Tag Archives: homophobia

Dick put ‘on notice’ – but why because of her officers and not because of herself?

Cressida Dick: she regularly appears in the media, trying to mitigate the shocking offences committed by Metropolitan Police officers – and their commissioner.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has been put “on notice” by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, that she must reverse the culture of racism, homophobia, bullying and misogyny discovered in her service’s ranks since she took over.

Khan is said to have referred to it as “a return to the bad days of the Met of his childhood in the 1970s and 80s”.

Certainly there is reason to find fault with the Met Police under Dick’s direction.

The latest revelations show officers, mainly at Charing Cross, had joked about rape, domestic violence and killing black children.

A report by the Independent Office of Police Conduct stated, “We believe these incidents are not isolated or simply the behaviour of a few ‘bad apples’.”

Recent history bears this out.

Look at Wayne Couzens, who kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard, and burned the body to evade detection. Did Charing Cross officers make a joke about that? One Met officer certainly did – he shared memes showing a police officer kidnapping a woman, but has been allowed to keep his job.

Three more officers were charged with sex offences in October alone. One – David Carrick – now faces charges relating to 29 offences including many rapes between 2009 and 2020. Francois Olwage faces child sex charges. Adam Zaman has been charged with rape.

And what about the officers assigned to guard the bodies of murdered women, who took photographs of them and shared the images on a WhatsApp group because they thought it was funny? The mother of murdered sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry demanded that Dick clear the rot from the Met but that clearly hasn’t happened.

Incidents in which Met officers have stopped and searched people who happen to have been “driving while black” abound.

But Cressida Dick herself is not above suspicion either. Both she and the service she heads were found to have been “institutionally corrupt” in their handling of the Daniel Morgan murder inquiry.

And now it seems she is busily covering up the misdeeds of Boris Johnson in the Partygate scandal. Initially the Met refused to investigate allegations of more than a dozen lockdown-busting Downing Street parties, claiming there was no evidence, even though officers from that service were guarding the doors of Number 10 at the time and it seems unlikely that they could have failed to notice civil servants carrying suitcases full of wine bottles into the building.

After Sue Gray uncovered a huge mass of evidence, Dick stepped in and announced that the Met had decided to investigate after all – and this meant the senior civil servant must edit details relating to the 12 parties under police investigation out of her report.

It seems, even after being labelled “corrupt” in the Morgan report, Dick just can’t stop interfering.

So now Sadiq Khan has put her “on notice”. If she does not clean up her act, and that of her officers, then according to a source close to Khan, “the mayor will have to consider whether she is the right person to lead the change needed at the Met”.

He means he’ll have her removed.

As far as some of us are concerned, such a move can’t come soon enough. He should have done it already.

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Hypocrisy without limit: Boris Johnson on race and sexuality should enrage everybody

Boris Johnson is one of the worst hypocrites whose words This Writer has every been unlucky enough to have to report.

Consider the fact that June is Gay Pride Month. Mr Johnson has responded to it – and then gay people have responded to him:

Perhaps Mr Johnson’s tweet would have been better-used with an apology for his appalling behaviour in the past, an acknowledgement that gay people deserve more respect than he has given them, and an affirmation that he will do his best to make amends at all times in the future?

Well, that didn’t happen.

And then there’s his attitude to people of colour. Prepare to cringe:

Finally, let us consider his attitude to migrant workers and foreigners in general, after his recent appeal for them to come back to work in the UK:

What happened to all the anti-foreigner rhetoric?

Ah, but wait.

He’s saying it’s fine for Johnny (and Jane) Foreigner to come and work in the country with the highest Covid-19 death rate in the entire world – where they can merrily risk their lives for the further enrichment of himself and a gang of entitled rich brats who couldn’t care less about them, except as the butt of racist insults.

Have I got that right?

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Man assaulted Owen Jones out of hatred for his political views and homophobia, court rules

Abuse: Owen Jones has experience of dealing with abuse from the far right. This shot shows him being pursued by James Goddard in January last year.

This Site reported the assault shortly after it happened. It’s good to see justice done and know that the far-right crazies can’t get away with anything they like, just because another far-right crazy is in Downing Street.

I don’t agree with Mr Jones about everything he says but he certainly should not be threatened with violence over the opinions he expresses.

