MP Mark Francois has been criticised after he told a campaigner “all lives matter” as he was asked his views on the Black Lives Matter movement.

Rosie Shead wrote to Mr Francois to ask that he takes action against the sale of tear gas, rubber bullets and riot shields to the US and for the Government to put in place support for black Asian minority ethnic communities.

In his letter, Mr Francois, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, said: “..All lives matter and I believe that we should now all work together positively, regardless of ethnic origin, to help revive our country after this wicked Covid-19 pandemic.”

But Ms Shead, 25, from Hockley, who attended the kneel for Black Lives Matter in Southend at the weekend, told the Echo he used “outdated language”.

She said: “The saying ‘all lives matter’ is becoming renowned for being damaging and dismissing in terms of the Black Lives Matter movement - no one has said other lives don’t matter.

“For someone who is in power and represents us to use such outdated language was not only offensive but showed how out of touch he was.”

The Black Lives Matter movement is in response to the death of George Floyd, who died on May 25 while in police custody in Minneapolis.

Mr Francois, told the Echo: “I have responded to more than 100 constituents, who originally emailed me on this issue and having been an MP for nearly 20 years, I learned long ago, that you can never please all of the people all of the time.

“Ms Shead is a left-wing political activist, so it is unsurprising that she might want to criticise a Conservative MP.

“Of course, people have a right to democratic protest, but when people attempt to set fire to our country’s flag on our national war memorial to the fallen, they merely undermine support for their cause.”

Ms Shead says she was shocked by Mr Francois’ response and felt his tone in the letter was “condescending”.

Mr Francois’ reply to Ms Shead states: “I was appalled at the sight of a protester recently attempting to set alight the union flag hanging at the cenotaph at Whitehall – our national monument to the fallen.

“Such utterly disgraceful behaviour risks undermining public support for the campaign that you so obviously care about, which is presumably why you took the trouble to write to me in the first place.”

Ms Shead told the Echo she was shocked by his response.

She added: “Not just that he didn’t address any of the points I made but mainly the use of his language - his tone was condescending and in particular where he spoke about violence at protests and related it to me saying ‘which I so obviously care about’.

“It just felt like he didn’t care.”

Ms Shead’s letter reads: “Please demand that the UK Government immediately halts the sale of tear gas, rubber bullets and riot shields to the US.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, UK Government records show it grants export licences worth millions of pounds for the sale of anti-crowd gas, riot equipment, so-called rubber bullets and other small arms to the US – but the Government’s own rules say such exports should not go ahead where they are likely to be used for ‘internal repression’.”

Her letter continued by saying: “I would ask that you keep up the pressure on the Government to make clear the actions it will put in place to support and safeguard our BAME communities, who have already suffered disproportionately at the hands of this crisis.”

Mr Francois finished his letter to Ms Shead and said: “In summary, we all need to combat racism and as such I do certainly believe that black lives matter, just as much as brown lives and white lives do too.”

He concluded: “In other words, all lives matter and I believe that we should now all work together positively, regardless of ethnic origin, to help revive our country after this wicked Covid-19 pandemic.”