LAW AND ORDER WINS THE DAY

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Law and order wins the day

Hundreds of people with very different political viewpoints took to the streets of Leicester city centre during Saturday's rival marches.Both the English Defence League and Unite Against Fascism claimed success for their protests.

The police presence in the city centre was clear hours before the demonstrations began and grew steadily throughout the morning.The city was clearly quieter than a usual Saturday, with some shops closed for the entire day and others stopping trading for the duration of the protests.

Despite a police warning for groups to stick to their agreed march routes, Unite Against Fascism encouraged its supporters to gather at the Clock Tower at 11am and to remain there until the EDL passed by.

A group of at least 50 who congregated at the Clock Tower were then warned by police to move on or face arrest.

They included former city council leader Ross Willmott, who told officers he had a legal right to be at the scene of the EDL protest.Councillor Willmott had earlier criticised city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby and police for allowing the EDL to march through the city centre and for allocating march routes which kept the groups apart.

Coun Willmott said: "The police have a difficult job to do, but we are peaceful people who want to hold a vigil and demonstrate against the EDL."

The protesters were eventually shepherded along Gallowtree Gate to the New Walk Centre, the gathering point for their march.

Meanwhile, the EDL demonstrators had begun to meet at their starting point at St Margaret's Pastures, off St Margaret's Way.

Many supporters covered their faces to hide their identity from police spotters.

At about 12.45pm, surrounded by police officers and barely visible at street level other than their banners, the EDL started along their route.

As they passed St Margaret's Church, Canon Barry Naylor stood at the door holding a large crucifix and saying quiet prayers.

Alan Keen, 52, from Loughborough was walking past at the time and said: "It was very powerful. Quiet prayers were such a contrast to the bustle of the march."

The march passed along Burleys Way, into Abbey Street and then Belgrave Gate.

Raj Limbachiya, 43, who runs Belgrave News in Belgrave Gate, said: "I had to close the shop for two hours.

"Saturday is a very busy day so I've lost quite a lot of money."Other shops had to do the same thing. This isn't the sort of thing Leicester needs.

"However, the police have dealt with it well. This street was right in the middle of it all, yet there hasn't been any damage to shops."

John and Jane Carter, both 42, who live in the city centre, said the march was pretty scary for their two young sons.

John added: "We were never in any real danger. There were two lines of police on both sides of the protest, so you'd have to be like Houdini to get out of that and cause trouble."

Later, when the EDL returned to St Margaret's Pastures, its leader Tommy Robinson addressed the crowd, claiming that the group had brought 2,000 people to the city.

However, the official police estimate was 700.

The EDL's purpose in targeting Leicester was the criminal justice system's treatment of four Somali women who were given suspended sentences after an attack on a white woman in the city.

The EDL was angry the women who assaulted 22-year-old Rhea Page were not charged with racially aggravated assault, but the Crown Prosecution Service said it had no grounds to treat the case as racist because the victim had said only one of the women – who could not be identified – had made a racist comment.

Mr Robinson said the police had treated EDL protesters "like animals" when they last protested in Leicester in 2010 but said they had handled the latest demonstration well.

He said: "We have been allowed to march, we have been allowed to protest and we have been given this area. The rule of law has to implemented equally across all communities."

Unite Against Fascism and other opponents of the EDL set off from the Leicester City Council's New Walk Centre at 12.45pm.

Its supporters chanted and carried banners reading "Smash the EDL" and "No to Racism".

Lines of police officers made sure they did not deviate from their agreed route as they made their way up Pocklingtons Walk, along Horsefair Street and Halford Street before heading back to their starting point via Belvoir Street. UAF supporters said they were angry the EDL had been allowed to protest.

Andy Wynne, 57, from Glenfield Road, Leicester, said: "It's very upsetting the EDL have been allowed to march."

Sonja Grossner, 69, from Loughborough, said: "My parents had to flee Nazi Germany after trying to stand up for what they believed in, so I'm happy to be here. But I'm depressed the EDL were allowed to march."

Bystander Rowan Bergman, 29, from Oadby, said: "I'm glad there's this counter-protest. I can't get my head around how people can support the EDL."

