Speech that warned of race war
FIFTY years ago, Conservative politician Enoch Powell made one of the most controversial speeches in British history.
The ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech outlined his fears over the number of immigrants coming into the country and how their arrival could lead to a race war.
Speaking at a Conservative Association meeting in Birmingham on April 20, 1968, Powell said increased immigration would mean that ‘in 15 or 20 years’ the black man will have the whip hand over the white man’.
He added: ‘As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding; like the Roman, I seem to see “the River Tiber foaming with much blood”.’
The shadow defence spokesman was applauded during and after the 5-minute address, but it led many to accuse him of stirring up racial hatred. He was sacked from his post by Tory leader Edward Heath.
Jeremy Corbyn faces criticism over a speech made in 2013, two years before he became Labour leader, in which he attacked ‘Zionists’. In footage of the remarks, which emerged last week, he slammed a group of British Zionists who had criticised Palestinian ambassador Manuel Hassassian.