Bradford delegation calls for ban on English Defence League march

Politicians, religious leaders and campaigners travel to London to ask home secretary to stop 'provocative' demonstration
A delegation of politicians, religious leaders and campaigners from Bradford will arrive in London tomorrow to ask the home secretary to ban a planned demonstration in the Yorkshire city by the far-right English Defence League (EDL).

The delegation, which includes the Bradford West MP, Marsha Singh, says the proposed demonstration is an attempt to provoke trouble in a city still recovering from the riots in 2001 that followed an attempted march by the National Front.

"The EDL is a racist, anti-Muslim organisation that is coming to Bradford with the sole intention of whipping up tensions and trying to provoke a riot," said Singh. "Unfortunately, we know only too well what this type of terror can bring and Bradford is still recovering from the disturbances of 2001."

The EDL formed in Luton last year and has become the most significant far-right street movement in the UK since the National Front in the 1970s. It claims to be a peaceful, non-racist organisation opposed only to "militant Islam". But many of its demonstrations have ended in confrontations with the police after some supporters became involved in violence as well as racist and Islamophobic chanting.

The group has held demonstrations across the country but its plan to target Bradford over the August bank holiday weekend is its most provocative yet, with between 5,000 and 10,000 EDL supporters expected to descend on the city.

Tomorrow's delegation will present a petition signed by more than 10,000 Bradford residents to Home Office officials calling on the police and government to ban the demonstration.

"This is not some bureaucratic or passive appeal to the authorities, but real people demanding that those who are supposed to serve and protect us actually do just that," said Singh. "We are calling on the home secretary and West Yorkshire police to listen to the will of the people of Bradford."

West Yorkshire police are expected to make a decision on whether they think the EDL demonstration should go ahead in the next week. It will then be down to the home secretary, Theresa May, to decide whether to ban the march.

Singh added: "The Conservative government was elected on a policy of localism, of giving local people a greater say in the running of their community. Now is the time to see if they mean it."

The Guardian

Lee Barns BNP's Legal Eagle quits

My Resignation Letter From the BNP

Formal Resignation Letter.

10th August 2010.

Just over a month ago I won a court case for the BNP against Greenwich Council that not only changed the entire basis of electoral law in England, it also saved the party around ten to fifteen thousand pounds in legal costs and damages.

The legal arguments I drafted up and sent to the court ensured that the BNP won the court case.

For those idiots who will seek to attack me on the grounds of me being a red / traitor / unqualified crank (tick the usual pejorative as applicable) I mention this legal case I won for the party so as to ensure that decent people, and not the idiot sock puppets we see on the VNN Forum and Green Arrow site who are the vermin in the gutter of British Nationalism, understand that until yesterday when news of the mass suspension of party activists and organisers was announced I was still a loyal officer and supporter of the party.

I have pleaded with people to put the interests of the party first and before their own personal animosities and feuds.

As this has been ignored I have no choice but to take this action.

Over the last few years since the arrival of Jim Dowson into the party, Nick Griffin and Jim Dowson have repeatedly chosen to break the most obvious of laws including such debacles as ;

1) The Marmite Case
2) The unlawful use of stock images from a photoshop company during the European Elections
3) The EHRC court cases
4) The unlawful sacking of Michaele Mackenzie
5) The illegal suspension of Peter Mullins and many others

All of these were done under the orders of both Nick Griffin and Jim Dowson.

Regardless of how much income the party has had over the last few years, hundreds of thousands of pounds have been squandered on avoidable court cases.

Whilst party income has undoubtedly rose since Jim Dowson became involved with the BNP, so has the vast amount of money paid out by the BNP in legal costs incurred by the BNP.

Legal issues that were once dealt with internally within the party have been ’outsourced’ from the party to individuals paid by Jim Dowson and Nick Griffin, resulting in the parties internal legal affairs no longer being scrutinised or run by the BNP Legal Unit.

This ‘outsourcing’ of legal issues and cases, such as the drafting up of the new BNP constitution and dealing with the Marmite Case, have resulted in the party wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds on fighting legal cases that could have been avoided, had the party debated and addressed those legal issues internally.

What was particularly galling for me was the Michaela Mackenzie case.

I informed Nick Griffin on the day he sacked her that what he was doing was unlawful.

Not only did he ignore my advice, he later went to an Employment Tribunal and called me a ‘crank’ as a way to ‘explain’ why my advice to him was ignored.

The actions of Nick Griffin in this case alone has cost the party over twenty five thousand pounds, and as of Friday last week the money owed to Michaele Mackenzie has still not been paid.

This means the party will now be dragged back into court and probably bankrupted as a result.

As far as I am aware the party is now technically insolvent.

Outstanding court costs, wages bills, election expenses and also forthcoming legal cases against the party mean the BNP is now technically bankrupt.

As far as I am aware donations to the party have flowed to a trickle as well as party renewals and new inquiries.
This means the party should be avoiding creating new legal cases and liabilities, not rushing into them as though the party is awash with money to fight such legal cases.

Bankruptcy of the party will have very serious implications for the BNP membership.

If the party is made bankrupt then the BNP membership as a whole will be directly financially liable for its outstanding debts as an unincorporated association and not Nick Griffin or Jim Dowson.

This is because Nick Griffin has no assets and Jim Dowsons financial assets are probably hidden away in some Spanish or Swiss bank account outside the UK.

In relation to the illegal suspension of Peter Mullins and others, I spent months trying to get Nick to see sense on this issue.
It was only after months of arguments that Nick Griffin was forced to relent, drop their suspensions and re-admit them.

During this time I was threatened by Jim Dowson with violence for putting the parties legal interests first as he was the person pushing Nick Griffin to expel Peter Mullins and others.

I am not the only BNP member or BNP officer to have been threatened with violence by Jim Dowson.

It appears that when Jim Dowson doesn’t get what he wants he likes to threaten people with his connections to loyalist killers and terrorists in Northern Ireland in order to intimidate people into doing his bidding.

My complaints to Nick Griffin about Jim Dowsons threats of violence directed at me and other party members have been ignored.

All I can say is that Peter Mullins is a decent, honourable man whilst Jim Dowson is a convicted criminal, with links to Loyalist terrorism and terrorists with a string of failed companies to his name who bought his ’reverend’ title off of the internet.

These facts are easily ascertained off the internet, as the media have undertaken investigations into Jim Dowson and published this information widely.

