ANTI-FASCIST and anti-racist campaigners all over Britain have, for the last few weeks, been pounding pavements on countless housing estates, delivering leaflets and newsletters and speaking to voters on their doorsteps to convince them not to vote for the fascist British National Party. This is not difficult.
Once voters are told who and what the BNP is and the lies told by the BNP are explained and refuted, only a tiny, tiny handful would ever support them. The vast majority of the working class in Britain are not racists or fascists.
And it is not difficult to find volunteers to do this work – much easier than to find people willing to canvass votes for Blair’s New Labour. Many are trade union activists and campaigning against the BNP can involve people from a wide political spectrum from the left fringe to Tories.
But this weekend these valiant volunteers all felt as though they had been stabbed in the back by remarks from Barking Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who claimed that eight out of ten voters in the estates she has canvassed in her constituency have considered voting BNP. This is an enormous exaggeration and an insult to the working class people of Barking. But more reliable research by the Joseph Rowntree Trust and by Searchlight anti-fascist magazine puts the figure of those considering voting BNP at between 20 and 30 per cent – which is quite high enough to raise real concerns.
The BNP has targeted the area, as it has the neighbouring borough of Dagenham but there is a different story in Dagenham. Dagenham Labour MP Jon Cruddas has a long and honourable record of leading the anti-fascist campaign in Dagenham, of going round on the doorstep, talking to people and taking up their concerns. Consequently support for the BNP in Dagenham in last year’s general election was less than half what it was in Barking.
Hodge has never done this door to door work until now. Like too many of the New Labour elite, talking to ordinary people was beneath her. Now suddenly she is crying that Labour has neglected the needs of the white working class and thousands of people are going to vote for the fascists in protest.
New Labour has neglected the concerns of all the working class whatever their colour – and it expects to do badly in the coming local elections. Some believe that Hodge may be preparing an alibi in advance for that electoral disaster to come. If so, she is playing with fire. The BNP itself is jubilant at her remarks.
Others believe she is trying to scare people into voting Labour on the basis that there is no alternative. Searchlight criticises other mainstream parties – the Tories and Liberal Democrats – that they are not standing in many wards, leaving voters who oppose Labour with nowhere else to go but BNP or abstention.
Make no mistake, the BNP must be stopped. Its aim is to gain up to 70 council seats throughout Britain on 4th May. It will do nothing with these seats. BNP councillors have never functioned as proper councillors. But the party aims to use this base to go on eventually to take a seat in the European Parliament; to become part of the neo-fascist bloc with Le Pen from France and Haider from Austria and so get European Union funding.
The condescending New Labour elitism of Margaret Hodge will not be able to stop them. The traditional Labour grass roots hard work of Jon Cruddas, talking to voters and taking their concerns seriously, can smash the BNP’s hopes.
Other measures that would turn out the Labour vote in force on 4th May of course would be bringing the troops home from Iraq, rescuing the NHS from its financial crisis, dropping the privatisation of our public services and sacking Tony Blair.
We call on all Labour MPs – along with trades unionists like those who have been campaigning tirelessly against the BNP – to use the strength they have in the Labour Party to bring this about.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Kim Il Sung remembered
SAKLATVALA HALL in Southall, west London, was packed last Saturday with friends of Democratic Korea celebrating the birthday of the great Korean revolutionary leader, Kim Il Sung. NCP leader Andy Brooks delivered the solidarity greeting of the NCP and other messages came from Michael Chant of the RCPB (ML) and representatives of the CPGB(ML), SLP, the British Juche Society and Southall Respect.
The day finished with Indian poetry and music, Korean songs and dances performed by the sons and daughters of the DPR Korea’s diplomatic community, and a piano composition from Michael Chant.
The day finished with Indian poetry and music, Korean songs and dances performed by the sons and daughters of the DPR Korea’s diplomatic community, and a piano composition from Michael Chant.
London bombings: Al Qaeda 'not linked'
THE MEN who carried out the 7th July London bombings last year had no direct support from or connection with Al Qaeda, according to the official inquiry into the bombings.
The first forensic account of the bombings that claimed 52 lives was published last week. It revealed that the attacks were planned on a shoe-string budget from information on the internet; there was no fifth bomber and although two of the bombers had visited Pakistan, there were no direct links with Al Qaeda.
There was no international terror network behind the bombings and all the materials involved cost no more than a few hundred pounds.
A Whitehall source said: “the London attacks were a modest, simple affair by four seemingly normal men using the internet.”
The inquiry also concluded that the attacks were motivated by anger at Britain’s foreign policy, which was perceived to be deliberately anti-Muslim.
The first forensic account of the bombings that claimed 52 lives was published last week. It revealed that the attacks were planned on a shoe-string budget from information on the internet; there was no fifth bomber and although two of the bombers had visited Pakistan, there were no direct links with Al Qaeda.
There was no international terror network behind the bombings and all the materials involved cost no more than a few hundred pounds.
A Whitehall source said: “the London attacks were a modest, simple affair by four seemingly normal men using the internet.”
The inquiry also concluded that the attacks were motivated by anger at Britain’s foreign policy, which was perceived to be deliberately anti-Muslim.
London opens office in Beijing
Visiting London Mayor Ken Livingstone opened a new London office in Beijing on Tuesday to boost cooperation and exchanges between the two cities.
The London Economic Development and Inward Investment office is the first the city has established abroad to boost trade, investment and social exchanges.
Livingstone said the office aimed to promote the exchanges in commerce, trade and tourism.
The two cities could learn much from each other, especially in staging the Olympic Games, the mayor said.
Sebastian Coe, head of the London delegation bidding for the 2012 Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, met on Tuesday with Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Both sides pledged to support each other's Olympic Games projects and carry forward the spirit of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
Nearly 400 Chinese enterprises have established branches in Britain and the Olympic Games will lift the Chinese capital's cooperation with London to a new level.
Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2008 Olympics, made the remarks during a meeting with the visiting London Mayor Ken Livingstone.
"Beijing and London had traditional friendship, and the Olympics has offered a good opportunity for the cooperation between the two cities,"said Liu.
Livingstone, who has visited Beijing Olympic venues as well as the urban planning exhibition during his stay, said that London will share experience and enhance exchanges with Beijing in hosting the Olympic Games.
The mayor added that the Olympics bring both cities opportunities for development, but also responsibilities of delivering it successfully due to the Games' great influence on billions of people in the world.
He said that the delegation of London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games has met the Beijing organisers, laying a foundation for the cooperation between the two cities
Some 7,700 Chinese students are studying in London,while the number of Chinese tourists and business people going to Britain has increased rapidly in the last six years.
Livingstone said London was the gateway for Chinese enterprises into the European market, and hosted the European and British headquarters of many Chinese enterprises.
Xinhua news agency
The London Economic Development and Inward Investment office is the first the city has established abroad to boost trade, investment and social exchanges.
Livingstone said the office aimed to promote the exchanges in commerce, trade and tourism.
The two cities could learn much from each other, especially in staging the Olympic Games, the mayor said.
Sebastian Coe, head of the London delegation bidding for the 2012 Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, met on Tuesday with Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Both sides pledged to support each other's Olympic Games projects and carry forward the spirit of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
Nearly 400 Chinese enterprises have established branches in Britain and the Olympic Games will lift the Chinese capital's cooperation with London to a new level.
Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2008 Olympics, made the remarks during a meeting with the visiting London Mayor Ken Livingstone.
"Beijing and London had traditional friendship, and the Olympics has offered a good opportunity for the cooperation between the two cities,"said Liu.
Livingstone, who has visited Beijing Olympic venues as well as the urban planning exhibition during his stay, said that London will share experience and enhance exchanges with Beijing in hosting the Olympic Games.