Reporters: Ciaran Fagan, Tom Mack, David Maclean, Dan Martin, Peter Warzynski. Photographers: Chris Gordon, Jason Senior, Matt Short

IF THE EDL WANT TO SEE FAIR PLAY, THEY SHOULD CALL OFF THEIR MARCH

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

If the EDL want to see fair play, they should call off their march

Leicester Mercury acting editor Richard Bettsworth on the distortions that will bring the English Defence League back to our city

The English Defence League is heading to Leicester in two weeks' time to protest against the UK's "two-tier justice system" which it claims treats Muslim offenders more leniently than others.

If this claim was true it would, of course, be utterly outrageous. Any justice system which operated such double-standards would be manifestly unfair and would quickly lose public trust.

So, what on Earth could the EDL possibly have in the way of evidence to back up such a serious claim?

This week's Insider seeks to examine that question and to sort out the truth from the hysteria.

The group's reason for coming to Leicester is the case of Rhea Page, a young woman who was subjected to a horrific attack in the street by four women.

The EDL suggests Rhea's attackers were dealt with leniently because they were Muslims and that if a white gang had launched an attack on a Muslim girl they would have been dealt with more severely.

There are two things about this case that are used to justify this claim.

The first is a suggestion that the attackers were spared prison because they were Somalian Muslims who were not used to alcohol. The second is that the victim was called a "white bitch" during the assault, but that the perpetrators were not charged with a racially aggravated offence.

Let's deal with the first point.

At this stage it is important to understand how this story emerged.

The Leicester Mercury was the only newspaper which covered the case and we carried a report on the proceedings on November 24.

The observation about the women not being used to alcohol was made by defence lawyer Gary Short. We quoted him on this point towards the end of our article but we did not suggest that this was the reason why the judge spared the attackers an immediate prison sentence.

On the contrary. We gave the actual reason earlier in the report which was that the judge, Robert Brown, said he accepted the women may have felt they were the victims of unreasonable force from the victim's partner (Rhea says her partner was only trying to protect her).

Since then, I have got hold of a transcript of the sentencing which clearly confirms this was the reason that the judge decided on a suspended sentence rather than sending the attackers to prison.

However, two weeks after our article, the story emerged in the national newspapers, where the line about the women being Muslims who were not used to alcohol was given much more prominence.

Most of these articles reported that the attackers were freed "after" the judge heard this evidence. Even though they used the word "after" instead of the word "because" these articles clearly implied that the two things were connected.

This was misleading and created a perception about this case which is at odds with the facts.

Let's have a look at the second point – the fact that the attackers were not charged with a racially aggravated offence. A video on YouTube promoting the EDL demonstration says: "This is an obvious racist attack on a white English female, yet it was dealt with quietly and as a drunken thuggish gang attack."

It goes on: "Unfortunately, many believe that it's not possible to be racist against white people."

This is what the Crown Prosecution Service says about its decision: "The CPS reviewed all the evidence in this case, including whether a racially aggravated offence should be brought on the basis that the comment 'white bitch' was reported to have been heard during the incident.

"However, this racist comment could not be attributed to any particular suspect and was not adopted by the group as a whole. There was therefore no realistic prospect of conviction for a racially aggravated offence."

So, clearly the CPS does consider that it is possible to be racist against white people. Its reason not to charge anybody with a racially aggravated offence was purely a legal one. It could not be sure of securing a conviction.

The EDL states its central aim is to combat "Islamic extremism".

However, the women involved in this attack were clearly not "Islamic extremists" and the incident has nothing whatsoever to do with that issue.

One can only conclude that the reason the EDL has leapt up on the misunderstandings about this case is because it actually has a much wider agenda. It is seeking to propagate a message that white English people are becoming second-class citizens in their own country and preferential treatment is given to Muslims.

That is, of course, deeply divisive and dangerous stuff which breeds resentment between communities. And, as we have seen, its argument crumbles as soon as one carries out a detailed examination of the facts.

At this point, I would add something of a footnote about the Rhea Page case.

Like Rhea, I did not agree with the judge's decision to suspend the sentences and I felt that the defendants should have been imprisoned.