Unfortunately, as the Peter Mullins case revealed, Nick Griffin thinks the law as regards the unlawful expulsion of members does not apply to him, even though he was shown by the courts during the John Tyndall case that the law does apply to the BNP.

The decision yesterday to unlawfully suspend dozens of activists simply for them standing against Nick Griffin in the leadership contest is the action of utterly irresponsible incompetents.

Nick Griffin knew before the leadership challenge even began that he could not be removed as leader of the party.

The BNP constitution was re-written specifically to ensure that no-one can ever remove Nick Griffin from his role as chairman.

Therefore to suspend the people who supported the leadership challenge is both unlawful and tactically inept.

The people who supported Eddy Butler would have been facing the choice of either knuckling down or resigning from the party.

Instead they have been unlawfully suspended and therefore can now launch new legal actions against the party.

The law is clear.

BNP members have a constitutionally protected right to stand for party leadership.

To suspend them for doing so is unlawful.

The way they have been suspended is also unlawful.

I have no doubt that they will now unite to form a class action against the party thereby incurring more legal costs and damages against an already virtually bankrupt party whose debts far outweigh its income.

The tragedy is that Andrew Brons has been dragged into this idiotic affair, for he will have no choice but to do as Nick Griffin and Jim Dowson say and declare that the leadership challengers did not get enough nominations and so cannot stand against Nick Griffin for a leadership election.

But what has most sickened me over recent weeks is the way that the serious allegations of sexual assault from the BNP member Shelley Rose have been ignored by Nick Griffin.

I have never met Shelley Rose, nor have I ever spoken to her.

I do not know the truth or otherwise of the allegations she has made.

As soon as I saw the Youtube video of her allegations I sent an e mail to Nick Griffin, and spoke to him on the phone, asking that in order to ensure the party and its public image is protected that both Shelley Rose and Jim Dowson be suspended as members and as party officers and that a full and transparent investigation is initiated.
The BNP cannot ever be seen as a party that protects perverts or a party that refuses to address allegations of such a serious nature from a female member.

Any allegations of sexual assault by any female BNP member against any male BNP member must be treated with the utmost seriousness and an full investigation begun.

Failure to do that allows the media to attack and undermine the party and its public image.

Jim Dowson is not a member of the BNP, so therefore in order to demonstrate that the party was taking these allegations seriously then he should have been immediately suspended as a party officer and from all party offices until the investigation and disciplinary procedures into the allegations were finished.

If Shelley Rose was found to have lied then she should have been expelled.

If Jim Dowson was found guilty of bringing the party into disrepute, Gross Misconduct and sexual assault then he should have been dismissed and sacked from all party offices he holds.

Instead what has happened is that Shelley Rose has been suspended, no investigation has been initiated and no sanction applied against Jim Dowson.

Instead of having a transparent investigation into the allegations, the internet attack dogs on sites like the Green Arrow website and the VNN Forum have been set upon Shelley Rose and abused her name and reputation.

They have slandered, threatened and vilified her and by so doing have disgraced not just the BNP but British Nationalism as a political movement.

This is intolerable.

The BNP cannot be seen as a political party that punishes the victim of a sexual assault whilst protecting the perpetrator of the crime.

All such allegations have to be treated with the utmost seriousness.

All such allegations must be investigated.

The issue is simple enough to understand.

Any married BNP party officer in a senior position who spends the night in a hotel room with a BNP female member other than his wife must be sacked.

This must be done for one simple reason.

A party officer lured into a secret affair opens himself up to being blackmailed or manipulated.

Such a scenario creates a fundamental conflict of interest between their personal life, their professional duties and their political responsibilities that is simply unacceptable.

A party officer who is in charge of the BNP finances via its income, who controls the BNP membership lists and who has such influence over the chairman of the party must be entirely above reproach at all times.

If it had been someone working for MI5 who had lured Jim Dowson into a sexual assignation in a London hotel room and then filmed him with hidden cameras and used that film to blackmail him, then MI5 would now be in control of the BNP’s finances and income and have access to all our membership data bases and be able to virtually control the party.

And we would never know about it.

Any married man foolish enough to have been discovered having stayed the night in a hotel room with a young woman other than his wife, and especially a ’reverend’, is an individual who may also have done so in the past and therefore is not suitable to be in that position.

In the world of business, and in the education system and police, any senior manager who has an affair with a junior member of his staff that threatens the good name of the organisation is guilty of Gross Misconduct and dismissed.

Whilst it may be acceptable for the Tories, Lib Dems and New Labour to act in such a manner it is not acceptable for senior officers of the BNP to do so, especially senior officers in charge of BNP finances and income and the membership data base.

But it appears that Jim Dowson is an ’untouchable’ in the party and that whilst Nick Griffin is prepared to sacrifice dozens of loyal members with decades of party loyalty, he will not deal with Jim Dowson.

It therefore appears that Nick Griffin no longer wishes to receive any counsel from anyone who wishes to put the legal interests of the BNP, its members, our public image and our future electoral expansion before the interests of Nick Griffin and Jim Dowson.

I cannot remain as the Legal Officer of a party that acts unlawfully towards its own members, that rewards years of party loyalty with unlawful suspensions and expulsions, that covers up serious allegations of sexual abuse by senior officers, that expels long standing members who ask for financial transparency within the party and that refuses to act to protect its own officers when they are threatened with violence by other senior officers.

Such a political party cannot be trusted with political power in our society.

If I stay on within such a party then it will appear as though I am supporting and condoning such actions.

Unless the BNP begins ;

1) An immediate fully transparent investigation into the ongoing allegations of financial mismanagement within the party which allows BNP members and officers to ascertain exactly what the party finances are, where party assets have gone and what the background behind the legal costs of recent legal cases have been. This is required in order to ensure that internal party mechanisms are in place to protect the party from such legal liabilities and allegations of financial impropriety in the future.

2) An immediate and fully transparent investigation into the threats of violence made against any party members and officers by Jim Dowson.

3) An immediate and fully transparent investigation into the allegations made by the BNP member Shelly Rose against Jim Dowson.

4) An immediate and fully transparent investigation into who authorised the unlawful suspensions of BNP party members Peter Mullins and others and also whether the present suspensions of members and organisers suspended for being involved in the leadership challenge are also legal. As part of the inquiry it must establish whether an independent body within the party should be established that vets and checks any orders for the suspension of members and officers of the party issued by the chairman or other officers are legal before the suspensions or expulsions are authorised and issued. This is required to protect the party from legal potential legal liabilities.

