‘Mob rule’ replacing democracy in Britain, warns PM Sunak
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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said a new policing protocol would help ensure the safety of lawmakers, some of whom have suffered intimidation and abuse over Israel's war against Hamas.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Britain is descending into “mob rule” and the police will do more to protect the country’s democracy, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Feb 28, after the government announced extra funding to keep lawmakers safe.
Many British lawmakers said the abuse directed at them has intensified since the Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza,
Last week, Parliament descended into chaos as tensions flared over a vote on Gaza, with the House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle citing “frightening” threats against lawmakers for a decision to break with usual parliamentary procedure.
“There is a growing consensus that mob rule is replacing democratic rule. And we’ve got to collectively, all of us, change that urgently,” Mr Sunak said, at a meeting with the police chiefs on Feb 28, according to remarks released by his office.
“We simply cannot allow this pattern of increasingly violent and intimidatory behaviour which is, as far as anyone can see, intended to shout down free debate and stop elected representatives doing their job. That is simply undemocratic.”
Earlier, the Interior Ministry announced funding worth £31 million (S$53 million) to provide additional security for lawmakers and other officials.
Mr Sunak said a new Democratic Policing Protocol would commit to extra patrols and make clear that protests at the homes of elected representatives should be treated as intimidatory.
It also makes clear that from now on, the police should take a “consistent and robust approach... to protect our democratic processes from intimidation, disruption, from subversion”, he said. REUTERS
