“Suella Braverman is out of control. Her article tonight is a highly irresponsible, dangerous attempt to undermine respect for police at a sensitive time, to rip up operational independence & to inflame community tensions."
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has launched a scathing attack on Suella Braverman, after the Tory minister wrote an inflammatory article in the Times where she branded pro-Palestinian protesters as “hate marchers” and once again attacked the Metropolitan police.
Braverman said that she did ‘not believe that these marches are merely a cry for help for Gaza’, and added: “They are an assertion of primacy by certain groups – particularly Islamists – of the kind we are more used to seeing in Northern Ireland.
“Also, disturbingly reminiscent of Ulster are the reports that some of Saturday’s march group organisers have links to terrorist groups, including Hamas.”
She also accused the Met of “playing favourites” by showing leniency toward left-wing demonstrators.
Her comments came after the Metropolitan Police force resisted calls to ban this week’s pro-Palestinian march. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has described pro-Palestinian marches on Armistice Day as “disrespectful”. Sunak has told Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley that if there’s violence at the pro-Palestine march in London on Saturday, it’s his fault.
Organisers of this Saturday’s protest say it will be “well away” from the Cenotaph – going from Hyde Park, around a mile from the war memorial in Whitehall, to the US embassy.
Braverman has been condemned for her comments, with one Tory MP telling Sky News: “It would be good to know what she knows about what Northern Ireland people think about the current Israel-Palestine situation before she casts aspersions.
“It’s clear that the home secretary is only looking after her misguided aspirations for leader than responsible leadership as a home secretary.”
Another Tory MP told Politico: “The home secretary’s article denigrates another group of U.K. citizens — first it was gay people, then homeless people and this time police officers.”
Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper slammed Braverman for being ‘out of control’ and for ‘inflaming community tensions’.
Cooper posted on X: “Suella Braverman is out of control. Her article tonight is a highly irresponsible, dangerous attempt to undermine respect for police at a sensitive time, to rip up operational independence & to inflame community tensions. No other Home Secretary of any party would ever do this.
“She’s deliberately seeking to stir up political division around Remembrance Day, a moment when the whole country can come together to pay our respects for sacrifices of the past.
“And at same time she’s deliberately undermining police ability to deal with problems she whips up.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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