The mayor added that the Olympics bring both cities opportunities for development, but also responsibilities of delivering it successfully due to the Games' great influence on billions of people in the world.
He said that the delegation of London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic Games has met the Beijing organisers, laying a foundation for the cooperation between the two cities
Some 7,700 Chinese students are studying in London,while the number of Chinese tourists and business people going to Britain has increased rapidly in the last six years.
Livingstone said London was the gateway for Chinese enterprises into the European market, and hosted the European and British headquarters of many Chinese enterprises.
Xinhua news agency
Thursday, April 06, 2006
New Worker Pamphlets
Stalin: Dialectical and Historical Materialism: £1.00
The Case for Communism: £2.00
All in the Family: £1.00
Arab Nationalism & the Communist Movement: £1.00
New Technology and the need for socialism: £2.00
Orders to: NCP Lit, PO Box 73, London, SW11 2PQ
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please add 50p p&p on all orders.
Billy Bragg's Hope not Hate tour
ANTI-FASCIST singer Billy Bragg this week, in the run-up to the 4th May local elections, launched a Hope Not Hate Tour to oppose British National Party election endeavours – with the backing of a House of Commons motion.
The Commons motion, and the Hope Not Hate campaign, is being driven by Dagenham Labour MP Jon Cruddas with the support of MP’s from the West Midlands, the East Midlands, the North West, the North East and Yorkshire – all areas where the BNP are running candidates and where the Billy Bragg tour will roll into town offering an alternative to the hate, division and violence of the BNP.
The Hope Not Hate tour is backed by four of the country’s biggest and most powerful trade unions – Amicus, GMB, the RMT and Unison – along with the campaigning organisations Unite Against Fascism, Searchlight, Love Music Hate Racism and Glastonbury Festival’s Left Field.
Jon Cruddas said: “The Hope Not Hate tour will give a real boost to the campaign against the BNP in the regions where they are touting their racist poison. The trade union movement has risen to the challenge thrown down by the BNP and will be mobilising their members under the Hope Not Hate banner.”
Billy Bragg said: “In my home town, Barking, we’ve organised and begun to turn the tide on the BNP. It couldn’t have been done without the support of the unions. If you want to know what trade unions are all about, it’s not just what happens in the workplace, it’s about building communities – communities where people can live side by side in peace and prosperity.”
Further information: Geoff Martin 07831 465 103 or 020 8644 2965. Hope Not Hate tour dates at http://www.billybragg.com
The Commons motion, and the Hope Not Hate campaign, is being driven by Dagenham Labour MP Jon Cruddas with the support of MP’s from the West Midlands, the East Midlands, the North West, the North East and Yorkshire – all areas where the BNP are running candidates and where the Billy Bragg tour will roll into town offering an alternative to the hate, division and violence of the BNP.
The Hope Not Hate tour is backed by four of the country’s biggest and most powerful trade unions – Amicus, GMB, the RMT and Unison – along with the campaigning organisations Unite Against Fascism, Searchlight, Love Music Hate Racism and Glastonbury Festival’s Left Field.
Jon Cruddas said: “The Hope Not Hate tour will give a real boost to the campaign against the BNP in the regions where they are touting their racist poison. The trade union movement has risen to the challenge thrown down by the BNP and will be mobilising their members under the Hope Not Hate banner.”
Billy Bragg said: “In my home town, Barking, we’ve organised and begun to turn the tide on the BNP. It couldn’t have been done without the support of the unions. If you want to know what trade unions are all about, it’s not just what happens in the workplace, it’s about building communities – communities where people can live side by side in peace and prosperity.”
Further information: Geoff Martin 07831 465 103 or 020 8644 2965. Hope Not Hate tour dates at http://www.billybragg.com
Justice for London cleaners!
by Caroline Colebrook
THE TRANSPORT and General Workers’ Union is fighting to improve the wages and conditions of office cleaners employed by major banks in London at Canary Wharf and at the giant Deutsche Bank in the City of London.
The union announced last Friday that it is stepping up its campaign for justice for the cleaners in Canary Wharf and that, unless rapid progress is made in resolving the Wharf cleaners’ grievances, it will ballot its members for strike action.
Senior industrial organiser for the TGWU Paul Davies said: “Our members at the Wharf have had enough. They’ve had enough of working for some of the wealthiest companies in the world for low pay and of their managers refusing to meet with their union.
“Each and every cleaning contractor at Canary Wharf, and their clients the banks, should be working with the cleaners’ union on a way forward. Some of the more enlightened contractors and some of the more socially aware clients are working with the union to improve the pay and other conditions of employment of cleaners.
“But others are hiding their heads in the sand and failing to respect their cleaners’ demand for justice.
“In those buildings at the Wharf where there is still no constructive dialogue we will be planning industrial action.
“Regretfully, unless we can see some significant progress on the part of the banks and the contractors in the next seven days, we will proceed towards a series of strategic strikes in key buildings across the Wharf.”
The TGWU’s Justice for Cleaners campaign represents cleaners in Reuters, the Financial Services Authority, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, HSBC, Lehman’s, Credit Suisse, 1 Canada Square, the Bank of America, McGraw Hill, and Clifford Chance. They are fighting for a living wage, sick pay, improved holidays, a pension and recognition for their union.
Meanwhile, a few miles away in the City of London, cleaners being paid £6 an hour to clean the London offices of the giant Deutsche Bank are urging the bank’s top bosses to help them get a fair deal at work.
The cleaners hand-delivered a letter last Tuesday to the bank’s head of operations in Britain, Aidan Brady, asking Deutsche Bank to tell the Lancaster office cleaning company to pay them a long-promised bonus and start talks with their union, the TGWU.
“Deutsche Bank’s top executive is now paid €11.9 million a year, and the company has a reputation for paying big bonuses to many staff,” said Paul Davies.
“Our cleaners’ expectations are rather more modest, but they are the basic demands of employees in any civilised country. They are only asking for £6.70p an hour plus a sick pay scheme.
“They expect their trade union to be able to negotiate for them with their employers, and they expect their employers to keep their promises. At a meeting before Christmas, Lancaster promised our cleaners a quarterly bonus and this should have been paid last week. They are still waiting for it. We believe a little encouragement from Deutsche Bank could remedy this situation immediately. “That’s why we are asking Deutsche Bank to tell Lancaster to treat their workers properly. After all, Deutsche Bank boasts that it is ‘a European global powerhouse dedicated to excellence, constantly challenging the status quo to deliver superior solutions’. Sorting out Lancaster Cleaners shouldn’t pose too big a problem for the bank.”
THE TRANSPORT and General Workers’ Union is fighting to improve the wages and conditions of office cleaners employed by major banks in London at Canary Wharf and at the giant Deutsche Bank in the City of London.
The union announced last Friday that it is stepping up its campaign for justice for the cleaners in Canary Wharf and that, unless rapid progress is made in resolving the Wharf cleaners’ grievances, it will ballot its members for strike action.
Senior industrial organiser for the TGWU Paul Davies said: “Our members at the Wharf have had enough. They’ve had enough of working for some of the wealthiest companies in the world for low pay and of their managers refusing to meet with their union.
“Each and every cleaning contractor at Canary Wharf, and their clients the banks, should be working with the cleaners’ union on a way forward. Some of the more enlightened contractors and some of the more socially aware clients are working with the union to improve the pay and other conditions of employment of cleaners.
“But others are hiding their heads in the sand and failing to respect their cleaners’ demand for justice.
“In those buildings at the Wharf where there is still no constructive dialogue we will be planning industrial action.
“Regretfully, unless we can see some significant progress on the part of the banks and the contractors in the next seven days, we will proceed towards a series of strategic strikes in key buildings across the Wharf.”
