Police attempted to shut down a right-wing political conference in Brussels today attended by ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Nigel Farage.
In chaotic scenes, officers entered the venue to serve a court order demanding the National Conservatism (NatCon) event cease on public safety grounds as Mr Farage was making a speech. The former Ukip leader reportedly told the audience: “I understand the police are very keen to shut this down. Well, in that case they can do it while I’m still on stage.”
Organisers were told to wrap up the conference following an intervention from the local mayor. Emir Kir, mayor of Brussels district Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, said: "In Etterbeek, in Brussels City and in Saint-Josse, the far-right is not welcome." But NatCon said it was "legally challenging" the order as it said there were "no grounds to shut down a gathering of politicians, intellectuals, journalists, students, civic leaders, and concerned citizens".
In a video on social media, Mr Farage said the Brussels authorities were behaving "like the old Soviet Union". Following her speech, Ms Braverman hit out at the "Brussels thought police" and claimed it was proof right-wingers are "winning the arguments".
Ms Braverman used her speech to stick the boot into Rishi Sunak for being too weak to take Britain out of the European Court of Human Rights. She said: “The current UK Government doesn’t have the political will to take on the ECHR and hasn’t laid the groundwork for doing so. And so it’s no surprise that recent noises in this direction are easily dismissed as inauthentic."
The conference had already been forced into several venue changes after a string of hosts cancelled due to pressure from local politicians. This lead organisers to accuse the Brussels mayor Philippe Close of seeking to "cancel" the event. Concerns were also raised over security issues due to protests, with the conference shuttering the main entrance of the venue so people couldn't get in.
Ms Braverman was criticised when she was announced as a keynote speaker at the conference, as Vladimir Putin's close ally Hungarian PM Viktor Orban was also due to attend. Rishi Sunak had faced pressure to block her attendance, with Labour's Jonathan Ashworth urging him to stop the former Home Secretary "giving oxygen to these divisive and dangerous individuals".
Mr Orban, who is also a long-term ally of Donald Trump, has refused to send weapons to Ukraine and has attempted to block EU aid to support the country. The right-wing populist leader of Hungary is a key ally of Putin and congratulated him on being "re-elected" Russia's president, despite questions being raised about the legitimacy and fairness of the election.
The EU has taken Hungary to court over a law that bans portraying or promoting homosexuality in media for under 18 and in school sex education. It has also criticised Mr Orban over the Government's interference with media freedom.
Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski was widely condemned after taking part in the NatCon conference alongside Mr Orban in Rome in 2020. The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Muslim Council of Britain were among those to criticise him taking part in the event. The Tories "formally warned [Mr Kawczynski] that his attendance at this event was not acceptable".
Last year's NatCon gathering was held in London and featured keynote speeches from Tory MPs Ms Braverman, Michael Gove, Jacob Rees-Mogg and commentator Douglas Murray. Ms Braverman railed against “experts and elites” and identity politics in her speech, which was interrupted by Extinction Rebellion protests.