Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been slammed after ruling out "taking a knee" in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and suggesting the gesture was inspired by popular TV show Game of Thrones.
Mr Raab said on Thursday the protest was "a matter of personal choice" and said he only "took the knee" for two people, "the Queen and the Mrs when I asked her to marry me".
"I understand this sense of frustration and restlessness that it driving the Black Lives Matter movement," Mr Raab told Talk Radio.
"[But] I've got to say, on this taking a knee thing, I don't know, maybe it's got a broader history but it seems to be taken from The Game of Thrones, feels to me like a symbol of subjugation and subordination rather than one of liberation and emancipation."
The take a knee gesture emerged four years ago, when former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick dropped to one knee during the American national anthem at a pre-season game in 2016 to indicate his anger at racial injustice in the US.
The pose has since become ubiquitous as a way of showing support for the BLM movement and been widely adopted in recent weeks amid a wave of global anti-racism protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, an African American, in the US last month.
The Foreign Secretary's comments on the gesture meanwhile prompted an immediate backlash from several opposition politicians and other high profile figures.
Labour MP and shadow justice secretary David Lammy branded Mr Raab's comments "insulting" and "deeply embarrasing".
"This is not just insulting to the #BlackLivesMatter movement, it is deeply embarrassing for Dominic Raab," Mr Lammy Tweeted.
Fellow Labour MP Diane Abbott meanwhile pointed out the gesture's actual origins.
She tweeted: "'Taking the knee' began in 2016 with American athletes refusing to stand for US national anthem. They were protesting police brutality and racism. But @DominicRaab thinks it comes from Game of Thrones!!!"
Acting Lib Dem leader Ed Davey also weighed in on the issue, saying the Foreign Secretary's comments were "shocking" and "concerning".
"The fact our Foreign Secretary, who is also now going to be in charge of our aid budget, is totally ignorant about a global movement against racism is as shocking as it is concerning," he wrote in a post on Twitter.
Others quick to react to Mr Raab's comments included ITV's Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan and prominent anti-Brexit campaigner Femi Oluwole.
"Unbelievable. Foreign Secretary @DominicRaab thinks taking the knee is from Game of Thrones. This Government continues to shame us to the world," Mr Morgan Tweeted.
Mr Oluwole added: "Bloody hell, @DominicRaab! You are the foreign secretary! How can you be so ignorant of what #TakeTheKnee is about. Get on google and look up Colin Kaepernick, now!"
Responding to the criticism, Mr Raab posted on Twitter: "To be clear: I have full respect for the Black Lives Matter movement, and the issues driving them."
He added: "If people wish to take a knee, that’s their choice and I respect it. We all need to come together to tackle any discrimination and social injustice."