The TGWU’s Justice for Cleaners campaign represents cleaners in Reuters, the Financial Services Authority, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, HSBC, Lehman’s, Credit Suisse, 1 Canada Square, the Bank of America, McGraw Hill, and Clifford Chance. They are fighting for a living wage, sick pay, improved holidays, a pension and recognition for their union.
Meanwhile, a few miles away in the City of London, cleaners being paid £6 an hour to clean the London offices of the giant Deutsche Bank are urging the bank’s top bosses to help them get a fair deal at work.
The cleaners hand-delivered a letter last Tuesday to the bank’s head of operations in Britain, Aidan Brady, asking Deutsche Bank to tell the Lancaster office cleaning company to pay them a long-promised bonus and start talks with their union, the TGWU.
“Deutsche Bank’s top executive is now paid €11.9 million a year, and the company has a reputation for paying big bonuses to many staff,” said Paul Davies.
“Our cleaners’ expectations are rather more modest, but they are the basic demands of employees in any civilised country. They are only asking for £6.70p an hour plus a sick pay scheme.
“They expect their trade union to be able to negotiate for them with their employers, and they expect their employers to keep their promises. At a meeting before Christmas, Lancaster promised our cleaners a quarterly bonus and this should have been paid last week. They are still waiting for it. We believe a little encouragement from Deutsche Bank could remedy this situation immediately. “That’s why we are asking Deutsche Bank to tell Lancaster to treat their workers properly. After all, Deutsche Bank boasts that it is ‘a European global powerhouse dedicated to excellence, constantly challenging the status quo to deliver superior solutions’. Sorting out Lancaster Cleaners shouldn’t pose too big a problem for the bank.”
Friday, March 31, 2006
Tube workers protest at safety cuts
WORKERS employed by London Underground last week protested at Westminster and lobbied their MPs over changes to fire regulations.
Union leaders argued that planned changes to regulations introduced after the 1987 King’s Cross fire will affect the level of cover.
Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT transport union, said existing regulations must be kept. "These regulations are not academic," he said, "they are quite literally a matter of life and death, and our members and the travelling public have the right to expect that rules that protect them are not thrown out."
The RMT has claimed LU scrapped its fire inspection programme and abolished the post of fire safety adviser.
Union leaders argued that planned changes to regulations introduced after the 1987 King’s Cross fire will affect the level of cover.
Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT transport union, said existing regulations must be kept. "These regulations are not academic," he said, "they are quite literally a matter of life and death, and our members and the travelling public have the right to expect that rules that protect them are not thrown out."
The RMT has claimed LU scrapped its fire inspection programme and abolished the post of fire safety adviser.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
PROTESTERS DEMAND TROOPS OUT!AROUND 100,000 people marched through the streets of London last week to call for an end to the illegal three-year invasion of Iraq and for British troops to be brought home. They also voiced their strong opposition to the threat of a possible air strike against Iran.
The march, organised by Stop the War and CND, was one of many all around the world to mark the third anniversary of the morning that Bush declared war on Iraq: in Basra, Baghdad, Rome, New York, Sydney, Madrid, Dublin, Istanbul, Chicago, Toronto, Karachi and Dhaka. The march, from Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square, took a long route along Victoria Road, Buckingham Palace Road, Green Park, Piccadilly and the Haymarket. It passed the offices of Attorney General Lord Goldsmith, to underline the illegality of the war and that both Britain and the United States are guilty of war crimes.
The march ended in a huge rally in Trafalgar Square that was addressed by many speakers, including MPs and peace activists from many countries.
photo: Marching along with the NCP banner on Saturday
Tributes to Karl Marxby Rob Laurie
Karl Marx died in his study at half-past two on the afternoon of Wednesday 14th March 1883. To commemorate his passing the Marx Memorial Library has for many decades held an annual graveside oration at his burial place in Highgate Cemetery in North London at the exact moment of his death.
This year the speaker was David McLellan. In addition to being the author of many well received books on Marx, David McLellan is both president of the Marx Memorial Library and Professor of political theory at the University of Kent.
In his address MacLellan stressed that the writings of Marx and Engels, although produced in the 19th century, are equally relevant for the 21st century. Indeed the first description of what is commonly known by the fashionable buzzword as “globalisation” appeared in the Communist Manifesto of 1848.
Marx’s view that to understand the world one needs to look first and foremost at the relations of production is as true today as it was when first formulated.
He concluded by observing that the remarks made by Frederick Engels at Marx’s funeral in 1883 have been vindicated by history: “His name and works will endure down through the ages”.
NCP leader Andy Brooks represented the New Communist Party and the turnout included Library committee members and delegations from the London embassies of socialist countries, including Cuba, People’s China, Vietnam and the DPR Korea, many of whom laid flowers at the grave. The turnout was swollen by the presence of a large group of young Chinese students studying at the University of Westminster.
This year was the also the 50th anniversary of the unveiling of the iconic memorial to Marx which was sculpted by Lawrence Bradshaw in 1956. A BBC radio reporter was on hand to record participants’ views on both Marx and the monument. Hopefully these remarks will be broadcast shortly.
Photo: NCP General Secretary lays flowers at Marx's grave
Monday, March 20, 2006
London news round-up
Eurostar cleaners ballot for strike
MORE THAN 100 members of the RMT transport union who are employed by OCS as cleaners on its Eurostar contract are to be balloted for industrial action over the company’s failure improve a pay offer that falls way short of eradicating poverty pay rates. Members are to be asked to vote to strike and for action short of strike to back their campaign for a minimum pay rate that matches London mayor Ken Livingstone’s recommendation of a living wage of at least £7.05 an hour. “OCS is paying cleaners as little as £5.50 an hour, even for nights, Sundays and bank-holiday work, and that is simply not good enough,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said last week. “The paltry increase they are offering includes consolidation of a £10 weekly attendance bonus and boils down to an insult of 20p an hour and would still leave pay rates around £1 an hour below a living wage. “I am sure that Eurostar passengers will be horrified to learn that the people who clean their trains and stations are paid at such miserable rates. “If OCS can afford to pay their top director £175,000 a year and can stump up cash to sponsor a stand at the Oval they can afford to pay the people who actually make their money a decent wage. “And it is no use Eurostar burying their heads in the sand either. Poverty wages are being paid to cleaners working on their railway, and they also have a responsibility to stop it. “If OCS want to avoid industrial action it is up to them to come back to the talks table and negotiate decent pay rates,” Bob Crow said.
Rally against global warming
MORE THAN 20,000 people filled Trafalgar Square last Saturday in a mass rally to demand that the Government acts to tackle the threat of global warming. The event was organised by Stop Climate Chaos and supported by over 40 organisations, including Greenpeace, Friends of the earth, Oxfam, Make Poverty History, Surfers Against Sewage, the Women’s Institute and the Ramblers’ Association. It was timed to come just before the United Nations climate change talks in Nairobi and just after the Stern report into climate change. Those who came included walkers from the West Midlands, cyclists from Somerset and one man who paddled his canoe from Oxford. Ashok Sinha, the director of Stop Climate Change, said: “The event reflects how widespread the concern about climate change is. It is emerging out of the green box. People realise it’s not just an environmental question but a moral one.” The Bishop of Liverpool, James Stuart Jones, was critical of the Government stance on the environment; he said: “Ministers have lent their support to the Stern report on climate change, but, sadly, lent is the word because they give support one day and take it back the next.” A large contingent of the protesters marched past the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square on their way to Trafalgar Square to highlight the US position as the planet’s worst polluter.
