Manchester:
A delegation of the Labour Party led by MP Afzal Khan, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, Lucy Powell, Labour candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election Angeeliki Stogia, Cllr Rab Nawaz Akbar, Cllr Ahmed Ali, Chairman of the Pakistani Community Centre Haroon Khattana, and community leaders from all walks of life visited Central Mosque Victoria Park and met with Mosque Chairman Hammad Khan. They also participated in a community Iftary party during the visit. Later, they addressed a press conference and expressed their solidarity and full support to the mosque administration. MP Afzal Khan said that he was in touch with the Prime Minister Keir Starmer as well as the Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. “I am deeply concerned about the incident that occurred at Central Mosque. I’m in touch with the mosque leadership, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, and the Prime Minister about this incident. Just this week, the Chancellor and Home Secretary announced more funding for protecting mosques, and this incident demonstrates once again why this funding is so vital.” Lucy Powell, MP for Manchester Central and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, also described the incident as “deeply concerning”. “This is an important time for the Muslim community during the holy month of Ramadan. Thanks to the vigilance of volunteers and the swift action of police, a more serious incident was avoided. Those responsible must face the full force of the law. Hate and division has no place in Manchester or anywhere else,” she added.
63
