“They were shamelessly trying to turn tragedy into yet another excuse to whip up fear and sew division.”
An MP used an intervention in Parliament to hit out at the Reform politicians and ‘hard right’ figures for using the Huntingdon train attack for ‘political gain’ and to ‘whip up fear’.
Lib Dem home affairs spokesperson Max Wilkinson told MPs that the right-wing politicians’ speculation over the race and ethnicity of the perpetrator had incited racist comments.
Wilkinson added that they used the knife attack which took place at Huntingdon, on the Doncaster-London LNER service, to “shamelessly [try] to turn tragedy into yet another excuse to whip up fear and sew division”.
The Lib Dem MP’s powerful intervention came after the shadow home secretary Chris Philp made a speech linking the attack on Saturday night to a recent killing by an asylum seeker.
Philp said more people carrying knives should be sent to prison. He then acknowledged that there is pressure on prison places, but said: “by deporting more of the 10,000 foreign nationals in prison, we could create more space”.
The suspect of the knife attack, Anthony Williams, has been charged with 11 counts of attempted murder. There was lots of speculation on social media about Williams’ ethnicity and race. It has since been revealed Williams was born in the UK.
Witnesses described the man as appearing agitated, incoherent, and in visible distress in the run-up to the train attack. This has raised questions about whether mental health or safeguarding support could have been offered before the incident.
Wilkinson said: “In the immediate aftermath of these sort of attacks, within hours, social media is flooded with speculation over the ethnicity and race of the perpetrator, inciting racist and Islamophobic comments.”
He went on to say that when communities were “still reeling” from the horrific attack, “certain political figures on the hard right, including members of the Reform Party, were already seeking to exploit the incident for political gain.”
The Lib Dem MP for Cheltenham added: “They threw around baseless opinions on levels of crime, when facts were available. They were shamelessly trying to turn tragedy into yet another excuse to whip up fear and sew division”.
“The shadow home secretary’s comments today also veered into that realm. Never is an opportunity to blame foreigners missed. That is beneath contempt,” he said.
Philp, who did not like being called out for divisive rhetoric, said: “I did not blame foreigners, withdraw that!”.
Wilkinson ignored Philp, and said: “At moments like this, those who aspire to leadership must calm fears and attempt to unite, not inflame tensions.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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