Tory minister says some British Muslims do not support UK values
Photo Dan Kitwood/PA Wire
Some British Muslims “want to challenge” fundamental British values, a Foreign Office minister has said.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the “vast proportion” of British Muslims were “peace-loving, community-minded people”.
But there was a “very small proportion” that wanted to challenge the “values that we hold dear in the UK”, she added.
Compulsory national service
The senior Conservative was speaking to highlight her party’s plan to reintroduce a form of compulsory national service, which is in part aimed at building a “stronger national culture where everyone shares a commitment to improving our country”, according to Rishi Sunak’s party.
The plan would make it compulsory for 18-year-olds to either sign up for a 12-month placement with the armed forces or cyber defence, or commit to volunteering for one weekend a month in their community.
Home Secretary James Cleverly has suggested the programme was aimed at getting teenagers “out of their bubble” because too many “don’t mix with people of different religions, they don’t mix with different viewpoints”.
Nigel Farage
Reform UK honorary president Nigel Farage said there was a “growing number of young people in this country who do not subscribe to British values” and “loathe much of what we stand for”.
Asked about Mr Farage’s comments, Ms Trevelyan said she disagreed but told LBC Radio: “The vast proportion of British Muslims are wonderful, peace-loving, community-minded people, certainly in the North East where I’m based, we have fantastic communities and they are a really important part of our social fabric.
“There are a very small proportion for whom they want to challenge those values that we hold dear in the UK, which are British values, and there we need to continue to work in community to bring those people to this.
“The UK has incredible values of freedom of speech, freedom of choice … these are incredibly important values, but they have to be nurtured and looked after, and where there are those who would threaten them we need to make sure that we deal with that.”
She said it was not a problem specific to any religion: “There are people who do not wish to stand alongside the values and laws that we have, and we continue to have to defend those.”
Part of the reason for the national service programme was to ensure “our young people, as they move into adulthood, going forward, will understand that”.
She said: “It’s about all of us, all our young people, whatever their cultural background, their personal religious faith – or none – they work together in community through volunteering, or through joining the armed forces for a year’s commission to be part of building their future UK.”
“Incendiary rhetoric”
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said Mr Farage’s comments were “incendiary rhetoric”.
She told LBC Radio: “What I see when I visit schools, colleges, universities the length and breadth of the country is young people who are really hopeful and optimistic about the future, but also people who will often be making an enormous contribution to their own community – whether that’s through volunteering, young carers, people who are really committed and dedicated individuals.
“I think what we need in this election is a sense of how we bring our country together, how we focus on a more positive and hopeful mission for what our country can be – not this kind of division.”
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Here we go, get them flags flying.
Those national front members eh? UKIP, they are a sort. What about the ERG eh? Braverman, what an example. Johnson, elderly to take it on the chin for the ret of us. Sunak, green card non doming it. Farage eh! Supporting an insurrectionist sex offender and grifting for a non UK entity.
She brings such shame on a good family name…
Looks like the English Conservatives are showing their true colours. We are all well aware that Islamophobia is rife in the Tory party, and seeing Deform UK are taking votes away from soggy Sunak, are now as done with Ukip & Brexit party adopting their xenophobic policies to appeal to the lowest denominator. Westminster politicians continue to reach new lows.
In response to Farage yesterday, Trevelyan attempts to head him off at the pass effectively saying: ‘No need to vote for Reform UK. Want hate, division, discord and (God forbid) Enochs’ rivers of blood? Vote Tory’. At least you WILL know what it is you are voting for.
Ni chaiff yr un o fy mhlant i fynd i wasanaethu ym myddin y goresgynwyr. Nid oes bradwr yn y ty hwn.
Lets not forget there are tens of THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FROM WALES SCOTLAND NORTHERN IRELAND AND even England as England have Nationalists as well the Tory party is an English Nationalist party like all this G B News Propaganda and Union Jack flag waving like at last night of the proms singing Land of Hope and Glory and Rule Britania rules the waves i find quite sickening
Plus it is no such thing any more! So many live in ‘cloud cuckoo land’ regarding our diminishing status in the World, Did you know we have more Homeless, due to ‘No fault Evictions’ than ANY other Western Country.Now that really is shameful.
What British values would those be, Ms Trevelyan?
Invasion, subjugation, exploitation, hypocrisy and arrogance, to name but a few?
Divide and rule, plus the othering of those with different beliefs is alive and well within the blue team.
Is the Labour party any different with their switch beyond the centre left to borderline tory under Starmer ? there is now very little difference between UK labour and Tories, in this GE voting for these and any other unionist parties will not make any difference to fairness for Wales
Was Baroness Mone displaying ‘British values’ when PPE Medpro fleeced tax payers making £60 million profit by selling unusable medical supplies?
‘British Values’ and How the State actually treats young people from the delivery room to the exclusion dept and beyond is being exposed for the moral scandal of the ‘actuality’ (Blair word) it is…
The Fat Shanks effect will be hard to exorcise, as will all the harms of Cameron and Osborne, deep, deep harm in the very bones of a generation. If only we had a hanging judge waiting in the wings ready to prosecute the Tories for crimes against humanity…
Seems to me that plenty of tory MPs and voters don’t support traditional British values.
I don’t uphold British ‘values’ and as things stand, and I am highly unlikely in the future to be a Muslim. however according to Trevelyan Farage and Starmer it puts me in the ‘enemy’ class.
A message to little Englanders. Being able to trace my family roots back to the 1400’s in the town records of LLantrisant, I could be considered to be “British” , but my values are far from Tory little Englander values. I do not recognise that the English crown is relevant to, or in Cymru, I refuse to salute the ” union jack” and desire political and physical autonomy for my Country, outside of the UK. Who’s values should I hold given the above statement, and if not my own, then we are a dictatorship not a democracy, and to those… Read more »
Penny finally dropping?
What UK?
There is no unified set of “british values!” Scottish and Welsh values are closely aligned; diversity, tolerance, welcoming, solidarity . English values are selfishness, intolerance, hatred of outsiders, isolationist. These values are held strongly by the unionist parties! I want to see the monarchy abolished, either by ballot or bullet I don’t care about which method is used. I want truly representative government with elections under proportional representation. I want a written constitution with protected rights that cannot be taken away by any government. I want to see Cymru, Yr Alban and lloegr independent republics and Iwerddon restored and reunited… Read more »
I thought ‘British Values’ were kindness, inclusiveness, tolerance. not stirring up Hatred against those who are ‘other’!
‘Some British Muslims “want to challenge” fundamental British values, a Foreign Office minister has said.’
Nigel Farage has very recently said exactly the same thing. But the reality for me is that I don’t remotely buy into Farage’s notion of what ‘fundamental British values’ are, and I suspect that Anne Marie Trevelyan’s version is unlikely to be very significantly different from Farage’s.
Which doesn’t at all mean that I’d be inclined to buy into ‘some British Muslims’ notion of what values ought to be either. I prefer to work all that out for myself.
All Tory MPs dont support Welsh or English values!