Remembering the Soviet war dead
by New Worker correspondent
PAUL Kyriacou, the Mayor of Southwark and Philip Matthews of the Soviet Memorial Trust Fund last Sunday led a ceremony of remembrance at the Soviet war memorial, in the grounds of the Imperial War Museum, for the 27 million Soviet citizens killed in the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Moscow, considered to be one of the greatest battles of history. Nazi forces attempting to capture Moscow were halted and thrown back by the Soviet counter-offensive, which began on 5th December 1941. Wreaths were laid by the Mayor, by the local MP Simon Hughes, on behalf of the House of Commons, and by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation. Others who laid wreaths included the ambassadors of the Ukrainian Republic, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and other former Soviet Republics; a representative of the RAF Russia Association, the Royal British Legion, the local branch of the trade union Ucatt and the Russia Convoy Club. The event was organised by the Soviet Memorial Trust.
Friday, March 03, 2006
An inquiry that's needed...
THE TORIES are not the best placed to talk about sleaze, given the record of the past Thatcher and Major governments, but that doesn’t mean their call for a public inquiry into the Jowell affair should be ignored.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell’s husband David Mills, an international lawyer who works for Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, is accused of taking a £344,000 bribe from Berlusconi in return for providing false witness in court for his client. This, Mills denies.
While her husband’s business has nothing to do with her, the Sunday Times claims that Jowell signed a document to facilitate the transfer of this money to Britain.
According to the paper there is a link between a loan application she signed on the couple’s house and the money that Italian prosecutors allege was a bribe. This loan was then reportedly paid off some weeks later allegedly using money Mills received from Italy. Jowell categorically denies it was paid off with Berlusconi’s money. “I agreed that we would take out a loan on our house. That is not unusual, it’s not improper, and it’s certainly not illegal,” she told the media on Sunday. That being the case there should be no problem in meeting the Tory demand for an independent inquiry to see if the Labour politician has breached the ministerial code of conduct.
...and a panel that’s not
THE DISGRACEFUL suspension of Ken Livingstone as Mayor of London by the obscure and unelected Adjudication Panel of England has been frozen for the time being. But the verdict of this body, on behalf of the Standards Board for England, was unjust, inconsistent and plainly disproportionate to Livingstone’s alleged offence.
Last year a Tory Brent councillor was brought before the board for saying “Jews run everything in Britain and practically run America”. But while the board accepted that he had “expressed a controversial opinion that offended a member of the public”, no action was taken because this London Tory councillor had not committed “a criminal offence” nor had his remarks put “individuals or groups at risk”.
It’s a different tune when it comes to the Labour Mayor of London.
Livingstone claims that the London Evening Standard has pursued a 25-year vendetta against him. That’s not surprising as the paper is a consistent supporter of the Tory party. But celebrities and politicians must expect the attention of the paparazzi whether they like it or not. The Standard reporter who door-stepped a party at midnight to catch Livingstone off-guard was doing his job. Equally Livingstone was entitled to tell him where to get off.
Comparing the reporter, who is Jewish, to a German war criminal and a “kapo”, a term the Nazis used for Jewish collaborators in the concentration camps, was as offensive as it was intended to be. But it clearly wasn’t racist or anti-semitic – a fact the Board of Deputies of British Jews, who made the complaint, recognise.
Nevertheless the three-strong panel asked to consider their complaint, deemed that Livingstone’s conduct was “unnecessarily insensitive and offensive” and had brought his office into disrepute, ruling that the Mayor should be suspended from office for a month.
Livingstone has quite rightly vowed to appeal and take this case through the courts if the decision is not rescinded. Though the panel has the powers to punish those it decides have breached the standards code, the Mayor points out that the code itself is going to be amended by the Government to restrict it “only to matters which would be regarded as unlawful”.
Ken Livingstone has been a forthright opponent of racism and fascism throughout his political life. No one seriously believes this incident was no more than a storm in a tea-cup inflated by those who seek to discredit the Mayor and the London Labour Party.
The suspension, which cuts across the democratic rights of Londoners who voted Livingstone in, must be dropped.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell’s husband David Mills, an international lawyer who works for Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, is accused of taking a £344,000 bribe from Berlusconi in return for providing false witness in court for his client. This, Mills denies.
While her husband’s business has nothing to do with her, the Sunday Times claims that Jowell signed a document to facilitate the transfer of this money to Britain.
According to the paper there is a link between a loan application she signed on the couple’s house and the money that Italian prosecutors allege was a bribe. This loan was then reportedly paid off some weeks later allegedly using money Mills received from Italy. Jowell categorically denies it was paid off with Berlusconi’s money. “I agreed that we would take out a loan on our house. That is not unusual, it’s not improper, and it’s certainly not illegal,” she told the media on Sunday. That being the case there should be no problem in meeting the Tory demand for an independent inquiry to see if the Labour politician has breached the ministerial code of conduct.
...and a panel that’s not
THE DISGRACEFUL suspension of Ken Livingstone as Mayor of London by the obscure and unelected Adjudication Panel of England has been frozen for the time being. But the verdict of this body, on behalf of the Standards Board for England, was unjust, inconsistent and plainly disproportionate to Livingstone’s alleged offence.
Last year a Tory Brent councillor was brought before the board for saying “Jews run everything in Britain and practically run America”. But while the board accepted that he had “expressed a controversial opinion that offended a member of the public”, no action was taken because this London Tory councillor had not committed “a criminal offence” nor had his remarks put “individuals or groups at risk”.
It’s a different tune when it comes to the Labour Mayor of London.
Livingstone claims that the London Evening Standard has pursued a 25-year vendetta against him. That’s not surprising as the paper is a consistent supporter of the Tory party. But celebrities and politicians must expect the attention of the paparazzi whether they like it or not. The Standard reporter who door-stepped a party at midnight to catch Livingstone off-guard was doing his job. Equally Livingstone was entitled to tell him where to get off.
Comparing the reporter, who is Jewish, to a German war criminal and a “kapo”, a term the Nazis used for Jewish collaborators in the concentration camps, was as offensive as it was intended to be. But it clearly wasn’t racist or anti-semitic – a fact the Board of Deputies of British Jews, who made the complaint, recognise.
Nevertheless the three-strong panel asked to consider their complaint, deemed that Livingstone’s conduct was “unnecessarily insensitive and offensive” and had brought his office into disrepute, ruling that the Mayor should be suspended from office for a month.
Livingstone has quite rightly vowed to appeal and take this case through the courts if the decision is not rescinded. Though the panel has the powers to punish those it decides have breached the standards code, the Mayor points out that the code itself is going to be amended by the Government to restrict it “only to matters which would be regarded as unlawful”.
Ken Livingstone has been a forthright opponent of racism and fascism throughout his political life. No one seriously believes this incident was no more than a storm in a tea-cup inflated by those who seek to discredit the Mayor and the London Labour Party.
The suspension, which cuts across the democratic rights of Londoners who voted Livingstone in, must be dropped.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
London celebrates Chinese culture
The largest celebration of Chinese culture "China in London 2006" was formally launched in the last days of January with the switching on of a specially designed Chinese lantern lighting display in the heart of the capital by London Mayor Ken Livingstone and China's Super Girl champion Li Yuchun.
"China in London", a season-long celebration encompassing over 100 events and exhibitions across the metropolis, demonstrates the close links between London and China, which is further reinforced by Beijing and London as the next host cities for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
After lighting up the Chinese lanterns at the world-famous Oxford Circus, Li Yuchun performed in front of a large crowd with British band Liberty X.
"I am very pleased that Li Yuchun is able to join London in launching the largest ever celebration of Chinese culture to have been held in the City. Her appearance at this event is a demonstration of the growing links and strengthening of relations between London and China, which were given a huge boost by London's successful bid to host the Olympic Games in 2012," said Livingstone.
The launch also marked the beginning of the capital's Chinese New Year celebrations, which has been traditionally the largest of its kind outside Asia. The annual Chinese lunar New Year parade and festival took place on Sunday 29th January, marking the start of the Year of the Dog.
