Gilligan revealed as anti-Muslim as he defends the EDL

It has been pointed out to me before that Andrew Gilligan has refused to criticise the English Defence League (EDL). As my email correspondent explained, in the week that his programme attacked the East London Mosque, the EDL responded by waving placards against them outside parliament. Enough reason there, surely, for the Telegraph's London correspondent to make even a passing mention? No.

On the day of the EDL protest, Ken Livingston said:

Andrew Gilligan, phoned me just before I came to this programme... And I said, 'Did you see what happened today in Parliament Square? Three hundred fascists and racists marched through there with banners saying "Ban the hijab" and "Close the East London Mosque".' He said, 'Oh, that's nothing to do with me.' And I said, 'It is. Because your paper and you pander to racism and Islamophobia.'...

... because of Andrew Gilligan's programme Muslims will be harassed and spat at, and perhaps some will be beaten, and Andrew Gilligan should be ashamed of himself."

Did that elicit any comment from Gilligan on the EDL? No. Gilligan has refused to condemn the EDL, or even to criticise it.

Not really a surprise, why should Gilligan alienate some of his biggest supporters? After all, they promoted his Dispatches programme on the front page of their website.

Gilligan's key role in the rise of the EDL has now been documented in a detailed academic study Islamophobia and anti-Muslim Hate Crime: UK case studies. This insightful report exposes just how misleading Gilligan's reporting has been, and how it has fed into the EDL backlash against Muslims.

Of course, Gilligan has fired off the usual pathetic pieces in an attempt to deflect criticism by trying to undermine the report. His bluster has been taken apart once again at the superb blog Guy Debord's Cat, where the author has consistently shown Gilligan's numerous shortcomings in a long and compelling series.

And it is Gilligan's two blog pieces (so far) that have ended his silence on the EDL. His first piece appears to be a shoddy attempt to play down the suffering of Muslims from Islamophobic attacks. Well, he would, given that he is a leading Islamophobe. Revealingly, he refers to "the anti-Muslim frothings of the English Defence League". This, his first ever mention of the EDL, tries to trivialise the EDL as merely a vocal, rather than a physical, threat. But his admission that they are "anti-Muslim" is a damning indictment of his own views. The EDL, like Gilligan, Harry's Place and other bigots, tries to cover its prejudice under the guise of being anti-Islamist. Frankly, this is racist bullshit. Gilligan is letting slip here that really they are all anti-Muslim.

Do not think, though, that Gilligan is turning on the EDL here. Proof that he is in truth defending them came just a day later in his second piece:

Almost as stupid is the claim, earlier in the report, that the Dispatches investigation prompted an upsurge of “intimidation” in Tower Hamlets by the English Defence League. What actually happened is that fifteen members of the EDL paid a visit to a local pub, and an even smaller number subsequently came back to the same pub. A planned demonstration by the group never took place. To my knowledge, there has not been even one single incident of violence or intimidation against the East London Mosque as a result of my film; I’m quite sure the mosque would have let us all know if there had been.

Gilligan's shocking defence of the EDL, and his pretence that EDL attempts to reach the mosque were mere trips to the pub, is a scandalous reflection of the acceptance of anti-Muslim prejudice in the right-wing media.

Harry's Place bigots in EDL panic

I've been keeping quiet about the soap opera that is Tower Hamlet's first election for a mayor. It's impossible not to take an interest in what's being written about it, and that includes the painful task of reading some of the net's most unsavoury blogs.

And they don't come much worse than the hate-filled cesspit that is Harry's Place. The bigotry above the line is so entrenched it's hard for the nasty assortment of regular posters to be even more extreme in their views. Yet they try relentlessly and often succeed in spewing record-breaking levels of bile and hatred.

HP likes to portray itself as the 'decent left', though these war-mongers have no place on the left and not a shred of decency. In reality they are right wingers - and that's the far right, not your ordinary Tory types. Their main interest is defending every kind of Israeli aggression and persecution of the Palestinians, for whom they have utter contempt. This seems to go hand in hand with the flip-side of this interest, which is attacking Muslims. They try to pass this off as attacking 'Islamists', and keep pretending they have no problem with 'ordinary Muslims', but this is a lie. A damned lie.