5) The establishment of an internal ‘BNP Reconciliation Committee’ which allows all BNP members and officers to air their grievances and discuss issues about issues of concern to officers and the membership without fear of suspension and expulsion so as to allow us to move forward as a united party.

6) An immediate party inquiry into how the party can establish an internal mechanism for protecting the employment rights of party officers from arbitrary dismissal so as to ensure no more legal cases and legal costs are imposed against the party.

7) An immediate party inquiry into establishing an internal party mechanism that requires the chairman of the party to discuss and debate with senior officials of the party any financial or business actions that may impinge or impact upon the party directly or accrue legal or financial liabilities for the party before those decisions are taken.

8) Jim Dowson now controls the BNP membership database, the BNP donor database, the BNP treasury department, the BNP subscriptions operation, the BNP media & communications operation and the BNP website. This is completely unacceptable and legally questionable. There is no power in the constitution for the chairman to devolve such internal party offices or party operations to an individual who is not a party member. The BNP constitution does not give the chairman the power to allow a non-member of the party to hold, have access too or have power directly over BNP party finances or confidential information relating to party members. Nor does the chairman have any power to move party assets owned by the party outside the party and especially into the hands of an individual who is not a member of the party. Therefore all financial assets owned by the party and under the control of Jim Dowson must be declared and returned to the party. No officer of the party, either member of non-member, should be ever again be allowed to have such internal control and influence over such a vast amount of essential internal BNP operations now or in the future. Such over centralisation of power around Nick Griffin and Jim Dowson means the party is now vulnerable.

If party assets have been moved out of the party and into companies owned by Jim Dowson by Nick Griffin then this is potentially defined as "Fraud by abuse of position" and is defined by Section 4 of the Fraud Act 2006. This is such a case where a person occupies a position where they are expected to safeguard the financial interests of another person such as BNP members, and abuses that position; this includes cases where the abuse consisted of an omission rather than an overt act.

In such cases of potential fraud, it requires that for an offence to have occurred, the person must have acted dishonestly, and that they had to have acted with the intent of making a gain for themselves or anyone else, or inflicting a loss (or a risk of loss) on another. The fact that such issues may have potentially arisen means the party is at serious risk of investigation and prosecution.

I do not believe the list of assurances that I believe the party requires in order to allow it to move forward as a united organisation will be given by Nick Griffin.

In all good conscience I can therefore no longer remain as an officer of the party.

If I stay on as an officer of the party then I will be seen as condoning the above issues and problems.

I am not prepared to do that.

I hereby quit my role as BNP Legal Adviser with immediate effect.


L. J. Barnes LLB (Hons)
 
Originally posted by Kirklees Unity.

Race issue gives Sarkozy an easy route to boost support (France)

Racist, the French? A recent opinion poll suggested that 70 to 80 per cent of French people welcomed President Sarkozy's idea that certain criminals "of foreign origin" should be stripped of their French nationality. The proposal, which will be formalised before the end of the month, has been attacked by voices on both the left and the right as cynical and unworkable. The more thoughtful critics include two people who are by no means Sarko-haters, the celebrity philosopher, Bernard-Henri Lévy, and the former Socialist prime minister, Michel Rocard. By associating "foreign origin" with violent crime, they say, the President is stooping to the populist logic of the far right National Front. He is even, Mr Rocard suggested at the weekend, resurrecting the xenophobic and anti-Republican legislation of the collaborationist Vichy regime of 1940-44.

Can it just be a coincidence, the critics ask, that Mr Sarkozy is ranting about crime and foreigners when the economic crisis, and now a party-financing scandal, have brought his approval ratings to their lowest ever ebb? What is "foreign origin", anyway? Will the new law apply only to people who were born abroad? Or will it also apply to second and third generation immigrants? What would happen to people left with no nationality? On Friday, a poll in Le Figaro gave high approval ratings to this and other recent proposals by Mr Sarkozy to get tough on crime. The figures were received with undisguised glee in the Elysée Palace. "A slap in the face for the well-meaning," said Mr Sarkozy's childhood friend, the Interior Minister, Brice Hortefeux. "As usual, 'Sarkozyism' is out of step with the élites but in step with society."

Another informative poll appeared yesterday. According to an annual survey by the Journal du Dimanche, the French West Indian pop singer and former tennis player Yannick Noah remains the most popular person in France for the sixth year in succession. The second most popular Frenchman is the retired footballer Zinédine Zidane, born in Marseilles to Algerian parents. Seven of the people in the top 10 are, arguably, to use Mr Sarkozy's phrase, "of foreign origin". Racist, the French? President Sarkozy, also "of foreign origin", did not feature in the top 50. The list is, admittedly, freighted with singers, actors, sports stars and television presenters (many of whom are unknown outside France).

Two incidents sparked the President's recent series of diatribes against criminals and especially criminals "of foreign origin". Shots were fired at police last month during riots in Grenoble, after a young man of North African origin was killed by police while trying to rob a casino. Gypsies of French origin rioted in a small town in central France after a gendarme shot dead a young gypsy whose car failed to stop at a checkpoint. In the first case, the rioters were a typically disparate bunch of teenagers from the "troubled" suburbs of Grenoble: brown, black and some white but all, almost certainly, born in France. In the second case, the "travelling people" who rioted were people with French surnames whose families have lived in France for centuries. President Sarkozy's response to the Grenoble incident was to make a speech linking crime and immigration and promising to remove the French nationality of people "of foreign origin" who fired bullets at policemen. His response to the second incident was to launch a crackdown on the Roma who have entered France illegally from Eastern Europe in recent years (but had nothing to do with the rural riot). A Roma camp near Lyons was cleared by police on Friday.

In both cases, President Sarkozy made a connection between crime and legal and illegal immigration which was at best wilful, and worst dishonest. There is a problem with Roma entering France illegally but vigorous efforts were already being made to repatriate them. Five years after the riots of October 2005, the troubled multi-racial banlieues of French cities remain a powder keg. Before his election in 2007, Mr Sarkozy promised to encourage the many positive things which also happen in the banlieues. Little has been done. Racist, the French? No, but they are depressingly willing, it seems, to be led by the nose by simplistic, xenophobic formulae and slogans.

