Police and the government could not only lose control of the streets but the entire country if they don't act now to tackle Islamic extremists, Robert Jenrick has warned.

The Shadow Justice Secretary says police are giving in to the Islamists because it is 'too challenging to confront them'.

And he forecast that the UK is facing 'the fight of our generation' to defeat them.

The former Cabinet minister, who was responsible for immigration during the last Conservative government, said the 'reality' was that 'the police can no longer sustain their authority in parts of Britain and have to lie to preserve the illusion'.

'The fight against Islamism is the fight of our generation. It's a battle for the soul of the country. It begins by telling the truth,' he said.

Mr Jenrick issued his starkest warnings yet on the threat to the UK from Islamic extremism in the wake of the banning of Israeli football fans from a Europa League match at Aston Villa last November.

Critics including conservative leader Kemi Badenoch have said the police's decision to prevent the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from travelling to Birmingham was politically motivated rather than genuinely based on safety concerns.

She has accused the force of 'capitulating to Islamists demanding a ban' and 'collaborating with them to cover it up'.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick pictured at the Conservative party conference in 2025

Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate outside Villa Park in Birmingham on November 6, 2025 

A woman carrying an Israeli flag is escorted by police officers after Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were banned from attending a Europa League match at Aston Villa

She said embattled West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford, who faces accusations he misled Parliament with his version of events, should be sacked and that his position was now 'untenable'.

Mr Jenrick said: 'The West Midlands Police scandal matters. It's about more than a football match. It's about who controls our streets – the police or the Islamists? Who governs our country – the Islamists or the rest of the British people?'

The Met has also come under fire for allowing regular pro Palestinian marches across the capital since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023.

Universities across the country have also been awash with similar protests, including controversially on the anniversary of the attacks.

Calling them 'hate marches', Mr Jenrick said police had made 'myriad excuses' for failing to take action against them: 'They refused to be honest and concede the scale of the Islamist challenge was too big to confront.'