This is much more than an own goal by the home secretary. It is a hat-trick of them – ignorant, offensive and dangerous.
Suella Braverman has displayed breathtaking ignorance in relation to Northern Ireland.
It is the Protestant Loyal Orders, e.g. the Orange Order, who are responsible for the vast majority of marches in Northern Ireland.
These people are natural allies of the home secretary’s ‘Conservative and Unionist Party’. They are pro-Union, pro-Brexit and pro-Israel.
Has she forgotten that it was a political party closely aligned to the Protestant Loyal Orders, the DUP, that the Tories did a £1bn confidence and supply deal with?
Her comments in the Times are deeply offensive to both communities in Northern Ireland.
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Braverman with border guards during a visit to the northeastern Greek border with Turkey earlier this month
Unintentionally perhaps, she has likened those who march “in defence of the Protestant faith”, i.e. Christian, with “Islamists”.
It’s equally insulting if she was referring to the Catholic Civil Rights Movement from the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Again, has the home secretary forgotten Bloody Sunday, when 14 innocent Catholics were shot dead during a civil rights march in Derry?
Many will regard her comments as dangerous, not least because Northern Ireland does not currently have a power-sharing government in place.
Using words like “Hamas” and “terrorist” in the same breath as “Northern Ireland” and “marches” shows blatant disregard for a fragile peace.
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The DUP is currently boycotting the power-sharing government over post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Relations between the largest Unionist party and the government are cool and this will do nothing to thaw the ice.
It is tempting to think the UK government is deliberately attempting to make devolution more appealing than direct rule from Westminster.
But that would require a level of strategic thinking on Northern Ireland that we have not seen in a very long time.