Starmer pulled out of a Ramadan event when he was ‘sucking up’ to UK Jews, claims Badenoch
Tory leader raises fact Keir Starmer once pulled out of event organised by same group responsible for staging Ramadan prayers in Trafalgar Square
Keir Starmer had been “sucking up” to the Jewish community when he pulled out of an event organised by the same group responsible for organising last weekend’s Ramadan iftar event in Trafalgar Square, Kemi Badenoch has claimed.
The Conservative Party leader accused the Prime Minister of the “mother of all hypocrisy” after he condemned shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy’s outburst, which suggested the prayer event in the capital was “an act of domination”.
Badenoch issued her latest attack on the PM after she was asked to explain her own party’s objection to a Muslim prayer event taking place outside in the iconic location.
Tory Party chairman said there was an issue with outside religious prayer in the location, while a spokesperson for Badenoch said it was an issue about segregation, with women excluded from the iftar.
Badenoch said that her party was in favour of the freedom of religion, 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 British culture,” she added, saying that she felt uncomfortable seeing women excluded from the main prayer space.
But speaking to reporters, Badenoch also recalled how Starmer had pulled out of anevent in 2021, organised by the Ramadan Tent Project.
The then leader of the opposition pulled out after the Board of Deputies (BoD) alerted him to the organisers’ previous comments on Twitter, including links to the Friends of Al Aqsa organsation.
Badenoch alleged that at the time, Starmer was “sucking up” to the Jewish community, and accused him of “the mother of all hypocrisy” with his stance now.
The PM has called for Badenoch to sack Timothy over his remarks, and said the Tory Party has “a problem with Muslims.”
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