The Conservative Party is being blamed for the online racist abuse some of England’s top football players have received following the team’s loss to Italy in last night’s UEFA Euro final.
A string of football icons, MPs and House of Lord Peers have called out Boris Johnson and certain members of his Cabinet for failing to condemn fans who previously jeered England’s players for ‘taking the knee’ before matches and the subsequent effect it has had.
Sayeeda Warsi, a Tory Peer, hit out at Priti Patel after the home secretary said earlier she was “disgusted that players who have given so much for our country this summer have been subject to vile racist abuse on social media”.
“Priti, we as govt, as Conservatives, need to think about our role in feeding this culture in our country. If we ‘whistle’ & the ‘dog’ reacts we cant be shocked if it barks & bites. It’s time to stop the culture wars that are feeding division,” Baroness Warsi tweeted, adding: “Dog whistles win votes but destroy nations.”
Meanwhile, England football pundit and former player Gary Neville went after the PM on Sky News. He questioned headlines claiming Mr Johnson “condemned racist abuse against England players” by asking the broadcaster: “Is that the same prime minister who, a few weeks ago, said it was okay for people to boo players who were trying to promote equality [by taking the knee]?”
Defaced Rashford mural decorated with messages of support
A mural of England footballer Marcus Rashford, which was vandalised in the early hours of this morning with racist graffiti, has been covered in messages of love and support by locals.
EastEnders to reference Euro final in Monday’s episode
Soap opera EastEnders will reference the Euro 2020 final in tonight’s episode, the BBC has said, with the scene first broadcast on BBC1 at 8.05pm.
It will then be “dropped into the BBC iPlayer episodes that went live this morning”, the broadcaster revealed.
“Although it’s only a small scene, with England’s performance in the Euros capturing the hearts of the nation over the past month it’s only right that the residents of Walford would be talking about last night’s historical match,” the show’s executive producer Jon Sen said.
The scene, which will feature Albert Square residents Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick), Kim Fox (Tameka Empson) and Bobby Beale (Clay Milner Russell), was written and filmed today.
‘A fire they poured petrol on’: Johnson and Patel condemned
Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have been branded “hypocrites” for condemning the racist abuse of England’s footballers, after their previous stances on tackling racism.
Labour seized on the prime minister and the home secretary having failed to support the team taking the knee before games – alleging they had given “license to the racists”.
The criticism came after the prime minister said England’s team should be “lauded as heroes, not racially abused”, tweeting: “Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick reports:
Government condemns England fans for trashing capital during match
The government has criticised England fans for storming Wembley Stadium without tickets and causing trouble in Trafalgar Square.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said: “Those scenes were unacceptable and we condemn violence, anti-social behaviour and abuse in the strongest possible terms.”
Asked whether the level of policing was adequate, the spokesman said: “As with all major policing operations there will be lessons to be learned.”
But he said the PM remains “confident” in Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick.
Labour MPs react to Tory hypocrisy on racism
Cross-party politicians, including Labour’s deputy leader and shadow justice secretary, have tweeted their anger at the Conservative Party.
No bank holiday for England reaching Euro final, says No 10
Downing Street has said a bank holiday is not being considered to celebrate England reaching the Euro 2020 final.
“We’ll be talking to the FA to identify a suitable way for the Prime Minister to thank the players and coaching staff for their efforts,” Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said.
“But a bank holiday is not something that is being considered.”
It comes after more than 300,000 people signed a petition calling on the PM to grant a one-off day off to mark the historic match between England and Italy on Sunday, which saw the latter win on penalties.
The number of signatures soared to this number in less than 24 hours since the petition was launched on Thursday.
Johnson and Patel should be ‘embarrassed and ashamed,’ says Labour
Shadow culture secretary Jo Stevens said if she was the PM or the home secretary she would be “embarrassed” and “probably ashamed” at the words they used and their conduct around players taking the knee.
When asked if she believed Boris Johnson was responsible for the action undertaken by some England fans on Sunday night, she told the BBC’s World at One programme: “I think that his words and his lack of action send a message to people who feel it’s okay to be racist.
“You can argue about whether there’s a direct causal link between the two but all of us in what we do, what we say, what we don’t do, there are consequences to that, particularly if you’re the prime minister and you’re in a position of such responsibility and leadership in the country.”
She then appeared on Times Radio, arguing that “criminal sanctions for senior executives” of social media platforms are needed to stop racist posts after the abuse of England’s penalty takers.
Tory MP apologises for comments about Rashford
A Tory MP has apologised after suggesting Marcus Rashford should have spent more time “perfecting his game” than “playing politics”.
Natalie Elphicke made the comment in a message to fellow MPs after the striker missed a penalty in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday night.
His failure to convert from the spot – along with misses from Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka – meant England lost to Italy in a penalty shootout.
Mr Rashford previously waged a high-profile campaign to persuade the government to provide free meals to vulnerable youngsters throughout the school holidays during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a late-night private message, Ms Elphicke said: “They lost – would it be ungenerous to suggest Rashford should have spent more time perfecting his game and less time playing politics?”
But the Dover MP apologised after the message was reported by GB News, saying: “I regret messaging privately a rash reaction about Marcus Rashford’s missed penalty and apologise to him for any suggestion that he is not fully focused on his football.
“Onwards to the World Cup and I look forward to Marcus Rashford’s contribution at that time.”
Recap: Here’s a reminder of what Gary Neville had to say about the PM
No 10 rejects claim PM’s ‘letterbox’ comments incited racism
Downing Street has rejected pundit Gary Neville’s accusation that Boris Johnson promoted racism by describing Muslim women as looking like “letterboxes” in a newspaper column before he became leader of the Conservative Party.
“I would utterly reject that claim. The prime minister set out this morning his response to some of the awful comments that we’ve seen,” Mr Johnson’s official spokesman said.
Asked about the former England footballer’s allegation that Mr Johnson and other ministers suggested it was fine to boo players taking the knee, the spokesman said simply this “is not accurate”.
“The prime minister was clear that he wanted to see everyone getting behind the team to cheer them on. He made that clear on the 11th, before England’s first game,” he added.
