Braverman criticises ‘hysterical’ racism row
Former home secretary urges Rishi Sunak to switch his focus onto ‘extremism in the UK’
‘Hysteria in response to those calling out the crisis is one of the reasons why we’re not making progress’
‘It is not the doctrine of Islam to espouse what some people are saying. That needs to be addressed’
SUELLA BRAVERMAN has condemned as “hysteria” a row about Islamophobia, as she called on Rishi Sunak to urgently tackle the issue of extremism.
The former home secretary is understood to believe that it was an overreaction to strip Lee Anderson, the former Conservative Party deputy chairman, of the Tory whip over his claims that “Islamists” have “got control” of Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.
Mrs Braverman urged the Prime Minister to shift his focus to the “big problem” of “Islamist extremism in the UK”.
The row over allegations of Islamophobia in the Conservative Party erupted last week when Mrs Braverman used an article for The Telegraph to claim that “the Islamists, the extremists and the anti-semites are in charge now”.
On Monday, Mr Sunak condemned aggressive efforts to shut down debate over the Israel-gaza conflict, but refused to describe Mr Anderson’s remarks as Islamophobic or racist.
It came as a second Tory MP, Paul Scully, was also caught up in the Islamophobia storm after claiming there were religious no-go areas in parts of Birmingham and east London.
On Monday night, Mrs Braverman wrote in a tweet: “We need to urgently focus now on the big problem: how to tackle Islamist extremism in the UK.
“The hysteria in response to those calling out the crisis is one of the reasons why we’re not making progress.”
Mr Sunak on Monday faced repeated calls from Labour and the Lib Dems to condemn Mr Anderson’s comments as Islamophobic.
However, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the UK Government generally preferred to use the phrase “anti-muslim hatred”, arguing the term “Islamophobia” as defined by Labour could undermine free speech.
Meanwhile, Mr Anderson issued a 300-word statement refusing again to apologise for his claims, arguing that rowing back on them would be “a sign of weakness”.
Mr Scully was among Tory MPS to criticise Mr Anderson’s comments, but called for wider debate on Islamist extremism. Making reference to those areas of London and Birmingham with high Muslim populations, the MP told BBC Radio London that there are “parts of Tower Hamlets, for example, where there are no-go areas, parts of Birmingham Sparkhill, where there are no-go areas, mainly because of doctrine, mainly because of people using, abusing in many ways, their religion”.
“Because it is not the doctrine of Islam, to espouse what some of these people are saying. That, I think, is the concern that needs to be addressed,” he added.
However, his comments were swiftly denounced as Islamaphobic by Ali Milani, chairman of the Labour Muslim Network, who said there are “no Muslim ‘no-go’ areas in this country”.
Andy Street, the Tory West Midlands mayor, urged “those in Westminster to stop the nonsense slurs”, while Labour’s Jess Phillips, whose Birmingham constituency includes part of the Sparkhill area, said she expected an apology over the comments.
Mr Scully insisted his point was “not to write off entire neighbourhoods but to bring to the fore how a tiny minority can distort reality”. He added: “If in condemning inflammatory behaviour, I get wrapped up as a bad guy, then that’s one more ‘good man’ changing his course to do nothing in the future.”
The Islamophobia row has raised questions about how to navigate disagreements over Israel and Gaza, with MPS under intense pressure.
In an interview with Channel 5 News, Mr Sunak built on concerns that the impact of pro-palestinian protests had contributed to the chaos seen in the House of Commons. He said he understood fears about how intimidation is impacting politicians’ ability to stand up for what they believe in, branding tactics such as the targeting of MPS’ homes “incredibly” frustrating and un-british.