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A war of words has erupted after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab criticized Labor’s Diane Abbott this morning for defending Extinction Rebellion activists who blocked newspaper presses on Friday.
Abbott compared Extinction Rebellion to suffragettes and criticized the government’s plans to reclassify the activists as an organized crime gang.
His comments come after a public outcry after XR’s action on Friday, in which protesters attacked Newsprinters’ printing houses in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire and Knowsley near Liverpool, blocking the outlet of Deposits Day newspapers. .
However, Raab has criticized Ms Abbott and criticized XR’s actions.
He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge: ‘I’m blown away by Diane Abbott’s comments. The idea that it is right to damage property or intervene with a free press in the name of progressive protest is, I think, perverse.
‘Actually, I think it is detrimental to the cause of climate change.
‘I respect the right to peaceful protest, but hijacking it with a militant agenda to interrupt the very heart of the democratic debate, which is through free media, is totally wrong and we are against it, and I believe that police action should be taken to preserve our broader freedoms, and include free media. ‘
Abbott previously defended the protest, saying that direct action is a “legal tactic” and added that it would be “ridiculous” for the government to reclassify Extinction Rebellion.
Abbott told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday: ‘They are not criminals, they are protesters and activists in the tradition of the suffragettes and hunger marches of the 1930s.’
Following the stunt, Home Secretary Priti Patel said she wants to “take a fresh look” at how XR is classified under the law, while Boris Johnson called the act “completely unacceptable.”
A possible review could lead to XR being treated as an organized criminal group, the sources said, as part of a crackdown on its activities, which have included paralyzing cities across the UK by forming human barriers along the lines. main roads and disruption of public traffic. transport.
Dominic Raab criticized Labor’s Diane Abbott for defending Extinction Rebellion activists who blocked newspaper printers
Labor Diane Abbott defended the protest, saying direct action is a ‘legal tactic’, adding that it would be ‘ridiculous’ for the government to reclassify Extinction Rebellion.
Protesters from Extinction Rebellion blocked the entrance to Newsprinters in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, meaning that some national newspapers did not make it to the stands today
However, his words were not supported by Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats.
He said Extinction Rebellion protesters “shot themselves in the foot” following the blockade of newspaper presses on Friday night.
When asked on the Sky News program Sophy Ridge on Sunday if she agreed with Ms Abbott’s assessment that the demonstrations had been legitimate, she said: ‘No … I think we should unite the country to realize that we have a climate emergency along with the Covid health and economic emergency.
‘My concern with what we saw was that it actually divides people, it may undermine the message about the climate emergency.
“I fear that when the free press in particular is damaged, it is shooting itself in the foot.
‘There was an interview with David Attenborough in one of those newspapers that was not distributed: David Attenborough is the quintessential environmentalist, he has a lot to say about climate change and how we protect our environment.
“I think stopping reading David Attenborough is not a good message.”
Under additional proposals, Parliament, the courts and the press could be given special status with respect to the key role they play in democracy, with the possibility of empowering the police to prevent protesters from entering areas designated outside said premises.
“It would be illegal to prevent deputies from voting or judges to go to court and it would also protect freedom of the press,” said a government source.
It comes after more than 100 protesters used vehicles and bamboo locks to block roads outside the Newsprinters works on Friday night, and both protests continued through Saturday afternoon.
The lockdown prevented delivery vans from leaving the printers that publish the titles of Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp, including The Sun, The Times, The Sun On Sunday and The Sunday Times, as well as The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph. Daily Mail and Mail On. Sunday.
The Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN) said the protests had affected home delivery operations, including the “elderly and vulnerable”, and that its members had to deal with “angry customers.”
Merseyside police said they had arrested 30 people, while Hertfordshire police said they had arrested 50 people.
XR apologized to newsstands for the disruption, but added that he would not apologize to Murdoch, asking him to “ stop suppressing the truth about the climate crisis and benefit from the division your newspapers create. ”
Responding to Ms Patel’s criticism that her actions were an ‘attack on our free press’, XR said:’ Our free press, society and democracy are under attack, by a failed government that constantly lies to us, is it’s getting more and more authoritarian and it’s leading us towards 4 degrees of warming. ‘
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden condemned XR’s actions as “ idiots, ” while Cabinet colleagues including Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick urged people to buy a newspaper to support the industry, which has been severely affected by a decline in advertising revenue during the pandemic.
Jo Stevens, Labor Party shadow secretary for culture, said: ‘A free press is vital to our democracy. People have the right to read the newspapers they want.
More than 30 arrests have been made after the blockades. A second settled in Knowsley, near Liverpool.
“Preventing them from being distributed and the printers doing their job is wrong.”
But in a now-deleted tweet, Labor MP Dawn Butler appeared to praise XR, writing: ‘Bravo £ ExtinctionRebellion. Excellent work…’
Police said no arrests were made after XR protesters held a rally near Motherwell with the aim of disrupting distribution of the Scottish Sun newspaper on Saturday.
There was a large police presence in central London on Saturday when XR organized more protests.
