Kemi Badenoch has accused Sir Keir Starmer of "cowing to the mob" over a response to the Black Lives Matter protest.
The Conservative leader told the speech at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference in ExCel, east London that the problem was not liberalism but instead "weakness".
The Labour leader posted the picture of him and deputy leader Angela Rayner kneeling on the floor of a meeting room in parliament, with the caption: "We kneel with all those opposing anti-Black racism. #BlackLivesMatter."
It came after George Floyd was killed after white officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes while arresting him in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25, 2020.
The Tory Party leader took a swipe at Keir Starmer
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Badenoch, speaking at the Arc Conference today, said: "Keir Starmer took the knee in response to a problem that did not happen in his country. Why? He was cowed by the mob. The problem was not liberalism but weakness."
The Conservative leader, who is under pressure in the polls from Nigel Farage's Reform UK, said: "The world argues about pronouns and DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion), this is not about kindness but about control.
"Every second debating what a woman is, is a second lost dealing with these real challenges we face as Western civilisation.
"I believe that loopholes in liberalism have been found and easily exploited. We have been hacked. The rule of law is what builds so much of the West...Our country is not racist we do not need to apologise and we do not need to give away the Chagos Islands."
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Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner
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Badenoch added: "Western civilisation is in crisis. Our ideas and cultures have dominated the world for well over two centuries. There is a crisis of confidence set in existential threats. I believe that loopholes in liberalism have been found and easily exploited. We have been hacked. The rule of law is what builds so much of the West.
"It is in the corruption of the rule of law itself that we see where the problems begin.
"The most extraordinary example is how the European Convention on Human Rights designed to stop the persecution of individuals by the state is now weaponised by those who wish to reroute on national identity and border security."
She added: "We were members of this convention for half a century without this madness. What has changed is not the values, it’s the people. They are afraid of creating any kind of conflict."
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch speaking during the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference
PA
Following the death of Floyd in 2020, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson addressed the Black Lives Matter protests at his cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, telling them there is "so much more to do in eradicating prejudice and creating opportunity".
In November 2023, Chauvin was stabbed 22 times by inmate John Turscak, while Chauvin was serving a 21-year sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights.
Chauvin’s sentence is running concurrently with a 22.5-year state sentence for the second-degree murder conviction he received in Minnesota court 2021.
