Downing Street has urged football fans to be respectful of England players who choose to take the knee in a stand against racial injustice.
Boris Johnson‘s official spokesperson called on football fans to “get behind” the team at the upcoming European Football Championships which kick off on Friday and to support “individuals’ rights to protest”.
But he did, however, refuse to explicitly condemn supporters who booed members of the England team making the gesture in a friendly game against Romania on Sunday.
Image: England’s Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips take a knee before the international friendly match against Romania on Sunday
Asked whether the Prime Minister was refusing to criticise fans who boo the gesture, the spokesperson said: “No… the Prime Minister is supporting the England football team and wants them to succeed, and he wants the whole country to get behind them in that endeavour in this tournament.”
“I would want all England fans to be respectful in any football match and, as I have said, he respects the right of those who want to peacefully protest in this way,” he said.
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Asked whether that means Mr Johnson does not want people to boo the players for taking the knee, the spokesman said: “I want all England fans to be respectful in any sort of football match.
“As I’ve said, he respects the rights of those who want to peacefully protest in this way.”
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It comes after one Conservative MP, in a post on social media on Sunday, drew parallels between taking the knee and performing the Nazi salute.
In a controversial Facebook post, Brendan Clarke-Smith, MP for Bassetlaw, said: “Whilst the intention may be admirable and we all want to put a stop to racism in football and wider society, it now comes across as little more than habitual tokenism and has lost its effect.”
Mr Clarke-Smith then compared the gesture to when England’s team were ordered to perform a Nazi salute at a game in Germany in 1938, describing it as a “propaganda exercise”.
The majority of players performed the salute, purportedly believing it was a cultural gesture, but those who refused were removed from the squad.
Mr Clarke-Smith joins fellow backbench Tory MP Lee Anderson, who last week threatened to boycott watching his “beloved England” at the upcoming football tournament over players choosing to take the knee before matches.
Conservative MP for Ipswich, Tom Hunt, posted on social media: “Euros [a] great opportunity for country to come together behind team. Harder when they insist on divisive political gestures.”
Image: England manager Gareth Southgate said at the weekend his players were ‘more determined than ever to take the knee’.
A minority of fans jeered England’s players for taking a knee before the 1-0 friendly win over Romania at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium on Sunday.
England manager Gareth Southgate said at the weekend that his players were “more determined than ever to take the knee”.
The PM’s official spokesperson said Mr Johnson respected the right of people to “peacefully protest” amid the ongoing row.
Asked whether Boris Johnson believed that taking a knee showed support for the political aims of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister’s spoken on the record on this issue before.
“On taking the knee, specifically, the Prime Minister is more focused on action rather than gestures.
Image: Some fans booed England’s players as they took the knee before Sunday’s match
“We have taken action with things like the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparities and that’s what he’s focused on delivering.
“But… he fully respects the right of those who do choose to peacefully protest to make their feelings known.”
He added: “I would want all England fans to be respectful in any football match and, as I have said, he respects the right of those who want to peacefully protest in this way.”
The act of taking the knee rose to prominence in 2016 when NFL player Colin Kaepernick sat and later knelt during the US national anthem, in a gesture that became a common form of protest over racism and police brutality against black people.
Premier League and England players began doing it before matches in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in 2020, which prompted a wave of protests across the world over systemic discrimination faced by black people.
A mum has been sentenced for killing her six-year-old son after hearing “demonic voices”.
Karolina Zurawska, 42, previously pleaded guilty to the manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility of Alexander Zurawski.
Alexander was found dead at a property in the Gendros area of Swansea on 29 August last year.
His mother was found next to him with a handsaw at her side.
At Swansea Crown Court on Friday, the judge also sentenced Zurawska for the attempted murder of her 67-year-old father, Krzysztof Siwi, earlier the same day.
She was handed an indefinite hospital order.
