A top London Conservative who heckled Suella Braverman’s Tory conference speech demanded on Wednesday that she “moderate her tone”, but a Cabinet colleague denied that she had resorted to the incendiary language of Enoch Powell.
Andrew Boff, the chairman of the London Assembly, was dragged out of the conference hall in Manchester on Tuesday when he objected to the Home Secretary’s attacks on “gender ideology” as a “homophobic rant”.
Speaking on LBC, Mr Boff urged the Tory party to avoid the “divisive” and “false” battleground of culture wars and focus on the “essentials” that worry most voters heading into an election next year.
The 65-year-old, who has attended every Tory conference except one since Margaret Thatcher took power in 1979, was asked whether he would continue as a member if Ms Braverman becomes leader in future.
“Luckily that’s not going to happen. I believe in the ultimate common sense of the party,” he said. “And also I very much hope that Suella Braverman learns about the power of her words and moderates her tone.”
Mr Boff accused Ms Braverman of “picking on vulnerable people” in her speech.
“So I decided to challenge that. I think in a very moderate way, really. It wasn’t that loud. Really I should have put more welly into it.”
Ms Braverman herself tweeted afterwards: “Andrew Boff’s heckles were silly but I think he should be forgiven and let back into conference.”
The London Tory veteran said he wasn’t being allowed back in to the conference this year but stressed he had received an “absolutely vast amount” of support from other party members.
After the Home Secretary warned of a “hurricane” of migrants wanting to come to Britain, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps was asked about comparisons to Tory firebrand Enoch Powell’s infamous “rivers of blood” speech in 1968, which led to a wave of attacks on British South Asians.
“So many people are from immigrant backgrounds in this country. I think I’m third generation myself... Suella’s first generation, her parents came over in the 60s,” Mr Shapps told Times Radio.
“So this is certainly no Enoch Powell situation, is it, to make the very obvious point,” he said.
“She makes the absolutely correct point we’ve already seen a lot of movement... we could see a lot more, a hurricane, as she describes it, of people moving.”
Ms Braverman was also accused by critics of seeking to distract from her own failure to stem record numbers of migrants crossing the Channel.
“Suella Braverman’s speech was devoid of practical policies and divorced from the reality of Tory failure over the last 13 years,” said Labour’s shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper.
Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said in response to the speech: “We know from our work that those who are crossing the Channel are desperate men, women and children who have fled from the horrors of war, torture and persecution and come to Britain in search of safety.
“Instead of the current inhumanity – exemplified by the huge number of newly recognised refugees who are being thrown out of hotels with virtually no notice and finding themselves on the streets – the Government should uphold the right to asylum and have an approach that is not only about control but also compassion and competence,” he said.
Science Secretary Michelle Donelan declined to repeat the language used by Ms Braverman on the migration crisis during her conference speech, which drew a standing ovation from the Tory rank and file.
“I would say it’s a big problem, my language is different to her language,” Ms Donelan said on BBC’s Newsnight.
“I think that she’s trying to emphasise how important it is that we tackle something that the British public are deeply concerned about.
“That is why we are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to tackling illegal immigration because it’s fundamentally unfair.”