The Independant

SUSPECTS CAUGHT IN MURDERS OF ROMA IN HUNGARY ARE EXTREME-RIGHT PROMOTERS

The Hungarian State Investigation Office (NNI) has completed its investigation into a series of anti-Roma attacks in 2008 and 2009 during which six Roma were murdered including a five-year-old child, the MTI agency reports. NNI is now suggesting prosecutors indict four detained suspects. News server Novinky.cz reports the detainees are promoters of extreme-right organizations. The attacks occurred at nine separate places. They involved 78 instances of gunfire and Molotov cocktail attacks on seven homes. Police say the attacks are exceptional not only in the annals of Hungarian crime, but in those of Europe. Six Roma did not survive the racist incursions, and another five (including another child), were seriously injured. Investigators say the attacks put a total of 55 people in danger.

András Tóth of the NNI said at a press conference that three of the four men detained are suspected of having fired shots at the Roma. Police say the fourth detainee was the driver in two anti-Roma attacks. The NNI says the motivation for the attacks is also exceptional. They are said to have been revenge for an alleged wrong committed by members of the Roma community a long time ago and an attempt to create fear in the community. The victims were unconnected to one another and the places were selected completely at random. The attacks took place in central and eastern Hungary between July 2008 and August 2009 and prompted international outrage. The attacks mostly took place at night, when the Roma were asleep. In November 2008, two Roma lost their lives in the village of Nagycsécs in the north-east when attackers threw Molotov cocktails at their homes and fired at them with shotguns as they fled. Last February, a Roma father and his young son did not survive an attack in the municipality of Tatárszentgyörgy. Both were killed fleeing their burning home. Last August, in the municipality of Kisléta in the east of the country, a 45-year-old Roma woman was shot and her 13-year-old daughter suffered serious injuries.

In the Czech Republic, a Roma family in Vítkov became the target of an attack last April when arsonists set their house on fire. The family’s youngest member, Natálka, suffered serious burns over 80 % of her body during the blaze. The trial of the four alleged assailants has been underway since May. The Roma community in Hungary is the country’s largest national minority, comprising 5 – 7 % of its 10 million inhabitants. Along with the country’s growing economic problems and unemployment, Roma are more and more frequently becoming the target of seditious attacks by extremist political parties such as the ultra-right “Movement for a Better Hungary” (Jobbik), which made it into parliament during the recent elections.

translated by Gwendolyn Albert


CTK

Shimon Peres denies calling British 'anti-Semites'

Amid growing controversy over his comments, published on a Jewish website, Mr Peres fought back to insist that he had “the highest regard” for the way in which Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

“President Peres never accused the British people of anti-Semitism,” his spokesman said in a statement issued last night. “The president does not believe that British governments are motivated by anti-Semitism, nor were they in the past.
In an interview with Benny Morris, an Israeli historian, published in the Tablet journal last week, Mr Peres claimed that there had always been something “pro-Arab” and “anti-Israel” in the British establishment.

Asked whether this was due to anti-Semitism, Mr Peres replied: “Yes, there is also anti-Semitism. There is in England a saying that an anti-Semite is someone who hates the Jews more than is necessary. But with Germany, relations are pretty good, as with Italy and France.”

Mr Peres’s office said that the president viewed Israeli relations with Britain as “of the greatest importance” and insisted that his comments were driven by dismay that some in Britain did not understand the grim reality of living under the threat of terrorism.

“The president did express concern that some people in Britain do not fully appreciate the difficulties of facing an onslaught of terror whilst adhering to democratic practice, as Israel does,” the statement read. “Israel civilians have endured over 10,000 missiles fired on them from Israel.”

Among ordinary Israelis, there was considerable support for the president’s attack on Britain, which has been denounced in some quarters in the United Kingdom.

“The only reason why Britain is upset is because they know what Peres says is true, and the truth hurts,” said Yael Weisman, a teacher in Jerusalem.

Her husband Yigal agreed.

“Britain has become the most anti-Semitic country in Europe,” he said. “It’s clear what’s happened. London has become Londonistan and the government there is more afraid of upsetting Muslims who are taking over than Jews who are more polite and far away.”

Mr Peres said the Labour party had failed to give Israel support in the wake of the country’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005. He said Whitehall had failed to recognise the huge sacrifice the Jewish state had made to pull back.

“We evacuated 8,000 settlers, and it was very difficult,” he said. “It cost us $2.5bn in compensation.

“We left the Gaza Strip completely. Why did they fire rockets at us? For years they fired rockets at us … When they fired at us, the British didn’t say a word.”

Mr Peres subsequently stood by the observations on Gaza. “The President did express concern that some people in Britain do not fully appreciate the difficulties of facing an onslaught of terror whilst adhering to democratic practice, as Israel does,” the statement released by his office said. “Israel civilians have endured over 10,000 missiles fired on them from Gaza.”

David Cameron, the prime minister, caused a furore in Israel last week by describing Gaza as an open prison camp.

The additional factor that many MPs must address a muslim constituency that was imposing an additional burden on the Jewish state.

“There are several million Muslim voters [in the UK]. And for many members of parliament, that’s the difference between getting elected and not getting elected,” he said.

“They think the Palestinians are the underdog. In their eyes, the Arabs are the underdog. Even though this is irrational.”


The Telegraph

Rise in racially-motivated crimes in East Lancashire (UK)

A rise in racially-motivated crimes across East Lancashire is being blamed on drunken behaviour.

Figures show incidents have increased by 17 per cent, from 168 to 198 for the first five months of this year.

The police’s specialist Hate Crime Unit said the majority of incidents happened when offenders were drunk and said taxi drivers were often the victims of late-night racism.

Officers said that youngsters posting racist messages on social networking sites such as Facebook had also become a major problem for them.

Sgt John Rigby, of the Hate Crime Unit, said: “Around 95 per cent of the cases we see are as a result of alcohol.

"It is a massive factor behind racially-motivated crimes.

“One of our biggest victim groups is taxi drivers.

"They are regularly taking home drunks who will be arguing about paying the fare, and this can quickly turn into racist abuse, both verbally and physically.

“A lot of the calls we get, especially at weekend evenings, are from taxi drivers reporting such incidents.”

Last week, a 17-year-old boy was charged with racially-aggravated public disorder after a taxi driver was allegedly abused on a rank in Market Street, Colne.

And a 48-year-old man, also from Colne, has also been charged after an alleged racially-aggravated assault on a cabbie in the town’s Spring Lane area this month.

Makbul Patel, vice chairman of the Blackburn private hire association, said: “It is an issue our drivers are concerned about.

“When passengers are drunk arguments about not paying the fare or the cost of fare can often end up involving racist abuse and it is not something the drivers should have to put up with.”

Mohammed Arif, chairman of Burnley’s private hire association, said drivers were becoming increasingly worried about racist abuse.

