City council boss condemns planned UKIP march

The leader of Liverpool City Council has said he regrets the local authority cannot ban a proposed UKIP march through the city this weekend, as senior church figures also voice their opposition.

Merseyside Police confirmed the march would go ahead after UKIP urged its supporters to "stand for Christ in Liverpool during Lent".

Liam Robinson condemned the planned event and said it was "regretful" that his local authority had no legal power to stop it. Prominent church leaders also distanced themselves from the march, saying it had been "organised independently of the recognised Christian community" on Merseyside.

UKIP said church leaders had a "cheek" to suggest it was "politicising our faith".

Addressing his cabinet colleagues, Robinson said: "Let me be very, very clear, that hate has no place in our city.

"While, unfortunately, we have no powers to ban this, we will ensure we're working very, very closely with Merseyside Police to make sure all measures are being taken to ensure public safety.

"I know this city will stand together against racism because this is Liverpool, a city of hope, not hate."

Under its leader Nick Tenconi, UKIP has made Christian identity politics a central part of its campaigning.

Senior faith leaders, including the Reverend Geoff Felton, Moderator of the United Reformed Church Mersey Synod, have issued a joint statement, expressing "unequivocal" opposition to the march.

They said it was not connected to established Christian communities on Merseyside and reaffirmed their commitment to "love, justice and compassion".

Their statement continued: "We will continue to stand firm against hatred, prejudice, racism and bigotry in all their forms, confident that these forces will not define who we are as a society."

Liverpool, they added, "has a proud history of resilience, solidarity and loving its neighbour."

They concluded: "Our calling is not to sow discord, but to build bridges; not to exclude, but to welcome; not to inflame fear, but to practise compassion... We stand alongside and pray for all those who seek the peace of our city."

In response to the statement by senior faith leaders, UKIP said: "Liberal, progressive, secular Christians are not Christians at all - they have betrayed the core principles of our faith.

"It is an absolute disgrace that many clergy in both the Catholic and Anglican Church have sold their souls for thirty pieces of silver to appease left-wing extremists by pandering to foreign religions."

The party said "nowhere are followers of Christ told to be tolerant of evil, traitors, heresies and heretics".

The statement added: "Tribalism and political ideology is rife within the Catholic and Anglican Church - filled with devout left-wing activists who despise tradition and Britain, stemming from woke, left-wing leadership in both churches.

"They have the cheek to suggest we are politicising our faith when they are the ones undermining biblical teachings to push a political agenda."

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