We must draw a line': Rishi Sunak demands major police crackdown on extremist 'poison' on the streets of Britain as he pleads for national unity amid waves of Gaza protests and 'alarming' by-election win for George Galloway

 

We must draw a line': Rishi Sunak demands major police crackdown on extremist 'poison' on the streets of Britain as he pleads for national unity amid waves of Gaza protests and 'alarming' by-election win for George Galloway

 

By DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR and JAMES TAPSFIELD, POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 17:48 GMT, 1 March 2024 | UPDATED: 00:27 GMT, 2 March 2024

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13146369/Rishi-Sunak-pleads-calm-extremism-Gaza-Galloway.html

 

Rishi Sunak tonight demanded Britain unite against extremism as he made an extraordinary plea for calm on the steps of No10 and told police to take a harder line with protests.

 

The Prime Minister lashed out at the 'alarming' win by George Galloway in the Gaza-fuelled Rochdale by-election, which followed months of mass protests against Israeli violence following the Hamas terror attack.

 

In an emotional speech which referenced his own British and Hindu background Mr Sunak laid into the former Labour MP and pro-Palestinian rabble-rouser - who 'glorifies Hezbollah' and  has been backed by Nick Griffin, the far-right former leader of the BNP.

 

And he cited rising anti-Semitism that has left Jewish children 'fearful to wear their school uniform' and Islamophobia that has seen 'Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with'.

 

The PM said he would back police in taking a tougher stance against the 'poison' on the streets, adding: 'We must draw a line.'

 

'This situation has gone on long enough and demands a response not just from the government, but from all of us,' he said.

 

'I fear that our great achievement in building the world's most successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy is being deliberately undermined. There are forces here at home trying to tear us apart.'

 

In response to the PM's criticism, Mr Galloway used a TV interview to mock ''little Rishi Sunak' and refused to condemn the Hezbollah terrorist group.

 

Last week there was fury when a pro-Palestinian protest saw the phrase 'from the river to the sea' projected onto the Elizabeth Tower and Big Ben. The phrase is regarded as an anti-Semitic trope that tacitly demands the destruction of Israel.

 

His comments come a week after the suspension of ex-Tory chairman Lee Anderson for comments about the Muslim London mayor Sadiq Khan, and days after he himself said there was 'mob rule' in the UK.

 

He added: 'The time has now come for us all to stand together to combat the forces of division and beat this poison.

 

'We must face down the extremists who would tear us apart. There must be leadership, not pandering or appeasement…

 

'This week I have met with senior police officers and made clear it is the public's expectation that they will not merely manage these protests, but police them.

 

'And I say this to the police, we will back you when you take action.'

 

Mr Galloway, one of Britain's most divisive politicians, swept to victory in the greater Manchester seat, gaining almost 40 per cent of the vote in a contest mired in chaos and controversy and dominated by the Gaza conflict.

 

The former Labour and Respect MP, who now leads the Workers Party of Britain, took aim at Labour Sir Keir Starmer leader in his victory speech focused on Palestine.

 

The PM said he would back police in taking a tougher stance against the 'poison' on the streets, adding: 'We must draw a line.'

 

Mr Galloway said: 'Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza. You have paid, and you will pay, a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.'

 

Mr Ali was fourth with just 2,402 votes (7.72 per cent).

 

His name appeared on the ballot papers as a Labour candidate because the decision to drop him came after the cut-off point. 

 

There is not thought to be a modern precedent for two effectively independent candidates coming first and second in a Parliamentary contest.

 

At 39.7 per cent, turnout was slightly higher than in the recent Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections.

 

And the scale of the victory raised questions about whether Labour would have been able to defeat Mr Galloway even if their campaign had not derailed.

 

Sir Tony had won Rochdale for Labour at the 2019 general election with a majority of almost 10,000 votes.

 

Labour has apologised to the voters of Rochdale for not fielding a candidate, following what Rishi Sunak described as 'one of the most divisive campaigns' in recent times.

