'Your resignation is necessary and urgent.”
A Tory shadow minister has been slammed for suggesting that the recent far-right violence on the streets of Britain, which has seen mosques targeted, police officers attacked and racist chants being made, was politically justified.
Lord (Byron) Davies made disgraceful comments while exchanging comments with a Mail on Sunday columnist on X.
Dan Hodges, had posted: “There’s no political justification for the disorder we have seen. But if people want to get into the blame game these are the facts. The Tories were in power for 14 years. Labour have been in power for four weeks. Blaming Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper for this is just ridiculous.”
Davies, the former MP for Gower, responded: “But Labour blocked the Rwanda Bill 130+ times of course it’s politically justified!”
Jo Stevens, Labour’s Welsh secretary, was among those who condemned Davies’ remarks.
She said: “The shadow Welsh secretary’s comments are disgusting, misguided and dangerous. Racist violence is never justified.
“Politicians, including unelected ones, have an important responsibility to de-escalate tensions. Those inflaming them should seriously consider their position.”
CCHQ said that Lord Davies’ comment was ‘unacceptable’ and that he had been warned of ‘consequences of the misuse of language at such a sensitive time and the standards expected’.
Reacting to Lord Davies’ comment, one social media user wrote on X: “This man is Lord Davies of Gower (Byron Davies), a former Tory MP for Gower and a member of the Welsh parliament and the House of Lords.
“Despite the current climate of far-right violence and racism, he believes that the riots are a justified political tactic. @byron_davies, your resignation is necessary and urgent.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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