BBC Politics

We'll close our coverage from Westminster for today.

Our reporters were Kate Whannel, Paul Seddon and Richard Morris.

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Image source, Reuters

Today's PMQs was dominate by exchanges on the racist abuse directed at black England footballers.

Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were targeted after they missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final.

The incident has intensified calls for stronger action to stamp out hate online.

The government has promised its Online Safety Bill will do more to force social media companies to act.

The abuse has also prompted questions about what more can be done elsewhere too.

Read our guide here on what the law currently says on online abuse.

• Boris Johnson said football banning orders will be use to stop people from attending matches if they are found guilty of sending racist abuse.

• Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accuse the government of engaging in a "culture war", external

• Starmer asked if it was wrong to brand the England team for taking the knee as "gesture politics". The PM says utterly condemned racist abuse.

• SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford , externalsaid "it falls on all of us" to face down racism and "call it out". He said the prime minister has "finally woken up to the fact that" those who post online abuse need to be sanctioned.
• The prime minister said that in a meeting last night he told social media companies that they could face heavy fines if they fail to deal with racist abuse posted on their platforms.
• Home Office minister Victoria Atkins , externaldefended Home Secretary Priti Patel and said she has been "relentless" in pursuing social media companies to take a tougher stance

Labour's Olivia Blake asks Victoria Atkins whether her colleagues "refusal" to condemn fans who booed players taking the knee, or their dismissal of it "gesture politics" could "have given space" to a "hostile environment" where people see racist abuse of England players as acceptable.

She accuses the government of "denying" the problem and a "failure to act".

In reply, Ms Atkins says Priti Patel did not say she supported fans who booed, and cautions: "we've got to be very careful in how we handle the facts".

"A little bit of back and forth over the despatch box is fine", she says, "but I do hope the honourable lady will stick to the facts next time".

Labour MP Janet Daby says racist abuse doesn't just take place online.

She cites a Sunday Times article in which it said footballer Raheem Sterling was being celebrated on "the violent streets" of Jamaica where he grew up.

"This ignorant and tasteless commentary feeds the stereotype that black people or black populations or countries are dangerous," she adds.

She asks the minister to condemn "the disgusting attitudes propelled by tabloids and broadsheets for decade".

Victoria Atkins replies that she is not aware of the article but recalls Raheem Sterling's story of growing up under the arch of Wembley Stadium and dreaming of playing there. She says his story shows that "in this country there is the opportunity, if you have the talents, to really succeed."

That is the message that should come from the MPs debate, and the hate crime posted over the weekend, she adds.

Image source, HoC

Labour MP Florence Eshalomi is the first black MP to speak in the urgent question.

She says "the racist incidents online do not exist in a vacuum". She says they exist in a world where 95% of black children say they have witnessed racism. She says she will continue to do her bit to tackle racism.

"Social media companies need to take a lot more action," she states, saying that government should introduce "criminal sanctions" against social media executives for inaction in the Online Harms Bill.

Victoria Atkins says she is "delighted that this House is more diverse than it's ever been".

She says the government has "two great offices of state" (chancellor and home secretary) with leaders who "happen" to be BME.

She says MPs will have plenty of opportunity to scrutinise the bill in full.

SNP MP Chris Stephens starts by declaring he is co-chair of the campaign groups Show Racism the Red Card. He says the group does fantastic work tackling racism but the Home Office cut its funding to zero 18 months ago.

He says the Scottish and Welsh governments still give funds to the campaign group.

He asks to meet the minister to discuss the funding.

Victoria Atkins says she would be happy to meet him, and points to work done by police that the Home Office funds. She says campaigns like Show Racism the Red Card are very much in the country's interest

Image source, HoC

Conservative Caroline Ansell says everyone she has spoken to in her constituency has praised the England football team and that the racist abuse has inspired an outpouring of support and solidarity.

She says "social media platforms must seriously raise their game or face serious repercussions".

Victoria Atkins says the online trolls are "in the minority" adding the "overwhelming majority of us are incredibly proud of our team".

Labour MP Margaret Hodge says social media companies "could have stopped" racist abuse directed at England footballers but "chose not to because it suits their business model".

She says the "power or the capability" of tech giants is not lacking, but "the will" to take action.

She accuses social media firms of choosing "not to plan, not to monitor, not to act" ahead of Sunday's final, despite it being a high-profile event.

Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins says firms have powers to deal with abuse and "one can only conclude" therefore that firms "do not wish" to remove posts that have been highlighted since the match.

She also says former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg - who is now a senior executive at Facebook - should advise his employer about the "anger" MPs feel about this issue.

Joining by video link, former Labour leader and now independent MP, Jeremy Corbyn, says the government has "refused to take any action" to take social media action "of any kind". He says the Amnesty International report on "Toxic Twitter" found that black women are 84% more likely to receive abuse online than anyone else.

He asks how the government will take immediate action on the matter.

Victoria Atkins says she is a "little surprised" that Jeremy Corbyn chose to ask this question "on taking immediate action to tackle racism".

She says the findings of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission found that Labour had discriminated against Jewish people under his leadership and a Jewish female Labour MP couldn't attend her own party conference without police protection.

"I will listen to many, many people about tackling racism, I will work with pretty much anyone, but I must say I will take a long spoon in which to suck with this particular member".

Image source, HoC

Labour MP and chair of the home affairs committee Yvette Cooper says there are racist posts on Instagram that have been up for more than 24 hours.

She says it is taking companies "days" to remove posts and asks the minister how the Online Safety Bill will penalise companies who are "not moving fast enough".

"Keyboard cowards are being given a megaphone by these social media companies," she says.

