Islamists are now in control, says Braverman amid Speaker row

ISLAMISTS are now in charge of Britain, Suella Braverman has said, as the Speaker of the House of Commons admitted he was wrong to ignore protocol because of security threats to MPS.

In an article for this newspaper, the former home secretary says Britain is “sleep-walking into a ghettoised society” threatening free expression and British values in the wake of the Commons chaos.

Her comments come a day after Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, allowed a vote on a Labour amendment in a debate over the Gaza ceasefire, leading to accusations that he had given in to extremists. Sir Lindsay, who was fighting to keep his job yesterday, said he had broken with convention to allow MPS to vote on the widest possible range of amendments, citing threats politicians had received over their stance on Israel and Gaza.

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, and Penny Mordaunt, the Leader of the House, warned that changing Commons procedures in the way he had risked undermining democracy and giving in to intimidation by extremists.

Mrs Braverman, who has criticised police for “playing favourites” with propalestine protesters, accuses Sir Keir Starmer of “being in hock” to the extremists and “taking the Speaker hostage [with a] grubby backroom deal” over the Labour amendment. “The truth is that the Islamists, the extremists and the anti-semites are in charge now. They have bullied the Labour Party, they have bullied our institutions, and now they have bullied our country into submission,” she writes.

She accuses political leaders of “burying their heads in the sand” over the threat from Islamists, preferring to believe in the “illusion” of a multicultural society and remaining terrified of being called “racist” if they challenge them.

Mr Sunak said he found the scenes in the Commons “very concerning”, but added “we should never let extremists intimidate us into changing the way in which Parliament works”.

By last night, more than 67 MPS signed a motion declaring no confidence in Sir Lindsay. Stephen Flynn, the SNP’S Commons leader, and some Tory rebels are trying to oust the Speaker by forcing a no confidence vote.

‘This is the behaviour of tyrants. Imagine what Starmer would do as Prime Minister’

‘Turning a blind eye to fanatics has got us into this terrible situation: it needs to stop’

THEY started with the Jews; there were stern words of disapproval from the top but things only got worse. The Islamist cranks and Left-wing extremists then took control of the streets; the police looked meekly on. They harassed teachers through the courts; human rights and equalities laws were used against us. They threatened to kill an MP; he decided, justifiably, to leave public life. A respected peer, Lord Austin spoke out against terrorism and Islamism; he was suspended from a job he loves. They have hijacked a byelection in a deprived town in northern England. We see their influence in our judiciary, our legal profession and our universities.

And then they came for Parliament. On a day when Keir Starmer should have shown character, he bowed to the mob, abused his position and undermined the integrity of Parliament. Conventions cast aside, the Speaker’s legitimacy destroyed, and democracy denied. Trust was shattered by Starmer’s backroom deal. The mask has slipped: in hock to the Islamists, he is responsible for one of the most shameful days of our democracy. By effectively taking the Speaker hostage, he brought Parliament into disrepute. This is the behaviour of tyrants. Imagine what Starmer would do as Prime Minister.

The Islamists, the extremists and the anti-semites are in charge. They have bullied the Labour Party, they have bullied our institutions, and they have bullied our country into submission.

But what is our response? Our leaders bury their heads in the sand, preferring the illusion of a “successful multicultural society”, terrified of being called “racist”. But the law has not changed, mass extremism parades itself, campuses remain dangerous places for Jews, and Labour is still rotten to the core. Let’s not forget how we got here. On Oct 7, an Islamist death cult attacked a close ally on a scale never before imagined. More than 1,200 citizens of Israel, most of them Jews, were butchered in their homes, communities and at a music festival. Many of the women were raped and murdered. Another 250 people were kidnapped and taken to the terrorists’ lairs, where many still languish.

Now we’re told Israel, in its mission to recover those hostages, must cease. Its defence forces must put away their weapons. Let’s hear from those naysayers, the alternative, practical solution first.

But this isn’t just about my colleagues in Parliament. Our values are under attack in all walks of life. What is happening to our great country? That one which was respectful, welcoming and where speaking your mind did not mean losing your job, or your life? Where different faiths and races co-existed peacefully? I remember that country, but it’s not the Britain I see now.

We cannot accept defeat. We need to find our courage. But we can only do that with honesty and determination. That’s why we must resist the attacks against the Prevent programme, designed to tackle extremism in whatever form it takes and stop people being radicalised into terrorism. It has been called “Islamophobic” and “racist” because, in the main, it is set up to tackle the most dangerous terrorist ideology facing our country: Islamism.

But Prevent needs urgent reform. It is disappointing that, one year on from when I started the programme of changes set out by Sir William Shawcross, there are shortcomings. This was one of my priorities as home secretary and improvements were on track when I updated Parliament after six months. But progress has stalled: we need to keep the spotlight on Hamas networks in the UK. We know that some on the marches have links to that Islamist terror group.

We need to get over our timidity to refer budding Islamists, where they are a threat, into the programme. The Government has failed if 75 per cent of MI5’S caseload consists of Islamist terrorism yet the proportion of Islamist referrals into Prevent is only 11 per cent and falling. It’s not Islamophobic to challenge Islamist fanatics; it’s a civic duty.

Lastly, no progress has been made on guidance to stop blasphemy laws

being introduced by the backdoor. We cannot allow teachers to be hounded out of schools because a picture of Muhammad was shown, or children to be censured because a Koran was scuffed accidentally. In this country, it is perfectly lawful to criticise any religion or God. One may disagree passionately, but it is not criminal.

None of this is easy. I’ve written about how the protests could be policed better. Others have set out how we can clean up campuses, mosques and councils and, more fundamentally, how we can promote integration. I may have been sacked because I spoke out against the appeasement of Islamists, but I would do it again because we need to wake up to what we are sleep-walking into: a ghettoised society where free expression and British values are diluted; where sharia law, the Islamist mob and anti-semites take over communities. We need to overcome the fear of being labelled Islamophobic and speak truthfully. Enough of the hand-wringing. Turning a blind eye to fanatics has got us into this terrible situation: it needs to stop.

This is a crisis. And the fightback must start now, with urgency, if we are to preserve the liberties we cherish and the privileges this country affords us all. If we are to have any chance of saving our country from the mob.