Friday, May 12, 2006

True British Values

"The BNP is the complete opposite of the true essence of Britishness.

Our community has four years to think about what has happened, in the recent local elections, and I look forward to the first opportunity when we all can soundly and robustly vote out the fascist BNP and restore true British values to Hainault."


With these stirring words the Labour Party's Mark Santos wrappeth himself in the Union Flag.

Mr Santos, as director of the taxpayer-funded London East Aids Network, exemplifies the good old fashioned British values so dear to the hearts of those who fought against Hitler.

Such as

- the advocacy role of our African Services,
ensuring that people can overcome cultural
and linguistic barriers
- a pilot of workshops for gay men dealing
with issues of long-term diagnosis and mental
health
- a pilot of courses targeted at recently diagnosed
African clients under the title
‘Maisha Maizuli’ and held in English and
French
- having an Artist-in-Residence for a year,
allowing people to explore living with the
Virus in an holistic and creative way
- our new gay men’s website promoting
access to relevant services and information


It's enough to make you sigh for the days when Labour Party people were happy to be open about hating Britain. Only Ken Livingstone and the SNP still carry the torch.

UPDATE - the ordinary people of Redbridge are upset too.

"This is a borough that has provided a haven for the survivors of the holocaust and also for those fleeing persecution, a tradition of which it could be proud."

says Diana Neslen.

Indeed, a haven for the survivors of the holocaust is something to be proud of - like the State of Israel. Er ... is that the Diana Neslen who wants the EU to continue funding the Hamas Government ? Who signs petitions for the IRA front group Relatives For Justice ? Any relation to former Al-Jazeera correspondent Arthur Neslen, I wonder ?

Me no understand. The BNP, who Ms Neslen thinks should be excised 'like a cancer', have some decidedly dodgy views on Red Sea pedestrians, and think illegal immigrants should be sent home - the latter a policy which is, in form if not in fact, shared by Her Majesty's Government.

Hamas, who Ms Neslen thinks should get EU taxpayers money, believe Jews to be sons of pigs and monkeys, that the very trees will call for their deaths, and have a policy of slaughtering those they believe to be illegal immigrants - men, women and children. The category of 'illegal immigrant' consists of every Jew in the State of Israel.

Ordinary legal caseworker Krista Everington was shocked and saddened too.

"I hope that Redbridge Council will ensure that the views of the single, and therefore thankfully quite powerless BNP councillor, are challenged at every point"

"Before joining RNID, Krista worked in welfare rights advice and advocacy with a range of national organisations for the past six years."

Good to see the ordinary folk are finding their voices.

What The Hell Happened In Kingstanding ?

From the vote fraud capital of England, this BBC story:

"A court will have to decide on the validity of a Birmingham election result after the acting chief executive said some votes were counted twice.
The BNP has officially won a seat in Kingstanding, but it was later announced this was not correct and it should have been a Labour win."


"It was later announced".

When was 'later' ? Who announced it ?

It appears that the votes were counted thrice (two recounts), in the presence of the usual tellers, party and council officials. The result was declared.

A couple of hours later, when the only people with access to the ballots were Birmingham council officials, the council apparently decided to conduct a third (and invalid - the winner of en election is s/he who is declared so by the returning officer) count all by their little selves. Apparently, some votes had been double counted, an error not spotted in the three public counts, but immediately apparent once council officials were alone with the ballots.

Amazingly, Labour won both seats in this private recount - for as luck would have it, far more BNP votes had been double counted than any others. And they are inviting the unsuccessful candidates (at the council tax payer's expense) to get their private recount confirmed as the correct one.

Words fail me. DSD has the details, as do the Birmingham Post.

This is serious stuff. I don't care if the winners were Combat 18 or the People's Revolutionary Army, the principle's the same. You count and decide in the presence of those who can keep their eyes open for dodgy dealings, not in the presence of a couple of mates when everyone's gone home.

Reading the council's explanation (pdf) I'm prepared to admit that it's possible, though it will need proving. How was this 'additional column that should not have been on the sheet' not spotted in the previous three counts ? How did this column come to be on the sheet ?

The Returning Officer presiding over this shambles should be sacked. By accident or design, this gives the appearance of an unpopular minority party being cheated of office by the paid staff of the ruling party. The terrible thing is that with the track record of Labour and the Lib Dems I wouldn't put it past them.

