Protests at Aston Villa show growing sectarianism in the UK, warns Rees-Mogg
SIR Jacob Rees-Mogg has said protests at the Aston Villa football ground are a worrying sign of growing sectarianism in the UK.
Speaking on GB News, he said: “I don’t think the mob has won; the police seem to have it under control. I don’t think the mob can ever be allowed to win.
“But what I think is worrying is what this shows about our country and the sectarian nature of what has been happening recently, particularly obviously, since the 7th October 2023.
“And for some strange reason, a massacre of Jewish people in Israel has led to an extraordinary upsurge in support for Palestinian propaganda.
“The police, as I say, do seem to have it under control. I’m rather surprised; their horses are lit up like Christmas trees, which looks most peculiar, and I can’t think how that helps keep order.
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“But the mounted police are very experienced. They know what they’re doing. The police are very competent at maintaining order when they’re there in time, and they clearly knew this was going to happen.
“Six arrests isn’t an enormous number. It’s not as many people have been arrested at other protests so one’s got to look at it proportionately.
“But I am worried that we’ve got sectarian Members of Parliament, we’ve got sectarian protests in a country that has been very gentle in recent decades over the sectarian issue, very at peace with itself, and I think it’d be a great pity if that were to change.
“I don’t think this is about football at all. Indeed, if it were about football, you wouldn’t be asking me, would you? That’s not something I know very much about.
“So I think it is clearly about the pro-Palestinian argument, which has been put increasingly aggressively and has been intimidating Jewish people in this country over the last couple of years.
“And Jewish people are feeling increasingly uncomfortable, and that is a serious problem. And that we have elected sectarian Members of Parliament is deeply worrying.”
