Priti Patel’s attempts to discredit Black Lives Matter suggest she should not hold a position of power

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It is an abrogation of duty for a sitting home secretary to describe the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests as “dreadful” and to denigrate the symbolism of “taking the knee”, as Priti Patel did this week. The action symbolises a peaceful and unequivocal rejection of injustice, exemplified by civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. Patel either has an unexplained indifference to what Black Lives Matter and “taking the knee” symbolises or is intentionally discrediting the movement. By castigating Black Lives Matter protesters and blaming them for the unrest, Patel is deliberately trying to rewrite history. Does she think we will forget that she referred to Black Lives Matter protesters as “thugs” and waged a culture war to trigger the far-right sentiments of white identity politics, before visible altercations between Black Lives Matter protesters and white supremacists?