UPDATE 1 - Councillor Bob Piper points out in his usual entertaining style that Brum is now a Tory/LD coalition, so although the election staff may have been appointed under Labour, they no longer work for a Labour administration.

UPDATE 2 - it appears that the reverse of this scenario (someone apparently missed the '1' off the front of the BNPs vote figure) is being played out in Barking.

UPDATE 3 - stories like this and this, from Barking and Dagenham, are what make people cheesed with the main parties.

"A YOUNG boy is searching for a shy hero who saved him 'being kicked to death'.
If the brave adult hadn't intervened, 13-year-old Ryan, of Halbutt Street, Dagenham, might have suffered more serious injuries when he was attacked by a gang of thugs.
Now the youngster wants to find the have-a-go hero to say thank you.
Police say that Parsloes Park in Dagenham has become notorious for crime in the past few months.
Ryan and two school friends were cutting across the park at 7pm on Tuesday, last week, when they ran into the crowd of 60 boys and girls, aged between 11 and 20."


"A FRAUDSTER who claimed a staggering £130,000 in tax credits for 12 non-existent children will be deported after greed led to her capture.
Julie Olanrewaju, 31, of St Mary's Road, Barking, claimed the amazing sum after the immigration services simply 'lost' her.
She was only caught because she became greedy and tried to change her tax credit claims to income support.
Olanrewaju was jailed for four years, after which she will be deported.
In a barbed comment, Judge David Radford at Snaresbrook Crown Court said: "I make the recommendation for deportation - with the hope it will be acted on by the Home Secretary."
It was revealed Olanrewaju had applied for leave to remain in Britain in 1991, but was turned down."


1991. She's been here illegally - and ripping off the taxpayer - for 15 years.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

A Couple Of Bluebells From The Curate's Hedge

Diane Abbott discovers Mr Blair's Turkey Army.

"In recent decades the Labour Party has drawn its activist base disproportionately from the public sector"


She stands as a proud supporter of the public sector.

" ... the market is not the answer to every social issue ..."

" ... except education, of course"



Jane Kelly at the Social Affairs Unit blog has a fascinating interview with one of Muriel Gray's "appalling little people", a BNP council candidate from Keighley.

When I met Rose Thompson she was at home, on the seventh floor of an eleven-storey block, with a broken lift, knitting and crying. Tiny and frail in discoloured white fluffy slippers, crocheting a scarf, with two budgies chirping in the background, she looked like a leftover from a grittier Carla Lane sit-com. She moaned:

When I told them I was going over to the BNP no one believed me, now I've done it and everyone hates me. The Mayor says he's disgusted and my sister won't speak to me.

She also has just been warned by a neighbour to expect some kind of assault, but she still thought it was worth it. She said tearfully:

I'm worried but I can deal with it.

But her sense of abandonment was palpable:

As a councillor I have spoken for everyone, but no one has ever spoken for me. I am not a racist but Labour and Conservatives have done nothing for me, nothing. All the people I grew up with used to vote, we were told to vote Labour as we were going out the door, now hardly any of them vote – that is a big change. People up here feel there is no one on their side.


Read the whole thing.


Tottenham Lad has more on Jon 'demographics' Cruddas.


And Adloyada writes on yet another proposed boycott of Israel, and the remarkably low-key BBC response to the Lib Dem "wallowing in your own filth" story.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Killing Wales

One of my hobbyhorses is the way the M40 and A55 are helping to destroy Welsh culture - as hippies in the South, scallies in the North, and retiring English everywhere take advantage of the improved communications to move in and price out the locals.

And here are the hippies - Steiner school types to a man or woman, I'll be bound, planning a new settlement in the occupied West Bank (of the Severn).

While in the North, the great Dalrymple writes of the A55 and mourns the death of innocence.


UPDATE - Welsh Labour and Plaid debate the really important issues.

UPDATE II - I've added a sidebar link to Cymuned (English language version), who are campaigning against the slow-mo ethnic cleansing of Welsh Wales.

Compare And Contrast II

The BBC showing the lack of bias for which it's famed.



Hey, that Labour Minister, Ruth Kelly. Does she really believe in gay rights ?

"Some campaigners say her appointment suggests the government does not take gay rights seriously."



Further down the politics page :

Hey, what about that BNP councillor ? Did he really act in a gay porn movie ?

