James Cleverly has distanced himself from comments made by his Conservative frontbench colleague Nick Timothy, who described public Muslim prayers at a Ramadan event in Trafalgar Square as an 'act of domination'. The shadow communities secretary said that while Timothy was right to start a debate about the event, the characterisation was not his 'personal take'.
The controversy began when Timothy, the shadow justice secretary, posted images of mass prayer at Monday's 'Open Iftar', calling it 'straight from the Islamist playbook'. His remarks drew widespread condemnation, with Labour leader Keir Starmer calling for Timothy to be sacked and Attorney General Richard Hermer challenging Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to clarify her stance on public Jewish prayer.
Badenoch has defended Timothy, and the party's objection has largely focused on claims of gender segregation during the event. Cleverly echoed this, arguing that the segregation of men and women during prayer was 'at odds with a lot of the norms and traditions of the UK'. However, organisers and attendees have disputed this, noting that men and women prayed separately but mixed freely otherwise.
Emma Best, the Conservative deputy leader on the London Assembly, became the most senior Tory to openly criticise Timothy. Speaking on the BBC's London Politics show, she described prayer as 'a fundamental right of every UK citizen' and said those who objected should simply 'walk on'. She also noted that the prayer was only a small part of the event, which thousands attended without participating in the prayer.