There is an underlying approach to all that they do. Rank hypocrisy. See, for example, their Comments Policy; a disgraceful list of excuses for allowing every kind of vile excess on their site, all the things they would never tolerate from those they daily criticise. They claim they haven't got time to weed out the racism and bigotry, but the truth is they can't be arsed, not least because they mostly agree with it. They've got plenty of time to delve into the detail of every speech by every left winger or Muslim whose views they oppose. They don't hesitate to prevent posts that point out the gross errors in what they say - trust me, it's happened to me many times. When a contradictory comment does get through, it's often brushed off by accusing me of being a member of the SWP or of being a Muslim, depending on the topic.

In the last few days there's been a rush to post articles attacking the EDL. HP has panicked. They know that most of their contributors applaud the EDL's violence against Muslims, either publicly or privately. But now they're trying to pretend that the EDL's true nature is coming to light. Of course, the rest of us knew what the EDL were from the outset. The first time they began to emerge in public view was when they tried to march on the biggest mosque here in Tower Hamlets, aiming for the East London mosque at the end of a long pub crawl. Fortunately, the police stopped them at Whitechapel station. HP even blogged about this incident, and contributors defended the EDL and wished they could have marched with them.

Now Harry's Place is getting embarrassed by the EDL's violence as it gets posted to YouTube. Not that they care if Muslims get attacked, their real concern is if it damages their agenda, which is to undermine Muslims in Britain and supporters of Palestinians.

You see, it is only from blog's like Harry's Place that the EDL find out who their targets should be. Harry's Place provides the propaganda, targets and excuses that the EDL needs to function.

The EDL also draws heavily on an associate of Harry's Place, the egregious Andrew Gilligan whose shameful 'Dispatches' programme became an icon for the EDL on the front page of their website. And how telling it is that the Daily Telegraph's London correspondent, Mr Andrew 'Kennite' Gilligan, has failed to criticise the actions of the EDL even as they stood outside parliament. Gilligan is another extreme hypocrite and liar - see his blog for proof, or ask Keith Vaz!

The EDL presents a real and unwelcome return to anti-minority violence in Britain, rooted in bigotry and a corruption of patriotism. They are a menace and a danger to the innocent. But of far greater danger is the outpouring of propaganda and lies from Harry's Place, whose hatred breeds the violence that the EDL seeks to unleash in Britain's cities. They deserve to be ostracised, treated as the dangerous pariahs and bigots that they most certainly are.

A rubbish waste collection service

I know it's not the most pleasant of jobs, but sometimes it's just a difference in attitude that makes a good service good, or a bad service a misery for residents; and collecting the waste is a service in my neighbourhood that just gets worse and worse.

We have communal bins, and I think our caretaker does a pretty good job keeping them tidy. But they have never been sufficient for the amount of weekly waste on our estate. So, blacks bags are stacked against the bins as the collection day nears. In days gone by all the caretaker had to do after the collection was straighten the bins and sweep up a little. Nowadays, though, any bag that's not in the bin gets left behind, often messily pushed to one side. The caretaker has to put them in the newly emptied bins, so there's already less space for next week, and of course longer for smells to build up as the contents rot. It's been even worse in the recent hot weather. And the bin men just don't care at all, their attitude to residents is one of contempt.

Can we have our old service back? I won't be tipping the bin men when Boxing Day comes.

Where's the fish 'n' chips?

I'm not averse to fried chicken or curries, pizza or kebabs. But why is it so hard to find a good old fish and chip shop? Someone point me in the right direction, please!

Revealed - truth behind Gilligan's Dispatches!

Many who have closely followed the politics of Tower Hamlets over long years were not a little surprised by the Channel 4 programme broadcast in March as part of the Dispatches series, misleadingly titled Britain's Islamic Republic. It was not the allegations of entryism and vote rigging that took us aback; for these the programme offered no evidence whatsoever, so it came across as part of a well-crafted smear.

