UK politicians are whipping up an anti-Muslim panic. Where’s the evidence?
Remarks by House of Commons speaker and Labour leader Keir Starmer have led to an explosion of Islamophobic hatred against Muslims protesting against Israel's war on Gaza
Over the last few months a troubling narrative has steadily been gathering strength in British politics.
It goes: radical Islamists are taking over the streets of London. They are using their muscle to intimidate politicians, and are destroying the authority of parliament. As a result, democracy itself is under threat.
Over the past 24 hours, this narrative that British Muslims are corrupting the British political system has gone viral.
Robert Jenrick, a former cabinet minister, speaking in the Commons on Thursday, said that Britain has "allowed our streets to be dominated by Islamist extremists".
He spoke of "a pattern of Islamist extremists intimidating those they disagree with, backed by the prospect of violence". Penny Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons, replied that she "could not agree more".
On Thursday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fanned the flames, warning that "we should never let extremists intimidate us into changing the way in which parliament works."
These are powerful accusations - and neither Sunak nor Jenrick produced evidence to support them.
Islamophobic rhetoric
It's important to explain the context of this latest epidemic of Islamophobic rhetoric. It was unleashed in the wake of Wednesday’s chaotic events at Westminster after the Scottish National Party (SNP) tabled a Commons motion supporting a ceasefire in Gaza.
This motion was acutely embarrassing for Labour leader Keir Starmer, many of whose MPs are deeply opposed to his support for the war.
This helps explain why both the SNP and the Conservatives tore into Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle when he over-ruled the advice of his Commons clerks and defied parliamentary convention to allow a Labour Party amendment which got Starmer off the hook.
Amidst furious calls for him to quit, Speaker Hoyle went on the record to say that when making his controversial decision he had been "very, very concerned" about the safety of MPs, their families and members of their staff.
Yesterday, he came back to the Commons to repeat his alarm: "The details of the things that have been brought to me are absolutely frightening," adding that "if my mistake is looking after members [of parliament], I am guilty".
He made clear that he had been influenced in his decision-making by Starmer’s own concern about threats to his MPs.
The Speaker, however, did not explain exactly who it was that threatened the safety of Labour MPs - but nobody at Westminster was in any doubt who he was referring to: Muslims.
A media storm
As night follows day, the British media supported these claims.
Alicia Fitzgerald, a political reporter, fuelled the sense of panic on Talk TV when she said she’d been talking to Labour MPs, particularly women, who were "absolutely terrified" of leaving the Commons in the face of a pro-Palestinian "mob" outside.
He added: "We have crossed a line now. We are not a properly functioning democracy if this is a factor in how our elected representatives act."
Mail on Sunday journalist Dan Hodges tweeted that he had spoken to an MP "who told me he had weighed up his own physical safety when deciding on how to vote on yesterday’s Gaza motion".
Far-right commentator Douglas Murray announced on X (formerly Twitter) that "it seems that British MPs are finally waking up. Now that the Islamist threat is coming at them".
Telegraph journalist and prospective Tory MP Nick Timothy accused Starmer of backing down to "Islamist intimidation" and destroying "the impartial institutions that make our system work".
Former home secretary Suella Braverman writes in Friday’s Daily Telegraph that "the Islamists, the extremists, and the anti-semites are in charge now". According to Thursday's Sun leader column, MPs faced "violent threats from Islamist thugs".
Meanwhile, on a panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference alongside former Prime Minister Liz Truss, Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, declared that "radical Islam is becoming mainstream in British politics". Farage predicted that "by the 2029 general election, we will have a radical Islamic party represented in Westminster", adding that "you can’t be a proper country, unless you control your borders".
And so on and so on. A narrative has been established in just 24 hours. British democracy is under threat from dangerous Islamists.
This narrative is being peddled by our most powerful politicians and media writers.
Where is the evidence?
It goes without saying that these are very serious allegations. If it is indeed the case that "radical Islamists" (or any other group) are threatening the lives of MPs and others, then drastic action is needed.
But I issue one word of warning.
No evidence has been provided. No evidence from the Speaker, who set the media storm in motion. Nothing from Starmer, who briefed him.
A narrative has been established in just 24 hours. British democracy is under threat from dangerous Islamists
Remember that physical and verbal intimidation are crimes. That includes common assault and even the use of threatening language - including online.
Anyone who physically threatens an MP - or any other politician - can and must be prosecuted.
If such threats have been made, as Starmer and Speaker Hoyle claim, then charges must follow, and then jail sentences. Thus far such claims are not standing up.