Exclusive: Richard Hermer, who is Jewish, says Tory leader and shadow minister seem ‘to only have an issue with Muslim events’
Richard Hermer, the attorney general, has challenged Kemi Badenoch to say whether she would object to Jewish prayer in public, after the Conservative leader backed one of her shadow ministers who said an Islamic prayer event was intimidating and un-British.
Hermer, one of the UK’s most prominent Jewish politicians, said Badenoch’s decision to support the views of Nick Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, put her on a par with Reform UK and Tommy Robinson, the far-right activist.
After an event to mark Ramadan took place on Monday evening in London’s Trafalgar Square, Timothy posted images of mass prayers taking place, saying such an action in a public space was “an act of domination” and “straight from the Islamist playbook”.
Asked about her support for Timothy on Thursday, Badenoch said any public expressions of religion should “fit within the norms of a British culture”, and criticised the way men and women were separated for the Ramadan prayers, with men nearer the stage and women farther behind.
