting to attend a meeting of Jewish Labour.  Given the angry reception dealt out to Dalton, it's not difficult to see why Reed chickened out in favour of the much cosier indoor and in-house Labour event.

Reed's failure to attend only added to the anger felt by the Jewish community gathered in Parliament Square and the heckling of Dalton began just seconds after she began to speak.  As Dalton struggled to speak over the insults, organisers repeatedly interjected and appealed for calm, further disrupting her flow.

A Rabbi's appeal for the crowd to show Dalton 'respect' brought calm for a few moments, before the shouting resumed.  "Read the room", "Ban the marches", "Go away", "Liar", "Shame on you", "Rubbish" and "We are being killed" were all audible during her short speech.  The longest video clip, which begins moments after Dalton begins can be seen below.  Not all the heckles can be heard in this clip, but various other angles can be seen here, here and here.

Dalton was previously most notable for her trans advocacy, in particular her call for the abolition of gendered bathrooms and a spat on X in which she declared that even people who identified as llamas deserve 'dignity and respect'.  Labour had repeatedly tried to get her elected to the Commons since 2017, when she fought the Rochford and Southend East constituency.  She fought the same seat two years later, before finally joining the Westminster gravy train through the West Lancashire by-election of 2023.