One of Britain’s most respected senior journalists and the former Editor of one of the world’s most highly regarded newspapers, the Financial Times, Lionel Barber, has said that the riots in Britain, which have continued for eight consecutive days, are “more serious than 2011”, adding that we are likely to see more rioting today or in the days to come. Barber said the riots have shown that “multiculturalism has its limits”, and that despite having had prime ministers, home secretaries, foreign secretaries and chancellors of exchequer of Asian or black origin in Britain, multiculturalism is not as successful as people sometimes think.
In a particularly forceful critique, Barber said Elon Musk, who has been amplifying hate-filled messages by the former leader of the English Defence League known as Tommy Robinson, and claiming that Britain could be at the brink of civil war, has behaved “utterly irresponsibly”, adding that “I am really shocked by his behaviour”.
In the interview to The Wire, Barber said that the decision of Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, to treat people who whip up hate on social media the same as physical rioters, is a significant “rhetorical shift” in Britain’s traditional attitude which has always been in support of free speech. Barber also said that any steps Britain might take to act toughly against platforms such as X, Facebook, Telegram and TikTok would also be a new departure for the country.
