Robert Jenrick sparks row after suggesting protestors who shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ should be ‘arrested’
Mr Jenrick later clarified his remarks
TORY leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick sparked a row yesterday after suggesting protesters who shout “Allahu Akbar” should be “immediately arrested”.
The ex-immigration minister made the comment after accusing Sir Keir Starmer of not being as harsh on Islamist extremists as he is far-right thugs.
Mr Jenrick told Sky News: “I have been very critical of the police in the past, particularly around the attitude of some police forces to the protests that we saw since October 7.
“I thought it was quite wrong that somebody could shout Allahu Akbar on the streets of London and not be immediately arrested, project genocidal chants on to Big Ben and not be immediately arrested.
“That attitude is wrong and I’ll always call out the police for it.”
Deputy PM Angela Rayner hit out: “People like Robert Jenrick have been stirring up some of the problems that we’ve seen in our communities.
“Actually, what we want to see is communities coming together, and the vast majority of the public want to see that.”
Mr Jenrick later clarified his remarks, saying: “‘Allahu Akbar’ is spoken peacefully and spiritually by millions of British Muslims in their daily lives”.
But he said that “extremists routinely abuse common expressions for their own shameful ends”.
Mr Jenrick said: “All violence must end. All violence must be called out.”
It came as Government minister Jim McMahon insisted that claims by Elon Musk that Britain has a two-tier justice ststem were rubbish.
Debate around two-tier policing ramped up on Monday night after footage emerged showing cops appear to withdraw from a counter-protest comprising mostly Asian men in Birmingham.
Some of those involved in the disorder made gun signals with their hands and yelled “f**k the media, f**k the Jews”.