A Conservative police commissioner says a minister pressured her over a statement she made suggesting “mass uncontrolled immigration” was a factor behind last summer’s riots. The minister, whom the police chief declined to name, reportedly said that the disorder following the Southport attack by Axel Rudakubana had “nothing to do with immigration”.
Donna Jones, the police and crime commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said the minister called her and asked her to take her statement down. Ms Jones said she believes this shows Labour is “out of touch”. She also warned that further protests will happen unless the Government tightens up immigration.
According to The Times, she said: “Last summer I issued a statement urging the government to address the root causes of why people are protesting.
“After I put my statement out, on the same day, a Labour government minister called me and asked me to retract my statement saying it was misleading the public and causing community tensions.
“I told them that they were wrong and it was absolutely why people were protesting.
“Those are not scenes we ever want to see again. These protests will continue to happen unless the government takes serious and tangible action to stop the flow of immigration into the UK.”
Ms Jones also expressed concerns that planned protests this month against the use of hotels to house asylum seekers could escalate and “parts of the country risk falling into a state of lawlessness”.
She said people continue to be “concerned” about immigration numbers and the impact on local services.
“Community stability is a valid concern,” she said, according to The Times.”And those who are not concerned are rightly anxious about the unrest on their streets.”
“This won’t stop until people’s fears are addressed,” she added, while also warning policing was “stretched to the limit” and it was not feasible to expect the police to maintain public order.
Ms Jones was chairwoman Association of Police and Crime Commissioners when she made the comments last year and is now the Tory candidate for Mayor of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
Former chief crown prosecutor Nazir Afal criticised her remarks at the time, describing them as “totally unacceptable” and claimed she was “appearing to justify rioting and criminality that police officers are bravely having to deal with right now”, per The Times.
After the criticism, Ms Jones released another statement in which she praised the police and condemned “those acting outside the law”.
However, she didn’t back down from her position and said that while not justifying any violence, there was value in “understanding the views of those attending rallies who feel strongly but don’t cause disorder”.
Anti-immigration demonstrations and riots across the UK last summer were fuelled by online misinformation relating to the murder of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class by Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff.