Rishi Sunak asserted that Britain is descending into “mob rule,” amidst the U.K. prime minister’s announcement of a fresh crackdown on protests amid the conflict in Gaza.
During a gathering with regional police chiefs on Wednesday evening, Rishi Sunak, facing pressure from his Conservative Party to adopt a firmer stance towards protesters, remarked,
“There is a growing consensus that mob rule is replacing democratic rule.”
“And we’ve got to collectively, all of us, change that urgently,” Sunak said, according to remarks released by No. 10 Downing Street.
While not explicitly targeting any specific group, the prime minister’s remarks come amidst escalating tensions in the U.K. since the October 7 attacks by Hamas, which ignited the conflict in Gaza.
Concerns have been raised by some Members of Parliament regarding their safety following pro-Palestinian demonstrations outside their residences and an uptick in death threats.
Sunak has called upon police leaders to utilize existing powers to clamp down on protests deemed to overstep boundaries.
Additionally, he introduced a new “Defending Democracy Policing Protocol” for law enforcement to adhere to.
The document proposes that protests outside the residences of elected officials should essentially be prohibited, as they are typically viewed as intimidatory in nature.
“We simply cannot allow this pattern of increasingly violent and intimidatory behavior which is, as far as anyone can see, intended to shout down free debate and stop elected representatives doing their job,” Sunak said.
Amnesty International condemned the prime minister’s language, stating that Sunak’s stance risked undermining the right to protest.
“Talk of ‘mob rule’ wildly exaggerates the issue and risks delegitimizing the rights of peaceful protest,” Tom Southerden, Amnesty’s U.K.’s law and human rights director, said.
