Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has criticised what she called the “cheerleaders of terrorism” and called for government ministers to be given the power to ban protests such as the recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
She said the home secretary should have the power, like the interior minister in France has, to ban protests which they feel are in danger of inciting violence or not conducive to the public good.
Ms. Braverman wrote, “Ministers, answerable to the public, are powerless while the police are the ones who technically possess the legal power to initiate a ban of a march.”
“This doesn’t strike the right balance and so a power should be taken, as in France, to enable ministers to make the decision when it is believed violence may occur or a protest is causing ongoing distress to a community,” she added.
Ms. Braverman said she welcomed the news that her successor, Home Secretary James Cleverly, is to announce new powers later this week to curb certain types of protest, including the wearing of masks.
Braverman Says Protesters Often ‘Lawyered-Up’
She said the Crown Prosecution Service has to prove “incitement” or “encouragement” of terrorism and she added, “Not so easy when you’re dealing with lawyered-up groups who know how to operate just beneath the threshold, but in a threatening and odious way nonetheless.”Ms. Braverman went on, “So we need to change the Terrorism Act 2000 to better capture those cheerleaders of terrorism.”
She said the government should introduce an “amendable list” of images and chants which would constitute “threatening, abusive or insulting” behaviour under public order legislation.
Examples she gave included Nazi or Holocaust imagery, the “from the river to the sea” chant, and songs about Khaybar, a seventh century battle in which an Arab Muslim force led by the Prophet Muhammad defeated a Jewish army.
Ms. Braverman said, “There needs to be a new category that can catch groups such as Palestine Action, Friends of al-Aqsa or the Palestinian Forum in Britain.”
Marches Are ‘Outpourings of Vicious Bigotry’
But she remains adamant she was right and wrote: “I will fiercely defend the right to peaceful protest in a democratic society. But these marches are not about peace. Rather they are outpourings of vicious bigotry.”“This cannot become our new norm. We need leadership to unequivocally condemn Islamism and antisemitism on our streets. To reassert what Britain means to the world: civility, tolerance, and order,” added the MP for Fareham.
If the Conservatives lose the next general election under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Ms. Braverman is expected to mount a strong challenge for the leadership of the party.
