Saqib Bhatti
Main Page: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)Department Debates - View all Saqib Bhatti's debates with the Home Office
Maccabi Tel Aviv FC: Away Fans Ban
Saqib Bhatti Excerpts(1 day, 6 hours ago)
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Sarah Jones
We were not fully briefed in advance of the decision; we were told when the decision was made. As we have already said, we knew that options were being considered. This is the way in which these processes work: a safety advisory group makes recommendations, and the local authority responds accordingly. In response to what has happened, we are asking the inspector to look at the safety advisory groups and tell us whether we need to make some changes.
Saqib Bhatti (Meriden and Solihull East) (Con)
As vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group against antisemitism, I can attest to the fact that many British Jews do not feel safe, especially in Birmingham. I take the Minister at her word that she takes this very seriously. When I stood up and spoke about the issue, I received torrents of abuse for doing so, but I did so because I thought it was clear that the decision was wrong: it was bad for the people of the west midlands, bad for Aston Villa fans, bad for British Muslims—some of whom wrote to me expressing concern that they had been dragged into it—and, of course, terrible for British Jews.
The Minister said that she could not comment on the evidence having been made up. Has she read the Dutch report, does she knowledge that the stories over the weekend have further upset British Jews, and will she ensure that West Midlands police are held to account?
Sarah Jones
The hon. Gentleman is right to say that there are Jews in this country who do not feel safe. In Croydon we have a small community who visit a synagogue very close to my house, and I have spoken to them many times about how they feel. It is true that people do not want to go into central London at weekends, which should be completely unacceptable to all of us. We are reviewing the public order legislation to establish how we can balance people’s right to express their views and protest in a way that is appropriate with the reality of the impact that that has had over quite a long period.
I am aware of the matters that the hon. Gentleman has raised about the information. I have written to West Midlands police to ask them a series of questions, and I do not want to comment until I have those responses. I know that the Home Affairs Committee has written to them as well.