A man has been found guilty of aggravated assault against the Guardian columnist Owen Jones because of hostility to his leftwing political views and homophobia, following a two-day trial at Snaresbrook crown court.

Anne Studd QC, the presiding judge, concluded at the end of the hearing that Jones was the victim of a “wholly unprovoked assault” outside a central London pub last August because of “his LGBT and his leftwing beliefs”.

The defendant, James Healy, 40, had “far-right” views, Studd added, as evidenced by a collection of memorabilia found at his Portsmouth home, including items with logos or mottos from far right group Combat 18, white supremacist groups and hooligan groups associated with Chelsea football club.

Healy had already pleaded guilty to assaulting Jones last August outside the Lexington pub in King’s Cross, north London, at about 2am. But he was on trial to determine whether his actions were motivated by homophobia and hostility to Jones’s leftwing views.

Healy is one of three men who have admitted being involved in the incident. He and Liam Tracey, 34, from Camden, north London, and Charlie Ambrose, 29, from Brighton, all pleaded guilty to affray last month. Healy also admitted a further charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Sentencing for all three men is due to take place next month at the earliest. Healy will receive a greater than normal sentence because of the aggravating factors.

Source: Man found guilty of aggravated assault against Owen Jones | UK news | The Guardian

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Gyimah joins the Lib Dems. Are they now the party of homophobia?

Unpleasant company: The more Tories Jo Swinson welcomes into the Liberal Democrat, the more right-wing her party will become.

What is happening to the Liberal Democrats?

Jo Swinson’s tactic of taking in every waif and stray from the Conservative Party and Change UK may seem to be a sound way to increase her party’s presence in Parliament.

But it is changing the nature of that party at the same time.

When Phillip Lee crossed the floor of the House of Commons, the Liberal Democrat spokeswoman on LGBT+ issues quit, on the grounds that he was a homophobe.

Now Sam Gyimah has – rather dramatically – quit the Conservatives to be revealed as the latest Lib Dem recruit at their party conference. And this makes matters worse.

You see, Mr Gyimah famously filibustered a law to pardon all gay and bisexual men in England and Wales historically convicted of sexual offences that are no longer criminal, in 2016.

He claimed that the bill did not give strong enough protections against men being accidentally pardoned for sex with a minor or non-consensual sex.

But this was nonsense. As SNP MP John Nicolson explained at the time, “If the crime for which you were convicted is still a crime, by definition you are not pardoned.”

So – well, I don’t often agree with Wes Streeting, but he seems to have got it right with this tweet:

And as Owen Jones has now added:

Tom Clark of Another Angry Voice is more blunt:

In a way, it’s a shame. Mr Gyimah’s parting shots at the leader of his former party were strong:

“I listen to ministers undermining the courts,” he said. “Ministers questioning experts because their views are inconvenient for what the government is saying about no deal. You have a government that says law enforcement is the centrepiece of its platform, and yet says in another breath that it will pick and choose what laws it chooses to respect.

“This is in many ways undermining key pillars of our constitution and the functioning of our democracy. The issue for me is not just Brexit. It is beyond Brexit – how you conduct politics and the veering towards populism and English nationalism.”

Not only have the Liberal Democrats tarnished themselves by tacitly condoning homophobia, but it also seems their ‘Party of Remain’ credentials are in tatters too.

Writing in the Observer, party leader Jo Swinson stated: “The Liberal Democrats are the strongest Remain party in the UK, and we continue to grow, adding members, councillors and MPs. When a general election comes, we will be ready for it and ready to take our clear, pro-European message to the country.”

But it seems her plan to cancel Brexit isn’t Liberal – and is especially un-Democrat-ic; given the chance, she would not check that it was what the general public wants but would simply stop the process by which the UK is leaving the European Union.

In its way, that’s just as bad as the Conservatives’ determination to force their version of Brexit on us, whether we want it or not.

It means Labour is now the only major political party – certainly in England – that would give voters a say on Brexit.

Source: Sam Gyimah rejects ‘populist Johnson’ as he joins Lib Dems | Politics | The Guardian

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Andrea Leadsom wants to be Tory leader. Does she really think that’s a good idea?

Oh dear. Another Tory blunderer wants to make a bid for the top spot in politics.

