Theresa May was questioned in the House of Commons by Labour's Louise Ellman on level of discussion at European Council summit on inflammatory Al-Quds Day rally in central London
June 27, 2017 10:01
Theresa May has said there is “no place for hate crime or hate speech in this country “ after being quizzed in the House of Commons about the anti-Israel rally in London at which “Zionists” were blamed for the Grenfell fire tragedy.
Labour MP Louise Ellman raised concern about the pro-Hezbollah Al-Quds Day march on June 18 - at which leader Nazim Ali also said he was “fed up” with rabbis and synagogues – and asked the Prime Minister if the issue had been discussed at last week’s European Council summit which she attended.
Responding to the vice chair of Labour Friends of Israel and Liverpool Riverside MP the PM said: “I would simply say that across the whole House we are clear that there is no place for hate crime or hate speech in this country. “
But Jennifer Gerber, director of LFl, said she was “disappointed” by the PM’s response to Ms Ellman’s question.
“We are disappointed Theresa May did not offer a more robust response to Louise Ellman’s question,” she said.
“As the former Home Secretary, she knows this issue well and knows that only by proscribing Hezbollah's political wing will we solve it. She and her ministers should now just get on with it."
Last week current Home Secretary Amber Rudd had said she would “consider” a ban on marches where protesters fly the Hezbollah flag.
Under the UK’s current rules, the military wing of Hezbollah is proscribed as a terrorist organisation, but the political wing is not. However, the organisation has just one flag.
Besides its attacks on Israel, Hezbollah has committed atrocities against Jews in other countries. Most infamously, the group bombed a Jewish community centre in 1994, killing 85 people and injuring hundreds.
The leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, has called Jews "Allah's most cowardly and avaricious creatures. If you look all over the world, you will find no one more miserly or greedy than they are."
Major of London Sadiq Khan has repeatedly stated he has no power to ban marches such as the Al-Quds Day rally in central London – and has suggested only the Home Secretary can do so.
Speaking on Monday afternoon, Mrs May was more forthcoming on “significant discussion” among Council members on the need for co-operation over the issue of terrorist propaganda being shared online.
She told MPs:” There was a significant discussion on counter-terrorism and the need for us to co-operate in dealing with this issue.
“We focused, as I said in my statement, on issues around the internet and on the way in which it is used to promulgate hateful propaganda and to allow terrorists to plan and to have a safe space.
We are united in our wish and our determination to take action with the tech companies to ensure that this cannot happen in the future.”
