'Suffragettes Would Have Been Labelled Terrorists By Yvette Cooper', Ex-MP Claims
Former Green leader Caroline Lucas called out the Labour government over its bid to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation at a party event this week.
MPs voted in line with the government to put the group on a legal list of terrorist organisations earlier this month, after its activists targeted an Israeli defence company's UK base and an RAF centre.
The move sparked concerns over the right to protest, with former cabinet minister and Labour peer Lord Hain even admitting he was 'deeply ashamed' of the move.
Lucas – the former Brighton Pavilion MP, who served in the Commons for 14 years before stepping down at the last election – expressed her shock at the controversial decision on Thursday night.
She said: 'There is a real concern now that a government that came into power promising so much has frankly delivered so little when it comes to people's expectations.'
She continued: 'I don't think many of us expected Labour to proscribe Palestine Action.'
'Suffice to say that I am quite sure if Yvette Cooper was home secretary at the time the Suffragettes were active, they would have been labelled as terrorists and they would be banged up in prison for a lot longer than they were.'
The Suffragettes were a group of female activists who campaigned in the early 20th Century to get the women's right to vote.
Lord Hain made a similar comparison when speaking to the Lords earlier this month.
He said: 'In 1969-70, I was proud to lead a militant campaign of direct action to disrupt all-white, racist South African rugby and cricket tours, and we successfully succeeded in getting them stopped for two decades.
'No doubt, I would have been stigmatised as a terrorist today rather than vilified as I was then.'
He added: 'This government is treating Palestine Action as equivalent to Islamic State or al-Qaida, which is intellectually bankrupt, politically unprincipled and morally wrong. Frankly I am deeply ashamed.'
The government has previously defended the decision with home office minister Dan Jarvis telling the Commons: 'By implementing this measure, we will remove Palestine Action's veil of legitimacy, tackle its financial support and degrade its efforts to recruit and radicalise people into committing terrorist activity in its name.'
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