Sir Keir Starmer sparks outrage as poppy mysteriously disappears for Islamophobia speech
Sir Keir Starmer has provoked fury after appearing to remove his poppy for a video on Islamophobia earlier this week
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Sir Keir Starmer has provoked fury after appearing to remove his poppy for a video on Islamophobia earlier this week.
The Labour leader was seen in the same suit and tie for the video as he was wearing while giving speech earlier on the Israel-Gaza crisis.
After being criticised by leftwing and Muslim party members for refusing to support a ceasefire, he then produced a video on Islamophobia awareness month.
Some social media users have slammed his clip as a contemptuous attempt to make amends with Muslim communities over his Israel policy.
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It comes as a pro-Palestine "million-person" march has been organised on Remembrance Day in London.
Starmer has sparked concerns that his failure to wear a poppy could be seen as "a greenlight" for protesters planning on causing chaos in the capital.
Labour has stressed that Starmer did not remove the poppy for the purposes of the video but have refused to comment on the reasons it was not present.
Retired Parachute Regiment Major and author Levison Wood told GB News: “Keir Starmer should explain why he has worn a poppy in front of one group of people, but taken it off in front of another.
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"If he genuinely believes in what the poppy represents, he should wear it all the time, not take it off depending on who he is speaking to.“
Claire Fox has also hit out at the “cynical” timing of Starmer’s message calling for more action on Islamophobia in Britain.
Speaking on GB News, Baroness Fox hit out at Starmer as he addressed the issue at a time where “anti-Jewish hatred” is “being normalised”.
“At a time where we’re seeing genuine racism on the streets of the UK in relation to anti-Semitism, up pops Keir Starmer to say the big issue is the massive rise in Islamophobia”, she said.
There are a growing number of people participating in pro-Palestine protestsGETTYFollowing the move, the Labour leader has been condemned as "disrespectful".
"Sir Keir is disrespecting veterans and those who fought and paid with their lives for the freedoms he and all of us enjoy today," Dudley North Conservative MP Marco Longhi told the Express.
"It also shows how he is quite prepared to give different messages to different groups of people.
"This is the person who wants to be our Prime Minister."
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