“Islamists and antisemites are now in charge of the country,” says former home secretary Suella Braverman.
Met Police dismisses the projected ‘From the River to the Sea’ onto Big Ben
Advisor to government’s Prevent programme says he “never thought that we would see on the streets of Britain, British citizens shouting death to the Jews.”
The nation is on the brink of unchartered territory if intimidation of politicians, support for Hamas, and hate towards Jews is not stopped now. This week UK Parliament was sent into meltdown during Wednesday’s debate of an SNP-tabled motion calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war. MPs walked out and the Speaker of the House was accused of breaking procedural rules when he allowed for debate amendments to the SNP motion tabled by both the government and the Labour Party, causing scenes in what journalists described as ‘unprecedented’. The Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, said he was “doing the right thing” by enabling all sides of the House to vote on their own wording because MPs had told him they were being intimidated.
“I am very, very concerned about the security of all members,” he said in his apology to the House of Commons. “I was very concerned, I am still concerned, and that is why the meetings I have had today were about the security of members, their families and the people involved.”
The Speaker has subsequently told Parliament that safety of MPs was at the forefront of his mind when he made the decision – revealing that he had held meetings with police on the day of the debate about threats posed to MPs.
“I will defend every member in this House. Both sides, I never ever want to go through a situation where I pick up a phone to find a friend, whatever side, has been murdered by terrorists. I also don’t want an attack on this House. Sir Lindsay said “the details of the things that have been brought to me are absolutely frightening”.
Meanwhile, outside Parliament, the words ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free’ was projected onto Big Ben (The Elizabeth Tower) – something the Met Police has said was not a criminal offence because it depends on the location of where the phrase is used.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, in an article for the Daily Telegraph, said, “The truth is that the Islamists, the extremists and the anti-Semites are in charge now. They have bullied the Labour Party, they have bullied our institutions, and now they have bullied our country into submission.”
Braverman added, “Let’s not forget how, in the short term at least, we got here. On October 7, an Islamist death cult attacked one of our closest allies on a scale never before imagined. More than 1,200 citizens of Israel, the vast majority of them Jews, were butchered in their homes, communities and at a music festival. Many of the women were raped and then murdered. Another 250 people were kidnapped and taken back to the terrorists’ lairs, where many still languish.”
“Now we’re told that Israel, in its noble mission to recover those poor hostages, must cease. Its defence forces must put away their weapons. Let’s hear from those naysayers, both inside and outside Parliament, the alternative, practical solution first.”
“But this isn’t just about my colleagues in Parliament. Our values and freedoms are under attack in all walks of life.”
The 'Mother of All Parliaments' is under attack. Listen to these three clips: @CommonsSpeaker , Andrew Percy MP, and @RobertJenrick speak about threats and intimidation. Britain should wake up to what's really happening, it has nothing to do with the Middle East, it's a battle… pic.twitter.com/n4fg8Ewzva
— Elad Simchayoff (@Elad_Si) February 22, 2024
The sentiment from Braverman follows concerns by William Shawcross, the independent reviewer of the government’s counter-terror programme, Prevent, who said this week that Islamist extremism is fuelling a “dangerous” surge in antisemitism.
Mr Shawcross said he warned ministers a year ago about the need to tackle the “pernicious” threat from the Hamas support network in the UK which had now become “more dangerous” following the terror group’s attack on Israel on 7th October. He blamed the network’s members for fuelling the “horrific” increase in anti-Semitism and encouraging antisemitic abuse and banners on pro-Palestinian marches.
He said the failure to take tougher action stemmed from a continuing bias within Prevent towards tackling the rise in Right-wing terrorism rather than the main threat of Islamist terrorism.
“The Government is failing to implement my recommendations properly and the British people are therefore in more danger from extremists and terrorists,” said Mr Shawcross, who was commissioned to produce the report by the Government and is now Commissioner for Public Appointments.
He said he was “glad” there had been progress on his proposals but said the Government had not gone far enough on key recommendations, including focusing Prevent on Islamist terrorism, enshrining its principles in counter-terror law, extending it to illegal immigration and combating the misuse of blasphemy.
“Some of the things I’ve recommended that have not been carried out do represent such an increased threat because October 7 has changed everything,” said Mr Shawcross. “I am concerned about the increased threat to the public that exists after October 7 which still needs to be addressed.”
Hamas should not “exist at all” in Britain but he said: “There are Hamas supporters in this country tragically and some of them are involved in helping promote these marches. There’s the Palestinian forum in Britain, which is known to be close to Hamas and have met with Hamas leadership.
“There is an underlying Hamas support network, which is very dangerous and should be dealt with by both Prevent and the police.”
Writing in the Jewish Chronicle, journalist Melanie Philips, writes: “The government is genuinely concerned by the explosion of anti-Jewish and anti-Israel hatred. Yet it doesn’t seem able to connect the dots. Instead of shooting down the falsehoods with which Israel is being demonised, it’s reinforcing them.”
“Ever since the October 7 pogrom, Britain and America have been playing a double game. They declare that Israel must defeat Hamas and to that end deployed aircraft carriers and supplied essential weaponry. Yet while preventing Israel from losing to Hamas, Britain and America have tried to prevent Israel from winning.”