The court heard Zurawska had previously been the “best mother” to her son, who was recovering from a brain tumour which left him partially sighted and requiring a cane to walk.
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In a tribute released after his death, Alexander’s family said he was a “very kind child” who was “very clever and very mature for his age”.
“Alexander was always well behaved and never naughty,” the statement added.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Following the funeral, and after nine days of mourning, cardinals from around the world will gather in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to cast their votes, with white smoke announcing to the world when a new pope has been elected.
Cardinal Nichols told Sky’s Anna Botting: “I hope nobody goes into this conclave, as it were, with the sole purpose of wanting to win. I think it’s very important that we go in wanting to listen to each other… It has to be together, trying to sense what God wants next. Not just for the church.”
Becoming emotional, he also said the final message he would like to have given Pope Francis is “thank you”.
The 88-year-old died peacefully on Easter Monday, the Vatican confirmed.
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Prince William will attend on behalf of the King, Kensington Palace has said.
Cardinal Nichols explained that the funeral would be “exactly the same Catholic rite as everyone else – just on a grander scale”.
In a break from tradition, Pope Francis will be the first pope in a century to be interred outside the Vatican – and will instead be laid to rest at his favourite church, Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood.
He will also be buried in just one simple wooden coffin, instead of the traditional three coffins which are usually used for pontiffs.
Born in Crosby near Liverpool, Cardinal Vincent Nichols hoped to be a lorry driver as a child – but as a teenager reportedly felt the calling to join the priesthood while watching Liverpool FC.
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As cardinal, he is known for leading the church’s work tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, for which he received the UN Path to Peace Award.
He was criticised by the UK’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which said he “demonstrated a lack of understanding” of the impact of abuse and “seemingly put the reputation of the church first”.
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Cardinal Nichols, responding to the findings, previously told Sky News he was “ashamed at what has happened in the context of the Catholic Church” and promised to improve the church’s response.
He has appeared to rule himself out of the running for pope, telling reporters he was “too old, not capable”.
A man who was shot dead by police had called 999 himself, an initial investigation into the death has suggested.
David Joyce was killed by “a single gunshot wound to the abdomen” after officers shot him at close range outside Milton Keynes railway station on 1 April, according to preliminary findings.
The 38-year-old, who lived in the town, was given first aid by officers but died at the scene.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the circumstances leading up to the death and revealed its initial findings.
It said it had established that Mr Joyce was armed with a 12cm steak knife when he “ran at two officers” before being shot by an officer from a Thames Valley Police armed response unit.
The IOPC said police had been alerted to the incident following a 999 call “from a man reporting that ‘there is a man with a gun down at the train station in Milton Keynes'”.
“The call handler rang back after the caller hung up during the call and spoke to the man again who said the man with the gun was acting suspiciously, looked like he was about to do something bad and ‘definitely’ had a gun,” it said in a statement.
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“Records show that the mobile phone number used to make the 999 call had been used to call police before and was linked to Mr Joyce.
“CCTV footage shows Mr Joyce making a phone call at a time which matches with when the 999 call to police was made.”
Image: Police at the scene of the incident. Pic: PA
An inquest into his death was opened and adjourned at Milton Keynes Coroners’ Court earlier in April and a full hearing will follow after the IOPC investigation concludes.
IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “We again extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of David Joyce and all those affected by this incident. We continue to keep his family informed of our progress.
“Our investigators are working hard to piece together the circumstances leading up to Mr Joyce being shot by a police officer and have already carried out a significant amount of enquiries.”
He said the enquiries included accounts from the police officers involved, CCTV from inside and outside the station, footage from officers’ bodyworn cameras and police vehicle dashcam footage, and statements from members of the public who witnessed the shooting.
The IOPC added that, as is standard in investigations following a fatal police shooting, it would “look at the decisions and actions of officers prior to and during their interaction with Mr Joyce – including the medical care they provided at the scene; if the lethal force was necessary, justified and proportionate; and whether the officers followed policy”.