UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman has come under fire for using Northern Ireland as a comparative example to label pro-Palestinian protests in London “hate marches.” Braverman’s comments, made ahead of a march on Armistice Day, were criticised by Colum Eastwood, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), who called her a “pound shop Enoch Powell”. Sinn Féin’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Matt Carthy, also criticised the statement and said that the UK had shown “disappointing stance” over events in Gaza, whilst Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) reiterated that Braverman’s comments were correct.
Shadow Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, called Braverman’s comments “an appalling new low” in an already heated debate. Alliance MP, Stephen Farry, also refuted comparisons of the situation to Northern Ireland in a tweet describing the comments as “pathetic.”
Writing in The Times, Braverman accused some of the organisers of the march of having links to terrorist groups and said they intended, on Armistice Day, to parade through London in a “show of strength.” The government has been involved in controversy over the march, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson criticising its timing as “provocative and disrespectful.” However, London Metropolitan Police Chief, Sir Mark Rowley, has rejected calls to ban the event, viewing such a move as a “last resort.”
Protests in London and other cities worldwide have taken place on Saturdays since the conflict began in Gaza
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