“It is one of the biggest problems our drivers face,” he said.

“They are often taking groups of drunk people home late at night and it can be intimidating, especially if racist abuse is involved.

“The problem has definitely been getting worse recently, drivers are under pressure late at night and they want to as much protection as they can get.”

Last month, police teamed up with charity Stop Hate UK to launch a poster campaign in taxis working in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale warning people that hate crime would not be tolerated.

Police said they were also concerned about websites being used to peddle racist messages and harming community cohesion.

Sgt Rigby said: “A big factor these days is Facebook and other social networking sites.

“Youngsters don’t realise the comments they post can be seen by so many more people than they think.

“Quite often we have to contact Facebook electronically about comments on there.

“This is something we didn’t have 10 years ago. It can give a voice to people who want to get such messages into the public domain.”

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act showed there were 392 racially motivated crimes reported in East Lancashire in 2008, down from a high of 607 in 2007.

This increased to 404 crimes in 2009, and the latest figures for January to May suggest that figures will jump to nearer 500 this year.

Blackburn MP Jack Straw said the figures were ‘significant’ but might show a positive trend.

He said: “In previous times when there was much more overt racism around one of the consequences was that there were fewer incidents reported.

“Obviously it’s a worrying increase, but I hope it reflects an increase in reporting and identification of hate crimes and a reduction in toleration.”

The increase has led Salim Mulla, of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, to call on councils and the Government to do more to bring communities together.

Mr Mulla said more people had been going to him to report racist incidents.

“I seem to be getting more reports now from members of the community about racist incidents than I did.

"It is worrying that this type of crime is being committed.

“Everyone needs to do a lot more between different sections of the community to try and make sure this doesn’t happen.

“I think the council and Government need to do a lot more to bring communities together."


This is Lancaster

Australia to defend 'racist' Northern Territory intervention at the UN

A United Nations panel will investigate claims the Australian government has singled out Aborigines and asylum seekers with racist policies.

Australian officials will front a UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva on Tuesday amid allegations from human rights activists that the Northern Territory intervention unfairly treats Aboriginal communities.

The suspension of asylum seeker claims from Afghans and Sri Lankans earlier this year will also be challenged. Rights groups claim the decision imposed a sweeping policy on the basis of race and violated Australia's international obligations.

SMH.com

Jobbik MP allegedly threatens journalists (Hungary)

Two journalists from the weekly Hetek received death threats at a far-right festival, the weekly reported on  Friday. The reporters visiting the Magyar Sziget Festival in Verőce, north of Budapest, were escorted at all times and were allowed to interview only Jobbik MP Gyula György Zagyva, head of the 64 Counties Movement. He received them in a tent, where he was reclining on a couch and brandishing a whip. He reportedly told the journalists “you should be glad that you were not beaten up”. He reportedly also said it was “Jewish arrogance” that the journalists had turned on their dictaphone and that he would most willingly “stamp out their gut”. Zagyva denied to Népszabadság that he had said such things and vowed to take legal action for defamation of character and libel. He did not deny that he had a whip in his hand, but said “why not?” The Jobbik national leadership will discuss the matter today. Spokeswoman Dora Dúró said Zagyva is a member of the caucus but not the party. The Socialist Party asked Justice Minister Tibor Navracsics and Interior Minister Sándor Pintér to look into the matter.

Politics Hu

Man who attacked gay couple jailed for six years (UK)

A 21-year-old man from Oxford who brutally attacked a gay couple has been jailed for six years.

Lewis Buck - who pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm - was sentenced at Oxford Cown Court.

According to the Oxford Mail, he was lucky not to have killed 27-year-old victim, Stephen Furze, whom he stabbed in the abdomen just weeks after New Year.

The incident happened when Furze and his partner, Tim Samways, were walking through Summertown on 27 Janurary when Buck challenged them to a fight.

After attempting to punch Furze, Buck stabbed him with a 9cm knife, piercing his liver.

Surgeons at the John Radcliffe Hospital said Furze was “extremely fortunate” that the blade had not ruptured an artery.

Judge Patrick Eccles said: “Fortunately for the victim, Mr Furze, and also fortunately for you, it did not cause a grievous injury. Someone in that position was at risk of grave injury or indeed death.”

He added: “Whatever was going through your mind, you brought a knife back to threaten him and stab him.

“You cornered him, threatened to inflict pain on him with the knife, and got him in isolation where he could not escape from you and then you deliberately stabbed him in the stomach.”

Buck is expected to serve at least half of his sentence.

Pink Paper

Alleged Serial Killer was Member of Neo-Nazi National Alliance

William Dathan Holbert, who was arrested last week in Nicaragua along with his girlfriend, Laura Michelle Reese, has reportedly confessed to killing five Americans so he could take over their businesses and other properties in a Panamanian resort area. Holbert, a native North Carolinian, has so far been charged with a  total of nine murders that took place in the Panamanian resort of Bocas del Toro.

A Panamanian official quoted Holbert, who was deported to Panama to face murder charges, as saying he established friendships with two of his victims by posing as a potential investor, then shot each in the head, buried them and took over their money and other property. The National Police in Panama said they found nine bodies on the property of Holbert and Reese, which included a hotel.

Holbert and his girlfriend had been on the run for more than two years, since they fled after being pulled over on Feb. 5, 2006, in Sheridan County, Wyo., for speeding in a stolen car.

Some of Holbert’s white supremacist history has been made public in news reports, including the fact that he has a swastika tattoo on his upper back and “Aryan Pride” on his arm. But a key piece of that history has not. In August 2002, Holbert joined the neo-Nazi National Alliance (NA), which at one time was the most important hate group in America. At the time, the Alliance was suffering from a leadership crisis caused by the death a month earlier of the group’s longtime leader, William Pierce. Under the leadership of Erich Gliebe, who followed Pierce, the NA would eventually fall apart, leaving only a few weak and scattered remnants.

Yesterday, on the racist online forum Stormfront, “whitegirl” posted that Holbert showed up at an NA meeting in 2003, saying he was the organization’s “Western Regional Coordinator.” “Whitegirl” said he tried “to take over the whole meeting” and tried to “get into a leadership position immediately.” She added that Holbert popped up a year later at a white nationalist cookout claiming to represent a new racist group.

