'Act of domination': Top Tory MP criticised for attack on Muslims praying in Trafalgar Square
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accused the Conservative Party of having a "problem with Muslims" after Conservative shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy accused Muslims praying in Trafalgar Square at an "Open Iftar" of an "act of domination".
The event over the weekend in London's iconic landmark reportedly attracted people of many different faiths and was attended by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who hailed it as the "biggest iftar in the western world".
Khan said in an address to the crowd that he had met Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and atheists attending the event. But not everyone approved.
For Tory MP Timothy, who was the Downing Street chief of staff during Theresa May's premiership, the event was deeply worrying.
Timothy took to X on Tuesday and posted a video of Muslims - including Khan - praying in congregation at the event.
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"Too many are polite to say this," Timothy said, before declaring that "mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination".
"The adhan - which declares there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger - is, when called in a public place, a declaration of domination," he argued.
Timothy clarified that "I am not suggesting everybody at Trafalgar Square last night is an Islamist."
However, he added, "The domination of public places is straight from the Islamist playbook."
He called the event "an act of domination and therefore division" and asserted that it "shouldn't happen again".
Independent MP Adnan Hussain responded by posting photos of Hindu, Jewish and Sikh religious events which have been held in Trafalgar Square.
Nick, this is disgraceful. Do you object when Sikhs, Hindus or Jews gather in Trafalgar Square? Or is it only Muslims you smear with talk of “domination”? They were invited, like all faiths. Your rhetoric is inflammatory, divisive, and beneath any serious public office. https://t.co/LiWscr2hMl pic.twitter.com/utf6WQ4RTZ
— Adnan Hussain MP (@AdnanHussainMP) March 17, 2026
On Wednesday in parliament, the prime minister called on Tory leader Kemi Badenoch to sack Timothy and criticised his comments numerous times.
Starmer said Timothy said "that Muslims praying in public, including the mayor of London, practising his faith, are not welcome. He described it as an act of domination, straight from the Islamist playbook.
"If he were in my team, he'd be gone. It's utterly appalling. She should denounce his comments and she should sack him."
Badenoch responded that Timothy was "defending British values".
Starmer replied that "the fact he's still sitting on her frontbench shows she's too weak and has no judgement."
The prime minister added: "When I see religious events in Trafalgar Square, when I see Hindus celebrating Diwali, when I see Jews celebrating Hannukah live, when I see Christians performing the passion of Christ or Muslims praying, that shows the great strength of our diverse city and country.
"I've never heard her party call out anything other than the Muslim events. It's only when Muslims are praying.
"The only conclusion is the Tory party has got a problem with Muslims."
'A very odd post'
On Tuesday, Dominic Grieve, a former Tory MP and attorney general, remarked: "This is a very odd post from a Conservative who says he believes in freedom of expression under law."
Grieve noted that "the use of Trafalgar Square (with permission) for religious events - Christian and other - goes back a long way.
"There have been prayers and hymns, chants and religious events performed there in the past."
Grieve added: "If such an event 'shouldn't happen again' it raises the question of whether this is to apply to all religious events or just to Muslim ones.
"If to all, then we are moving like France to imposing secularism as a norm and it is contrary to our national tradition and does not seem to have helped develop social cohesion there.
"If just to Muslims then it is an act of discrimination against them without any lawful basis."
Senior politicians weighed in too. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy accused Timothy of "fanning the flames of division".
The deputy leader of the Labour Party, Lucy Powell, commented: "What an extreme reaction from a member of the Shadow Cabinet.
"Across the country today Muslims, Christians, those of faith & of none, have worked, learned, shared & broken fast together.
"That is real Britain, not the desperate hatred being whipped up here by a leading Tory."
Labour MP Naz Shah added: "A serious Conservative Party would never accept such divisive behaviour.
"This obsessive behaviour and exceptionalisation of only one community needs to be called out."
Reform MPs wade in
But Reform UK MPs entered the fray to back Timothy. "This is unacceptable, imposing such a dominating presence in a public place," complained Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice.
"Surely worship should be in churches or other places such as mosques or synagogues," he said.
"Also where is the gender inclusivity?" he questioned.
In the video that Timothy posted, women can be seen praying separately to the men, as is custom amongst Muslims.
Tice has no record of commenting on gender separated religious rituals in Orthodox Judaism, Sikhism and other traditions.
Many women were seen in other photos of the event, which was not segregated.
But Reform MP Sarah Pochin went further than her colleagues, travelling to Trafalgar Square to film a video of herself condemning what she called a "domineering show of religious authority" that "should not be tolerated".
.@SadiqKhan taking part in a mass public act of Islamic prayer in the heart of the British capital is deeply divisive.
— Sarah Pochin MP (@SarahForRuncorn) March 17, 2026
This domineering show of religious authority should not be tolerated. pic.twitter.com/xWiVaiC8Eb
At the iftar event, Khan had told the assembled crowd: "We see the forces of division and darkness pitting communities against each other, trying to cower us and scare us to be less Muslim, to be less Islamic, to make us scared to put our head above the parapet.
"We've shown during this month of Ramadan the power of being a Muslim. The joy of being British."
The event was organised by Ramadan Tent Project, a charity which says it "brings communities together and spreads the spirit of Ramadan".
The project organises iftars at landmarks and cultural institutions around the country.
Ramadan Tent Project says its events are open to the "vulnerable, the homeless, those in need of a community, and anyone else who wished to share food and faith".
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