Justice Secretary visits Southport mosque to show ‘solidarity’ after riots
Shabana Mahmood said she had been ‘deeply encouraged’ by the response to both the riots and harassment of her by extremists during the election.
The Justice Secretary has praised the response to disorder over the summer as “the best of British” during a visit to the Southport mosque that was besieged by rioters.
Shabana Mahmood met imam Ibrahim Hussein and other worshippers at the mosque, where she prayed before discussing their experience of the summer’s disorder.
Mr Hussein described being one of seven people trapped in the mosque while it was attacked by rioters throwing missiles, telling the Justice Secretary he had feared the building would be burned down.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Ms Mahmood said she had wanted to visit the mosque soon after the attack, which came at the start of a week of rioting that targeted Muslims and people from ethnic minorities.
She said: “This was my first opportunity to come and show solidarity with the worshippers here after everything they went through.
“But also to recognise the strength of community spirit that saw off the forces of hate here in Southport and across the country as well, and to show that we are always much stronger when we are united.”
The Southport mosque was inundated with offers of help following the attack, including a local bricklayer who helped rebuild its wall, and received cards from across the country expressing support for them.
Ms Mahmood said she was “deeply encouraged” by the response, comparing it to messages of support she had received while facing “horrible weeks of intimidation and street-level harassment” during the general election.
She said: “I took such comfort from everyone who came out and, even if they disagreed with the Labour Party or disagreed with me personally, was giving me encouragement and support to keep going, because they could see that this was about our democratic values.
“And similarly, here talking to members of the mosque committee who were here the night that they were all being attacked from the outside, and there was a fire lit outside designed to set fire to this building, who were then encouraged and given moral support by everybody else who turned up to help them out.
“It’s a similar phenomenon, and I think it’s the best of British.”
Ms Mahmood’s visit came after the conclusion of the Labour Party conference in neighbouring Liverpool, at which the Prime Minister also praised the response to the riots, while condemning the rioters as “racist thugs”.
