JUSTICE secretary Dominic Raab on Wednesday (6) came under fire after saying that "misogyny is wrong, whether it's a man against a woman or a woman against a man".
His confusion about the definition arose during an interview with the BBC in which he was asked why the government rejected calls for misogyny to be made a hate crime in the wake of the murder of Londoner Sarah Everard.
"If you don't know what misogyny is then you're never going to find it," Nazir Afzal, who has prosecuted grooming gangs and celebrity sexual abusers, wrote on Twitter.
Misogyny is hatred aimed at women, while misandry targets men.
"What I meant was... if we are talking about, effectively, insults with a sexist basis, I don't think that criminalising those sorts of things will deal with the problem that we have got at the heart of the Sarah Everard case," Raab said.
"Criminalising insulting language - even if it's misogynistic - does not deal with the intimidation, the violence and the much higher level of offence and damage and harm that we really ought to be laser-like focused in on," the former foreign secretary said.
The government on Tuesday announced an independent inquiry into "systematic failures" in policing, after an officer serving in London was jailed for life for Everard's kidnap, rape and murder.
The death of the 33-year-old marketing consultant rocked the country and led to an outcry over violence against women and girls in Britain.
Wayne Couzens, 48, who served in the Metropolitan Police diplomatic protection unit, falsely arrested Everard as she walked home from a friend's house, on the pretence that she had broken coronavirus restrictions in place at the time.
Raab was speaking at the Conservative Party's annual conference in Manchester shortly before prime minister Boris Johnson's keynote speech.
(AFP)
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)