Braverman: Palestine marches ‘disturbingly reminiscent of Ulster’

Suella Braverman KC

Ms Braverman made the comparison in an article for The Times ahead of a planned protest march this Saturday, which she has repeatedly said should not go ahead as it coincides with Armistice Day.

Organisers say the London demonstration, which will call on the UK government to back international calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, will take place after official Armistice Day events have concluded and that the march route will steer well clear of contentious sites like the Cenotaph.

However, Ms Braverman insisted the marches have from the start “been problematic, not just because of violence around the fringes but because of the highly offensive content of chants, posters and stickers”, with each demonstration “worse than the previous one”.

She continued: “I do not believe that these marches are merely a cry for help for Gaza. They are an assertion of primacy by certain groups — particularly Islamists — of the kind we are more used to seeing in Northern Ireland.

“Also disturbingly reminiscent of Ulster are the reports that some of Saturday’s march group organisers have links to terrorist groups, including Hamas.”

She went on to allege that senior police officers “play favourites when it comes to protesters” and urged police to adopt “an assertive and proactive approach to any displays of hate, breaches of condition and general disorder”.

Her comments about policing have been sharply criticised by UK opposition politicians and some fellow Conservatives, while her remarks about Northern Ireland have been condemned locally as out-of-touch.

SDLP leader and Foyle MP Colum Eastwood said Ms Braverman’s comments are “so far removed from reality that it is impossible to come to any determination other than she is deliberately stoking division to bolster her own brand among the Conservative Party’s right wing”.

He compared her article to “a pound shop Enoch Powell piece” and said it displayed “ignorance of the complex history and traditions of marching and protest in Northern Ireland”.

Mr Eastwood added: “The comments are far below the standard that should be expected from a senior government minister. The only appropriate action now is her removal from office but given the systemic weakness of this government, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she remained.”

Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said she was “seeking to exploit the sensitivities of this moment, and an ignorance of Northern Ireland’s history, to inflame community tensions for her own leadership campaign”.