Matt Lucas condemns ‘prejudice’ in Britain as Jewish actor speaks out for first time since being harassed by Pro-Palestine activist at London Tube station
Matt Lucas has condemned ‘prejudice’ in Britain after the Jewish actor was harassed by a pro-Palestine activist.
In his first comments since being followed, filmed and pestered by Islamic convert Thomas Abdullah Bourne, the Little Britain star said we ‘have a duty’ to educate people about antisemitism.
Speaking at a charity event for the ’45 Aid Society, set up to support child Holocaust survivors in Britain, he said he did not want to comment publicly on the incident but revealed he still believes ‘innately in the goodness of people in Britain’.
He added: ‘Prejudice comes through a lack of education, and we have a duty to educate people about what happened.’
His remarks came days after two Jewish men were stabbed in a terrorist attack in Golders Green, and after a series of antisemitic attacks which have been branded ‘a national emergency’.
Mr Lucas spoke alongside television presenter and barrister Rob Rinder, who said he was confronted by a child shouting ‘Heil Hitler’ at him in Soho in the aftermath of the Golders Green attack.
The actor was harassed by Mr Bourne, 39, a 6’11”, fundraising consultant from East London as he rode an elevator on the Tube in February.
Mr Bourne, who changed his name from Thomas Edward Oliver Heather in tribute to the fictional spy and assassin Jason Bourne, shouted, ‘Free Palestine’ at Mr Lucas before asking, ‘You don’t like what I’m wearing, do you?’ – referring to his keffiyeh.
Thomas Abdullah Bourne posted a video showing him pestering Matt Lucas on the London Underground and shouting, ‘Free Palestine. Free Palestine, Matt Lucas’
Mr Bourne (right), 39, a Islamic convert who uses the social media handle ‘White British Muslim’. (Pictured wearing a ‘keffiyah’ with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn)
The comedian rarely speaks about the Israel-Palestine conflict and Mr Bourne filmed himself harassing Mr Lucas, whose family fled Nazi Germany, seemingly solely on the basis of his Jewish heritage.
Mr Bourne has become a well-known face amongst pro-Palestinian protest groups in London and been pictured at rallies with Jeremy Corbyn and Bob Vylan frontman Pascal Robinson-Foster.
In the video showing his exchange with the comedian, which Mr Bourne proudly posted online, he goads the actor while following him up an escalator.
As he realises he is being filmed, the Little Britain star attempts to block his face with his right hand.
Mr Bourne then shouts ‘Free Palestine. Free Palestine, Matt Lucas’ to the celebrity comic.
The tall ginger man, who uses the social media handle ‘White British Muslim’, later revealed he lost his job as a fundraising consultant as a direct result of the incident.
He gave an interview to sympathetic online publisher PoliticsJoe, in which he seemed unrepentant about the harassment, and appeared to suggest Mr Lucas was responsible for starting the altercation for disapproving his clothes.
He said: ‘I was going up the escalator and looked to my side and saw someone giving me an uncomfortable even hostile look and I realised it was Matt Lucas.
‘My instant reaction – as anyone’s would be who was going to confront someone – was to pull out my camera phone and shout “Free Palestine! Free Palestine!”
‘As a result of that video and a subsequent Daily Mail article I actually lost my job.’
The clip showed Mr Bourne continuing to harass the TV comic by asking ‘you don’t like what I’m wearing, do you?’ – referring to his keffiyeh.
He then goes on to ask the comic, ‘You’ve got a problem with Palestinians, Matt?’ to which ambushed Mr Lucas responds a simple, ‘No’.
Mr Bourne has become a well-known face amongst pro-Palestinian protest groups in London. (Pictured with Bob Vylan frontman Pascal Robinson-Foster)
In other pictures, the tall, ginger-haired man (centre) is seen linking arms with other protesters while wearing a t-shirt that reads ‘stop the genocide, end apartheid, free Palestine’
As Mr Lucas walks away, Bourne accuses him of being a ‘Zionist’ – but the activist claimed he was trying ‘to be the bigger man’ ‘by ‘walking away’ after the altercation.
After the video went viral, an estranged family member told the Daily Mail: ‘It does not surprise me that he has done something stupid. If I ever see him again, it will be too soon.’
Antisemitism has surged across Britain and in recent weeks, a string of disturbing incidents have rocked the capital, including fires at Jewish sites and a double stabbing in Golders Green.
Counter-terrorism officers are also investigating a suspected arson attack at a former synagogue in Whitechapel.
On Wednesday, the Met Police said it had set up a new unit of 100 police officers to defend London’s Jewish communities as police chief Sir Mark Rowley described the spate of attacks as a ‘pandemic’ of antisemitism.