Andrea Leadsom actually ran for the Conservative Party leadership – and to be prime minister of the UK – back in 2016, but withdrew in order to allow the coronation of Theresa May to happen unopposed. We all know how that turned out!

Now, according to some political commentators, she fancies her chances again. Here‘s the Huffington Post:

“Asked if she would run this time, Leadsom said:  “Yes, I am seriously considering standing. I’m disgusted at the fact that nearly three years on and still we haven’t left the EU.”

Is it a good idea? Well, let’s consider some of the things Ms Leadsom has said in the past:

That seems conclusive; she appears to be a female Boris Johnson.

And of course there is also the question of whether she is a homophobic bigot:

Just think: What Mr Johnson did for the Conservative Party’s race relations, Ms Leadsom could do for relationships… It doesn’t bear thinking about, does it?

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Terrorist Thomas Mair jailed for life for killing Jo Cox. Why did he do it?

Murderer and terrorist: Thomas Mair [Image: PA].

Murderer and terrorist: Thomas Mair [Image: PA].

This was a terrorist attack by a right-wing extremist – and just the first sign of a wave of aggression, around the world.

People like Thomas Mair saw the anti-immigration rhetoric that fuelled the vote to leave the European Union as an endorsement of racist, nationalist views.

And the proliferation of hate crimes suggests those views appear to be on the rise in the United States of America, after the election of Donald Trump as President, and in continental Europe.

People are committing these crimes because they think they can. They think that, somehow, atrocities against their fellow human being are now permissible – or at least that the authorities will turn a blind eye.

But what makes them believe their racism, homophobia, sexism, sectarianism, anti-Semitism or whatever is justified, anyway?

Have we, as a culture, failed to address these issues?

This Writer finds that hard to believe. I’ve been brought up in the same culture as everybody else and my compassion for another person has never been conditional on the colour of their skin or the compatibility of their religious beliefs.

Yet these crimes have happened and are continuing to happen. Thomas Mair murdered Jo Cox on the basis of a falsehood – for a lie.

Why?

I know many Vox Political readers have been waiting to air their opinions on this very subject; now is your chance.

What on Earth do you think has been motivating this?

Thomas Mair has been jailed for life after being found guilty of the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox.

The 53-year-old shot and stabbed to death the mother-of-two in Birstall, West Yorkshire, on 16 June, a week before the EU referendum vote.

Mair shouted “Britain First” in the attack, but the judge said the true “patriot” was Mrs Cox, not Mair.

Prosecutors said Mair was motivated by hate and his crimes were “nothing less than acts of terrorism”.

Mair was also found guilty of having a firearm with intent, causing grievous bodily harm with intent to 78-year-old Bernard Kenny, who tried to help the MP, and having an offensive weapon, namely a dagger.

Source: Jo Cox: Man jailed for ‘terrorist’ murder of MP – BBC News

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Alt-right? What’s the difference between these people and Nazis?

Very little, it seems.

According to Wikipedia, “The alt–right is a loose group of people with far right ideologies who reject mainstream conservatism in the United States.”

The article goes on to say: “The alt-right has no formal ideology, although various sources have stated that white nationalism is fundamental. It has also been associated with white supremacism, Islamophobia, antifeminism, homophobia,  anti-Semitism, ethno-nationalism,  right-wing populism, nativism,  traditionalism, and the neoreactionary movement.”

White supremacism, anti-Semitism and right-wing populism would have swung it for me – they’re Nazis in a new suit (or perhaps uniform).

But it seems they are self-identifying as Nazis as well. Take a look at this alt-right logo:

161121-daily-stormer

Now see an original Nazi newspaper propaganda rag:

161121-der-sturmer

Point proved?

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Celebrities are taking sides against the intolerance that is sweeping the West. Bravo!

P!nk: "To any of you closet racists, homophobes, sexists... We are not friends."

P!nk: “To any of you closet racists, homophobes, sexists… We are not friends.”

It is heartening to see that people in the public gaze are using their status to call for people of good conscience to stand fast against the wave of – what shall we call it? Hard-right attitudes? Fascism? Nazism? – sweeping the Western World.

It seems the election of Donald Trump as US President has sparked incidents in that country, and those who stand up against it are to be praised.

