You were happy enough to state as a matter of fact that we’ve had weeks of hate and anti-semitism though.

Braverman has made the risk of trouble significantly higher - I don’t think that’s contestable. She hasn’t ‘spoken out’ - she’s labelled hundreds of thousands of protestors as hate marchers and anti semites because she doesn’t agree with them. That’s inflammatory by any definition.

I’ve no idea why you’ve decided on that MLK reference - all of the commentary from the organisers of the demonstration are also calling for peaceful protest in exactly the same way.

Of course, I sent that in reply to a statement that "the police will allow the pro-Palestine demonstration to go past the Cenotaph twice" which is just factually untrue.

Any trouble on Saturday is going to come from the people looking for it, on both sides - there's absolutely no reasons for the two events to overlap at all.

Braverman's discourse around this has done nothing but stoke the flames and she's as responsible as anyone if it does go off.

That is the complaint. I am not a lawyer so I wont pretend to know the answer but she was entitled to speak out. If people cause trouble this weekend it's on their head "Braverman made me do it" isn't an excuse.

MLK was told on many occasions not to march or there would be violence his answer was to ensure the marchers were peaceful and any violence was from the police and racists. That's how he won the argument, or as Obama said if they go low we go higher.

Edited by Badger11 (10 Nov 2023 9.49am)

No she wasn't. She can call the police to account through back channels. However, her portfolio requires her to support the independence of the police. She is not doing that. If she wanted to call the police out for the reasons she did, she must first resign and then say what she likes (within parliamentary rules) from the Back Benches.

She is clearly making a play for leader. It is a long game and one that reveals her unscrupulous character. However, it is clumsy, transparent and deluded. She is seeking to appeal to the gammon right. But I doubt whether they would choose a woman of South Asian extraction, let alone one who has openly attacked the police.

I fear she is the stuff that opportunist Brexiteers are made of i.e. a feather for every political wind that blows but, ultimately, a bit dim. The Tories are masters at adaption. During the next parliamentary term, her ilk will have outlived their usefulness and will be relegated to hopping about frothing from the fringes.

That's odd considering the number of senior politicians over the years who have publicly criticised the Police.

While Home Sec?