Michael Gove said British Jews “should never have to live in fear again” after Boris Johnson led the Conservatives to an historic win, with Labour facing its worst electoral defeat since 1935.

Gove, who secured 34,358 votes, addressed a rally in Surrey Heath hours after Jeremy Corbyn announced he would not lead the Labour Party at the next election but would step down after “a period of reflection.”

Stood at a lectern marked “the people’s government,” he issued a personal message to Anglo-Jewry, describing the community as “a very special group of people, our Jewish friends and neighbours.”

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“You have had to live in fear for months now concerns we will have a prime minister who trafficked in anti-Jewish rhetoric and embraced anti-Jewish terrorists. You should never have to live in fear again,” he said, prompting a round of applause from supporters.