Lord Hemer has put pressure on Kemi Badenoch after a top Tory MP described a public Islamic prayer event as intimidating and un-British.
The Attorney General, who is himself Jewish, asked for the Conservative leader and her Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy to clarify if they would object to a Jewish prayer event taking place in public.
In an interview with The Guardian, Lord Hermer said: “Nick Timothy has said mass prayer in public places is an act of ‘domination’.
“But when he and Kemi Badenoch were questioned about his appalling views, they seemed to only have an issue with Muslim events.
“Timothy and Badenoch’s comments beg the question – would they have a problem if I as a Jewish man, were praying in public?
“Or is it just Muslim prayer they find offensive, and contrary to ‘British values’?
“The Conservative Party, like Reform and Tommy Robinson, is seeking to divide Britain.
“Instead, they should be celebrating our brilliantly welcoming and diverse country.”
Lord Richard Hermer took aim at the Tories over the public prayer row
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PAMr Timothy, who was a leading opponent of West Midlands Police’s decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from Villa Park last November, faced fury from the Labour frontbench this week after labelling a Muslim prayer event at Trafalgar Square an “act of domination”.
The West Suffolk MP, who served as Theresa May’s joint chief of staff when she was Prime Minister, said: “Too many are too polite to say this, but mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination.
“The adhan [call to prayer] – which declares there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger – is, when called in a public place, a declaration of domination.”
Mr Timothy added: “I am not suggesting everybody at Trafalgar Square last night is an Islamist. But the domination of public places is straight from the Islamist playbook.
Thousands descended on Trafalgar Square to break their fast on Monday | X/MAYOROFLONDON
“It was an act of domination and therefore division. It shouldn’t happen again.”
The Ramadan event, which forms part of a series of “open iftar” events, brought an estimated 3,000 people to Trafalgar Square.
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, who is himself a practising Muslim, attended one of the events.
He also hit back at Mr Timothy, saying: “London is, and will always be, a place for everyone.”
Tory MP Nick Timothy, an Aston Villa fan, raged at police behaving at the ‘behest of Islamist agitators’ | HOUSE OF COMMONS
Sir Keir Starmer heaped pressure on Mrs Badenoch to sack her Shadow Justice Secretary at Prime Minister’s Questions this week.
Mr Timothy, who was appointed to the post following Robert Jenrick’s shock sacking and defection to Reform UK, was accused by the Prime Minister of echoing comments made by ex-English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson.
Sir Keir said: “Even Tommy Robinson, I can hardly believe I’m saying this, has said today that if the shadow justice secretary had made these hateful comments two years ago the Conservative Party would have kicked him out.
“Tommy Robinson isn’t some sort of moral signpost, he was pointing out how much their party has changed.
Sir Sadiq Khan hosted the Open Iftar event in Trafalgar Square on Monday | PA
“They’re more inclined to his views, and he’s right about that. The fact he’s sitting on her front bench shows she’s too weak and has got absolutely no judgement.”
Defending her Shadow Cabinet colleague, Mrs Badenoch said: “This is a country that has always tolerated minority faiths and allowed people, including people of ethnic minorities, to live freely.
“But this debate which Nick is having is not about freedom of religion. It is about how religion is expressed in a shared public space, and whether those expressions fit within the norms of a British culture.”
The Leader of the Opposition added: “As a woman, especially, and as a woman of an ethnic minority who grew up in a country where Islam was very visible, I’m very uncomfortable with seeing women pushed to the back, in the middle of Trafalgar Square.”