Nandy: Protests must be safe but activists are ‘right’ to raise voices
In the UK, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy has been asked whether she thinks people are right to attend Black Lives Matter protests given the potential risk of coronavirus spreading.
She told the BBC’s Andrew Marr that she wanted people to protest safely, stressing the need for social distancing and taking other precautions, but insisted she was “very proud” of the young people coming out and “speaking up”.
She described her personal experience with racism in the UK and argued people needed to take an “active stance” against it.
She said: “You cannot be silent in the face of racism and police brutality and those young people are right to raise their voices and demand change.”
She criticised the “silence” from Prime Minister Boris Johnson and “the refusal of Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to comment” on the issue, saying it had “really upset people”.
Asked about the small number of violent incidents during protests in London, she said it was “completely wrong” to attack police officers and urged people to stop.
She warned such incidents could “dampen” the voices of those calling for change, particularly by distracting the media attention.