 

The party warned Mr Galloway will stoke 'fear and division' and said he 'only won because Labour did not stand' after it dropped its candidate Azhar Ali for suggesting Israel was complicit in Hamas' October 7 attack.

 

It came against a background of protests against Israeli military action in Gaza, which has left more than 30,000 people dead, the majority of them civilians.

 

Last week there was fury when a pro-Palestinian protest saw the phrase 'from the river to the sea' projected onto the Elizabeth Tower and Big Ben. The phrase is regarded as an anti-Semitic trope that tacitly demands the destruction of Israel.

 

At the same time there have been targeted protests outside the offices and homes of MPs.

 

Last week Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker found himself in hot water after altering Commons rules regarding a vote on a Gaza ceasefire - saying he acted out of fears for the safety of MPs.

 

But Mr Sunak has also faced problems on his own benches, with former Tory chairman Lee Anderson suspended last weekend for saying that Muslim London mayor Sadiq Khan had handed over control of the capital to 'Islamists'.

 

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: 'The British people will take no lessons from a Prime Minister and Conservative party who have sowed the seeds of division for years.

 

'This is the same Prime Minister who made Suella Braverman his Home Secretary and Lee Anderson his party's Deputy Chairman.'

 

Rishi Sunak's speech in full

In recent weeks and months, we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality.

 

What started as protests on our streets, has descended into intimidation, threats, and planned acts of violence.

 

Jewish children fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveal their identity.

 

Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with.

 

Now our democracy itself is a target.

 

Council meetings and local events have been stormed.

 

MPs do not feel safe in their homes.

 

Long standing Parliamentary conventions have been upended because of safety concerns.

 

And it is beyond alarming that last night the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate who dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7th, who glorifies Hezbollah and is endorsed by Nick Griffin, the racist former leader of the BNP.

 

I need to speak to you all this evening because this situation has gone on long enough and demands a response not just from government, but from all of us.

 

Britain is a patriotic, liberal, democratic society with a proud past and a bright future.

 

We are a reasonable country and a decent people.

 

Our story is one of progress, of great achievements and enduring values.

 

Immigrants who have come here have integrated and contributed.

 

They have helped write the latest chapter in our island story.

 

They have done this without being required to give up their identity.

 

You can be a practising Hindu and a proud Briton as I am.

 

Or a devout Muslim and a patriotic citizen as so many are.

 

Or a committed Jewish person and the heart of your local community and all underpinned by the tolerance of our established, Christian church.

 

We are a country where we love our neighbours.

 

And we are building Britain together.

 

But I fear that our great achievement in building the world’s most successful multi-ethnic, multi faith democracy is being deliberately undermined.

 

There are forces here at home trying to tear us apart.

 

Since October 7th there have been those trying to take advantage of the very human angst that we all feel about the terrible suffering that war brings to the innocent, to women and children to advance a divisive, hateful ideological agenda.

 

On too many occasions recently, our streets have been hijacked by small groups who are hostile to our values and have no respect for our democratic traditions.

 

Membership of our society is contingent on some simple things that you abide by the rule of law, and that change can only come through the peaceful, democratic process.

 

Threats of violence and intimidation are alien to our way of doing things: they must be resisted at all times.

 

Nearly everyone in Britain supports these basic values but there are small and vocal hostile groups who do not.

 

Islamist extremists and the far right feed off and embolden each other.

 

They are equally desperate to pretend that their violence is somehow justified when actually these groups are two sides of the same extremist coin.

 

Neither group accept that change in our country can only come through the peaceful democratic process.

 

Both loathe the pluralist, modern country we are.

 

Both want to set Briton against Briton to weaponise the evils of anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hatred for their own ends.

 

The faith of Islam, peacefully practised by millions of our fellow citizens is emphatically not the same thing as the extremist political ideology of Islamism which aims to separate Muslims from the rest of society.

 

Islamist extremists and far rights groups are spreading a poison, that poison is extremism.

 

It aims to drain us of our confidence in ourselves as a people, and in our shared future.