According to the Evening Standard the film includes long scenes of men undressing and fondling each other, full-frontal nudity and a naked man apparently performing a sex act on another. There are also repeated scenes of flagellation in which a group of semi-naked men apparently whip a fourth semi-naked man senseless to the ground, the paper says. (Sounds like a Royal Marines recruitment video to me - LT) In the party's election manifesto, the BNP raised the prospect of a local vote so parents could decide if they want to "prohibit the teaching of homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle choice".








I'll try and remember the last time the BBC lifted a not-very-good story attacking the left from the Evening Standard. (And I'll grin at the idea of "Marxist Gay Cinema" from "Dicky" Barnbrook).


UPDATE - People in BBC news really should be aware that one Labour MP did a lot of nudity - and at least two of her films feature chaps grappling with each other.


I await the BBCs "Labour Woman Rejects Porn Film Claim" story with interest.

Some Good News

A number of years ago, when the rise in rape allegations and fall in convictions came to prominence, word went round about the unluckiest man in London.

He'd been accused of rape by five different women from different parts of London, none of whom were known to each other, and acquitted each time. Why on earth this should happen to him, he just couldn't understand.

They nailed him in the end - despite his plea of "Why does this keep happening to me, it is so unfair".


UPDATE - Squander Two vehemently disagrees. I'm not generally in favour of such evidence being used either - but rape is an offence which often comes down to one word against another. I'm not Julie Bindel, but it is a special case crime. If all the five women were friends, that would be different - but the allegations by five separate women seem to be stretching coincidence too far and are IMHO pertinent. There is no doubt that this should very much be the exception rather than the rule.

I'm more concerned by the fact that Richard Benson QC, having unsuccessfully defended Edwards in two previous rape cases, was happy to procure acquittals for himn in the next five.

But today Mr Benson, 54, a QC for five years, rejected suggestions that he should have considered standing down when the pattern of the allegations against Edwards was clear. "I am not Edwards's judge, the jury are," he said, pointing to the "cab rank" principle that a barrister should accept the briefs which come round. "In each case I looked at the evidence together with those who assisted me and I advised him accordingly."

Asked if he had ever considered whether he might have been ethically compromised by his knowledge of Edwards, Mr Benson replied: "I would not have defended him if I had thought that was the case ... I am happy, of course, with the decisions I have taken. Every man charged with an offence is entitled to proper legal representation. If the system was otherwise there would be a risk of serious injustice."


Mr Benson must be as unlucky as Mr Edwards - that the same rapist should by chance have him as his QC in seven consecutive prosecutions - plus of course the one which finally nailed his client.

This isn't the only similar (though not identical) case.

Even as Alison was swearing to tell "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth", she knew it was a lie. What she was about to tell the jury of 10 women and one man was anything but the whole truth.
Her former gynaecologist was standing trial for raping her. But what the jury didn't know was that the apparently caring and upstanding professional man they saw in the dock was being brought to Preston crown court in a prison van every morning from Strangeways jail in Manchester. Also, the man respectfully addressed by counsel as "Dr Darwish" was in reality no longer a doctor. He had been struck off by the General Medical Council and was serving a six-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting nine other patients.

Alison had more reason than most alleged rape victims to want to see justice done. Her family's life had been turned upside down by the discovery that her youngest daughter, then 12, had been fathered by Darwish Darwish and not by Jim, her husband of more than 30 years. Alison told her daughter that she had been conceived as a result of rape and says it was one of the most difficult things she had ever had to do.

But the family was to feel let down badly again, this time by the legal system. Although a DNA test proved that Darwish was Karen's father, the jury acquitted him of rape. It was only after they delivered their verdict that they learned that he had been found guilty two years before of nine other indecent assaults and acquitted of one rape. All the assaults happened under hypnosis, when patients were undergoing "relaxation therapy" suggested by Darwish for sexual problems.

More Right-Wing Myths Punctured

Everyone knows that people don't get pregnant just to get a council flat, that allegations of recent immigrants getting housing priority over natives are nonsense, and that linking immigration and benefit fraud is the kind of thing the Daily Mail (who supported the Blackshirts in the 1930s, don't forget) goes in for.

Ms Aruyo was one of several witnesses giving evidence to the Commons home affairs select committee's probe into immigration control, specifically about the issue of private fostering.

In written evidence submitted before the hearing, her organisation reported: "We have reports of cases involving Ugandan girls who have been trafficked purposely for council housing.

"They are brought in unaccompanied so they can go into local authority care, they are then impregnated to enable them to become eligible for council flats. The men then disappear and return once the housing problem is solved."