No, the surprise was that Channel 4 could air what was clearly a vehicle for one faction of the notoriously divided local Labour party just two months before the elections. Accusations from Jim Fitzpatrick, a mention of Helal Abbas, and several local Bangladeshis joining in who all have close ties to Abbas, to the Bangladesh ruling party and to each other - all smacked of a well-planned assault on leader Lutfur Rahman using Gilligan's tried and tested tactic of damning by association with religious Muslims.

Where did Gilligan get the inside line from? Well, he couldn't resist including a short segment from none other than Ted Jeory, dishing the dirt as only he can without any mention of his close links to key Labour activists in Tower Hamlets. Now Jeory, whose unpopularity in these parts remains undimmed, has let the slip the real intention in the first post of his blog. I'll reproduce the key paragraphs here, just in case he tries to spirit them away:

The election was a triumph for former council leader Helal Abbas, who has spent the past two years plotting the downfall of his old friend and now sworn enemy, Lutfur Rahman. In this quest, he allied with his his former nemesis Michael Keith and his band of supporters such as Denise Jones and, more silently, Josh Peck. Together, they accused Rahman of being too much under the influence of the Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE), allegations partly designed to scare Ken Clark, the director of the London Labour party, into keeping the Tower Hamlets Labour branches in special measures.

This meant Abbas and co effectively controlled the selection process for candidates. And so it has come to pass that his supporters are now a majority in the new group.

Well, you have to hand it to Abbas: with Fitzpatrick's continued intervention, despite his wedding walkout fiasco, and the support of Jeory and Gilligan on national TV, he certainly scored a resounding personal victory, even if it did mean spinning a few porkies on the way.

The special measures refered to clearly haven't sorted out the Labour party in Tower Hamlets. It's time these people were swept away along with the baggage of Bangladeshi politics they bring with them.

And shouldn't someone be investigating Channel 4's involvement?

Betrayal!

In an astounding act of appeasement, our council leaders have humiliated Tower Hamlets by giving in to the racist English Defence League.

After the Guardian's investigation exposed the ugly true nature of the EDL, it was at first expected that they would be marching on the East London Mosque at the centre of the local Muslim population. But in a tactical switch, acting on a tip-off from the right wing anti-Muslim blog Harry's Place, they turned their attention on a conference organised by Muslim students at the Troxy, demanding that the event should be cancelled and promising to demonstrate outside only yards away from Cable Street.

A united response from all quarters of the community resolved to stand against the EDL. A peaceful counter march was put in place, with the blessings of the police. A clear message would be sent to the EDL: you have no voice and no place in Tower Hamlets!

Then in a disgraceful, shabby betrayal, the council leadership stabbed the community in the back. 'We're at our best when we're united' proclaims the headline in East End Life, but where was the unity when Helal Abbas and Joshua Peck broke ranks? They demanded that the Troxy cancel the event, and threatened to withdraw council cooperation if they refused.

The Troxy caved in, and the EDL rejoiced in their unexpected success: "We have achieved a great victory by putting pressure on Tower Hamlets council to force the cancellation of the controversial conference that was due to take place at the Troxy."

Those who try to refute the EDL's claim are flying in the face of the facts, not least because it has been revealed that the council and police were consulted by the conference organisers and received approval for their event before the EDL raised the spectre of protest. Not only that, the student organisers offered to withdraw controversial speakers from their programme, but they say this offer was spurned.

The shameless council leadership, obsessed with their own internal political wrangling at the expense of the good of the community, bring disgrace to the local Labour Party. Their appeasement of the racist EDL is a stain on Tower Hamlets' long record of opposing fascism. Let's hope none of these traitors stand for mayor.

Museum of London Docklands

This gem of a museum, the Museum of the London Docklands, has always been one of my favourites whenever I can spare the time. It was a bargain at £5 for a whole year of visits. But since April it has been free!

Starting on the third floor, your walk around the museum takes you chronologically from London's pre-history right up to modern times, with hundreds of artifacts, models and interactive displays.

Tucked away on West India Quay, anyone interested in the history of our capital will be greatly rewarded by spending a few hours there.

Keep the racist EDL out of Tower Hamlets!

The so-called English Defence League want to bring their racist protests to Tower Hamlets, according to a report at the East London Advertiser. Their forebears have been here before, famously stopped in Cable Street as they targeted the Jewish community.

