Jess Phillips admits mistake of response to masked men intimidating Sky News journalists during riots

The Home Office minister said she could have phrased a post in a better way as she responded to footage of masked men intimidating a reporter during last week’s riots

Jess Phillips has admitted she made a “mistake” with how she phrased a social media post about masked men confronting a journalist during the riots last week (UK Parliament/PA) (PA Archive)

Jess Phillips has admitted she made a mistake with how she phrased a social media post about masked men confronting a journalist during the riots last week, after being accused of “making excuses” for them.

Footage showed a Sky News reporter being approached by hooded and masked men in Ms Phillips’ Birmingham Yardley constituency during a period of disorder in the city, with one man swearing and making rude gestures at the camera.

A man with a knife later attacked a Sky News van as the TV crew attempted to leave the area after being told they were not welcome, reporter Becky Johnson said at the time.

When the video was released, Ms Phillips suggested that the rumours of the far-right gathering had been deliberately spread in a bid to cause trouble.

I think I almost certainly could have phrased it better

Jess Phillips

The Home Office minister was responding to a post on X by Reform UK MP Richard Tice which suggested what he called “pro Gaza masked folk” in the video were subject to a different standard of policing than the rioters.

Replying, Ms Phillips said: “These people came to this location because it has been spread that racists were coming to attack them.

“This misinformation was spread entirely to create this content. Don’t spread it Mr Tice!”

In the period since the unrest, the MP for Birmingham Yardley has faced criticism from shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat, and his rival for the Conservative leadership James Cleverly, a former home secretary.

Asked about her remarks on Wednesday, she told Sky News: “Of course, I would choose my words more carefully [in the future]. I’m more than happy to say that when I make a mistake. Absolutely.

“I was trying to get across that this gathering of people had been manufactured by misinformation.”

Ms Phillips said she was “explaining why those people have gone” in her post, adding: “That’s because of a campaign of misinformation about far-right protests.”

Her comments came after Tory leadership hopeful Mr Tugendhat claimed Ms Phillips should have been sacked from her ministerial role by the prime minister for her intervention.

He said: “When Jess Phillips sought to justify the militia, vigilantism and violence, to excuse a militia on our streets, Keir Starmer should have sacked her, because ministers must always defend the principle of equality before the law.”

At the time of her post, Mr Cleverly wrote on X: “Home Office ministers should not be making excuses for masked men shouting, abusing, and intimidating members of the media.

“Ministers are not commentators or casual observers, they are decision makers and need to think about the consequences of their words and actions.”