Chu Ting Tang, president of the London Chinatown Chinese Association, said: "Super Girl Li Yuchun's launch of the China in London season is an exciting curtain raiser to the capital's Chinese New Year celebrations, which are growing every year. Around 80,000 people attended last year's festivities in Chinatown and Trafalgar Square and we expect the turnout to be truly phenomenal this time around."
The Chinese New Year parade and festival was one of the biggest events during the "China in London" season, which features a wide range of other activities, from exhibitions, performances and film screenings, to food tasting and the appreciation of Chinese language and literature.
James Bidwell, chief executive of Visit London said: "We're delighted to play host to such an extensive celebration of Chinese culture in London. With Li Yuchun performing, the cultural links between China and London could not be stronger. In 2004 Chinese visitors represented eight per cent of all trips to the United Kingdom from Asia and, with the receipt of approved destination status in 2005, we would expect this figure to rise in 2006. This celebration of Chinese culture in London highlights the city's cultural diversity and the economic benefit it brings."
Livingstone noted that later this year he will be visiting Beijing and Shanghai with a delegation of representatives from London business. "I will be opening London offices in both cities to promote links between London and China. I regard it as the highest strategic priority for London that we develop the strongest possible links with the Chinese economy. It is also central to the continued strength of London, as a financial centre, that we remain open to the most important developments in the global economy."
The Chinese season is organised through a partnership between the Mayor of London, Visit London, and the Royal Academy of Arts, as well as a wide range of organisations, including London Chinatown Chinese Association, New West End Company, Regents Street Association, Transport for London and the London Development Agency.
Highlights include a spectacular specially commissioned window and in-store display at Selfridges, performances by the Gold Sail Dance Troupe from Beijing, the Shanghai on Screen film festival in the West End and Docklands, as well as a Beijing Olympics Photography Exhibition at London's City Hall.
A cornerstone exhibition is the acclaimed China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795 now on show at the Royal Academy of Arts and featuring 400 works, many of which have never been shown outside China.
The Red Mansion Foundation, a non-profit organisation which promotes cultural exchange between China and Britain through contemporary art, is staging shows like Bad Girls, Good Girls and China Coup. There will also be a wide range of theatre, dance and live performances such as Yellow Gentlemen, a new play by Benjamin Yeoh, and a version of Hans Christian Andersen's The Nightingale by the Yellow Earth Theatre Company.
London's growing relationship with one of the fastest growing markets in the world brings significant economic benefit. London attracts around 30 per cent of the Chinese foreign investment projects in Britain, the largest European recipient country of Chinese foreign direct investment projects.
Xinhua news agency
"China in London", a season-long celebration encompassing over 100 events and exhibitions across the metropolis, demonstrates the close links between London and China, which is further reinforced by Beijing and London as the next host cities for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
After lighting up the Chinese lanterns at the world-famous Oxford Circus, Li Yuchun performed in front of a large crowd with British band Liberty X.
"I am very pleased that Li Yuchun is able to join London in launching the largest ever celebration of Chinese culture to have been held in the City. Her appearance at this event is a demonstration of the growing links and strengthening of relations between London and China, which were given a huge boost by London's successful bid to host the Olympic Games in 2012," said Livingstone.
The launch also marked the beginning of the capital's Chinese New Year celebrations, which has been traditionally the largest of its kind outside Asia. The annual Chinese lunar New Year parade and festival took place on Sunday 29th January, marking the start of the Year of the Dog.
Chu Ting Tang, president of the London Chinatown Chinese Association, said: "Super Girl Li Yuchun's launch of the China in London season is an exciting curtain raiser to the capital's Chinese New Year celebrations, which are growing every year. Around 80,000 people attended last year's festivities in Chinatown and Trafalgar Square and we expect the turnout to be truly phenomenal this time around."
The Chinese New Year parade and festival was one of the biggest events during the "China in London" season, which features a wide range of other activities, from exhibitions, performances and film screenings, to food tasting and the appreciation of Chinese language and literature.
James Bidwell, chief executive of Visit London said: "We're delighted to play host to such an extensive celebration of Chinese culture in London. With Li Yuchun performing, the cultural links between China and London could not be stronger. In 2004 Chinese visitors represented eight per cent of all trips to the United Kingdom from Asia and, with the receipt of approved destination status in 2005, we would expect this figure to rise in 2006. This celebration of Chinese culture in London highlights the city's cultural diversity and the economic benefit it brings."
Livingstone noted that later this year he will be visiting Beijing and Shanghai with a delegation of representatives from London business. "I will be opening London offices in both cities to promote links between London and China. I regard it as the highest strategic priority for London that we develop the strongest possible links with the Chinese economy. It is also central to the continued strength of London, as a financial centre, that we remain open to the most important developments in the global economy."
The Chinese season is organised through a partnership between the Mayor of London, Visit London, and the Royal Academy of Arts, as well as a wide range of organisations, including London Chinatown Chinese Association, New West End Company, Regents Street Association, Transport for London and the London Development Agency.
Highlights include a spectacular specially commissioned window and in-store display at Selfridges, performances by the Gold Sail Dance Troupe from Beijing, the Shanghai on Screen film festival in the West End and Docklands, as well as a Beijing Olympics Photography Exhibition at London's City Hall.
A cornerstone exhibition is the acclaimed China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795 now on show at the Royal Academy of Arts and featuring 400 works, many of which have never been shown outside China.
The Red Mansion Foundation, a non-profit organisation which promotes cultural exchange between China and Britain through contemporary art, is staging shows like Bad Girls, Good Girls and China Coup. There will also be a wide range of theatre, dance and live performances such as Yellow Gentlemen, a new play by Benjamin Yeoh, and a version of Hans Christian Andersen's The Nightingale by the Yellow Earth Theatre Company.
London's growing relationship with one of the fastest growing markets in the world brings significant economic benefit. London attracts around 30 per cent of the Chinese foreign investment projects in Britain, the largest European recipient country of Chinese foreign direct investment projects.
Xinhua news agency
London rally against Islamophobia
by Caroline Colebrook
THOUSANDS of Muslims gathered in Trafalgar Square last Saturday to present the peaceful face of Islam and to show their concern at growing Islamophobia in the West.
Also present were many non-Muslims: peace activists, representatives of other religions, to demonstrate their solidarity with Muslims facing discrimination and oppression.
This followed a smaller demonstration in the previous week outside the Danish Embassy where a different group of Muslims, protesting at the now notorious Danish cartoons, had called for violence against non-Muslims.
The pictures of this demonstration, splashed across the media, fuelled more anti-Islamophobia and helped the Government in its efforts to sell its draconian proposed anti-terrorist legislation.
The masses attending Saturday’s rally were determined to distance themselves from this but nevertheless to express their anger at the Danish cartoons and what they represent in a world where the western imperialists have invaded Afghanistan and Iraq and are threatening other Muslim countries and those who resist are demonised as terrorists.
Speaking for the Muslim Council of Britain – one of the groups who organised the event – Inayat Bunglawala said: “The reasons for the rally are two-fold. We want to allow peaceful expression of the hurt caused by the publication of the cartoons but we also want to allow people to publicly distance themselves from the extremists because for most of Britain this is the only impression they have of Muslims in this country.”
Faiz Siddiqi, of the Muslim Action Committee, said: “What is being called for is a change of culture. In any civilised society, if someone says, ‘don’t insult me’ you do not, out of respect for them. Europe has a history of not treating minorities properly. The Holocaust is an example of that. The imagery being used today is the same kind that Hitler used against the Jews. Look where that ended up: in world war.”
Coaches brought protesters from Bradford, Oldham, Luton, Leicester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow. Hundreds of placards and banners carried peaceful slogans, condemning incitement.
