Dozens of deputies from all parties have called for the resignation of the Secretary of the Interior Suella Braverman for her harsh allegation against the pro-Palestine marches, in which she accuses Scotland Yard of practicing a “double standard” regarding left-wing demonstrations. The article was published on Thursday in The Times without apparently passing through the Downing Street filter or having the prior approval of Rishi Sunak.
The premier reached an agreement on Wednesday with Scotland Yard Chief Commissioner Mark Rowley to authorize a pro-Palestine march on November 11, coinciding with the celebration of Armistice Day (or Poppy Day), in which tribute is paid to the soldiers and civilians who sacrificed their lives in the First World War.
Sunak gave the go-ahead for the march, despite his reservations, upon obtaining assurances from Rowley that the two events will not coincide in time or place, and that the police will do everything possible to avoid attempts at violence. violence. According to Sunak, the marches planned for Saturday “are disrespectful and offend our gratitude towards those who gave so much so that we can live in freedom.” The premier stressed, however, that part of that freedom is “the right to peaceful protest.”
Suella Braverman challenged the premier a few hours later with her article in The Times, accusing Scotland Yard of “double standards” and “favoritism” toward the pro-Palestine marches, in contrast to the heavy hand exhibited against far-right demonstrations or even against football fans.
“People expect an assertive and proactive attitude (on the part of the Security forces) in the face of manifestations of hatred and general disorder,” writes Braverman, who assures that the pro-Palestine protests are “being used by Islamic extremists to dominate the streets of London”.
“These events have been problematic, not only because of the violence on the margins, but because of the offensive content of the chants, banners and posters,” emphasizes the Secretary of the Interior. “This is not the time to be naïve: we are seeing how terrorists are valued, how Israel is demonized and how more massacres are threatened.”
Suella Braverman was harshly criticized a month ago for the letter addressed to police commissioners warning that flying the Palestinian flag could be considered “a criminal offense” in the current context and how the chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free “is equivalent to supporting the destruction of Israel.
Married to “a very proud member of the Jewish community,” Rael Braverman, the Interior Secretary went even further last week by directly labeling the pro-Palestine demonstrations as “hate marches.” His inflammatory rhetoric, echoed by conservative tabloids, has helped raise tensions this week, in which he also earned headlines for his draconian plan to cleanse British streets of homeless people, claiming that living on the street is “a lifestyle choice.” life”.
Since his trip to Washington two months ago, in which he proclaimed “the fiasco of multiculturalism” and described mass immigration as “an existential threat” to the West, Braverman has decided to campaign populist freely and outside of Rishi Sunak’s sphere of action. . The Secretary of the Interior, 43 years old, daughter of immigrants of Indian origin settled in Africa, stands out as the favorite of the hard wing of the Conservative Party and is also known as the main promoter of the plan for the deportations to Rwanda of the immigrants pending the asylum request.
Downing Street are meanwhile investigating whether publication of the article in The Times could be considered a breach of the ministerial code. A little over a year ago, Braverman was forced to resign from Liz Truss’s first and only Cabinet, precisely for violating the ministerial code by sending confidential information by email to a Conservative MP. Upon her arrival at Downing Street, Sunak put her back in her position, in a gesture calculated to appease the anger of the party’s hardliners.
Labor opposition leader Keir Starmer has called for Braverman to be sacked for being “out of control” and “fomenting divisions” in the UK. “The Home Secretary is unfit to continue in her position and her behavior borders on the constitutional limit,” warned Chris Stephens, MP for the Scottish National Party (SNP), on her behalf.
Scotland Yard has meanwhile reported the arrest of 188 people since October 7, 98 of them for anti-Semitism and 21 for Islamophobia. The four pro-Palestine demonstrations held in London to date have resulted in more than fifty arrests and clashes with the police in Trafalgar Square. In none of these marches, nor in the dozens of them held throughout the country, were there notable attempts at violence. The Palestinian flags and the chants “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” have been constant in the marches.