This is in the wake of an investigation by the Guardian which has uncovered what we always suspected - that the EDL is just a BNP clone, a racist subset with Muslims in their sights. In days gone by the racists of old, in the form of the National Front, were a constant menace in Tower Hamlets and a threat to anyone in the nascent Bangladeshi community. Gradually, though, they were driven from our borough. The BNP has no foothold here.

If they're allowed to march into Tower Hamlets, it would present a serious threat to peace in our community.

In a thoughtful reflection on the climate that has allowed he EDL to establish itself, Robert Lambert and Jonathan Githens-Mazer draw attention in Comment is Free to the demonisation of Muslims in sections of the media, in particular Muslims in Tower Hamlets. And they quote Peter Oborne who observed it had become "permissible to fabricate malicious falsehoods and therefore foment hatred against Muslims in a way which would be regarded as immoral and illegal if perpetrated against any other vulnerable section of society". I hope over at the Telegraph and the Express they are taking note.

Hands off our community paper!

One of the popular offerings from the Council to the residents of Tower Hamlets is its free weekly paper, East End Life. Nominated for several awards, it keeps us in touch with what our Council is doing, titbits of local news, what properties are available for those on the waiting list, planning applications, and much more. It helps to create our sense of community. This is one of the good ways in which our local taxes are spent.

But it has never been popular with the local paid-for paper, the East London Advertiser. Don't get me wrong, the ELA is a good read, it can tackle issues beyond the scope of the council's paper, and it can criticise the council and hold it to account. It's improved greatly since unpopular reporter Ted Jeory moved on to the downmarket right-wing Express. Jeory hated the East End Life and was a frequent critic.

So it hardly comes as a surprise that his chum, the controversial Andrew Gilligan, is bullying Tower Hamlets Council yet again, this time attacking our community paper.

Hands off, Gilligan! You may think you have the new leadership of Tower Hamlets in your grubby pocket, but this paper belongs to the community, not to a right wing bully boy like you!

Gilligan's delusions

I'll say at the outset I'm not a fan of Andrew Gilligan. The Evening Standard has improved noticeably since he left to join the Telegraph. It's the way he twists and distorts to fit his agenda, employing all the tabloid dark arts that give journalism a bad name. His writings during the London mayoral elections were a disgrace. He has moved on now, and in recent months a section of the local Muslim community has been in his sights.

My attention was caught the other day by his piece in Comment is free, boldly titled 'IFE loses its grip on Tower Hamlets'. I had to read this piece again and again, unable to believe the spin of his post-election analysis. There's so much I could say; I expect to return to this in future posts.

'A dramatic electoral defeat for the Islamic Forum Europe shows how moderate Muslims have rejected its divisive agenda'

 Leave aside for now who or what IFE is, their agenda, and so on. Recall that Gilligan started his 'campaign' with a Channel 4 Dispatches programme, with the claim that the IFE had 'inflitrated' the Labour Party in Tower Hamlets. He implied they were involved in electoral fraud, that they were turning Tower Hamlets into an 'Islamic Republic' through their control of the local Labour Party.

The elections have passed, and contrary to the national trend Labour gained an MP and several councillors in Tower Hamlets. Almost all the previous Labour councillors are still there - and instead of proclaiming this as proof of IFE entryism, he presents it as a massive defeat!

This just the tip of the iceberg of Gilligan's delusions.

He doesn't have any real understanding of the politics of Tower Hamlets, not if he really believes it's being directed from the East London Mosque.

But does he really believe that? Hard to say. I'm reading through his recent Telegraph articles and blog postings - there's plenty there for me to write about in future.

Mela Mania

The first hot weekend of the year, coinciding today with the Mela. Or should I say 'a' Mela, there seems to be lots of them. This one celebrated the Bengali New Year. I don't know how many new years there are every year in the world, but the Bengali one keeps getting bigger.

And more expensive, I suppose. This one is heavily supported by Tower Hamlets Council. I'm not sure this is the best way to spend our Council Tax. So many people are making money out of the Mela, it shouldn't need a big cash injection from taxpayers' pockets.

Lots of Brick Lane politics behind this, no doubt.