Speakers at the rally included Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn and Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather. Respect MP George Galloway faced a subdued reception, which included some booing, as he addressed the crowd.
London mayor Ken Livingstone also supported the rally and told the crowd: “I am supporting this event because, unlike some of the BBC’s coverage, it will allow the views of the mainstream Muslim community to be properly heard.”
Speaking of the cartoons, Livingstone said: “There is no excuse for breaking the law and anyone who does so should and will face prosecution. But there is no getting away from the fact that this whole episode has allowed much of Europe’s media to engage in an orgy of Islamophobia.”
THOUSANDS of Muslims gathered in Trafalgar Square last Saturday to present the peaceful face of Islam and to show their concern at growing Islamophobia in the West.
Also present were many non-Muslims: peace activists, representatives of other religions, to demonstrate their solidarity with Muslims facing discrimination and oppression.
This followed a smaller demonstration in the previous week outside the Danish Embassy where a different group of Muslims, protesting at the now notorious Danish cartoons, had called for violence against non-Muslims.
The pictures of this demonstration, splashed across the media, fuelled more anti-Islamophobia and helped the Government in its efforts to sell its draconian proposed anti-terrorist legislation.
The masses attending Saturday’s rally were determined to distance themselves from this but nevertheless to express their anger at the Danish cartoons and what they represent in a world where the western imperialists have invaded Afghanistan and Iraq and are threatening other Muslim countries and those who resist are demonised as terrorists.
Speaking for the Muslim Council of Britain – one of the groups who organised the event – Inayat Bunglawala said: “The reasons for the rally are two-fold. We want to allow peaceful expression of the hurt caused by the publication of the cartoons but we also want to allow people to publicly distance themselves from the extremists because for most of Britain this is the only impression they have of Muslims in this country.”
Faiz Siddiqi, of the Muslim Action Committee, said: “What is being called for is a change of culture. In any civilised society, if someone says, ‘don’t insult me’ you do not, out of respect for them. Europe has a history of not treating minorities properly. The Holocaust is an example of that. The imagery being used today is the same kind that Hitler used against the Jews. Look where that ended up: in world war.”
Coaches brought protesters from Bradford, Oldham, Luton, Leicester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow. Hundreds of placards and banners carried peaceful slogans, condemning incitement.
Speakers at the rally included Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn and Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather. Respect MP George Galloway faced a subdued reception, which included some booing, as he addressed the crowd.
London mayor Ken Livingstone also supported the rally and told the crowd: “I am supporting this event because, unlike some of the BBC’s coverage, it will allow the views of the mainstream Muslim community to be properly heard.”
Speaking of the cartoons, Livingstone said: “There is no excuse for breaking the law and anyone who does so should and will face prosecution. But there is no getting away from the fact that this whole episode has allowed much of Europe’s media to engage in an orgy of Islamophobia.”
Tube contractor axed for doing the dirty on cleaners
METRONET Rail last Monday terminated its contract with the Blue Diamond cleaning company after the Transport and General Workers’ Union informed it that Blue Diamond had been consistently withholding workers’ pay.
The TGWU, which represents cleaners on London Underground, discovered that Blue Diamond had been paying their workers £5.05 per hour despite having agreed a basic wage of £5.50 with Metronet at the start of the contract in October 2005.
Metronet agreed at a meeting with the TGWU in January to investigate and the TGWU last week welcomed Metronet’s decision to fire Blue Diamond from their prestigious cleaning contract on the District, Circle, Metropolitan, Hammersmith and City and East London lines, believed to be worth in excess of £20 million over three years.
This is the first time in 20 years that a contract has been ended due to concerns over the abuse of workers.
TGWU deputy general secretary Jack Dromey said: “Blue Diamond robbed the cleaners, ripping thousands of pounds off hard-working men and women who serve Londoners 24 hours a day. Metronet have done the decent thing, acting promptly and properly to terminate Blue Diamond’s contract.
“The TGWU is determined to end the often shameful treatment of cleaners. In London many are migrant workers. This decision demonstrates that contractors who behave badly will no longer be employed by responsible client companies. Blue Diamond did the dirty on cleaners and is paying the price.”
CLEANERS at the Houses of Parliament last week won a significant victory in their long, well-publicised battle for decent pay.
The Transport and General Workers Union said the cleaners will now get £6.70-an-hour, statutory sick pay and 28 days’ holiday.
The campaign, which attracted widespread support from the public, MPs and peers from all political parties, involved two one-day strikes last year.
TGWU deputy general secretary Jack Dromey said: “One year ago, Parliament paid poverty wages. Now the cleaners have won a living wage and respect.”
Negotiations are continuing on implementing a pension scheme and there will be no job losses as a result of this agreement.
The TGWU, which represents cleaners on London Underground, discovered that Blue Diamond had been paying their workers £5.05 per hour despite having agreed a basic wage of £5.50 with Metronet at the start of the contract in October 2005.
Metronet agreed at a meeting with the TGWU in January to investigate and the TGWU last week welcomed Metronet’s decision to fire Blue Diamond from their prestigious cleaning contract on the District, Circle, Metropolitan, Hammersmith and City and East London lines, believed to be worth in excess of £20 million over three years.
This is the first time in 20 years that a contract has been ended due to concerns over the abuse of workers.
TGWU deputy general secretary Jack Dromey said: “Blue Diamond robbed the cleaners, ripping thousands of pounds off hard-working men and women who serve Londoners 24 hours a day. Metronet have done the decent thing, acting promptly and properly to terminate Blue Diamond’s contract.
“The TGWU is determined to end the often shameful treatment of cleaners. In London many are migrant workers. This decision demonstrates that contractors who behave badly will no longer be employed by responsible client companies. Blue Diamond did the dirty on cleaners and is paying the price.”
- Pay victory for Parliament cleaners
CLEANERS at the Houses of Parliament last week won a significant victory in their long, well-publicised battle for decent pay.
The Transport and General Workers Union said the cleaners will now get £6.70-an-hour, statutory sick pay and 28 days’ holiday.
The campaign, which attracted widespread support from the public, MPs and peers from all political parties, involved two one-day strikes last year.
TGWU deputy general secretary Jack Dromey said: “One year ago, Parliament paid poverty wages. Now the cleaners have won a living wage and respect.”
Negotiations are continuing on implementing a pension scheme and there will be no job losses as a result of this agreement.
Hackney dinner ladies may strike
SCHOOL dinner ladies employed by the London Borough of Hackney are considering strike action after improvement’s to the dietary quality of the meals they prepare left them with a lot more work to do but no extra pay.
The cooks and catering assistants based at 27 schools in the borough are currently employed by contractors, but say they do not receive the same rates as those directly taken on by the council. The dinner ladies, some of whom earn as little as £9,000-a-year, claim their workloads have increased in the wake of Jamie Oliver’s TV programmes which called for more freshly prepared meals.
The dinner ladies are members of the Transport and General Workers Union and are represented by Cathy Stewart, who works as a dinner lady in Hackney.
She said: “The dinner ladies are under tremendous pressure after the Jamie Oliver programmes to deliver top notch nosh but at rock bottom pay.
“To say they are angry is an understatement as they see little or no effort being made by the schools and the contractors to sort out their grievances.
“These dinner ladies don’t earn a fortune but they are under extra pressure from heads who want them to do extra duties for which they are not being paid and are not responsible.
“Quite rightly they say it is about time they were shown some respect.”
Paul Fawcett, TGWU officer for London, said the chance of a walkout was a distinct possibility. He said: “It’s very likely there will be strike action, we are now going through the preliminary proceedings, and the result of the ballot will be known in March.”
The union says the contractors have been paid an increase in their contract price of 11 per cent to cover discrepancies under the single status agreement, but none of the dinner ladies have seen this reflected in their pay.