More Tales From The Underclass

From Blackburn :

A 33-YEAR-OLD addict stole his terminally ill mum's TV set after she refused to lend him money for drugs.

And a court heard the son, registered as his mother's carer, used her electric wheelchair to remove the 32 inch TV which he sold for £40.

Brian Aspin, 33, of Sunnybank Gardens, Blackburn, pleaded guilty at Blackburn magistrates to theft of a TV worth £500.


"When she realised what had happened she was very upset."




Thanks Gavin for the link.

Don't Send Them Down - They Might Get The Impression They're Criminals

The Howard League for the Abolition of Punishment continues its campaign to abolish imprisonment, starting with the poor oppressed youth.

Apparently 70% of 'youths' between 18 and 20 - in other words people who are considered (by liberals) to be adults in all other contexts - reoffend and are convicted within two years. I think it's a fair assumption that others won't get caught, given our detection rates.

The reason ?

"A jail sentence made youths think of themselves as criminals, as well as making it very difficult to find jobs and homes on their release, the research found."

That might be because they ARE criminals.

"Sending them to prison, instead of reducing crime, actually makes it all the more inevitable" says the Howard League. There's no doubt that we don't want to upset these chaps.

Naturally this "don't send them to prison" message is loudly amplified by the Howard League's friends at BBC News, the Today programme (RealAudio), Guardian, Indie, and the state-funded caring community.


The campaign to abolish punishment continues with Youth Justice Tsar, Master-lookalike and hippie academic Rod Morgan's campaign against Asbos, loudly amplified by etc etc. Not only are we suffering from ""misplaced hysteria over teenage crime", but we're "demonising" as well as criminalising "high-jinks" and "normal adolescent behaviour 15-20 years ago".

In totally unconnected news, "Britain is perceived as one of the most loutish countries in Europe, according to a new survey published today".

"The survey also revealed a sharp contrast in national attitudes to tackling unruly behaviour. It found that in Germany, six out of 10 people would challenge a group of 14-year-olds vandalising a bus shelter, but in Britain six out of ten would not."

The BBC reports "The under-25s were most associated with anti-social behaviour such as vandalism and rowdiness". Demonising again, I guess.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Transpontine Round-Up

icSouthLondon with all the cheery news.

A TWO-YEAR-OLD girl died after her mum repeatedly dosed her with heroin substitute methadone to keep her quiet, the Old Bailey has heard. Ophelia Afoitor was found lifeless in bed hours after drug addict Denise Charles, 25, refused to let her go to hospital, the court heard.

THREE men were gunned down in a terrifying shoot-out that spilled from a packed club into a high street. The gunfight erupted inside the Mbalax nightspot in Peckham High Street during the early hours of Monday. Panicked clubbers fled as further blasts followed outside the venue.

AN ALBANIAN mum and daughter will face charges relating to the murder of a 24-year-old man at a hostel for the homeless. Renata Mitre, 22, of Queen's Road, New Cross, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Aaron Stokes at the Old Bailey on Tuesday last week. Mitre and her mother, Dezdemona Balla, 48, of no fixed address, both denied destroying evidence relating to the murder of Mr Stokes.


Robert Maw, 35, cornered the 14-year-old in a park and flashed at her. He was on bail at the time for grabbing a 36-year-old woman off a Deptford street at knifepoint and raping her.


A HAMMER-WIELDING mechanic bludgeoned his flat-mate to death as he slept, a court has heard. Ricardas Navickas, 45, of Kashgar Road, Plumstead, allegedly smashed Arturas Vilkauskas over the head with the tool after a drunken row. The Old Bailey heard Navickas had only been in the UK for two days when he moved into the one-bedroom flat with the victim and three other Lithuanians.

A TERRIFIED Sikh woman has told how a race attack made her think she would die like murder victim Stephen Lawrence. Teenagers launched abuse and missiles at the shocked social worker, her daughter and a friend when they visited Oxleas Wood in Eltham. The three made their way to their car but were confronted by the rabble minutes later. They hurled sticks, full beer cans and stones at the car causing slight damage to the windscreen. They escaped unhurt and called police. The victim says police told her no arrests could be made because officers said they were "outnumbered" by the horde of teenagers.

Compare And Contrast

Two stories of gang rape.

One alleged, involving three white lacrosse players from a prestigious American university and a black stripper hired to perform at a party.

