The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
‘Useful idiots’ being exploited to cause riots
Tory leadership contender Tugendhat says foreign states are stoking unrest after the Southport attacks
“USEFUL idiots” on social media were exploited by Britain’s enemies to stoke rioting around the country, Tom Tugendhat has said.
The Tory leadership contender, who is a former Army intelligence officer, said malign foreign states had “toyed with” the UK, seeing the Southport stabbings as “an opportunity where we can be divided”.
Mr Tugendhat, who is third favourite to replace Rishi Sunak according to bookmakers’ odds, was speaking on
podcast, where he also discussed how his time in Afghanistan negotiating with tribal leaders had equipped him for leading the Conservative Party and showed that he could get things done.
The civil unrest earlier this month began after misinformation was shared on social media about the suspect in the stabbings that claimed the lives of three young girls, which Mr Tugendhat believes was magnified by enemy countries. The 51-year-old, who came fifth in the 2022 leadership contest that was won by Liz Truss, is well qualified to debate the causes of the riots, having been security minister under Ms Truss and Mr Sunak.
He said: “Sadly it has encouraged our enemies to see this as an opportunity where we can be divided, where we can be toyed with, if you like.
“And that’s why we need to be really tough on it, because this isn’t just about, you know, the violence that we’ve seen on the streets, as bad as it is. It’s about making sure we don’t encourage our enemies to see these areas as opportunities to exploit. People to find useful idiots in our own social media world, to share and promote these ridiculous stories, because all it does is lead to further division and further unrest, and that’s completely unacceptable.”
He said it was too early to be sure exactly who was behind the amplification of misinformation, but there had been “accusations around Channel 3 which appears to have been a Russian outfit”.
Mr Tugendhat is the grandson of an Austrian Jew who came to Britain in 1921 and converted to Catholicism to marry his Anglo-Irish wife. His father was a High Court judge and his mother was French, and after studying theology at university he completed a master’s degree in Islamic studies, during which he learnt Arabic in Yemen.
He later joined the Territorial Army, rising to the rank of Lt Col, and transferred to the Intelligence Corps in 2003, serving in Iraq. He also worked for the
Foreign Office in Afghanistan, helping set up the government in Helmand Province, which necessitated drinking endless cups of tea in the cool of the night with tribal elders.
He said: “I can build teams that do actually unite people from many differeither.” ent communities. In Afghanistan serving alongside Afghan soldiers as well as Brits... it’s not quite as tricky as uniting some of the Conservative tribes, it feels like occasionally!”
The MP for Tonbridge is seen as a leading member of the One Nation Conservatives, regarded as a centrist faction, but insisted he was neither to the Left nor the Right of the Party as he tried to broaden his appeal.
He said: “The reality is I’m a Conservative.
‘In many areas where these riots took place the levels of joblessness have barely changed in 20 years’
In some areas people describe me as Left, some areas people describe me as Right. I didn’t vote for the National Insurance contribution rise, I voted against vaccine passports, and what does that make me? The reality is I’m just a Conservative.”
After being knocked out of the 2022 leadership race, he supported Ms Truss rather than Mr Sunak, and told the podcast: “It was clear that she had the message focused on growth, and she was very clear on China. I’m afraid she demonstrably failed to deliver on He refused to follow his leadership rival Robert Jenrick in calling for an offence to be created to tackle those who shout (God is Great) in public places, saying: “There are things you can say in some places and things you can’t say in others.
“The classic line that lawyers always use is shouting fire in a crowded theatre. It’s not wrong to shout fire if there’s a fire, but it is if it causes harm.
“We’re not in the business of telling people how to pray and where to pray, but we should be always aware that when language is incendiary or incitement we need to be aware of it.”
Addressing the root causes of the riots, Mr Tugendhat said: “It’s certainly clear that migration is an element, but if you look at the statistics, it’s quite clear that in many areas where these riots took place the levels of joblessness have barely changed in 20 years.
“To see this level of joblessness tolerated, almost, is completely unacceptable. It’s unacceptable because it leaves members of our community behind. It makes people feel abandoned, not just by the state, but actually by their friends and neighbours as well.
“It allows people to feel devalued. And sadly, it can lead to people feeling resentful of others, whether with or without reason.”