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Well, what a morning we’ve had in Westminster. Responding to an urgent question regarding Suella Braverman’s incendiary comments about the Met Police this week, a group of Tory MPs may have said more than most – without uttering a word.
Despite there being a substantial gathering of elected Conservatives in the House of Commons this morning, only two of them – Theresa Villiers and Chris Philp – offered an argument in defence of the Home Secretary’s controversial views on the Met Police.
Writing in The Times on Thursday, Suella Braverman has followed up her dangerous rhetoric about protests by calling the London-based law enforcement authority ‘biased’. She also reiterated claims that pro-Palestinian demonstrators would be leading ‘hate marches’ this weekend.
Rishi Sunak has refused to condemn Braverman’s language. In fact, he too has tried to pressure the Met Police into banning pro-Palestine protests scheduled for Saturday. Chief Mark Rowley has insisted that the civil action should be allowed to go ahead.
The whole debate has created an ugly and toxic atmosphere ahead of Remembrance Weekend. Events planned to honour British soldiers who died while serving their country take place at the same time as the other demos – but on separate routes and different locations.
Poisonous discourse from two of the most powerful people in the country now threatens to light a fuse in the capital on Saturday. How we got to this point is lamentable in itself. And it’s certainly something that senior figures within the Labour Party are keen to condemn.
The Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper tore strips off of Braverman earlier on Thursday. She used her powerful speech to accuse her opposite number of ‘failing to keep the public safe’, arguing that the remarks are ‘encouraging extremists on both sides’.
“Where is the Home Secretary? Well, we’ve seen her words attempting to rip up the police’s operational independence, attacking their impartiality in a crude manner. She is undermining respect for the police at a sensitive time, creating division around remembrance.”
“She is encouraging extremists, no other Home Secretary would have ever done this. The police’s job is to protect Remembrance events. They must follow the law, regardless of what politicians think. They are not the operation arm of Suella Braverman’s office.”
“We know what she’s up to, picking fights with the police to create headlines. She is failing to keep the public safe. So does this government still believe in the independence of the police? Either Rishi Sunak has endorsed this, or he’s too weak to sack her.” | Yvette Cooper
Prominent Labour MP Chris Bryant also drew attention to the fact that just two Tory politicians present in the chamber voiced any kind of support for Braverman, and went on to suggest that she is now using her position to ‘incite hatred’ across the UK.
“The fact that only two Conservative MPs have [spoke in defence of] the Home Secretary today shows that she has lost the support of the house. There is no place for hate in the Home Office, and the problem with Suella Braverman, is that she’s inciting hatred.” | Chris Bryant