One proven, involving two black criminals, serial rapists, and a white woman forced into a car and driven to a flat to be racially abused and assaulted at knifepoint. An earlier victim, aged fifteen, had been raped at gunpoint.

The first story hits all the right buttons for self-hating white liberals. As the BBC reports, "even aside from the current scandal, there is no escaping the hard reality that Duke's student population is largely white".

The Guardian has several stories ("it had all the ugliness of the Old South in an institution that prides itself on being a pillar of the New South: a brutal collision of race, sex and class ...").

To the Indie, the "university rape claim awakens demons of America's Deep South". Or to an Indie editor, the demons as mediated by the Rolling Stones and Neil Young ?

DNA sampling has proved negative, and it's unsure when the allegations will come to trial - but this story will run and run. You can place bets on the outcome.

The second, proven story has precisely ONE news report - in icSouthLondon. If the races of perpetrator and victim had been reversed, the BBC/Guardian/Indie would have been all over it like a rash.

Jamaican gang that used rape as its initiation
Apr 18 2006

Immigration chiefs faced fury last night for allowing a member of a sordid Jamaican rape gang to make South London his hunting ground. Sheldon Stewart, 26, was said to be part of the Buckles mob - a violent criminal outfit responsible for a spree of vile attacks in the Caribbean. Their hallmark is said to be a sickening initiation ceremony where new recruits are instructed to abduct and rape.

Yet despite being known in his homeland as a gang member, Stewart, 26, was able to move to Britain where he has:

* raped a schoolgirl at gunpoint
* held a knife to another woman's throat as he and a twisted accomplice tried to violate her
*taunted women who were prepared to stand up to him in court
*boasted of keeping young girls as slaves

Inner London Crown Court heard how Stewart attacked a 15-year-old girl at gunpoint and dragged another woman into flat in Peak Hill, Sydenham, after calling her "a white bitch". He and the scar-faced pal threatened to "burst" or shoot the first victim on November 25, 2004, if she didn't submit to their sordid demands. The girl had been lured into Stewart's car on the promise of cannabis and a lift. Instead, both men took turns to rape her as a gun was held to her head. Stewart targeted a second victim on December 30, 2004, first trying to chat her up, then bundling her into a car on the Tulse Hill Estate. He called the 25-year-old a "white bitch" and drove her back to the Sydenham flat, where the accomplice was again waiting to pounce. Stewart held a 7in long knife to the the sobbing woman's throat, but she kept calm and fooled the pair into letting her go to the toilet from where she fled.

Compare And Contrast

Two stories of gang rape.

One alleged, involving three white lacrosse players from a prestigious American university and a black stripper hired to perform at a party.

One proven, involving two black criminals, serial rapists, and a white woman forced into a car and driven to a flat to be assaulted at knifepoint. An earlier victim, aged fifteen, had been raped at gunpoint.

The first story hits all the right buttons for self-hating white liberals. As the BBC reports, "even aside from the current scandal, there is no escaping the hard reality that Duke's student population is largely white".

The Guardian has several stories ("it had all the ugliness of the Old South in an institution that prides itself on being a pillar of the New South: a brutal collision of race, sex and class ...").

To the Indie, the "university rape claim awakens demons of America's Deep South". Or to an Indie editor, the demons as mediated by the Rolling Stones and Neil Young ?

DNA sampling has proved negative, and it's unsure when the allegations will come to trial - but this story will run and run. You can place bets on the outcome.

The second, proven story has precisely ONE news report - in icSouthLondon. If the races of perpetrator and victim had been reversed, the BBC/Guardian/Indie would have been all over it like a rash.

Jamaican gang that used rape as its initiation
Apr 18 2006

Immigration chiefs faced fury last night for allowing a member of a sordid Jamaican rape gang to make South London his hunting ground. Sheldon Stewart, 26, was said to be part of the Buckles mob - a violent criminal outfit responsible for a spree of vile attacks in the Caribbean. Their hallmark is said to be a sickening initiation ceremony where new recruits are instructed to abduct and rape.

