UK troops ordered: Don’t take the knee
Military bans anti-racism gesture ... because it’s a ‘political activity’
SERVICEMEN have been banned from ‘taking the knee’ in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement because it was deemed too political.
Commanders warned personnel at HMS Sultan in Gosport, Hampshire, that when in uniform they could not take part in the action.
Defence officials are reviewing the policy to see if there is any leeway which would allow them to show their respect in other ways.
A defence source said: ‘When they are in uniform, they are not allowed to take part in any political activity. With taking the knee, it is becoming a political movement. When you are in uniform there are long-standing rules for how you should behave.
‘We are looking at the policy and are trying to find a way in an appropriate situation what they can do to show their respect. ‘The Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence is absolutely against racism in any form and wants to stamp it out.’ An MoD spokesman said: ‘The MoD does a not tolerate racism and promotes diversity and equality.
‘The recent protests have reminded us that we all have a role to play shaping a better society.’
The guidelines apply to personnel when they are on duty and in uniform only. It comes after the Metropolitan Police gave the green light to its officers taking a knee during a BLM protest last month.
Several officers adopted the pose in support of the anti-racism protests in London. The rank-and-file union said the gesture ‘shows we are human beings’.
But one former officer said he was ‘ashamed’ that officers had taken a knee. He tweeted: ‘I served in the Met Police many years ago.
‘Take a knee, never never ever, I’m ashamed of what they have to do today. In my day it would have been very very different.
‘The mayor of London and Cressida Dick should resign in total shame.’ Foreign Secretary
Dominic raab also came under criticism last month after he said the gesture ‘feels to me like a symbol of subjugation and subordination rather than one of liberation and emancipation’.
The pose has spread widely since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May as a way of showing support for the BLM movement and respect for those killed.
The ‘taking the knee’ protest was started in 2016 by American football player Colin Kaepernick.
He famously knelt for the US national anthem before playing for the San Francisco 49ers, to demonstrate against police brutality. Kaepernick said at the time: ‘I am not going to get up to show pride in a country that oppresses black people and people of colour.
‘To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.’
The action was hugely controversial in the US, with critics saying it disrespected soldiers and the flag. It was later banned by the sport amid anger from Donald Trump.
■ Black Lives Matter activists have been accused of ‘blatant anti-Semitism’ after using an offensive mural to promote a rally on social media.
The mural depicts six apparently Jewish bankers playing Monopoly on the backs of several naked slaves. A picture of it was used as the main image promoting a rally organised by Black Lives Matter Oxford at the weekend. It remained online for about eight hours until a local councillor whose Jewish ancestors fled the Nazis during the Second World War complained.
BLM Oxford removed the image and apologised, claiming the activist who uploaded it ‘was not aware’ it was anti-Semitic. A Campaign Against Antisemitism spokesman said: ‘The use of a blatantly anti-Semitic mural to promote an event is unacceptable.’
‘It is becoming a political movement’