Robert Jenrick has outlined the first three ways Reform UK would crack down on Islamism across Britain if Nigel Farage wins the keys to No10 at the next election.
Sitting down on GB News with Camilla Tominey, Nigel Farage’s Treasury spokesman blasted the open-air iftar event in Trafalgar Square where women prayed behind the men.
Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy, who succeeded Mr Jenrick following his defection, argued the mass prayer event demonstrated an “act of domination”, while his leader Kemi Badenoch supported his view and told GB News she condemned the gendered segregation “as a woman”.
Agreeing with Mr Timothy, Mr Jenrick claimed he believed those praying were “trying to assert dominance of Islam” and the event itself was fundamentally “anti-British”.
“I don’t like women being forced or encouraged to cover themselves up. I do think that’s against our tradition as a country,” the Reform UK MP told Camilla.
“You know, I want women to be able to play a fulsome part in British society. But ultimately it’s up to women how they dress. And it’s up to individuals how they choose to worship in private.
“What’s very different here was that the mayor of London and the authorities in London allowed an event to happen in one of our most important public places, where women were segregated. I think that was anti-British.
“It shouldn’t have happened, and you can’t divorce it from the context of rising Islamism.”
The Reform MP vowed a Government led by Nigel Farage would crack down on extremism and outlaw ‘objectionable’ practices
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Mr Jenrick then outlined the three objectives of a Reform Government in their bid to clamp down on Islamism in the UK to Camilla, vowing:
- Zero tolerance on extremism of any kind;
- Ensuring the “most objectionable” practices are banned; and
- Take action to encourage effective integration and assimilation within communities.
Reform’s “zero tolerance” approach to extremism would include proscribing groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
So far, Labour has failed to proscribe both groups – despite the pair being outlawed by a number of Western and Middle Eastern nations alike.
Mr Jenrick added he would demand the deportation of imams preaching with immediate effect, even if they have dual citizenship.
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Politicians have claimed the Ramadan event signalled an ‘act of domination’
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GETTY
“If they’re solely British, then find ways under our hate law legislation of arresting them and sending them to prison,” he explained.
In terms of the “objectionable practices” to be banned, Mr Jenrick said such legislation would outlaw cousin marriage, for instance.
So far, Labour has drawn surmountable criticism for refusing to back a bill to ban first-cousin marriage, leaving the party open to criticism, even from across the pond.
Sarah Rogers, Donald Trump’s free speech boss, claimed No10’s refusal to ban the practice was a “civilisational” concern.
Tory MP Richard Holden initially introduced the legislation over concerns about the health risks – but Labour has said there are “no plans” to pursue the legislation.
Finally, Reform would seek to increase integration and assimilation in “ghettoised” communities – and that “everyone should be speaking English” and fighting against sectarian politics.
In data from 2021, England and Wales, the most common languages behind English were Polish, Romanian, Punjabi, and Urdu as of 2021.
Around 161,000 people (0.3 per cent of the population) admitted they could not speak English at all, while another 880,000 (1.5 per cent) could not speak it “well”.
However, these figures do not account for the subsequent rise in small boat crossings, with peaks in 2022 (45,774) and 2025 (more than 41,472).
Around 70 per cent of people who made the crossing between 2018 and 2024 come from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Albania, Syria, and Eritrea, the Migration Observatory found.