Minister says activist’s call to ‘remove Islam’ from parliament was unacceptable
David Hanson was quizzed over public comments made by activist Kellie-Jay Keen at the far-right ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally in London on Saturday
The government faced questions on Wednesday over public calls made during last weekend’s far-right rally in London for the eradication of Islam from British public life.
Liberal Democrat peer Shaffaq Mohammed asked Home Office minister David Hanson what his position was on comments made at the “Unite the Kingdom” rally on Saturday, which saw 10 people arrested over suspected hate crimes.
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During Wednesday’s oral questions in the House of Lords, Mohammed said: “One of the speakers pointed at [the Houses of Parliament] and said: ‘We need to remove Islam from this building.’ Does this mean people like me do not have a place in this society any more?”
He was referring to a speech made by the activist Kellie-Jay Keen, also known as Posie Parker.
In response to Mohammed’s question, Hanson, a Labour peer and national security minister, reiterated his commitment to support people’s right to “enjoy and cherish their religion”.
“This is a fight for the soul of this country,” he said. “It is not acceptable to have that type of hatred, and I will stand up with him to support the rights of people to enjoy their religion freely.”
The rally was organised by far-right activist and founder of the England Defence League, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson. Although organisers claimed the event was attended by “millions”, police estimate the turnout at around 60,000.
During speeches at the protest, Muslims were repeatedly singled out as an existential threat to Britain. At one point, three French anti-Islam and immigration activists took the stage dressed in abayas and niqabs before chanting “take it off” and removing the garments. The women claimed they did this in protest as they were being persecuted by the French government for “not wanting to live under sharia law”.
In response to calls for extra government funding to ensure the safety of Muslim women made by crossbench peer, Shaista Gohir, Hanson denounced the stunt as “completely offensive”. He also said that he supported Gohir’s wish and will “look at it”.
Hanson added that “significant resources are going into protecting the Muslim community”, and pointed to the new definition of anti-Muslim hostility as an example of the government’s commitment to protecting Muslims.
The definition, published in March, was based on work carried out by Gohir and a small working group — but met with criticism from some faith leaders, including those at the Muslim Council of Britain, who told Hyphen they could not endorse it.
