Britain will “never surrender” to far-right protesters who use the English flag as cover for violence and to instil fear, Keir Starmer has said, condemning attacks against police officers and the racist intimidation of minorities.
Mr Starmer said the St George’s flag “represents our diverse country” and he would not tolerate people being “intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin”.
MPs and anti-fascist groups had urged the prime minister to speak up against some of the rhetoric of the largest nationalist protest in decades, organised by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
In his first comment on Saturday’s march, Mr Starmer said there was a right to peaceful protest but violence and intimidation were unacceptable.
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“People have a right to peaceful protest. It is core to our country’s values,” the prime minister said in a statement. “But we will not stand for assaults on police officers doing their job or for people feeling intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin.”
He added: “Britain is a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect. Our flag represents our diverse country and we will never surrender it to those that use it as a symbol of violence, fear and division.”
Police estimated between 110,000 and 150,000 people attended the event on Saturday, which was addressed by the billionaire X owner and former Donald Trump confidant Elon Musk. Mr Musk told the crowd “violence is coming” and that “you either fight back or you die”.
Mr Musk said: “I really think that there’s got to be a change of government in Britain. You can’t – we don’t have another four years, or whenever the next election is, it’s too long. Something’s got to be done. There’s got to be a dissolution of parliament and a new vote held.”
Mr Starmer’s forthright comments may settle some nerves in Labour where there has been growing concern that the prime minister has not done enough to take on attacks of the right.
Before the march, the anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate sent a letter to the prime minister asking him to make public condemnation of growing racist rhetoric. The call was echoed by a number of senior MPs who said Labour had a duty to counter growing right-wing extremism.
On Sunday, some Labour MPs said they had been unsettled by comments from the business secretary, Peter Kyle, earlier in the day that stopped short of condemning the protests and said they were a “klaxon call” for the government.
Mr Kyle said figures such as Robinson were able to “touch into a sense of disquiet and grievance in the community in our society”. – Guardian
