Suella Braverman issues scathing verdict on ‘mass extremism’ after confronting pro-Gaza protest camps: ‘Makes me ashamed to be British!’
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has claimed that Britain “has a problem with mass extremism”, after confronting pro-Gaza protesters at a camp in Cambridge.
Joining GB News presenter Patrick Christys, Braverman said she was met with a “wall of silence” after attempting to gather the views of those camping out at the city’s university.
Braverman said that what she saw in Cambridge is a “certain kind of thuggery, intimidation and harassment” whereby “one group is allowed a megaphone to blast out abusive messaging”, and another group “just has to shut up and put up”.
As the former Home Secretary walked around Cambridge with Patrick, Braverman was met with boos and protesters capturing the moment on their smartphones but refused to speak to the politician.
Sharing her views on the October 7 attack and the fallout of protests across Britain, Braverman told GB News: “I’ve been very vocal over the last six months about my views both as Home Secretary and subsequently after.
“The acts of October 7 by Hamas were brutal and murderous, and Israel has a legitimate right to defend itself, and its military action in Gaza is justified legally and actually, morally.”
Braverman also revealed she has a “personal interest” in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the growing protests, as her “husband is Jewish”.
However, she admitted: “But I also am genuinely interested in what the other side of the debate says.”
Criticising the silence that met Braverman by the students protesting in their camp, Patrick stated that they were “never going to have a better chance to see somebody like yourself” at their protest.
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Braverman explained: “I’m not a shrinking violet. I see being elected to Parliament as a privilege. People put their trust in me to go to Parliament, and they expect a level of courage and bravery on their behalf.
“And I want to inquire, I want to find out, I want to question, I want to engage in a reasonable and rational and respectful way with people who might disagree with me.”
Highlighting the issue of extremist protesting across the country, Braverman continued: “Britain is in a really worrying state. We’ve got a really big problem in this country, as I’ve coined it, mass extremism on our streets.
“We’ve seen through these marches, not everybody on these marches, but a large number of people engage in antisemitism, racism, intimidation, thuggery, and harassment. And members of the Jewish community feel terrified in the UK in the 21st century. And that makes me ashamed to be British.”
Defending the right to peaceful protest, Braverman argued that she “supports the right to peaceful protest”, but objects to “when that expression crosses a line into racism, intimidation and criminal behaviour”.
Braverman told Patrick: “When you’ve got Jewish students feeling intimidated, not feeling able to express their views or express their faith, then we’ve got a real problem and we’ve got a climate of fear.
“And the university authorities need to step in and discipline and stop unacceptable behaviour.”