Ben Howlett, the Member of Parliament for Bath, used a session in Parliament to condemn the recent attack on a woman on a bus in Bath after she confronted an Islamophobic couple.
Speaking in the chamber, Ben said: “On Tuesday evening a Bath mum Kerry Parkinson was travelling home and was hit in the face after confronting a passenger who told their son to ‘shut up or we will send you to Istanbul with the other Muslims to join ISIS.’
“I am sure the whole house will join me in condemning such disgusting racist views and congratulating Kerry for standing up against hate.
“Will my Right Honourable Friend speak to the Home Secretary to see what more can be done to tackle xenophobia in our society and look at further debates in the House?’
In response, the Leader of the House, Chris Grayling, said: “That incident is clearly absolutely shocking. We send all our good wishes to his constituent for what she has done.
“Let us be absolutely clear, the Muslim community in this country plays a valuable role in our communities up and down the country. It is full of people who have made a real difference to our society and we should support them.
“The fact that there are a small number of people in the Islamic world who pursue an ideology which is one of hate and one we all stand up against should not in any way tarnish the good hardworking decent Muslims in this country and insults and attacks against them are things we should abore and tackle and prosecute.”
Upon leaving the chamber, Ben added: “I want to thank Kerry for having the courage to stand up to racist insults. It can’t have been easy in the situation but she was brave and did the right thing. Racism has no place in Bath and I hope we never hear of a similar incident.”
