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The Labor government has failed to tackle racism and Islamophobia effectively, its own national committee members have claimed, because of widespread race riots.
In an exclusive interview with Independent, Labor National Executive Committee member Mish Rahman has criticized Sir Keir Starmer for failing to classify the attack as “terrorism”. He claimed the reluctance to label the violence as an act of terrorism showed a disturbing double standard, adding: “It shows that terrorism is only committed by Muslims. Language is important.”
This view was echoed by former UK counter-terrorism chief Neil Basu who warned that the worst far-right violence seen during the unrest across the country should be treated as terrorism at the start of the disturbances.
Mr Rahman’s comments came in the wake of nationwide violence sparked by the tragic incident in Southport where three girls were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
This sparked a wave of violence on the right with mobs storming several hotels housing asylum seekers, immigration law firms and centers after false rumors and misinformation led to claims that the attackers were Muslim asylum seekers.
One alarming incident occurred at the Southport Islamic Centre, where rioters surrounded a mosque, torched cars and pelted the building with stones, leaving Muslims fearing for their lives.
Expressing disappointment at the turn of events, NEC members accused party leaders of not saying enough to mention the target of ethnic minority deployment.
“Conservatives are guilty of deliberately stoking division and hatred,” he said. “The Labor Party, in my opinion, has not shown that it has a solution or an understanding of how to deal with racism.”
Earlier this year, Mr Rahman called the party institutionally “Islamaphobic and racist”, following the election of former Labor candidate Faiza Shaheen and previously accused the current prime minister of “gaslighting” over its response to the crisis in Gaza.
While Mr Rahman welcomed Sir Keir’s new efforts to protect ethnic minority communities after hundreds of rioters were arrested and charged with violence, he said the discussion and language around migration needed significant change.
“Before the election, you had Jonathan Ashworth and Keir Starmer boasting about sending Bangladeshis back to Bangladesh because the country is safe. That has not aged well with what has happened in Bangladesh since then,” he said. “We cannot cut language and act next. This is a reactionary response to a problem that requires language and a sensible solution.
Calling for a more compassionate approach to the discussion of migration, he said: “The right solution to this problem is to talk about migration with compassion for minorities, without harming them, by showing the real causes of immigration and not creating or supporting them. the theory that immigrants are to blame for society’s ills.
“All people of color are under threat,” he said. “Even Rishi Sunak is not spared from the racism of Reform activists. He finally referred to the word P. “Today we face the same threats that our parents faced when they arrived in the 70s and 80s.”
At Independent has been approached by the Labor Party for comment.
After the violence on the right, the prime minister told those who “feel targeted because of the color of your skin or your faith” that “violent mobs do not represent this country”.
Speaking publicly on August 5, he added: “People in this country have the right to be safe, but we have seen Muslim communities targeted and mosques attacked.”
During a visit to the Solihull Mosque on August 8 together with the secretary of state for justice Shabana Mahmoud, the PM promised that those involved in the riots would “feel the force of the law” and since then more than 1,000 people have been arrested and counting. of 670 power.
