The former member for Bristol Central expressed her “distraught” over the riots that broke out across the country at the beginning of this month.
Before the election was called, Ms. Debbonaire, the shadow culture minister in Sir Keir’s shadow cabinet, stated that she wanted people to “name these riots as race riots” because she was a “mixed race woman”.
Ms. Debbonaire stated on Beth Rigby’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast: “I wanted people to label these riots as racial riots because it felt like a different era had returned. These were not riots against immigration. Racists carried out these disturbances.”
Online, false reports said the suspect was an asylum seeker who had come to the UK via sea.
Sir Keir called the rioters “far right” and denounced the “gang of thugs” who were contributing to the chaos as the rioting grew more violent.
“People in this country have a right to be safe, and yet we’ve seen attacks on mosques and targeting of Muslim communities,” he said in a TV speech. Yes, I won’t hesitate to label it as far-right thuggery given the other minority communities that have been singled out, the Nazi salutes made in public, the attacks on the police, and the wanton violence combined with racist speech.”
