Far-Left mob in bid to use fire deaths to topple Tories
Activists call for Day of Rage after disaster As Corbyn says: Occupy homes of rich
A FAR-LEFT mob was accused last night of plotting to destabilise Britain in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
Thousands threatened to ‘bring down the Government’ with plans to descend on Parliament during the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday under the banner of a ‘Day of Rage’.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also upped his rhetoric despite the tense atmosphere since the tragedy, which has left at least 58 dead. He called on nearby empty homes belonging to the wealthy in Kensington to be ‘occupied’ to house those left homeless by the fire. He also launched a thinly veiled attack on Theresa May yesterday.
Scotland Yard is watching closely for signs of further violence after hundreds of demonstrators forced their way into Kensington Town Hall on Friday before marching through central London.
Activists warn the conditions are similar to those following the police shooting of gangster Mark Duggan, which sparked five days of riots in the capital in 2011. One protester said he will settle for ‘nothing short of a revolution’, adding: ‘Sometimes all it takes is a spark.’
At the centre of the menacing calls is the Movement for Justice By Any Means Necessary, which accused the authorities of ‘ethnic cleansing’. One poster tells supporters to ‘walk out of school, take the day off, strike’ before joining a march from west London to Westminster to coincide with the Queen’s Speech.
Under the heading ‘class war, no justice, bring down the Government’, it accuses MPs of seizing power through ‘racism’ and ‘antiimmigration bigotry’. Referring to the General Election result, another online poster said: ‘We’ve felt our power. We’ve tasted victory. Now we must escalate our actions to take down this rotten government.’
Militant union leaders are already plotting a ‘summer of discontent’ and ‘Red October’ to cause chaos and put Mr Corbyn into No 10.
Hardliners linked to Unite, rail guards, teachers and junior doctors told followers last week to prepare for co-ordinated strikes and protests to bring the country to a halt.
Appearing on ITV’s Peston on Sunday yesterday, Mr Corbyn took a swipe at Mrs May’s reaction to Grenfell, saying some people cared to a ‘deeper extent’ than others.
Asked by host Robert Peston if he would seize properties that have been bought by the wealthy and left empty, he said: ‘Occupy, compulsory purchase it, requisition it, there’s a lot of things you can do.
‘In an emergency, you have to bring all assets to the table to deal with that crisis.’ He also compared the plight of Grenfell victims waiting to be rehomed to hundreds of delayed air passengers who are found hotel rooms every day, adding: ‘It seems to have been beyond the wit of the public services to deal with a crisis facing a relatively small number of people.’
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell backed the calls for requisitioning, telling Sky News he would have done ‘whatever necessary’ to house families.
The rhetoric was in stark contrast to a peaceful outdoor memorial service held in the shadow of the burnt-out tower block yesterday.
Hundreds of mourners linked arms in the street to remember the victims of Wednesday’s tragedy.
On Saturday, Mrs May spent two hours with Grenfell Tower residents at a private meeting in Downing Street. The Rev Mark O’Donoghue, of Christ Church Kensington, said she spoke briefly before listening to their concerns.
He said: ‘The first person spoke about how he’d been rescued from the 19th floor, how he opened his door to a wall of smoke, he could not see his hand. He was led out by an arm he couldn’t see. And I saw the Prime Minister welling up.
‘Somebody began to sob beside her and she just held her hand for the next 20 minutes, which wasn’t quite the caricature that we have of the Prime Minister.’
Tory MPs criticised Mr Corbyn for trying to score ‘political points’ by ‘exploiting’ the disaster.
Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, said: ‘Corbyn has shown he is willing to trample over the bodies of the Grenfell fire
victims in a cynical attempt to score a political point and push his far-Left political agenda. He seeks to exploit a tragedy.’
George Freeman, Tory MP for Mid Norfolk, wrote online: ‘We need calm leadership. Not rabble rousing.’
Last night, Mrs May announced every household whose home was destroyed by the fire will receive an immediate £500 cash payment and a further £5,000 bank transfer later this week from an emergency fund. She said: ‘My Government will continue to do absolutely everything possible to help all of those affected through the difficult days, weeks, months and years ahead.’
ARe there no depths Labour’s hard-Left will not plumb in its ruthless bid to exploit the Grenfell Tower tragedy for tawdry political advantage?
From plastering fake news items across social media about an establishment cover-up of the true death toll, to trying to blame this unspeakable horror on ‘Tory cuts’, Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters have shown scant respect for the dead.
Now, even as the emergency services are still recovering bodies, a Socialist group with the sinister name Movement For Justice By Any Means Necessary has called for a ‘Day of Rage’ outside Parliament on Wednesday. Its stated purpose is ‘to bring down this rotten government’ by force.
This may not be the Labour party itself speaking, but it chimes perfectly with the rhetoric of its leaders. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell urges trade unions to topple the Government with a summer of strikes and demonstrations, while Mr Corbyn calls for people to ‘occupy’ empty homes in Kensington and Chelsea.
They forget that this is a country governed not by rage and class war but by reason, rule of law and the democratic process. For all Labour’s cynical attempts to subvert those precious principles, Britain will never give in to the rule of the mob.