Labour suspends member after ‘completely unacceptable’ comments at London rally
Ricky Jones, a borough councillor in Dartford, Kent, is thought to have made the call at a demonstration on Wednesday evening.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Labour has suspended one of its elected representatives who allegedly called for far-right protesters’ throats to be “cut”.
Ricky Jones, a borough councillor in Dartford, Kent, is thought to have made the call at a demonstration in east London on Wednesday evening.
A Labour spokesperson said the violent imagery was “completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated”.
In a video from Hoe Street in Walthamstow, which was filled pavement-to-pavement with anti-racism demonstrators, a man taking part was filmed saying: “They are disgusting Nazi fascists and we need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all.”
Some of the protesters are holding placards which read: “Smash fascism and racism by any means necessary.”
This behaviour is completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage posted the footage to his X, formerly Twitter, account and asked: “Why has #TwoTierKeir not taken action?”
A Labour spokesperson said: “This behaviour is completely unacceptable and it will not be tolerated.
“The councillor has been suspended from the party.”
It means Mr Jones will be unable to sit on the Labour benches at Dartford Borough Council meetings.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “We are aware of the significant public concern around this video.
“Officers are investigating as a matter of urgency.”
Mr Farage is among several online commentators who have alleged police and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer are dealing with some protesters more harshly than others, known as two-tier policing.
Sir Keir said on Wednesday convictions and prison sentences for some of the people involved in the disorder were evidence of “the swift action” that authorities are taking, and warned: “If you provoke violent disorder on our streets or online, you will face the full force of the law.”
We have commentators from either end of the political spectrum who like to throw accusations of bias at the police because we stand in the middle, we operate independently under the law without fear or favour
Sir Mark Rowley, who leads the Met in London, has previously rejected accusations of two-tier policing as “complete nonsense”.
He said on Wednesday: “We have commentators from either end of the political spectrum who like to throw accusations of bias at the police because we stand in the middle, we operate independently under the law without fear or favour.”
Speaking after the anti-racism demonstration in Walthamstow, Sir Mark told broadcasters: “It went off very peacefully last night – a couple of locations we had some local criminals turn out and try and create a bit of antisocial behaviour and we arrested a few of them.”
Demonstrators also gathered in several cities throughout England, including Bristol, Brighton, Liverpool and Sheffield.
The gatherings were held in a bid to counter several days of disorder and rioting, which have led to more than 480 arrests, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Participants have damaged buildings including Southport Islamic Society Mosque, Spellow Library in Liverpool, a Citizens Advice office and next-door police station in Sunderland, and Holiday Inn hotels in the Midlands and Yorkshire.
Courts have heard some led chants, including the phrases “we’re taking our country back” and “Allah, Allah, who the f*** is Allah”.