Victoria Atkins says she doesn't think tech companies understand the "anger and frustration" of the public

"If they don't listen we will act," she adds.

Conservative Marco Longhi says the home secretary has been on the receiving end of "terrible abuse".

He asks the minister if she agrees that the fight against racism "is most effective when racism campaigns are fully understood by everyone and what really matters is when meaningful action is taken".

Victoria Atkins replies that "part of our national conversation" should focus on how "each of us show our complete support for the campaigns to combat racism".

She adds that the home secretary feels very strong about the issue.

SNP's Stuart C Mcdonald says the disgusting abuse online has overshadowed a fantastic tournament and a fantastic team that has attracted admiration and even some envy.

He says content must be taken down faster.

He says regulation is not a silver bullet and online racism reflects offline racism.

He says the government has to tackle "structural and institutional racism" more seriously.

He says Conservatives have spent too long playing down racism.

Victoria Atikins replies he is right to acknowledge racism in society is for everyone to tackle and says he will know the work the government is doing to tackle hate speech and hate crimes.

She said she has been overwhelmed by the public response to the online trolls, and the community in Manchester who covered a mural in supportive messages for Marcus Rashford after it was daubed with racist graffiti.

We need to reflect and act on the positive public response, she says, and by working together we will tackle the hateful attitudes.

Conservative Simon Fell says 105 Instagram accounts posting abuse against players have been identified, but as of this morning only six have been taken down.

Victoria Atkins says she "read with some dismay and anger" in the i newspaper that Facebook was applying their community standards in dealing with emoji use and offensive words, rather than UK law.

Atkins says the home secretary is not answering the urgent question because she is hosting a meeting with charities about domestic abuse.

However she adds that Priti Patel would "reject many" of Labour's allegations.

She describes the government's Online Safety Bill as "a landmark piece of legislation" and says MPs are being consulted because "we want to get this bill right."

She says the public are "watching the behaviours of online companies very carefully" and suggests the firms should set out their plans for tackling online abuse.

On introducing "football banning orders", Atkins says implementation will be "complex" because many of the perpetrators are overseas.

However she says the government is committed to working with football clubs to make sure the orders work.

Image source, HoC

In response, Nick Thomas-Symonds says the government's response to racism against footballers has "lacked urgency".

Like his party leader at PMQs, he takes a swipe at Home Secretary Priti Patel previously calling taking the knee "gesture politics".

He also criticises Ms Patel and the prime minister for not condemning fans who booed players for taking the knee in the the run-up to the Euro 2020 tournament, calling "shameful".

He also accuses the government of "dragging its feet" on introducing the Online Safety Bill, and criticises Priti Patel for not turning up to today's Commons debate.

Image source, HoC

Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins is now at the despatch box in the Commons to reply to the Urgent Question on racist abuse online.

She says the England team have "brought the whole country together and have united us with joy".

She says it is a "great shame" that the whole team have been brought down by trolls.

She says those who make racist posts on social media will "face the full force of the law".

Governments around the world are "grappling" with how to deal with the "wild west" of the online world, she says.

Such delays in social media companies to dealing with such posts have "stiffened" the government's resolve to dealing with the issue, she states.

She says behind the numbers of cases of abuse online, there are people who are affected by it.

She quotes Gareth Southgate, saying that the "national team stands for everybody".

Reality Check

At prime minister’s questions, Boris Johnson was asked about by Labour about the booing of England players when they took the knee during the Euros.

Mr Johnson said:“We made it absolutely clear that no one should boo the England team”

So what did he say?

On 7 June, after England players were booed for taking the knee before playing Romania, the prime minister’s spokesperson said Mr Johnson respected the right to “peacefully protest” but added that he was “more focused on action rather than gestures”.

The tone changed on 11 June, when the spokesperson was asked whether Mr Johnson would condemn the booing, he said he wanted to see everybody “cheer them on, not boo”.

On 12 June, the prime minister told reporters: “I disapprove of people booing the England team...I see no reason to do that.”

The next day, the prime minister was asked for his reaction to news that the England team had just been booed for taking the knee once again. He did not condemn the booing but he said “everybody should cheer for England, external”.

Some of his cabinet colleagues took a different approach: Home Secretary Priti Patel told GB News on 14 June that she did not support people taking part in what she called “gesture politics”. When asked whether it was right for England fans to boo, she said “that’s a choice for them quite frankly”.

During PMQs today, Mr Johnson reminded MPs that the home secretary had “faced racism and prejudice all her career of a kind that he could never imagine”.

PMQs: Culture wars and mutual criticismpublished at 12:48 British Summer Time 14 July 2021

12:48 BST 14 July 2021

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Boris Johnson hoped to defuse Sir Keir Starmer’s criticisms by offering "practical steps" to tackle racism including banning those who abuse players from football matches and threatening social media companies with fines if they don’t take down racist content.

But at times he looked uncomfortable – pawing the air several times to denote dismissal of what he felt was unjustified criticism from the Labour leader.

The secret weapon he had was a Labour leaflet from the Batley by-election which showed him meeting the Hindu PM of India - what he saw as a ‘dog whistle’ to the Muslim voters that Labour wanted to attract.

But viewers may not have had wider knowledge of the leaflet’s content - or knew the context in which it was deployed - so it was hardly a laser-guided political missile.

Usually it has felt Labour has been on the back foot in the so-called ‘culture wars’ – asked to condemn the destruction of statues, for example - because the government knows that some of the party’s activists have differing views.

But Starmer clearly felt the treatment of England players gave him an opportunity to make the prime minister uneasy with some of his own MPs not condemning – at least initially – the jeers the footballers faced.

This probably elicited the most newsworthy line of the exchanges when Boris Johnson declared he was not engaging in a political culture war of any kind.