Public Order

Fay Jones Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. I reiterate the point I made earlier: we have asked protest organisers to engage with the police. That way, anybody who wishes to express their views or opinions in the right way—in a socially distanced and legitimate way—can do so. We do not want the type of scenes we saw at the weekend, with mass protests and crowds of more than six people coming together and obviously not social distancing. We are in the midst of a pandemic and it is right that we all behave responsibly and communicate the message across all our communities that social distancing matters and can and will save lives and importantly that we continue to control this virus at this very delicate time.

[Fay Jones (Brecon and Radnorshire) (Con)]

My hon. Friend the Member for East Surrey (Claire Coutinho) quoted Martin Luther King on social media this morning when she said:

“in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace”.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the violence over the weekend undermines the essential message of Black Lives Matters, which must be heard?

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I have made the point repeatedly that the violence dominated what was for the majority a peaceful protest and subverted its very clear message. People were making their voices heard and articulating the injustices they see. There is no place for violence and it should not be tolerated.