The leader of the devolved government of British home nation Wales has become the latest leftist politician to say he would consider imposing a 6 p.m. curfew for all men following the death of London woman Sarah Everard.
Speaking to the BBC on Friday, Labour’s Mark Drakeford — who as the First Minister in Wales is the head of its regional government, roughly equivalent to a state government in the U.S. — said that while such a curfew was not a priority, he said it could be a “temporary intervention” in a “crisis”.
Asked if he would introduce curfews on half of the population if women in an area were being assaulted or were frightened, Mr Drakeford said, according to footage shared by Guido Fawkes: “It wouldn’t be on the top of the list of things that we would consider because it would be, at the very best, a temporary intervention.”
The journalist pressed for clarification on whether Drakeford would not rule it out or not, with the Welsh Labour confirming that “If there were a crisis, and you needed to take dramatic action that allowed that crisis to be drawn down, then, of course, you’d be prepared to consider all measures that would make a difference.”
Later, Drakeford furiously tweeted that Wales was not considering a curfew for men. Despite the First Minister saying the sexist proposal would be on the table in a crisis in the BBC interview, he appeared to claim that reports showing the footage were “misleading”.
“We are NOT introducing a curfew for men in Wales – or even considering it. This is misleading and deliberately misses the real issue. It’s a sad distraction when what’s needed is a proper discussion about women’s safety and why a woman is killed every three days by a man in the UK,” Mr Drakeford said.
Drakeford has come under attack in the past for infringing on civil liberties, for example banning the purchase of supposedly ‘non-essential’ items from supermarkets during one of Wales’s coronavirus lockdowns.
The Welsh Labour leader’s suggestion — and then retraction — of a curfew on men came after a Green Party lawmaker called for a “curfew for men on the streets after 6 p.m.”.
Jenny Jones, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, said in the House of Lords on Thursday: “In the week that Sarah Everard was abducted and, we suppose, killed — because remains have been found in a woodland in Kent — I argue that, at the next opportunity for any Bill that is appropriate, I might put in an amendment to create a curfew for men on the streets after 6 p.m.
“I feel this would make women a lot safer, and discrimination of all kinds would be lessened.”
The peer was condemned on social media, with cultural commentators criticising the leftist lawmaker for exploiting the disappearance of Miss Everard “to score political points”.
The Metropolitan Police Service confirmed on Friday that the body found in Kent woodlands belong to Sarah Everard.