Theresa May’s former right-hand man who is set to win a seat in next year’s General Election has published a new manifesto to crack down on racial Islamism in Britain, including bold proposals to ban the burqa and deport foreigners spreading “Islamist ideology”.
Nick Timothy, who served as Downing Street Chief of Staff, published the radical blueprint in a column last night.
He spends much of the piece blasting the policing of recent pro-Palestine protests in London, which he says are “despicable” given they were sparked not by Israel’s fightback in Gaza, but by Hamas’ initial bloody attack against Jews.
The prospective Tory MP argues that many marching in London at the weekend are protesting for “hatred, not peace”.
He said: “Many of those attending the protests are unembarrassed about supporting the rape and murder of Israeli civilians. Some were content to cry ‘Allahu akbar!’ and chant for ‘jihad’, a term that the police are eager to explain might sometimes mean a peaceful inner struggle.
“Some shouted ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’, a genocidal demand to destroy the state of Israel and cleanse the territory of its Jews.”
Responding to the scenes over recent weeks, the former Home Office advisor says the extremism we’re now seeing on the streets of Britain calls for a complete overhaul of the Government’s current assumptions about diversity and multiculturalism.
He argues that our “pragmatic, informal, light-touch” approach no longer holds: “The diminished commitment to shared norms and our weaker common identity means there is less social trust to sustain our freedoms in the conventional way.”
In a bold list of policy proposals to reinforce British norms, Mr Timothy says the Government must implement a “more muscular approach”.
He calls for a “register of imams and mosques, with unacceptable behaviour leading to preaching bans and closures”.
He also suggests Britain should follow France’s example and ban the burqa in public places, and ban children from wearing the hijab.
Mr Timothy argues TV channels that broadcast hatred must be shut down, as well as charities that espouse extremist beliefs.
The Tory candidate for West Suffolk – currently Matt Hancock’s constituency – adds that all Sharia law must come to an end in Britain and Sharia marriages criminalised.
He denies that his policy prescriptions amount “to picking on the Islamic faith”.
Mr Timothy argues the “problem we face emanates from the Islamic world”, and “nothing will change until we tell ourselves the truth”.
West Suffolk currently has a Tory majority of 23,000, so it’s likely Mr Timothy will succeed in winning his seat regardless of Labour’s national poll lead.
