Bristol protest planned after racist abuse of England footballers
Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho have all been abused since the Euro 2020 final
Anti racism protestors will gather in Bristol tonight to accuse the government of encouraging racism against England's footballers.
Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were all abused after missing penalties in England's Euro 2020 final loss to Italy.
A mural of Rashford in Manchester was also defaced, but it has since been repaired and covered up with messages of support for the Manchester United forward.
The abuse of all three players has been followed with widespread condemnation, but the government is facing criticism for allegedly stoking racist sentiment amongst some England fans.
In an interview with GB News back in June Priti Patel called taking the knee, an act now synonymous with the fight against racism, as "gesture politics".
"It's all well to support a cause and make your voices heard, but actually quite frankly and we saw last year in particular with some of the protests that took place, I speak now very much from what I saw and the impact on policing, it was devastating," she said.
Asked if some England fans were right to boo taking the knee, she replied, "that's a choice for them quite frankly."
You can listen to her comments in the video clip above.
In Prime Ministers Questions this afternoon, Labour Leader Kier Starmer asked the Prime Minister if it was wrong to call taking the knee "gesture politics".
He also made reference to a comment by England defender Tyrone Mings, that the government can't "pretend to be disgusted" when abuse then happens.
"I want to reiterate our total support for our fantastic England team," the Prime Minister responded.
"I support them in the way that they showed solidarity with their friends who faced racism.
"But when he (Mr Starmer) talks about the Home Secretary, let me just remind him that my Right Honourable Friend the Home Secretary has faced racism and prejudice all her career..."
He added that the government had made it "absolutely clear", that no one should boo the England team.
Tonight's protest in Bristol will begin at 5:15pm by the fountains outside the Hippodrome.