Government ministers have been outspoken and unequivocal in their outrage at the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from Aston Villa.
The prime minister immediately described it as “wrong”, his spokesperson later describing Sir Keir Starmer as “angered”.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and Communities Secretary Steve Reed were all involved in urgent conversations on Friday.
They pledged to do “everything in our power to ensure all fans can safely attend the game”, next month with clear promises of additional resources and support if needed.
Speaking on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the energy security secretary Ed Miliband hit out at the idea that Aston had become a “no-go” area for Jews as a result.
“We cannot have a situation where any area is a no-go area for people of a particular religion or from a particular country,” he said.
“We’ve got to stamp out all forms of prejudice, antisemitism, Islamophobia, wherever we find them.”
But astonishingly, three days after the announcement and despite the evident frustration from ministers, there’s still no movement.
On Sunday, Ed Miliband was still unable to guarantee the game would go ahead, telling Sir Trevor: “I’m not going to say come what may, but I’m giving you a very, very clear indication of what we are working towards, which is that the fans from both teams can attend the match.”
Conservatives smell weakness
It makes the government look utterly weak. And the Tories have smelt blood.
Accusing the prime minister of weakness is a regular line of attack from Kemi Badenoch – amplified over the past six months by first the welfare reform debacle, then the PM’s ill-advised defence of Peter Mandelson, and most recently the collapse of the China spy trial.
Now the Tories are piling in to highlight his apparent impotence in the face of yet…