Yet despite being known in his homeland as a gang member, Stewart, 26, was able to move to Britain where he has:

* raped a schoolgirl at gunpoint
* held a knife to another woman's throat as he and a twisted accomplice tried to violate her
*taunted women who were prepared to stand up to him in court
*boasted of keeping young girls as slaves

Stewart was behind bars this week, facing a 12-year stretch for rape, attempted rape and possessing a gun. But a scar-faced accomplice who took turns in raping the 15-year-old and is also a suspected Buckles member is still at large. Victim support groups say the case highlights the disturbing ease in which potential sex attackers are able to slip unnoticed into the UK. Immigration chiefs allowed Stewart into Britain in 2002, seemingly oblivious to the potential danger he posed. This was because, like many gang members in the Caribbean, he lived under several street names making it hard for officials to keep accurate criminal records. Tighter border controls were introduced in 2003, requiring Jamaican nationals to declare criminal convictions when applying to the UK, but even these are "not an automatic barrier" to the UK, the Home Office says.


Stewart first set up home in Streatham, then moved to Peak Hill, Sydenham, supposedly buying and selling cars for a living. In reality he was forging links with local gangs and establishing his reputation as a man not to be crossed. While his cold, dead eyes show not a flicker of emotion in the police mugshot, officers say he was charming and manipulative - winning over young women with his cars, designer clothes and bling. Cops have probed Stewart's activities between April and December 2004 and believe he "befriended" as many as four women a week. He called these women "girlfriends" - but police fear many will have have been subjected to bullying and sexual abuse.

Inner London Crown Court heard how Stewart attacked a 15-year-old girl at gunpoint and dragged another woman into flat in Peak Hill, Sydenham, after calling her "a white bitch". He and the scar-faced pal threatened to "burst" or shoot the first victim on November 25, 2004, if she didn't submit to their sordid demands. The girl had been lured into Stewart's car on the promise of cannabis and a lift. Instead, both men took turns to rape her as a gun was held to her head. Stewart targeted a second victim on December 30, 2004, first trying to chat her up, then bundling her into a car on the Tulse Hill Estate. He called the 25-year-old a "white bitch" and drove her back to the Sydenham flat, where the accomplice was again waiting to pounce. Stewart held a 7in long knife to the the sobbing woman's throat, but she kept calm and fooled the pair into letting her go to the toilet from where she fled.

The first girl, who was in social services care, was too afraid to give evidence. But in an amazing show of bravery, she agreed to help nail Stewart after he phoned to taunt her over the allegations. When cops from Streatham CID arrested the rapist at his girlfriend's home in West Norwood, he claimed the 25-year-old was a prostitute and denied having sex with the teenager. But jurors found him guilty of rape, sexual assault, kidnap, two counts of false imprisonment, two counts of possessing a firearm or imitation firearm, and an additional charge of witness intimidation. Passing sentence, Judge Lindsay Burn described Stewart's indifference towards his crimes as "extraordinary." Sentencing the killer to 11 years for the sex attacks and a further year for witness intimidation, the judge added: "It's evident to me that you thought you could behave towards women in this way and get away with it. There was no remorse whatsoever expressed by you for what you have done."

Stewart still refuses to name the scar-faced accomplice who police believe has now fled overseas. The fugitive is also said to be an alleged member of the Buckles gang. A "wall of silence" has protected the mob in their homeland as few law-abiding Jamaicans are prepared to give evidence against them. Detective Inspector Jonathan Wilson of Streatham CID said: "Our inquiries suggest that Stewart and his accomplice were former members of a criminal outfit called the Buckles gang who had committed similar offences in Jamaica. Stewart has shown he is an extremely dangerous man who poses a real threat to young woman and girls. He and his accomplice behaved in a despicable manner using violence casually against victims who did not consent to his sexual advances."

Stewart's conviction on March 24 could not be reported until today because prosecutors were considering the possibility of further charges for witness intimidation that have subsequently been left on file.

A Home Office spokesman refused to comment on "individual cases", but said: "A criminal record is not an automatic barrier to entry to the United Kingdom. The Immigration database holds adverse information on individuals who we wish to prevent from entering the country. It contains certain details of overseas criminal convictions only where this information has been made available to the Police from an individual's country of origin."

Cops paid tribute yesterday to the extraordinary courage of Sheldon Stewart's young victims. Twisted Stewart and his scar-faced accomplice threatened them with guns and knives. Stewart even phoned the 15-year-old from behind bars boasting he could "bust" the case if she co-operated with police. But far from intimidating his young victim, the chilling call inspired her to give evidence to ensure he would stay locked up. Detectives have also praised the ingenuity of his second victim, 25, who managed to outwit and escape her captors despite having been punched repeatedly in the face. Investigating Detective Sergeant Yasmine Watson said: "I can't begin to imagine the fear these women must have felt. Many victims were too scared to give evidence following direct and implied threats from Stewart and his accomplices. Both victims come from very different walks of life and both have shown unbelievable strength and determination in standing up to Stewart."

