Whilst on BBC Politics Live, Nadia Whittome MP refused to condemn protestors who attacked and stormed a Bristol police station, which resulted in serious injuries for at least one police officer.
“I am not going to get into condemning protesters when we don’t know what has happened yet”
Labour MP Nadia Whittome is asked about violent protests in Bristol #politicslive https://t.co/bu2KRDkIiV pic.twitter.com/5zPSN5xp0Z
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) March 22, 2021
Today, BBC Politics Live was discussing a variety of topics, one of which was the assault on the Bristol police station that took place yesterday.
The “Kill The Bill” protest very quickly turned into a riot, which has resulted in multiple officers with broken bones, including broken ribs for one officer, according to the BBC. The Daily Express also writes that: “Two officers were taken to hospital with serious injuries, and one of whom has suffered a collapsed lung, it has emerged.”
The event was condemned by many people, including Home Secretary Priti Patel, who tweeted out a condemnation of the attack:
Unacceptable scenes in Bristol tonight.
Thuggery and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated.
Our police officers put themselves in harms way to protect us all.
My thoughts this evening are with those police officers injured.
— Priti Patel MP (@pritipatel) March 21, 2021
BBC Politics Live presenter Jo Coburn asked privately educated Labour MP for Nottingham East Nadia Whittome: “Do you want to condemn the violence?”
Whittome responded by stating: “I don’t want to see violence against anybody”, which prompted Coburn to re-iterate the question: “Do you condemn it?”
Whittome once again did not condemn the protest and wished those injured a speedy recovery, before adding: “I’m not going to get into the business of condemning protestors until we know exactly what’s happened”.
It had been mentioned earlier by Coburn that other figures in the Labour Party such as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had condemned the attack.
She then pressed the issue further, however, and stated: “If you’re condemning the violence, you do have to condemn some of those people we can see quite clearly from the pictures…”, finishing with: “Do you want to just straightforwardly say that was wrong?”
Whittome returned to her previous response by re-stating: “I don’t want to see violence perpetrated against anybody and I wish everybody who’s been harmed a speedy recovery.”
She subsequently reiterated her point on refusing to condemn protestors and called for a “full investigation” into what had happened, looking at both sides which is “the function of a democratic society”, Whittome concluded.
