Labour peer who fled on Kindertransport makes emotional address to Parliament

A Labour peer who fled to Britain on the Kindertransport scheme during the Second World War has made an emotional address to Parliament to commemorate the Holocaust.

Lord Dubs held back tears as he recalled his experience of travelling to the UK from Czechoslovakia aged six.

While remembering Sir Nicholas George Winton, who rescued hundreds of children from the Nazis, he told the Lords it was “difficult” for him to talk about.

Lord Dubs said there should be “better ways” of commemorating the Holocaust following the recent “appalling outburst of antisemitism”.

The refugee campaigner also revealed he had received a number of abusive messages because of his public profile.

Speaking in the House of Lords on Friday, Lord Dubs said: “I find this an emotional day for me.”

He added: “It is possibly appropriate just to reflect on the film that has come out recently about Nicky Winton, the person who saved 669 Kindertransport children from the Holocaust.

“And it was a film which drove me to tears, I’m sorry my Lords.”

After pausing, he said: “And I watched the film and I thought the actor who played Nicky Winton got his part perfectly.

“It was a very emotional film and I was asked to write a review of it and I found it difficult to judge it, other than in terms of the emotions that it of course generated.”

Lord Dubs continued: “Unfortunately, when we look at the world today we’re not learning lessons very quickly, we could learn them much better.

“There’s been a deplorable, regrettable, appalling outburst of antisemitism and Islamophobia in this country, and indeed the Germans will say it’s the same in their country.

“I think we need to work out better ways of actually commemorating the event and making sure Islamophobia and antisemitism are swept away as best we can.

“I’ve had, I think all of us in public life have had, a certain number of abusive messages and things, not just this week but over a period of time.

“I won’t repeat some of them because it just encourages people to do more of that sort of thing, but some of them were, well, not very nice.”

In her conclusion, Baroness Scott of Bybrook described Lord Dubs as a “hero”.

Speaking from the frontbench, the communities minister said: “To Lord Dubs, who is just a hero, I have to say he’s one of mine, even from that side, thank you for what you’ve done.

“Thank you for what you continue to do, and you couldn’t be more welcome, you couldn’t have been more welcome as a child into this country.”

Lord Pickles, the UK’s special envoy for post-Holocaust issues, argued that “casual antisemitism” is widespread across Britain.

The Conservative peer said: “Casual antisemitism is widespread in modern Britain and you only need to look every Saturday to see those … idiots marching alongside Jew-hating antisemites, giving them credibility and credence and inadvertently encourage them on to even greater depravity.”

Former Labour MP Lord Austin of Dudley, who quit the party under Jeremy Corbyn over antisemitism, also criticised the pro-Palestine marches.

He said: “I’m not saying of course, that everybody who joins those marches is a racist, I’m not saying that.

“But if the only country you march against, the only country you protest against, just happens to be the only Jewish one, don’t tell me that you’re not an antisemite.”

During his speech, Lord Austin spoke of his father, who fled Czechoslovakia as a child when the Nazis invaded.

The non-affiliated peer said: “He arrived in the UK a few months I think before Lord Dubs, he arrived here actually only being able to speak three words of English, which were hot, cross and bun.

“But he grew up to become the youngest grammar school headteacher in the country, he was honoured with an MBE for his work with education and charity.

“And he brought up four children, of whom I’m the second.”

Later in the session, Lord Gold called for face coverings to be banned at public marches.

The Conservative peer said: “The marches of the 1930s resulted in the passing of the Public Order Act 1936, banning the wearing of political uniforms.

“It is time for the Government to renew and modernise this legislation by banning the wearing of face masks in public marches.”