The cooks and catering assistants based at 27 schools in the borough are currently employed by contractors, but say they do not receive the same rates as those directly taken on by the council. The dinner ladies, some of whom earn as little as £9,000-a-year, claim their workloads have increased in the wake of Jamie Oliver’s TV programmes which called for more freshly prepared meals.
The dinner ladies are members of the Transport and General Workers Union and are represented by Cathy Stewart, who works as a dinner lady in Hackney.
She said: “The dinner ladies are under tremendous pressure after the Jamie Oliver programmes to deliver top notch nosh but at rock bottom pay.
“To say they are angry is an understatement as they see little or no effort being made by the schools and the contractors to sort out their grievances.
“These dinner ladies don’t earn a fortune but they are under extra pressure from heads who want them to do extra duties for which they are not being paid and are not responsible.
“Quite rightly they say it is about time they were shown some respect.”
Paul Fawcett, TGWU officer for London, said the chance of a walkout was a distinct possibility. He said: “It’s very likely there will be strike action, we are now going through the preliminary proceedings, and the result of the ballot will be known in March.”
The union says the contractors have been paid an increase in their contract price of 11 per cent to cover discrepancies under the single status agreement, but none of the dinner ladies have seen this reflected in their pay.
Harry Stanley's widow calls for police changes
IRENE STANLEY, whose husband Harry was shot dead by police in 1999 because they thought the table leg in a bag he was carrying was a gun, last week learned that the officers concerned will not face disciplinary charges.
She responded by calling for an end to the police practice of “pooling recollections” after deaths in custody.
The decision, by the Independent Police Complaints Authority, to take no action against the officer was made even though the IPCA had accepted that their “detailed and consistent accounts lack credibility”. obscured
From the beginning, a search for the truth has been obscured by the police officers “pooling their recollections” and writing their notes up together on the night of the shooting.
Irene Stanley doesn’t want other families whose loved ones die at the hands of the police to feel deaths are “covered up” from the start: the police service must put an end to this discredited practice.
Harry Stanley was a 46-year-old Scottish painter and decorator. He was recovering from a successful cancer operation. On 22nd September 1999 he left his home in Hackney telling his wife he was going to visit a friend.
He wanted to collect a table leg from one of his brothers who had fixed it after it had been damaged earlier in the year.
On his return home he visited a public house. Another customer, mistaking Stanley’s accent for Irish rather than Scottish and noticing that he was carrying something long in a bag, telephoned the police to say that a man with an Irish accent was leaving the pub with a sawn-off shot gun in a plastic bag. no reason
Within a few minutes PC Fagan and Inspector Sharman, an armed response unit from the Metropolitan Police service specialist firearms unit SO 19, arrived in the area. The officers approached Stanley from behind. They shouted, “Stop, armed police!” Stanley (who had no reason to imagine that the police wanted him or that they were indeed police officers) did not stop at that command.
The police say that they shouted again, to which Stanley responded by turning around. The police officers opened fire, with one shot hitting him in his head, the other hitting him in his left hand. In the bag was the repaired two-foot table leg, which he had collected from his brother.
She responded by calling for an end to the police practice of “pooling recollections” after deaths in custody.
The decision, by the Independent Police Complaints Authority, to take no action against the officer was made even though the IPCA had accepted that their “detailed and consistent accounts lack credibility”. obscured
From the beginning, a search for the truth has been obscured by the police officers “pooling their recollections” and writing their notes up together on the night of the shooting.
Irene Stanley doesn’t want other families whose loved ones die at the hands of the police to feel deaths are “covered up” from the start: the police service must put an end to this discredited practice.
Harry Stanley was a 46-year-old Scottish painter and decorator. He was recovering from a successful cancer operation. On 22nd September 1999 he left his home in Hackney telling his wife he was going to visit a friend.
He wanted to collect a table leg from one of his brothers who had fixed it after it had been damaged earlier in the year.
On his return home he visited a public house. Another customer, mistaking Stanley’s accent for Irish rather than Scottish and noticing that he was carrying something long in a bag, telephoned the police to say that a man with an Irish accent was leaving the pub with a sawn-off shot gun in a plastic bag. no reason
Within a few minutes PC Fagan and Inspector Sharman, an armed response unit from the Metropolitan Police service specialist firearms unit SO 19, arrived in the area. The officers approached Stanley from behind. They shouted, “Stop, armed police!” Stanley (who had no reason to imagine that the police wanted him or that they were indeed police officers) did not stop at that command.
The police say that they shouted again, to which Stanley responded by turning around. The police officers opened fire, with one shot hitting him in his head, the other hitting him in his left hand. In the bag was the repaired two-foot table leg, which he had collected from his brother.
Army unit probed in Menezes inquiry
THE MINISTRY of Defence launched and internal inquiry last week into the role played by an elite army surveillance unit into the shooting of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes in order to discover "if lessons can be learnt".
They say they are trying to discover how Menezes, an innocent man, came to be wrongly identified as a terrorist suspect. But the decision has raised questions about the role of military personnel on our streets.
The army surveillance unit comprise members of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, who had been seconded to the Metropolitan Police to work with under-cover officers, monitoring the flats in south London where Menezes lived.
The Independent Police Commission has questioned the soldiers as part of its investigation into the shooting dead of Menezes at Stockwell Tube station last July.
Now the MoD has set up its own separate inquiry into the events leading up to the shooting. It is reviewing the procedures and command structures that allowed apparent surveillance failures to happen.
The Special Reconnaissance Regiment was formed in April 2005 and is based at SAS headquarters in Hereford. Its members are said to have developed specialist skills in the occupied north of Ireland. It is believed that one of the soldiers taking part in the surveillance of the south London flats was armed and that it was a soldier who incorrectly identified Menezes as an "IC one male" – the police term for a white man, when he left his flat.
During the surveillance one of the soldiers, who had to relieve himself against a tree, temporarily lost sight of Menezes, according to reports. This led to a series of communication problems.
One senior counter-terrorism expert commented: "I can’t understand why non-police personnel were used to do something that important. They won’t know police procedures. If you start using the army on the streets without a proper public debate it will end in disaster."
They say they are trying to discover how Menezes, an innocent man, came to be wrongly identified as a terrorist suspect. But the decision has raised questions about the role of military personnel on our streets.
The army surveillance unit comprise members of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, who had been seconded to the Metropolitan Police to work with under-cover officers, monitoring the flats in south London where Menezes lived.
The Independent Police Commission has questioned the soldiers as part of its investigation into the shooting dead of Menezes at Stockwell Tube station last July.
Now the MoD has set up its own separate inquiry into the events leading up to the shooting. It is reviewing the procedures and command structures that allowed apparent surveillance failures to happen.
The Special Reconnaissance Regiment was formed in April 2005 and is based at SAS headquarters in Hereford. Its members are said to have developed specialist skills in the occupied north of Ireland. It is believed that one of the soldiers taking part in the surveillance of the south London flats was armed and that it was a soldier who incorrectly identified Menezes as an "IC one male" – the police term for a white man, when he left his flat.
During the surveillance one of the soldiers, who had to relieve himself against a tree, temporarily lost sight of Menezes, according to reports. This led to a series of communication problems.
One senior counter-terrorism expert commented: "I can’t understand why non-police personnel were used to do something that important. They won’t know police procedures. If you start using the army on the streets without a proper public debate it will end in disaster."
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Social cleansing in south London
by Edwin Bentley
RESIDENTS of one of the few remaining working-class neighbourhoods in south- east London are bracing themselves for a massive programme of social cleansing that will transform the Walworth area into an up-market residential and commercial area.
Estate agents don’t have a very good reputation. Rather like bookmakers, their job is to make as much money as possible out of people’s dreams. But among themselves, estate agents and bookmakers have to be totally realistic; they must know the facts, whether or not they share them with you and me.