 

They want us to doubt ourselves, to doubt each other, to doubt our country’s history and achievements.

 

They want us to accept a moral equivalence between Britain and some of the most despicable regimes in the world.

 

They want us to believe that our country, and the West more generally, is solely responsible for the world’s ills and that we, along with our allies, are the problem.

 

In short, they want to destroy our confidence and hope.

 

We must not allow that to happen.

 

When these groups claim that Britain is and has been on the wrong side of history, we should reject it, and reject it again.

 

No country is perfect, but I am enormously proud of the good that our country has done.

 

Our place in history is defined by the sacrifices our people have made, in the service of our own freedom and that of others.

 

And when these groups tell children that they cannot - and will not succeed - because of who they are.

 

When they tell children that the system is rigged against them or that Britain is a racist country…

 

This is not only a lie, but a cynical attempt to crush young dreams, and turn impressionistic minds against their own society.

 

I stand here as our country’s first non-white Prime Minister, leading the most diverse government in our country’s history to tell people of all races, all faiths and all backgrounds it is not the colour of your skin, the God you believe in or where you were born, that will determine your success but just your own hard work and endeavour.

 

We must be prepared to stand up for our shared values in all circumstances, no matter how difficult.

 

And I respect that the police have a tough job in policing the protests we have seen and that they are operationally independent.

 

But we must draw a line.

 

Yes, you can march and protest with passion. You can demand the protection of civilian life, but no, you cannot call for violent Jihad.

 

There is no “context” in which it can be acceptable to beam antisemitic tropes onto Big Ben in the middle of a vote on Israel/Gaza.

 

And there can be no cause you can use to justify the support of a proscribed terrorist group, like Hamas.

 

Yes, you can freely criticise the actions of this government, or indeed any government: that is a fundamental democratic right.

 

But no, you cannot use that as an excuse to call for the eradication of a State – or any kind of hatred or antisemitism.

 

This week I have met with senior police officers and made clear it is the public’s expectation

 

that they will not merely manage these protests, but police them.

 

And I say this to the police, we will back you when you take action.

 

But if we are asking more of the police, we in government must also back up that call with action.

 

To that end, this month the government will implement a new robust framework for how it deals with this issue.

 

To ensure that we are dealing with the root causes of this problem and that no extremist organisations or individuals are being lent legitimacy by their actions and interactions with central government.

 

You cannot be part of our civic life if your agenda is to tear it down.

 

We will redouble our support for the Prevent programme to stop young minds being poisoned by extremism.

 

We will demand that universities stop extremist activity on campus.

 

We will also act to prevent people entering this country whose aim is to undermine its values.

 

The Home Secretary has instructed that if those here on visas choose to spew hate on protests or seek to intimidate people we will remove their right to be here.

 

And our Britain must not be a country in which we descend into polarised camps with some communities living parallel lives.

 

It is not enough to live side-by-side, we must live together united by shared values and a shared commitment to this country.

 

And I want to speak directly to those who choose to continue to protest:

 

Don’t let the extremists hijack your marches.

 

You have a chance in the coming weeks to show that you can protest decently, peacefully and with empathy for your fellow citizens.

 

Let us prove these extremists wrong and show them that even when we disagree we will never be disunited from our common values of decency and respect.

 

I love this country.

 

My family and I owe it so much.

 

The time has now come for us all to stand together to combat the forces of division and beat this poison.

 

We must face down the extremists who would tear us apart. There must be leadership, not pandering or appeasement.

 

When they tell their lies, we will tell the truth.

 

When they try and sap our confidence, we will redouble our efforts.

 

And when they try and make us doubt each other we will dig deeper for that extra ounce of compassion and empathy that they want us to believe doesn’t exist, but that I know does.

 

If we can do that, we can build on our great achievement in creating today’s Britain, a country of kind, decent, tolerant people.

 

We can make this a country in which we all feel a renewed sense of pride.

 

This is our home.

 

So let us go forward together, confident in our values and confident in our future.