Detectives pledged to continue their hunt for the scar-faced fugitive. And they warned women of all ages to avoid taking lifts with strangers.

Can't Say They're Not Honest

Labour MP Jon Cruddas, quoted by David Aaronovitch.

He said that with hard work, more social housing, and demographics, the BNP could be neutralised.


Like they have been in Sparkbrook, Aston, Lozells. Why bother going to all the trouble of arguing with the voters when you can just replace them ?



Titfer-tip - Tottenham Lad

Comedy Caper Central

John Reid, the Scotsman in charge of criminal justice for England and Wales, looks to be a safe pair of hands.

Mr Reid said: "As a result of the work that has been done I am informed that the number of released prisoners who fall into the category of having committed the most serious offences is not 90, it could be as high as 150 and, indeed, depending on what definition you use, if you were to include in that armed robbery it could be several hundred."


So we have a Home Secretary who can't quite make up his mind about whether armed robbery is one of the more "serious offences". Explains why a guy currently awaiting trial on terrorist charges could serve a sentence for robbery then be granted UK citizenship on release.

Arsenic Wenger ?

From the Sporting Life.

Experts are to test food taken by police from a London hotel after a number of Tottenham players fell ill before Sunday's crucial match at West Ham.

Several of the Spurs squad apparently suffered food poisoning ahead of their final Barclays Premiership match of the season at Upton Park.

Police were called to the London Marriott West India Quay Hotel, in the Canary Wharf area, and took away food samples to hand over to experts.

Tottenham needed to win the match to clinch fourth place in the Premiership and - barring Arsenal winning this year's Champions League final - a Champions League place next season, but lost the match 2-1.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

We liberals must not condemn the people who voted BNP

Says genial Uncle Roy Greenslade.

He was a punk. She did ballet. Can I make it any more obvious ?

He worked at Ford's. She taught girls to dance. In their spare time they threw themselves into endless rounds of charity work. Like virtually everyone in Barking they came from east London stock and voted Labour. Some of their closest friends were councillors. They loved the area and its community. The less fortunate people were, the more they loved them. In common parlance they were, and are, a salt-of-the-earth couple. In retirement they have continued to help others. It's in their nature.

But a long time ago, maybe more than 10 years ago now, I began to note an edge of genuine anger creeping into their talk, with sentences that started I'm-not-a-racist-but...


Irish Republican cheerleader Georgina Henry can sympathise with nationalist voters, even if they haven't yet reached the preferred political sophistication of blowing people up or shooting informers in the head.

The truth is that - rightly or wrongly - many traditional Labour voters believe this government has ignored their priorities. Whilst we can never support a vote for a racist party, one can - and must - understand the sense of frustration which leads people to do so.



Nonsense, says Brownie at Harry's. Whatever happened to good old working class progressive pretension, eh ?

"The people responsible for this are those who voted for the BNP and, lest there be any doubt, there is no excuse. If you vote for a party grounded in transparently racist ideology and which promotes nakedly sectarian policies, you legitimize it. For both genuine socialists and those with any progressive pretensions whatsoever, there ought to be no greater crime."


Coming it a bit strong, aren't we ? Call me an unpretentious sort, but don't you think kidnapping a journalist, stripping her, drilling holes in her legs and an eye, then videoing her having her head sawn off, a greater crime ? I wouldn't do that to Polly Toynbee.



You can see the BNP voting figures here. Food for thought.



Scum ! Vermin ! cries Muriel Gray from overwhelmingly monocultural Scotland (yes, I know there are a few intracultural issues).

There can only be three reasons for voting (BNP) ...

The first reason would be that the voter is terminally stupid and doesn’t understand the covert bile that is being presented to them.

The second reason would be that the voter is a horrible, racist, homophobic, evil bastard.

The third reason is that the voter is a combination of reasons one and two.

... those people, thankfully in a tiny minority, are still, and most probably always will be, morons. All the BNP have proved is that they are getting better at winkling out these appalling people ... a few ghastly people with ugly views ... nasty little people ...


Come on, Muriel, tell us what you really think of them.

If Labour shifts its policies, even by a fraction, to appease these bigots instead of listening to the decent law-abiding majority, then the victory won by the BNP will be bigger than just a few council seats.


After all, "anxious and harassed Muslims haven’t set up and voted for an Anti Kuffir Party".