Suella Braverman has posted her official response to the violence seen in London over the past 24 hours.
Braverman faced calls to be sacked after violent clashes between police and rightwing groups erupted on the streets of central London as Britain remembered its war dead.
The Metropolitan Police described the clashes between its officers and the right on Saturday as “extreme violence” and said the political debate about policing protests had combined “to increase community tensions”.
Last week Braverman branded Saturday’s pro-Palestinian protest a “hate march” and accused the police of being biased and taking a tougher line against rightwing protests.
Our brave police officers deserve the thanks of every decent citizen for their professionalism in the face of violence and aggression from protesters and counter protesters in London yesterday. That multiple officers were injured doing their duty is an outrage. 1/3
— Suella Braverman MP (@SuellaBraverman) November 12, 2023
She said today on X, formerly Twitter: "Our brave police officers deserve the thanks of every decent citizen for their professionalism in the face of violence and aggression from protesters and counter-protesters in London yesterday. That multiple officers were injured doing their duty is an outrage.
"The sick, inflammatory and, in some cases, clearly criminal chants, placards and paraphernalia openly on display at the march mark a new low. Antisemitism and other forms of racism together with the valorising of terrorism on such a scale is deeply troubling.
"This can’t go on. Week by week, the streets of London are being polluted by hate, violence, and antisemitism. Members of the public are being mobbed and intimidated. Jewish people in particular feel threatened. Further action is necessary."
Rightwing groups led by former EDL leader Tommy Robinson were involved in altercations with the police around the Cenotaph, the nation’s principal war memorial, and in violence elsewhere in the capital.
Meanwhile, a pro-Palestinian protest was attended by about 300,000 people and was largely peaceful according to police.
Police said people taking part in the rightwing “counter-protests” made up the “vast majority” of 126 arrests on Saturday.
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