Thousands gather in London in memory of those lost in Bondi Beach tragedy

While thousands gathered in Sydney in memory of the 15 who were killed in the attack, many others met to pay their own respects.

Father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram carried out the massacre, which was likely inspired by Islamic State, and police are now investigating their recent trip to the Philippines.

Australia is now considering reviewing its gun laws, with prime minister Anthony Albanese stating that he wants access to guns to be made harder.

Thousands gathered at Parliament Square in London on Monday night, with the city’s mayor Sir Sadiq Khan commenting: “I’m proud that London is once again hosting a large menorah in the centre of London.”

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer tweeted a photo of himself and his wife Victoria lighting the Chanukiah, which are Jewish Hanukkah celebration candles, at No 10.

“As we light the Chanukiah, our thoughts and prayers are with those murdered in the terrorist attack on Bondi beach today, their loved ones and the whole Jewish community,” he said.

“Light will always win over darkness.”

There was an increased police presence at the event, which was organised by Campaign Against Antisemitism and Chabad Lubavitch UK.

Labour’s Ashley Dalton told the crowd of largely Jewish mourners in Parliament Square that she was “standing with the Jewish people”.

She said: “We are here to stand together against the hatred and vitriol from wherever it comes. The Government does not and will not tolerate antisemitism.”

Ms Dalton was interrupted by of calls of “stop the marches and “we want action not words” from some people in the crowd.

She was able to continue speaking after a rabbi stepped on to the stage and called for the listeners to be “ambassadors of light” and allow her to speak.

Ms Dalton, who said she had volunteered to speak “in good faith,” continued: “What happened in the first day of Hanukkah – the vitriol, the violence, the terrorism – we do not accept.”

She said: “We cannot fight the darkness of evil, vitriol, terrorism and hatred by hating each other, by expressing our own vitriol. We must take the anger and frustration that we all feel and bring it together and stand together and light this candle in hope and in unity and in solidarity.

“I come to do that with you today, and I will stand in solidarity with you no matter how much you shout, no matter how much you holler. I will stand in solidarity with you today and light this candle, because peace and light is our way forward.”

Tory shadow attorney general Lord Wolfson said: “I want to see us all being more muscular in defending the values that make the UK the society we want it to be.”

Speaking at a memorial event and Hanukkah celebration in Parliament Square on Monday, he added: “In the past few weeks we saw marchers in Manchester and Birmingham calling for Intifada.

“Well, do you know what globalising the Intifada looks like? We do now – it looks like bodies piled on the sands of Bondi Beach – that is what globalising the Intifada means.

“When marches in London called for Jihad, and the Metropolitan Police told us that Jihad can mean personal development or personal reflection. It might be in a theological seminar, but when shouted on the streets of London, we know what it means – it means an attack on Jews, and so let’s celebrate Hanukkah publicly, proudly as Jews and as members of UK society.”

Then quoting the former chief rabbi Lord Sacks, he stated: “A society which harbours antisemitism is a society which is sick and a society which tolerates antisemitism is a society which is suffering from a terminal illness. Antisemitism is not only a Jewish problem.”

He added that people need “to stand with us and speak up for the values which we all hold so dear”.