So here‘s the singer P!nk*: “To anyone reading this: if you think this is a time for misogynistic jokes, or for laughing about voting in a person that doesn’t believe in climate change, or humanity. To any of you closet racists, homophobes, sexists….. please block me. Please unfollow me. We do not respect each other. You do not have my respect, and I obviously don’t have yours. We are not friends.

“To everyone else, we shall overcome. Stay on the path of love and tolerance. Hug your kids. Teach them about diversity and about fighting for others, and sticking up for themselves. I will do my part.”

Will you do yours?

*A Facebook friend posted this on her page; I’m sure I could have used any number of other messages by celebrities… right?

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Wallasey Momentum on accusations of homophobia against Angela Eagle: ‘Evidence first – verdict later!’

Almost 400 people crowded Wallasey civic hall at a meeting to discuss the local Labour party's suspension [Image: Liam Murphy on Twitter].

Almost 400 people crowded Wallasey civic hall at a meeting to discuss the local Labour party’s suspension [Image: Liam Murphy on Twitter].

A report attacking Labour Party members in Wallasey that was leaked after being presented to the ruling National Executive Committee has now been savaged by the constituency’s Momentum group.

The response, below, was originally published on Wirral In It Together, along with a comment on behalf of that blog. This Writer recommends that you visit that site and read the comment there, in order to gain further insight into the situation.

The Momentum comment mentions This Blog and the Skwawkbox blog, both of which have already published articles about the report to the NEC – saying Momentum does not endorse all the comment and analysis we have provided. That’s fine – these are all opinion pieces. The more points of view are available to the reader, the more likely it is that they will reach an informed opinion.

Here’s what Wallasey Momentum has to say, published as on Wirral In It Together:

The consequences of Angela Eagle’s disastrous decision to resign from the Shadow Cabinet and launch a botched attempt to challenge Jeremy Corbyn continue to be played out in Wallasey.  The attempted coup did massive damage to Labour’s standing in the polls.  Locally, the continued trashing of the Party’s reputation may come to bite Labour in marginal Council seats and in the general Election across Wirral.

The next move by those trying to defend Angela is an inaccurate report on the local Party.  Just one example will give the flavour: “A small number of members held a public meeting to discuss their concerns about the suspension of Wallasey CLP”.  The Liverpool Echo live streamed this meeting called by Wirral TUC.  The Echo reported that over 400 people attended.  Prior to Jeremy’s election the normal attendance at all member CLP meetings was 15 to 20.

The “confidential” report was immediately leaked to the Liverpool Echo.  Local Party members first saw it in the media.  It has now been published online by a blog Skwawkbox.  There is analysis on that blog and also on Vox Political.  It’s worth reading but Wallasey Momentum does not endorse all the comment and analysis.

The enquiry concludes that it is highly likely that the brick incident was related to Angela’s leadership challenge.  But the very specific allegations by Angela’s supporters, never contradicted by Angela despite being offered a chance to do so on national TV, were that it was a Wallasey Labour Party member, at the behest of Jeremy Corbyn, who threw the brick.  No evidence is produced to support those wild allegations.  However the report says that calls for members to be disciplined if they can’t substantiate their allegations are “intimidation”.

All this is bad enough, but for a Party that stands for fairness, the most worrying aspects are how the allegations of homophobia are treated.

In the leaked report, under “Allegations of homophobia” it says “The investigation has found that some members have truthfully claimed that homophobic instances occurred during the AGM.  Others truthfully said that they were not aware of those instances.  It is possible for the events to have occurred without the knowledge of all members.  The allegations are not that the CLP is institutionally homophobic or that members were aware of homophobia but took no action, but are specific to individuals.  These allegations will be reported to the next meeting of the Disputes Panel regarding individual disciplinary action.”

Party members who are interested in truth and justice should study this passage carefully.

They will see that the investigation has reached a verdict before any individual has been charged.  They conclude “Some members have truthfully claimed…” But no allegation has yet been put to anyone.  No-one has had no [sic] chance to respond, and to call witnesses.  How can the enquiry have concluded that the allegations are true?  It is like the trial scene from Alice in Wonderland.

Even worse, the Labour Party is apparently going to move to “individual disciplinary action”.

