British Conservatives demand deportation of antisemitic foreign students

British Conservative politicians have called on Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to deport antisemitic foreign students.

Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, and Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, expressed concerns over a “deeply troubling rise in antisemitic behavior… particularly on university campuses,” in a letter to Phillipson last week, The Telegraph reported Saturday.

The Conservative Party urged the government to use its powers under the Immigration Act 1971 to revoke the visas of any foreign citizens who harass or intimidate members of the Jewish community.

“Failure to act sends a dangerous message to Jewish students and academics that their safety is not valued, and to perpetrators that they can harass Jewish students and staff with impunity,” the letter read. “Too many institutions that have spent years suppressing legitimate free speech and debate in the name of ‘diversity and inclusion’ have decided to turn a blind eye to genuine harassment and intimidation when it is directed against Jewish people.”

The proposal to deport foreign students accused of antisemitic actions follows similar actions by the Trump administration in the United States. Hundreds of international students have had visas revoked or faced detention since US President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at combating antisemitism in January.

In October, Phillipson said British universities must take stronger action to protect Jewish students following growing concerns over antisemitism on campuses.

“One instance of antisemitic abuse is one too many,” she said at the time.

Reports of antisemitic abuse at British universities reached record levels last year following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Incidents included Jewish students being pelted with eggs after an event with the UK’s chief rabbi, and swastika graffiti at a National Union of Students conference.

A report presented to the House of Lords by StandWithUs UK in May showed that Jewish students in UK universities have faced unprecedented rates of antisemitism, including threats, intimidation, and attacks since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught on Israel.

The Community Security Trust (CST), a non-profit working to secure British Jews, recorded a high of 272 incidents on campuses in 2023-24.

Throughout the UK, more than 1,500 antisemitic incidents were recorded between January and June 2025, a figure that is second only to the first half of 2024, CST said in August.

There are currently more than 9,000 Jewish students studying at UK universities, and 86 Jewish student societies in schools, CST has said.