- Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that he would not kneel in support of racial equality.
- Opposition leader of the Labor Party, Keir Starmer, knelt in support of the Black Lives Matter movement earlier this month.
- But the UK Prime Minister said he would not be “intimidated” to do the same.
- “I don’t believe in gestures, I believe in substance,” Johnson told LBC radio station.
- He acknowledged not having appointed black people to his cabinet.
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will not be “intimidated” to kneel in support of the protests for racial equality because “I do not believe in gestures.”
The opposition Labor Party leader, Keir Starmer, was photographed in June kneeling in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Speaking on LBC radio on Friday morning, Johnson said he would not do the same because “I don’t believe in gestures, I believe in substance.”
The UK Prime Minister added that he would not be “intimidated” to participate.
“I don’t want people to be intimidated into doing things that they don’t necessarily want to do,” he told LBC’s Nick Ferrari.
Kneeling was associated with global protests after the murder of George Floyd, at least in part, because that was how NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick quietly protested police brutality and racial inequality before the games. the NFL in the 2016 season.
Johnson also said it was wrong that some police officers had knelt during the recent protests, however, adding that they had felt pressured.
The prime minister was also pressured by the fact that he had not designated any black people for his cabinet. The only black member of Johnson’s senior team was eliminated after last year’s general election.
Johnson replied that “I raised my hands” on the issue and promised to do more to form a representative government in the future.
Watch Boris Johnson refuse to kneel:
—LBC News (@LBCNews) July 3, 2020
