Politicians know they are ‘part of the extremism problem’ but refuse to confront their allies

Analysis: Sajid Javid becomes the latest politician to stop short of calling Donald Trump’s comments racist

Sajid Javid would not repeat his call for politicians to ‘moderate their language’ for Boris Johnson (PA)

“I have a confession to make – politicians have become part of the problem,” Sajid Javid told delegates at a major speech on countering extremism.

“Around the world populism, prejudice – and even open racism – have catapulted extremists into power.”

In a week that saw shock waves reverberate at Donald Trump’s calls for ethnic minority congresswomen to leave the US, and ugly scenes as his supporters chanted “send her back”, the home secretary’s words were welcome.

But even as he called for the British public to “have the courage to confront” extremism, he failed to take the same step himself.

When asked whether Donald Trump’s remarks were racist, Mr Javid demurred in the same fashion as Conservative leadership candidates Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt.

“The US remains and always will be one of our most important allies,” he said, amid talks over a post-Brexit trade deal. “By being good allies, you can be critical friends.”

While Mr Javid called on public figures to “moderate their language”, he would not repeat the appeal for Mr Johnson – on whom he is most likely depending to remain in the cabinet.

After being told that the former foreign secretary’s comparison of Muslim women to “letterboxes” had been used in real-world hate crimes, Mr Javid reiterated his support for Mr Johnson to become prime minister.

“I have always found him – both personally and in his policies – to be someone who is passionately anti-extremist and passionately anti-racist,” the home secretary insisted.

He claimed he “would not flinch from confronting extremism”, but failed to call out the very same inflammatory language his own speech identified as a source of polarisation and violence in modern Britain.

Earlier this year, a police officer leading preparations for Brexit called for politicians and public figures to “be careful about the language you are using so that it doesn’t end up with consequences that weren’t intended”.

Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said disorder around the UK’s departure from the EU would depend on “the way prominent people with a platform conduct themselves”.

And this week, research for the Commission for Countering Extremism warned that far-right protests were now attracting the largest numbers seen in Britain since the 1930s.

“There’s little doubt that no matter which side of the Brexit debate you fall on, the failure to deal with it competently has fed into disillusionment and anger,” a researcher warned.

“When people feel that the system is broken, they look outside of it.”

Politicians are most certainly part of the problem, and until they become willing to confront bigotry in their own ranks, they cannot be part of the solution.