Harlow Conservatives express deep concerns over “Nazi salute” controversy
Crime / Tue 13th Aug 2024 at 05:13pm
A NUMBER of senior Harlow Conservatives have responded to the controversy over a man who is alleged to have issued a “Nazi salute” at an anti-racism rally in Harlow Town Centre.
Old Harlow councillor Joel Charles said: “It sends the wrong signal when individuals try to intimidate peaceful protest. The vast majority of Harlow residents are able to show a high degree of judgement in such situations.
“Showing any form of support for the far-right is not acceptable. The police officers who approached the individual were right to intervene.
“Every effort should always be made to de-escalate such situations. It is important to reassure the community that such behaviour will not be tolerated.”.
We also invited former Harlow MP Robert Halfon to comment.
Mr Halfon said: “Given the arrests around the country, it seems pretty shocking that individuals in Essex can allegedly give the Hitler salute and get away with it. Anti semitism in all forms is unacceptable.
“I hope the CPS looks at this again and the MP takes this up with the Justice Minister “
Adam
2024-08-13 17:28:25
Completely agree no place in out town for this vile behaviour.
David Forman
2024-08-13 19:05:47
Whilst I agree with most sentiments expressed by Joel Charles and Robert Halfon, I would have to say from attending street demonstrations over 40+ years that the following phrase is over the top: "It sends the wrong signal when individuals try to intimidate peaceful protest." Obviously, there are a lot of snowflakes in Harlow when a disabled pensioner on a mobility scooter can 'intimidate' a group of protesters. The phrase "get real" springs to mind, especially when former Conservative Foreign Office minister Baroness Varsi has called out Islamaphobia in the Conservative Party on numerous occasions. It rather explains why Halfon only mentions Antisemitism. See Baroness Varsi's 'abusive relationship' with the Conservatives at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/27/sayeeda-warsi-tory-islamophobia-muslim-prejudice-investigation
David Forman
2024-08-13 19:09:12
My apologies for the incorrect phonetic spelling of Warsi in my last comment.
Simon
2024-08-14 07:56:03
Was it a disabled man on a scooter!? Reading the comments above. We have an education issue. Does he know what the Nazis did with disabled people? These people need to pick up a book.
David Forman
2024-08-14 10:42:16
One positive sign is that some former Conservative ministers recognize the role their Government's rhetoric played in the riots. Lord Timothy Kirkhope, a former immigration minister, writes in The Guardian on August 10: "The current situation with levels of social unrest not experienced in this country for a very long time is deeply worrying. The role of divisive rhetoric, including by some from the previous (Tory) administration, has certainly not helped the situation. ‘Stop the boats’ has been one of the riot chants and that is a most unfortunate result.” Also, making immigration lawyers a target for the far-right is taken up by former Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt: "“And sometimes such tactics are positively dangerous, such as branding those who seek to use the law for a perfectly proper purpose with which you may disagree as ‘lefty lawyers’ and set in train a chain of events which makes attacking them or the law a target rather than dealing more effectively with serious issues while in government.” See Guardian article at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/aug/10/top-tories-fuelled-riots-divisive-language-immigration
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