A heckler who was told to 'f*** off' and called a 'white liberal' by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has clarified that he is not even white. Joe, 32, who came to the UK from Malaysia at age four, protested Mahmood's 'cruel' immigration policies during a podcast recording. He accused the Home Secretary of 'stooping so low' and being 'childish' for swearing at him and suggesting his criticisms were racist.
Joe was one of four activists from Green New Deal Rising who secured seats for Mahmood's appearance at Matt Forde's Political Party podcast at the Duchess Theatre in London. Seconds into the event, Joe stood up and read a sarcastic attack, shouting: 'Shabana, my hero. Bravo. I want to personally thank you for out-Reforming Reform. Your immigration policies are making people wait 30 years for settled status, and deporting children born in the UK, truly takes the cake.'
The protester was drowned out by audience shouts and criticized the government's relationship with US firm Palantir, claiming the Home Office was 'moving towards ICE style raids'. Joe was then escorted out while another activist briefly heckled before being removed. Mahmood responded by telling Joe to 'f*** right off' and insisted she would not be put 'in her box'. She told the audience: 'I do think there is that element of it, which is: "How dare you, a brown woman, say a thing that we white liberals think you're not allowed to say?" Well I'm saying it.'
Speaking out about Mahmood's attack, Joe called her comments 'laughable'. He told Metro: 'It doesn't even make sense. She called me a white liberal and I'm not even white. I have literally come from a developing country. This claim that I am somehow racist for calling out her policies which are, frankly, racist or verging on it. She jumped to it being an attack on identity as a way to deflect and dodge very real criticisms.'
Joe also called the Home Secretary's foul-mouthed remarks 'childish', saying: 'It is incredibly disappointing that somebody who holds political office as high as she does is willing to stoop so low as to tell me to actively f*** off.' The campaigners were then tracked down by plain clothes police officers just 15 minutes after leaving the venue. Joe claimed they 'surrounded him' and 'evidently wanted to scare us'.
Mahmood has adopted a tough stance on immigration since becoming Home Secretary. She wants to double the time for most overseas workers to gain permanent settlement from five to 10 years, and up to 30 for those who arrive illegally. She also wants to make refugee status for asylum seekers temporary. Joe, who voted Labour at the last election, called these plans 'disgraceful' and accused her of trying to 'throw people like me and my family' under the bus. He added: 'We are a multicultural country and this is something we should celebrate.'
But Mahmood said claims she was trying to win over Reform voters were 'just a way of delegitimising the point of view that I bring to the table'. She added: 'It's also a way of delegitimising the perfectly valid, legitimate views of millions of people in this country, including ethnic minorities in this country. And it's not acceptable, right? And also, you're trying to put me in a box, which includes a lot of people who think I don't even belong in my own country. That's why I said this individual can just f*** right off, because I know I belong in my own country. You're not going to be able to do that to me.'
Posting on X after the event, comedian Matt Forde said the Home Secretary 'handled being screamed at by two posh yobs with total composure'. Mahmood has just struck a new deal with France to try to stop illegal migrants from crossing the English Channel. The three-year agreement will cost £662m and will see riot-trained police sent to French shores. However, up to £100m of UK funding could be withdrawn after a year if not enough small boat journeys are stopped.
Green New Deal Rising have pulled off stunts targeting high-profile politicians before. A speech by then Home Secretary Priti Patel in May 2022 was disrupted by their activists protesting her plans to offshore asylum seekers to Rwanda. The group is currently campaigning for progressive candidates across the country for the local election on May 7.