Back in April 2002, a report commissioned by estate agents in the Walworth area stated that “the strong working class element to the district has prevented gentrification in an area that geographically would make it a prime candidate.”
But on 27th September 2005 the local council, Southwark, opted to remove the biggest barrier to this threatened gentrification. The Liberal Democratic-run council finally decided to demolish the massive Aylesbury estate; 2,759 council flats will be knocked down, to be replaced by a mixture of private and housing association accommodation.
The neighbouring Heygate estate will also be flattened, removing a further 1,194 council homes from the area.
Immediately after his election in 1997, Tony Blair had gone to the Aylesbury estate to announce a whole new way of dealing with the housing problem in London. Blair spoke of “forgotten people “ who were dumped in the most decaying, unpleasant surroundings without any hope of a better life. But rather than invest money in improving local council housing, the Government has opened the door to big business.
The Aylesbury and Heygate estates are next to the Elephant and Castle, the transport hub for south London. As Southwark council states in its propaganda, this area is far closer to the attractions of Central London than people imagine. Only a few minutes from the centre of the city, bus, road, rail, and underground links mean that a lot of people find it a convenient place to live. But as our estate agent friends pointed out, it is also solidly working class.
Over the past 40 years Walworth has become home to many different groups of immigrants who have come to London in search of a safe place to live and work. Early in the morning, many of the workers going down into the Elephant and Castle Tube station or catching a bus are Africans and South Americans, heading off to do their cleaning and other low-paid service jobs all over London.
There was a time when these estates were seen as a symbol of a bright new future. Following severe bomb damage during the Second World War, the old rows of Victorian terrace houses were knocked down and replaced in the 1960s with spacious flats and maisonettes. But as was so often the case, the necessary maintenance work was never carried out on a regular basis, and the quality of materials used in the construction was so low, that very soon major problems developed.
Over the years Southwark council thought of the Aylesbury and Heygate estates as sink estates, where they could house the most disadvantaged people, who would not complain too much about conditions. Neglected by both central and local government, the condition of the area got worse.
In 2001, Southwark council tried to wash its hands of the problem by transferring all housing on the two estates to the control of a housing association. The proposal was put to a vote in a local referendum, and overwhelmingly rejected by the tenants.
This time round, Southwark has only engaged in “consultations”, to ensure that decisions about the future of this working class community could be taken without giving local people any direct say.
Following demolition, during which time the existing tenants will be moved out to other flats all over London, contractors will move in to build the new homes. On the Aylesbury Estate, although 4,900 new homes will be built, 2,700 of these will be luxury properties that will be sold off to the highest bidder; 2,200 flats will be classified as “social housing”, and run by a housing association. That means that the housing stock for working class people will be reduced by 500 properties.
In addition, these flats will be smaller and much less well-appointed than those designed for private sale.
What is so wrong with council housing being transferred to housing associations? For a start, local people have the example of the Church Commissioners, which owns quite a lot of property in the area. Right from the 1880’s, Church Commissioners’ flats had been let at well below the market rate. This has all changed, and from now on all new tenants will be obliged to pay the market rate, which will be many times the present rent.
The example of other providers of social housing is also alarming. Just in the last year alone, the Peabody Trust has sold off more than 400 properties in London, saying that it needed the money to maintain its existing stock of properties. That really is selling off the family silver.
Housing associations can only be effective if they are adequately supported by Government finance, if there is an element of democratic control, and if they refuse to sell off their properties to those tenants who can afford to buy them. At present, they meet none of these criteria, and are liable to be swept away by market forces.
Ultimately, local people know that they will only have peace of mind if they live in properly funded and maintained housing provided and controlled by the elected borough council.
RESIDENTS of one of the few remaining working-class neighbourhoods in south- east London are bracing themselves for a massive programme of social cleansing that will transform the Walworth area into an up-market residential and commercial area.
Estate agents don’t have a very good reputation. Rather like bookmakers, their job is to make as much money as possible out of people’s dreams. But among themselves, estate agents and bookmakers have to be totally realistic; they must know the facts, whether or not they share them with you and me.
Back in April 2002, a report commissioned by estate agents in the Walworth area stated that “the strong working class element to the district has prevented gentrification in an area that geographically would make it a prime candidate.”
But on 27th September 2005 the local council, Southwark, opted to remove the biggest barrier to this threatened gentrification. The Liberal Democratic-run council finally decided to demolish the massive Aylesbury estate; 2,759 council flats will be knocked down, to be replaced by a mixture of private and housing association accommodation.
The neighbouring Heygate estate will also be flattened, removing a further 1,194 council homes from the area.
Immediately after his election in 1997, Tony Blair had gone to the Aylesbury estate to announce a whole new way of dealing with the housing problem in London. Blair spoke of “forgotten people “ who were dumped in the most decaying, unpleasant surroundings without any hope of a better life. But rather than invest money in improving local council housing, the Government has opened the door to big business.
The Aylesbury and Heygate estates are next to the Elephant and Castle, the transport hub for south London. As Southwark council states in its propaganda, this area is far closer to the attractions of Central London than people imagine. Only a few minutes from the centre of the city, bus, road, rail, and underground links mean that a lot of people find it a convenient place to live. But as our estate agent friends pointed out, it is also solidly working class.
Over the past 40 years Walworth has become home to many different groups of immigrants who have come to London in search of a safe place to live and work. Early in the morning, many of the workers going down into the Elephant and Castle Tube station or catching a bus are Africans and South Americans, heading off to do their cleaning and other low-paid service jobs all over London.
There was a time when these estates were seen as a symbol of a bright new future. Following severe bomb damage during the Second World War, the old rows of Victorian terrace houses were knocked down and replaced in the 1960s with spacious flats and maisonettes. But as was so often the case, the necessary maintenance work was never carried out on a regular basis, and the quality of materials used in the construction was so low, that very soon major problems developed.
Over the years Southwark council thought of the Aylesbury and Heygate estates as sink estates, where they could house the most disadvantaged people, who would not complain too much about conditions. Neglected by both central and local government, the condition of the area got worse.
In 2001, Southwark council tried to wash its hands of the problem by transferring all housing on the two estates to the control of a housing association. The proposal was put to a vote in a local referendum, and overwhelmingly rejected by the tenants.
This time round, Southwark has only engaged in “consultations”, to ensure that decisions about the future of this working class community could be taken without giving local people any direct say.
Following demolition, during which time the existing tenants will be moved out to other flats all over London, contractors will move in to build the new homes. On the Aylesbury Estate, although 4,900 new homes will be built, 2,700 of these will be luxury properties that will be sold off to the highest bidder; 2,200 flats will be classified as “social housing”, and run by a housing association. That means that the housing stock for working class people will be reduced by 500 properties.
In addition, these flats will be smaller and much less well-appointed than those designed for private sale.
What is so wrong with council housing being transferred to housing associations? For a start, local people have the example of the Church Commissioners, which owns quite a lot of property in the area. Right from the 1880’s, Church Commissioners’ flats had been let at well below the market rate. This has all changed, and from now on all new tenants will be obliged to pay the market rate, which will be many times the present rent.
The example of other providers of social housing is also alarming. Just in the last year alone, the Peabody Trust has sold off more than 400 properties in London, saying that it needed the money to maintain its existing stock of properties. That really is selling off the family silver.
Housing associations can only be effective if they are adequately supported by Government finance, if there is an element of democratic control, and if they refuse to sell off their properties to those tenants who can afford to buy them. At present, they meet none of these criteria, and are liable to be swept away by market forces.
Ultimately, local people know that they will only have peace of mind if they live in properly funded and maintained housing provided and controlled by the elected borough council.
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