Starmer and Badenoch clash over shadow justice secretary’s anti-Muslim comments
Nick Timothy MP said Muslims including the mayor of London Sadiq Khan praying in Trafalgar Square was an ‘act of domination’
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has criticised Tory leader Kemi Badenoch for failing to act over “appalling” comments against Muslims made by her shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy.
The remarks were made by Timothy on X on Tuesday evening, alongside a video of worshippers, including London mayor Sadiq Khan, praying in Trafalgar Square as part of an open iftar organised by the Ramadan Tent Project.
Timothy said that the prayers, held near the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields as part of the event, were an “act of domination”, that they “do not belong in our churches and cathedrals” and were “straight out of the Islamist playbook”. He later appeared on Sky News to defend his comments.
Starmer said during prime minister’s questions (PMQs) on Wednesday that Badenoch should “denounce his comments and she should sack him”. “If he were in my team, he would be gone,” he said. “It’s utterly appalling.”
In response, Badenoch said: “My shadow justice secretary is defending British values.”
The prime minister pressed Badenoch again on Timothy’s comments, saying: “The fact that he’s sitting on her front bench shows she’s too weak and has got absolutely no judgment.”
During a heated exchange that saw Badenoch criticise Starmer over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador and the plan by justice secretary David Lammy to reduce access to jury trials, the prime minister raised Timothy’s comments a third time.
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“When I see religious events in Trafalgar Square,” he said, “when I see Hindus celebrating Diwali, when I see Jews celebrating Hanukkah live, when I see Christians performing the Passion of Christ, or Muslims praying, that shows the great strength of our diverse city and country. I’ve never heard her party call out anything other than the Muslim events. It’s only when Muslims are praying. The only conclusion is the Tory Party has got a problem with Muslims.”
The leader of the opposition did not directly respond, but attacked Starmer again over his judgement in appointing Mandelson.
Former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve, who led the working group that helped produce the government’s non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility, described Timothy’s comments as “a very odd post from a Conservative who says he believes in freedom of expression under law”.
Also posting on X, Akeela Ahmed MBE, CEO of the British Muslim Trust, said: “The language Nick Timothy MP chose is very telling. He uses words like ‘domination’ to fearmonger against Muslims attending a joyous and cultural event.”
She went on to say: “He is purposely trying to create a false narrative about British Muslims and the celebration of Ramadan.”
Timothy was chief of staff to Theresa May during her premiership from 2017 to 2019 and became an MP for West Suffolk in 2024.