There is no mention of having a hearing, looking at the evidence, or of any process at all for the accused.  At the time of writing, months after the alleged incident, no-one has been informed by the party that they are the ones about whom the secret allegations have been made.  When they are informed, they will know that they have already been publically [sic] convicted – by the National Executive Committee!

So where does this leave the Labour Party if the evidence does not in fact support the allegations?

The central claim made in the media was that someone used an offensive homophobic term about Angela Eagle.  If it is true, that would be an outrage deserving of disciplinary action.

However, in order to test the validity of this claim, the person or persons eventually accused will need to know who their accuser is.  They will then know where the accuser was sitting in the room.

And the people sitting near the accused, near the accuser, and in between, can then be asked for their version of events.  If none of those people heard the abuse, as the Party report suggests was the case for most people present, how credible is the accuser’s claim?

As we have stated for months now, what is being alleged is a hate crime.  Labour Party procedures tell complainants in these circumstances to report the matter to the Police.  Officers of Wallasey CLP responded to the initial reports by asking the complainants to do just that.  It appears they did not do so.

Party procedures then require that the Labour Party report the issues to the Police. Again, that does not appear to have happened.  Why might that be?  It is essential that the Police are now brought into this since the NEC sub-committee has concluded that there was homophobia.

The worry must be that having reached a verdict, the Labour Party will now feel obliged to stand by it whatever the evidence shows.  A finding of homophobia against an individual could cost them their job.  If there is no reliable evidence, it will be libel.  This could all end up in court.  Have the Labour Party NEC and its full time officials thought this through?

We should add that Wallasey Momentum is not behind the reported “crowd funding” of legal action –and we don’t know who is.  It could be a hoax.  But legal action is clearly possible if and when an individual is accused.

The Labour Party NEC must urgently reconsider the train of events that they seem to have set in motion.  A proper independent investigation of the allegations must take place, with a fair hearing, and the conclusion following the evidence.  The Party procedures are clear and fair – but they have not been followed.  Any specific allegations against individuals must be shared with them, and that should happen now, not in January 2017 or Spring 2017.  An unbiased interviewer who has not already decided the result should question the accuser, the accused, and their witnesses.  An independent panel should then consider those facts, and there should be a right of appeal.  It is going to be hard for the Party to recover from this massive procedural blunder, but they must try.

Evidence first – verdict later!

Source: UPDATED – Wallasey Momentum’s Response to Labour NEC Report ~ Alleged Homophobia Towards Angela Eagle | Wirral In It Together

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Another day, another UKIP scandal – this one’s about homophobia

James George Hargreaves, who was Operation Christian candidate at a by-election in Hodge Hill, according to the Coventry Telegraph [Image: Coventry Telegraph].

James George Hargreaves, who was Operation Christian candidate at a by-election in Hodge Hill, according to the Coventry Telegraph [Image: Coventry Telegraph].

UKIP intends to parachute anti-gay preacher Reverend George Hargreaves into Coventry South as the party’s prospective Parliamentary candidate there, after asking current candidate Mick Taylor to stand aside.

Rev Hargreaves made his fortune in the 1980s pop industry penning hits such as ‘So Macho’ for singer Sinitta, according to the Coventry Telegraph.

He then went on to launch a political career, standing in the Scottish Parliamentary elections for his own Scottish Christian Party with a strong anti gay message, according to Hope Not Hate, describing homosexuality as “a sin” and calling for a hard-line stance against abortion and euthanasia along with supporting a return of the death penalty and withdrawal from the EU.

“The manifesto for the Scottish election contained proposals for the reinstatement of Section 28, banning of gay adoption and the prohibition of ‘acceptance or approval’ of homosexuality in diversity training, outlawing embryo research and introducing mandatory Christian religious education into schools.”

Charming! And after making all his money from a gay anthem, too!

Back to Hope Not Hate: “His former flatmate and song writing partner was a gay man who died of AIDS. This didn’t stop Hargreaves saying in one interview that HIV patients should be refused NHS treatment since their illness was “self-inflicted”.

“Hargreaves also formed The Welsh Christian Party in 2007 and campaigned to remove the dragon from the Welsh flag, claiming that it was ‘nothing less than the sign of Satan’.”

… And that is how this writer met him!

He seems par for the course as far as UKIP is concerned!

Follow me on Twitter: @MidWalesMike

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