Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has warned "our democracy itself is a target" for extremists and "there are forces here at home trying to tear us apart" as he addressed the nation from Downing Street. The prime minister warned there were forces “at home trying to tear us apart’’ adding "we must face them down".
It comes just hours after the victory of George Galloway in the Rochdale by-election, which Sunak described as "beyond alarming".
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It comes just hours after the victory of George Galloway in the Rochdale by-election, which Sunak described as "beyond alarming".
Report by Kennedyl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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NewsTranscript
00:00 In recent weeks and months we've seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality.
00:06 What started as protests on our streets has descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence.
00:14 Jewish children fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveal their identity.
00:20 Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with.
00:26 Now our democracy itself is a target.
00:30 Council meetings and local events have been stalled.
00:34 MPs do not feel safe in their homes.
00:37 Long-standing parliamentary conventions have been upended because of safety concerns.
00:43 And it is beyond alarming that last night the Wachdow Bar election returned a candidate
00:49 who dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7th,
00:53 who glorifies Hezbollah and is endorsed by Nick Griffin, the racist former leader of the BNP.
01:01 I need to speak to you all this evening because this situation has gone on long enough
01:07 and demands a response not just from government but from all of us.
01:12 And I say this to the police. We will back you when you take action.
01:17 But if we are asking more of the police, we in government must also back up that call with action.
01:24 To that end, this month the government will implement a new, robust framework for how it deals with this issue
01:32 to ensure that we are dealing with the root causes of this problem
01:36 and that no extremist organisations or individuals are being lent legitimacy
01:41 by their actions and interactions with central government.
01:45 You cannot be part of our civic life if your agenda is to tear it down.
01:51 We will redouble our support for the Prevent programme to stop young minds being poisoned by extremism.
01:58 We will demand that universities stop extremist activity on campus.
02:02 We will also act to prevent people entering this country whose aim is to undermine its values.
02:09 The Home Secretary has instructed that if those here on visas choose to spew hate,
02:15 protest or seek to intimidate people, we will remove their right to be here.
02:21 And our Britain must not be a country in which we descend into polarised camps,
02:28 with some communities living parallel lives.
02:32 It is not enough to live side by side, we must live together, united by shared values
02:39 and a shared commitment to this country.
02:43 And I want to speak directly to those who choose to continue to protest.
02:48 Don't let the extremists hijack your marches.
02:52 You have a chance in the coming weeks to show that you can protest decently, peacefully
02:57 and with empathy for your fellow citizens.
03:00 Let us prove these extremists wrong and show them that even when we disagree,
03:06 we will never be disunited from our common values of decency and respect.
03:12 If we do that, we can build on our great achievement in creating today's Britain,
03:19 a country of kind, decent, tolerant people.
03:24 We can make this a country in which we all feel a renewed sense of pride.
03:29 This is our home.
03:32 So let us go forward together, confident in our values and confident in our future.