A speech by Interior Minister Priti Patel was interrupted on Friday night after refugee activists broke into the Conservative Party’s “Spring Dinner”.
Eight young social justice and climate activists from Green New Deal Rising have interrupted a spring dinner of the Bassetlaw Conservative Association and asked it to drop controversial plans for offshore asylum seekers in Rwanda.
As Patel began addressing the party’s loyalists, activists stood up one by one to condemn the offshore plans and called on Patel to abandon them.
“As young people who want to live in a just and compassionate society, we are disgusted by your treatment of refugees,” one activist said as clothed security guards quickly appeared and led the protesters out of the building.
Those attending the conservative dinner could be heard on a video of the incident chanting, “Out, out, out.”
The group targets politicians and other members of the establishment and adjourns meetings to challenge their stance on social justice and climate change.
This tactic is becoming increasingly popular among activists. Extinction Rebellion recently interrupted HSBC’s AGM, singing a variation of Money, Money, Abba’s money, changing the words to “money, money, money, it’s so dirty in the HSBC world”.
Hannah Martin of Green New Deal Rising said: “The plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is inhumane and will destroy people’s lives and further harm those seeking safety.”
“Those who support climate justice also oppose Priti Patel’s brutal plans, which demonize people who are escaping horrific situations while bearing the brunt of the many crises of war, poverty and climate catastrophe. We want Priti Patel to abandon Rwanda’s dangerous migration plan and provide support and security for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
Plans to send offshore asylum seekers to Rwanda were announced on April 14th and are subject to several legal challenges. Initially, the government assumed that the first removals would take place very soon, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson has now indicated that it will probably be several months before someone is forcibly removed to an African country. Many asylum seekers say they are afraid of being sent to Rwanda.
Conservatives from Bassetlaw and the Interior Ministry have been contacted for comment.
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