Far-right extremists praise Braverman after controversial immigration speech

30 September 2023 , 18:31

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Home Secretary Suella Braverman (Image: PA)

Suella Braverman’s controversial speech on immigration has won praise – from far-right extremists.

The Home Secretary told an American audience that being discriminated against for being gay or a woman should not guarantee refugee status in the UK. Several Tory MPs said her remarks were “offensive, divisive and inaccurate”. But extremists aim to “capitalise” on them.

Neo-Nazi Mark Collett, who leads the Patriotic Alternative group, told his followers on X: “Suella Braverman has basically admitted multiculturalism has failed and that mass immigration is a threat to the West. What she said is a good thing for nationalism. We should capitalise on this... steer the conversation in the correct direction.”

Neo-Nazi Mark Collett (Getty Images)

Britain First leader Paul Golding “wholeheartedly endorsed” the comments, saying: “She is saying publicly what everyone at home is privately thinking. Britain First only wishes politicians like Braverman came to this logical conclusion decades earlier.”

In her Washington speech Ms Braverman warned the West faced an “existential” threat if countries were not able to control their borders.

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Joe Mulhall, of anti-fascist charity Hope Not Hate, said the speech is “a sign of how normalised far-right politics has become” in the Tories.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the speech was “truly shameful”. The Home Office declined to comment.

Nicola Small