Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s criticism of the Metropolitan Police for how it handled pro-Palestinian protests has sparked a controversy. Braverman accused the force of using a “double standard” when policing protests in an article that she wrote for The Times. She said aggressive right-wing protesters were “rightly met with a stern response”, while “pro-Palestinian mobs” were “largely ignored”.
Labour is calling for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to remove Braverman from her position, claiming that she is “deliberately creating division” and undermining police independence. Moreover a senior Conservative MP has stated that “the home secretary’s awfulness is now a reflection on the prime minister. Keeping her in post is damaging him.”
However, the home secretary’s supporters on the right of the Conservative Party have stood by her and claimed that the planned pro-Palestinian march in central London on Saturday should never have been permitted to happen. Mr. Danny Kruger, a Conservative MP, denied Ms. Braverman’s claims of interference and asserted her right to offer commentary on the “broader culture of police”.
The chosen date is “provocative and disrespectful,” says PM
Ms. Braverman made her remarks following a meeting between Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to discuss security ahead of Saturday’s Armistice Day March. The prime minister has urged organisers to postpone the march to another day as the chosen date is “provocative and disrespectful”. But neither Sunak nor Braverman has openly called for the police to call off Saturday’s event. The home secretary asserted that there was “a perception that senior officers play favourites when it comes to protesters”.
Pro-Palestinian marches
Pro-Palestinian marches started last month in response to Israel’s siege of Gaza, and according to the home secretary, they were “problematic” due to “violence around the fringes” and “highly offensive” chants, posters and stickers.
“Right-wing and nationalist protesters who engage in aggression are rightly met with a stern response yet pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behaviour are largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law,” she said.
There have been frequent protests in London following the attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,400 people and the kidnapping of over 200 hostages. Since then, Israel has responded by attacking Gaza with airstrikes and, most recently, by going on the offensive on the ground. The health ministry, which is run by Hamas, reports that over 10,500 people have died in Gaza.
There has been growing pressure on London’s police force to stop Saturday’s planned pro-Palestinian march. However, Sir Mark has stated that the “very high threshold” has not been reached and that it may only be stopped if there is a threat of serious disorder.
“Dangerous attempt to undermine respect for police”
Many of the home secretary’s colleagues agree with Ms. Braverman’s article, but they find it frustrating that they must constantly defend her rhetoric.
A government official said that Ms. Braverman’s intervention “unhinged”.
Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper referred to it as a “dangerous attempt to undermine respect for police” and London Mayor Sadiq Khan said it was “irresponsible”.
“The PM’s weakness when it comes to standing up to Suella is the most shocking thing in all this,” said a senior Labour source.
Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, said Mr Sunak “must finally act with integrity by sacking his out-of-control home secretary”. “Suella Braverman is now putting police officers in harm’s way ahead of far right protesters flocking to the capital this weekend,” he said. Davey also stated that her comments demonstrated the “increasing politicisation of policing”, and showed how the officers should handle the march as an operational matter.
“Wholly offensive and ignorant”
Ms. Braverman stated in her article that she thought the marches represented a “assertion of primacy by certain groups – particularly Islamists – of the kind we are more used to seeing in Northern Ireland” rather than “merely a cry for help for Gaza”. One Conservative Party source described the comparison to Northern Ireland as “wholly offensive and ignorant”.
Ms. Braverman also scrutinised why “lockdown objectors were given no quarter by public order police yet Black Lives Matters demonstrators were enabled, allowed to break rules”. “I have spoken to serving and former police officers who have noted this double standard,” she wrote.
According to former cabinet minister Nadine Dorries, Ms. Braverman was attempting to be fired in order to gain a platform of martyrdom in service of the right-wing. “The competition is on now for who is going to be the leader of the opposition,” Dorries has stated.
Final thought
Suella Braverman’s article has rightly ignited a firestorm of controversy. Her words have not only polarised public opinion but has also drawn sharp criticism from political figures. It’s frustrating to see the need to constantly defend such inflammatory commentary. The fact that senior political figures are calling for her dismissal speaks volumes about the impact of her rhetoric and divisive landscape.