Two years later, in 2005, Holbert, as has been reported, opened a racist store in Forest City, N.C., called Southern National Patriots, which sold books, CDs and pamphlets promoting his white supremacist views. On Stormfront, “whitegirl” wrote that Holbert tried to recruit local skinheads to frequent his store. The Southern National Patriots store was also the site of meetings where Holbert and others advocated for the rights of white Southerners.

Those meetings attracted extremists and a local leader in the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), an organization for the descendants of Confederate soldiers that has been roiled in the past decade by a power struggle between extremist members and those calling for the group to ban racists. Creighton Lovelace, who was in 2005 the commander of the local SCV chapter, Rutherford Rifles, spoke that year at an event held at Holbert’s store. During the rally, speakers reportedly praised the history of the South and repeatedly chanted, “Save the South.” According to a press report, Lovelace said in his speech that southern white Christians should be “separated from other peoples,” something he claimed the Bible demanded.

Lovelace was at the time pastor of the Danielton Baptist Church. Lovelace posted to LiveJournal in April 2005 that Holbert and Reese had joined his church. “It was a very happy day,” Lovelace proclaimed. He also referred to himself as having been for a time the couple’s “spiritual advisor.” But by May 2005, Lovelace had quit his association with Holbert and Southern National Patriots.

That same year, Lovelace and Danielton Baptist Church achieved national notoriety for placing provocative anti-Islam messages on the church’s sign. At one point, the church featured a sign that read, “The Koran needs to be flushed.” E-mails for comment about Holbert and Reese to Lovelace, who now runs Bible Defender Ministries, were not immediately returned.

Before fleeing the U.S., Holbert already had racked up a serious criminal history. In January 2006, a warrant had been issued for Holbert’s arrest for theft using false pretenses. In October 2005, while posing as a doctor and using a false driver’s license, Holbert opened a bank account in the name of Luke Gregory Kuhn. Holbert then allegedly sold a house he did not own in Oak Island, N.C., for more than $200,000. Over the following two months, he withdrew the proceeds from the illegal home sale from the bank account in small increments and then fled to Kentucky, where he obtained a false Kentucky’s driver’s license in the name of Donald Lee Bruckert. It was a just a few weeks later that Holbert and Reese fled the country.

SPLCentre

REVEALED: HOW ASYLUM DETENTION CENTRES DAMAGE CHILDREN (uk)

The traumatic toll of detention on the children of asylum seekers will be exposed in a new report. "State Sponsored Cruelty", due to be published by Medical Justice in September, found that two-thirds of children became ill or were hurt after being held in detention centres. They include a three-year-old girl who broke her shoulder falling down stairs. Pressure was building yesterday on the Government to honour a promise made in the Queen's Speech in May to act quickly to outlaw the detention of young asylum seekers, a practice Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has described as a "moral outrage". This year, 50 women at Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre, Bedfordshire, went on hunger strike over conditions. A scathing report by Dame Anne Owers published in March confirmed the findings of a similar investigation by the Children's Commissioner which said Yarl's Wood had been "distressing and harmful" for children. Last night, Medical Justice reiterated a call by the Scottish Refugee Council for the Government to immediately ban the detention of children of failed asylum seekers rather than wait for the outcome of a Home Office Review. "Powers still exist to arrest and forcibly remove children from the UK by harmful means, including separating and detaining one parent, detaining a single parent and putting the child "in care", and forcibly removing one family member from the UK without the others," it said. "We need policy and legislation change that eliminates all forms of family detention and separation and related harmful practices." Spokeswoman Emma Ginn added: "Our fear is that they will never end detention of children. To say they will only detain children for a short period is the same as what we had before."

In the first large-scale investigation in the UK, Medical Justice gathered the evidence of independent doctors who assessed 141 children detained between 2004 and April 2010. It found that 92 had suffered physical harm, often developing fevers and vomiting, while 50 children received inadequate medical care. More than half, 74, had been psychologically harmed and went on to suffer nightmares, insomnia or became deeply fearful of being locked up again. Almost 50 had witnessed violence in detention while 13 had been injured, notably several children hurt during the break-up of a hunger strike at Yarl's Wood. Last year 1,065 children were held with their families awaiting removal. While there are currently no children in detention, the UK Border Agency would only say "detention of families will be kept to a minimum until the review is completed". After taking office, the coalition Government pledged to end the practice of locking up failed asylum families with children. Last month the Prime Minister promised to end the practice "once and for all". A Home Office review is looking at alternatives, including housing children in care, but yesterday Clare Tudor of the Scottish Refugee Council said it wanted "a commitment set in law that would disallow the Government at any time in the future to detain children". A UK Border Agency spokesperson said: "The Government is clear in its commitment to end the detention of children for immigration purposes. One of the first actions was to set up a review and this has changed the UK Border Agency's approach. We are focused on finding an alternative that protects the welfare of children, without undermining immigration laws."

The Independant

UK BORDER AGENCY INVESTIGATION FINDS CAUSE FOR 'SIGNIFICANT CONCERN'

An investigation into claims by a whistleblower that asylum seekers are mistreated, tricked and humiliated by staff working for the UK Border Agency has found cause for "significant concern" and makes several recommendations for change. The investigation by the agency's professional standards unit, was triggered by a report in the Guardian that revealed the concerns of whistleblower Louise Perrett, a UKBA case owner who worked for three and a half months in the Cardiff office during the summer of 2009. These revelations also led to Perrett giving evidence before the Commons home affairs select committee. Perrett, 29, said some of her colleagues expressed anti-immigration views and took pride in refusing asylum applications. She said that a toy gorilla nicknamed the "grant monkey" was placed as a badge of shame on the desk of any officer who approved an asylum application. Former child soldiers were forced to lie on the office floor and demonstrate how they shot people in the bush, she said, while a test to determine the authenticity of people who claimed to be from North Korea was to ask them if they ate chop suey.

When she asked advice about the legitimacy of a Congolese woman's asylum claim, a legal official apparently replied: "Umbongo, umbongo, they kill them all in the Congo." The investigation found that all allegations apart from the toy gorilla could not be substantiated, but acknowledges that the PCS union circulated advice to their members not to cooperate with the investigation. Identifying a number of areas of concern, the report criticised the asylum team that held the "grant monkey", said that its subsequent removal from the office was correct and that no further action needed to be taken. Perrett had complained to managers about her concerns but no changes were made. "Concerns that she raised informally were not documented which this report finds disappointing," the report states. "Consideration should be given in the Cardiff office of the procedures to follow and an environment where staff are comfortable raising concerns without fear of criticism from other staff."

