Dominic Raab has declared he will not take a knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and said the salute was taken from the "Game of Thrones" fantasy TV series.
The UK Foreign Secretary, who was stand-in Prime Minister for Boris Johnson at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, said he thought taking the knee against police violence was a “symbol of subjugation and subordination.”
During a radio interview on Thursday Raab said: “I take the knee for two people - the Queen, and the missus when I asked her to marry me.”
The comments risked further controversy over the government’s response to Black Lives Matter protests.
Boris Johnson has been accused of kicking the issue into the long grass with a commission on racial inequality and Home Secretary Priti Patel has been criticised for trying to shut down criticism.
Asked by Julia Hartley-Brewer on TalkRadio if he would take a knee, Raab said: “I understand this sense of frustration and restlessness which is driving the Black Lives Matter movement.”
“I’ve got to say on this taking a knee thing, I don’t know, maybe it’s got a broader history but seems to be taken from the Game of Thrones, feels to me like a symbol of subjugation and subordination rather than one of liberation and emancipation.
“But I understand people feel differently about it so it’s a matter of personal choice.”
Asked again if he’d do it he said: “I take the knee for two people - the Queen, and the missus when I asked her to marry me.”
Labour MP Diane Abbott tweeted her astonishment: “Taking the knee began in 2016 with American athletes refusing to stand for US national anthem.
“They were protesting police brutality and racism.
“But Dominic Raab thinks it comes from Game of Thrones!!!”
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: “The fact our Foreign Secretary, who is also now going to be in charge of our aid budget, is totally ignorant about a global movement against racism is as shocking as it is concerning.”
SNP MP Stephen Flynn tweeted a ‘face palm’ emoji adding: “He says he ‘understands’ but then goes on to say that he thinks take the knee comes from Game of Thrones.
“How can the actual Foreign Secretary not know about Colin Kaepernick?”
Kneeling in protest for black people was popularised as a gesture in 2016 by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
He knelt in protest against police brutality during the American national anthem, prompting a furore over civil rights in the US.
Kaepernick later said: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour.”
