A speech by Priti Patel directly motivated an attack by a knifeman who threatened to kill an immigration solicitor, Britain's top lawyers have claimed.
A man armed with a large knife entered a London law firm on September 7 and launched a "violent, racist attack" which left a staff member injured.
Police documents described the knife as a “weapon designed to cause serious harm”, according to The Guardian.
Far-right literature and a confederate flag were allegedly found in a bag the attacker was carrying.
Four days before the attack, the home secretary made comments about the legal profession and claimed "activist lawyers" were were frustrating the removal of migrants.
And it was these remarks that the law firm believe inspired the attack.
Witness statements and details of the attack on a document say "Responsibility and accountability for this attack, in the eyes of this firm, lies squarely at the feet of Priti Patel.”
The firm, which has not been named for security reasons, wrote to the Law Society the day after the attack asking for the issue to be raised with Patel, as well as government lawyers, the lord chancellor and the Ministry of Justice to “ensure that public attacks on the legal profession are prevented from this point forth”.
The letter, seen by The Guardian, said: “It must be ensured that no further lives are endangered as a result of her untruthful and deliberately inflammatory rhetoric. Put simply, this must stop now, before innocent lives are taken and other irreparable damage is done to those who work in this field.”
It added: “This must involve all previous statements made by Priti Patel being publicly retracted, and an apology or acknowledgment that such action to date has been inappropriate. Urgent reassurance is required from the government that this will not be repeated. The position as it stands is untenable, dangerous, and cannot be allowed to persist.”
The Law Society confirmed that it sent correspondence last month on the attack to the Home Office and Ministry of Justice.
Documents on last month’s attack reveal that a receptionist at the firm was “assaulted and wounded” and “a number of our staff members are fortunate to be alive [and] not to have suffered serious injury.”
It added: “The attack was intended to take the life of a member of the Law Society.”
A 28-year-old man has been charged with possession of, and making threats with, a bladed article in a public place; racially aggravated public disorder; assault; and making threats to kill in connection with the incident.