Recommendations include considering the introduction of a disciplinary offence for failing to challenge inappropriate behaviour, looking at other ways for staff to challenge this behaviour from colleagues, and a reminder to staff about appropriate tests that can be used to assess the credibility of an applicant's claim. "This investigation makes me think that UKBA believed my claims all along, but their work was hindered by the PCS," said Perrett. "My reasons for speaking publicly about my experiences of working for this organisation was to effect cultural change within and ensure that those who seek refuge are treated with dignity and respect and are able to make a claim for asylum without prejudice. I hope the training and procedures to be implemented as a result of this investigation will ensure this." In its response to the investigation, UKBA said: "We believe that this has been a useful exercise for the UK Border Agency and are sure that our agency will be the better for it. We welcome the chance this has given us to have a focused look at ourselves and devise a response accordingly."

The Guardian

FREE PRESS SOCIETY HEAD SAID TO HAVE MADE RACIST REMARKS AGAINST MUSLIMS (Denmark)

The chairman of the Freedom of the Press Society, Lars Hedegaard, has been charged with making racist remarks by the Public Prosecutor for Copenhagen.

The charge comes after Hedegaard on the blog site Snaphanen in December 2009 described rape as common in Muslim families, especially girls by their uncles, cousins or fathers. Hedegaard told Jyllands Posten newspaper that he had was not worried about the charge but was interested to see how the situation will play out. In a press release published later he stated that his statement did not cover all Muslims, but was a critique of Islam in general. Despite the change in comment, though, the Public Prosecutor has chosen to stand by the charge. Asked if he regretted the comment, Hedegaard said the only thing he regretted was the misunderstanding, but that he hoped for an opportunity to rectify this. The charges prompted Hedegaard to leave the Danish People’s Party in order to avoid having his comments reflect negatively on the nationalist political party. Following Hedegaard’s comments, numerous prominent members left the society. Liberal politician Søren Pind and the Conservative Naser Khader have both left and vicar and speaker Kathrine Lilleør said that she was thrown out of the society after not supporting the chairman. The hearing is scheduled for 24 January.


Copenhagen Post

France starts removing Roma camps

France has begun dismantling illegal Roma (Gypsy) camps following a presidential order for hundreds of such camps to be removed.

On Friday, about 100 people were moved on after police emptied a camp in the central city of Saint-Etienne.

The Roma had been living there in makeshift shelters and tents since May.

It was the first such move since President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a week ago plans to shut 300 illegal camps within the next three months.

Mr Sarkozy also said members of the Roma community who had committed public order offences would be deported immediately.

The order was a response to last month's attack on a police station in the Loire Valley town of Saint-Aignon by a group of young Roma.

'Shocking living standards'

Police began the operation to clear the makeshift homes and tents on council-owned land in Saint-Etienne shortly after dawn on Friday.

Officers first sealed off the area, and then removed the occupants.

The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says a Romanian police officer was present, a sign that these members of the Roma community were recent immigrants from Eastern Europe.

President Sarkozy's government has recently struck a hard line towards what he has defined as "certain elements" in theRoma and traveller communities, our correspondent says.

This followed the riot in Saint-Aignon, which erupted after a gendarme shot and killed a traveller who had driven through a checkpoint, officials said.


The government's decision to clear 300 unauthorised camps - reportedly half the total in France - has been condemned by human rights groups, who say it is deliberately stigmatising a generally law-abiding section of society to win support among right-wing voters.

However, a poll out this week suggests that the majority of the population approves of the government's toughening line on law and order, our correspondent adds.

The government has said it cannot "tolerate" the camps, describing them as "sources of illegal trafficking, of profoundly shocking living standards, of exploitation of children for begging, of prostitution and crime".

There are hundreds of thousands of Roma or travelling people living in France who are part of long-established communities.

The other main Roma population is made up of recent immigrants, mainly from Romania and Bulgaria. They have the right to enter France without a visa but must have work or residency permits to settle over the long-term.

BBC News

Disabled Australians subjected to hate crimes

New research reveals thousands of Australians with disabilities are increasingly being subjected to hate crimes.

But the researcher making the claims, visiting US academic Dr Mark Sherry, says the lack of legal recognition of disability hate crime means it is often characterised as abuse and penalised lightly.

One cerebral palsy sufferer has told ABC Radio's AM that he and his wife have been victims of hate crime in Brisbane and it was not taken seriously by authorities.

Aboriginal man Byron Albury says the hate crime was perpetrated by past neighbours because he and his wife have cerebral palsy and rely on wheelchairs.

"They'd leave abusive notes in our mailbox; they'd abuse us for parking maxi taxis [that were] dropping off in front of their property or picking up in front of their property because of their size," he said.

"We tried to resolve this like rational people and they just weren't interested, basically.

"We got comments from them like 'you've devalued the property, [it was] bad enough that nobody told us that you lived here, because if [we had known] you lived here we wouldn't buy the property'."

Such treatment is common, and it often gets much worse, according to Dr Sherry, who has written a book about it.

He cites the self-described Teenage Kings of Werribee who were alleged to have sexually assaulted and urinated on a disabled girl in 2006. They received suspended sentences.

But Dr Sherry says thousands of Australians experience disability hate crimes each year.

"Some of it goes back to social Darwinist ideas about survival of the fittest; some of them talk about their images of disabled people being smelly or dirty or bad karma, possessed by the devil," he said.

AM spoke to a former Australian adult guardian, the statutory appointee who oversees the affairs of adults with disabilities.

He said he had not encountered the issue of hate crime against people with disabilities.

Dr Sherry says that is "exactly the level of ignorance" that allows it to continue.

He says Australia must follow the lead of the US and others and legally recognise disability hate crime so that it attracts higher penalties, and then efforts can be made to tackle the problem.


ABC News

Romanian central bank accused of racism

Romania's central bank has been accused of racism by the Holocaust Museum in Washington over a coin depicting an inter-war Orthodox Church leader who held anti-Semitic views.

The central bank marked 125 years since the setting up of the Romanian Orthodox Church with five silver coins, the first of which was of Miron Cristea, who led the Church between 1925 and 1939 and headed the Romanian government 1938-39.

As prime minister, Cristea amended the citizenship law, thereby stripping 225,000 Jews (or 37 percent of the country's total Jewish population) of their Romanian citizenship.

"By minting these coins we definitely did not wish to send a racist, xenophobic or anti-Semitic message," BNR governor Mugur Isarescu said.


He added the BNR was making "a clear distinction between the patriarch and the prime minister".

