NZ Herald | 3 July 2015

Comedian and activist Russell Brand has labelled the British government’s call for a one minute silence today as “total bulls***”.

David Cameron announced earlier in the week there would be a minute’s silence in memory of the 27 British tourists murdered after a gunman went on a rampage at a Tunisian hotel.

However, in a video posted to his YouTube channel, Brand criticised the reaction as a farce.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIRm81u2jNk?feature=player_embedded&w=640&h=360]

“There is no point in having a minute’s silence on Friday… as long as during that time, they continue to sell arms, they continue to bomb foreign countries, they have no interest in a solution, their only interest is perpetuating the problem and continuing to profit from it.”

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Brand said in his video, part of his web series The Trews, that politicians like Cameron are creating the terrorism issue by selling arms to troubled countries and by bombing foreign countries.

Brand also criticised people for turning the terrorist act into a religious issue.

“The doctors that treated the people are also Muslim, the people that drive the ambulance are Muslim… the people defending, barehanded, the lives of the hotel guests from the West, people like us on holiday, are also Muslim, so it’s not as simple as that.”

Comments on the YouTube video are largely in agreement with Brand. A poll on The Mirror website shows people are divided, with 49% saying they agree with his comments and 51% against what Brand said.