Activists attacked at Reform convention demand Robert Jenrick apologise for ‘trivialising violence’
Reform UK’s economic spokesperson Robert Jenrick said of the demonstrators: “Oh boohoo. Get a life. You take your chances if you go to a party conference and try to mess it up”
Robert Jenrick said he was not sympathetic toward the demonstrators who were attacked at the conference (Image: Phil Lewis/SOPA Images/Shutterstock)
Climate activists who were attacked when disrupting the Reform UK conference have demanded an apology from Robert Jenrick, saying he ‘trivialised’ violence.
The protesters interrupted Nigel Farage’s speech at the party’s conference in Birmingham on Friday. Demonstrators raised questions over a £5 million gift he received from Thailand-based British billionaire Christopher Harborne. But as they questioned the Reform UK leader, they were attacked and left with bruises after members of the audience pulled them away and kicked them.
One member was seen hitting one of the protesters over the head with his crutch before pulling at her hair. When Reform UK’s economic spokesperson Robert Jenrick was asked about the attack on Sky News, he replied: “Oh boohoo. Get a life. You take your chances if you go to a party conference and try to mess it up.
“We’re now in a country where somebody, whatever she is, a far-left protester, goes into a party conference, tries to wreck the leader’s speech and cries foul if a pensioner knocks her over the head with a Zimmer frame. Come on, get a like.”
When asked on LBC if the attacks had been “heavy-handed,” Jenrick said: “Let me think how sympathetic I am towards that person: not at all.” Protesters from the campaign group Climate Resistance said Jenrick’s comments made light of the event and could risk encouraging further political violence.
“When politicians make light of any kind of violence and trivialise it, the risk is they make people feel that kind of thing is acceptable,” a protester who gave her name as Ophelia told The Times. “People were kicking us, punching us. I got off quite lucky in comparison to one of the other protesters. Clumps of her hair were falling out in her hands as we were walking away. You can imagine how violently they were pulling it.”
“I knew the atmosphere in the room was hostile but I still wasn’t prepared for how aggressive the other people in the crowd would be. We were completely ordinary people exercising our right to challenge a powerful politician.”
She continued: “We sat there all day listening to speeches about how Reform protect women, how they promote British values, but it doesn’t really seem they are willing to apply those values when it’s inconvenient to them.”
Farage later told ITV on Saturday: “When we have a big event that people have paid a lot of money to come to and we get people there trying to disrupt it and we remove them, suddenly we’re in the wrong. Utter nonsense.”
Sam Simons, of Climate Resistance, later commented: “In a democratic society, people must be able to exercise their right to peaceful protest without fear for their safety. We should be able to criticise Reform’s dodgy dealings and billionaire backing without being violently attacked. We expect a full, public apology from Jenrick and an immediate retraction of their incendiary comments.”
The Mirror has contacted Reform UK for comment.