But he stressed that after receiving a letter of protest from the Holocaust Museum he decided to set up a commission that will "analyze the situation and come up with a solution".

"The decision should be made public in a few days' time," Isarescu said.

In a study published in 2004, an international commission of historians said Cristea "demonized the Jews" and called for their deportation.

The commission also established that some 270,000 Romanian and Ukrainian Jews died between 1940 and 1944, during marshal Ion Antonescu's pro-Nazi regime, while some 25,000 Gypsies were deported, half of whom died.

Romania had long denied its participation in Nazi Germany's Holocaust, triggering criticism from Israel and Jewish organizations.

The Telegraph

IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER SEEKS ASYLUM (Turkey)

The lawyer who defended a woman sentenced to death by stoning in Iran is in Istanbul and has applied for asylum in a third country, a source at the United Nations refugee agency said yesterday. Defence lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei disappeared from Tehran on July 24th after questioning by Iranian authorities, and his wife and brother-in-law were later arrested, according to an Amnesty International report. “At the moment he is in Istanbul and he is in a facility where migrants are being held,” said a UNHCR source. “He requested asylum and his claim has been registered,” said the source, who added that his office was working with the Turkish government to find a third country to take Mr Mostafaei. Amnesty International called on Iran last month to end what it called the harassment of human rights lawyers. Mr Mostafaei is an outspoken critic of the Iranian judicial system, criticising the execution of minors as well as the use of stoning in executions. Most recently he defended Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, whom Amnesty International said was convicted in 2006 of having an “illicit relationship” with two men. She received 99 lashes as punishment, but was later convicted of “adultery while being married” and sentenced to death by stoning. She denied the charge. Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva offered last week to give the woman asylum, but Iran rejected the offer. The stoning sentence was suspended pending a review but could still be carried out.


Reuters

RACISM HELP CENTRE PLAN FOR BELFAST (N. Ireland)

A centre for victims of racial harassment is to open in Belfast. The migrant centre will provide a one-stop shop with bilingual staff and will be funded with a £424,276 grant from the Big Lottery Fund. It will open in December and will be operated by the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (Nicem). Nicem executive director Patrick Yu said: "The Belfast migrant centre is an exciting ground-breaking project set up under the umbrella of Nicem. It is the only one of its kind in Northern Ireland." The centre will help people access public services and support victims of racist attacks. It will provide education and training and increase rights awareness. A panel of ministers will be established to take forward the Government's commitment to equality and inclusiveness through a Cohesion, Sharing and Integration Initiative (CSI). The Executive will examine what support can be given to migrants who are working but then find themselves out of a job.


Belfast Telegraph

Mayor defends Cork town from anti- Semitism charges (Ireland)

The Mayor of Midleton has defended the east Cork town after an anti-Semitic page attacking orthodox Jews on a vacation there was published on Facebook.

It was later taken down after protests by Jewish leaders.

The existence of the site titled “the Invasion of Jews in Midleton" was first reported by IrishCentral.com and was later picked up by the Jerusalem Post among other leading Jewish newspapers.

The page, was created after the arrival of a number of Orthodox Satmar Jews into the East Cork town best known for Jameson’s distillery for a two-week vacation.

Among the slurs were pictures of menacing looking Jews, a reference to the nearby town of Ovens and a large number of messages approving of the site.

The Mayor of Midleton, Niall O’Neill, said the anti-Semitic comments posted on the page did not no way representative of the local people.

“Facebook is a forum for discussion for individuals to post individual opinions; it is no more and no less than that. The people of Midleton would certainly not be considered a community that would not extend a warm welcome to people of all shades, colors and creeds,” he said.

Mr O’Neill stated: “There’s been no case in point where there have been issues with any people, from any background, coming to the town."

Fred Rosehill, the chairman of the trustees of Cork’s Jewish community, said he was deeply upset.

“The strictly Orthodox dress brings attention of course, but it doesn’t warrant this.

“There is no reason to accept any form of anti-Semitism.”

He added: “The reference to Ovens is quite startling.”
 
Irish Central

Rise in racism among schoolchildren (UK)

Discouraging figures, revealed by Suffolk County Council (SCC) as a result of a Freedom of Information request by The EADT, show incidents of racism rose by nearly 12% in a year.

The increase will be particularly galling for education bosses who last year welcomed a marked drop across much of the region in verbal abuse and racially motivated ostracism.

Reports of racism among primary school pupils totalled 231 during the 2008/09 academic year – up from 206 in 2007/08.

At middle school level, reported incidents fell slightly from 121 to 119, but at high school racism has become more common, with reported incidents rising from 214 in 2007/08 to 261 in 2008/09.

The most startling increase came in the form of physical assaults and ‘‘racist graffiti’’ – reports of which more than doubled at schools in the west of the county.

In four years, since 2005, reports of racism in all of Suffolk’s schools have increased by nearly half, with incidents in high school’s more than doubling from 112 to 261. Schools have been reporting incidents of racism since 1993 and the council has insisted upon a 100% declaration of reports since the 1996/97 academic year.

In response to the findings, SCC said schools with an increase in the number of incidents have improved reporting systems and have made it clear to staff that all incidents must be reported, which the council said has led to more incidents being recorded.

Adrian Orr, the council’s senior advisor for social inclusion who has been leading the battle against racism in schools, said: “There has been a rise in the number of racist incidents that has been reported by schools across the county and it is an issue that we are closely investigating.

“Schools are reporting more incidents than they did in the past. We are now proactively checking for this kind of incident – where schools may in the past not have reported incidents they are doing so now.”

Mr Orr said there were many complex issues surrounding racism at school and the nature of the schools themselves was an important factor.

He said: “There are more students from a black or minority ethnic background in schools in the southern part of the county rather than the north or west.

“But that does raise different questions. If there are smaller numbers, does that increase the danger of people feeling isolated or ostracised?

“We will be getting new figures later in the year and they will tell their own story again – this is an issue the county is determined to remain on top of.”

The percentage of minority pupils in Suffolk schools has increased from 8.7% in the January 2008 school census to 12.7% in January 2009.

But Jane Basham, Chief Executive of Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality said: “The impact of racism on young people is not properly being addressed.

Attitudes towards immigration and Islamaphobia are spilling over into our schools and is cause for concern.

“Some schools report incidents quickly, while others don’t appear to take them as seriously. And the report doesn’t tell us what schools are doing about it.

“We face a real challenge, but feel confident that Adrian Orr is listening to our concerns.”

EADT