It was an appalling attack and I think the justice system needs to send out a clear message in such cases that this sort of random, drunken violence will not be tolerated.

However, I have absolutely no doubt that the judge's decision was based on a proper and legitimate assessment of the case, and had nothing whatsoever to do with the religious persuasion of the defendants and their lack of tolerance to alcohol.

Unfortunately, nothing I have said will dissuade the EDL from carrying out their demonstration.

They will come to Leicester on February 4, in a protest which will cost huge amounts of public money to police and will probably hit trade in the city centre. And all of this disruption and potential discord will have been based on an entirely flawed premise. That's not fair on any of us, whatever our race or religion.

CITY MAYOR BRIEFS VCS ORGANISATIONS ON EDL DEMO

At a meeting this morning called by the City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, to brief Voluntary and Community Sector organisations in Leicester about the proposed demonstration by the English Defence League (and proposed counter-demonstration by Unite Against Fascism) in Leicester city centre on Saturday 4 February.

The meeting takes place in the Mayor’s office, floor B7 of the City Council’s New Walk Centre. As well as Sir Peter, the meeting is attended by Cllr Rory Palmer, Deputy Mayor; Cllr Sarah Russell, Assistant Mayor and Joint Cabinet Lead for Community Cohesion; Cllr Manjula Sood, Assistant Mayor and joint Cabinet Lead for Community Cohesion (and Chair of Leicester Council of Faiths); a number of officers of the City Council; and Leicester City BCU Commander Chief Superintendent Rob Nixon.

Around the table are gathered representatives of several VCS organisations, each with a perceived interest in the events of Saturday 4 February and in preparations beforehand:

• African Caribbean Citizens Forum
• Federation of Muslim Organisations
• Leicester Hebrew Congregation
• Leicester Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre
• Leicester LINks
• The Race Equality Centre
• St Matthews Community Social Centre
• Sikh Welfare and Cultural Society
• Somali Development Services
• Voluntary Action LeicesterShire

The Mayor tells us that he and his team – and the Police - are keen to understand the concerns of the community and assures us of their willingness to be open and transparent regarding the range of responses available to them.

If there is a common denominator among those present today, it’s the hope that the EDL come, do their thing, then leave with the minimum impact on the city that day - and on how our communities live and work together, before and after. Well, actually, not everyone can be said to agree on that as there’s a strong voice asking how it is that the EDL can be allowed to come, given what happened last time. Chief Superintendent Rob Nixon reminds us that the Police are required to ensure the safety and security of everyone involved in these events, no matter what side of the line they may be on.

Similarly, divergent views are expressed on whether the EDL are an assemblage of the most cunning criminal minds of their generation or nothing more than a bunch of beer-fuelled thugs. We acknowledge and discuss the relevance and significance of the Rhea Page assault case, which has been seized on by EDL as a pretext for coming back here.

In the end, we can all acknowledge that there's no single, straightforward, formulaic or generic answer to this dilemma that will work for every individual or for all communities. There's no simple way around this - we just have to get through it together. Reminiscent, then, of Michael Rosen's profound and subtle children's story, We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Anyone who knows the story should get its relevance in this context.

Much has been learned from the last time we dealt with such events, in October 2010. On the one hand, activities will be laid on in different parts of the city (particularly for young people) to keep people from coming into the city centre on the day. On the other hand, it's not being assumed this time that the best thing to do is to try and shut down the city centre for the duration of the demonstration and counter-demonstration.

I don't normally single out my own contributions to meetings like this, but I'm making an exception this time. I speak three times, my contributions based on something that happened back in October 2010, something that has only recently occurred to me – and something that doesn’t seem to have occurred to anyone else.

Firstly, I propose that work needs to be done quickly and urgently with schools in and around the city – and not just to dissuade older students from coming into town on the day. This is based on something Harry told me the night before the last EDL demo. The kids were visiting me that weekend. When their mum dropped them off on the Friday evening, they could hardly wait to tell me that we have to stay out of town on Saturday afternoon, because something terrible was going to happen. When I asked what that might be, Harry told me that the word around school was that Muslims were going to set off a bomb in the city centre. He was indignant about this, to put it mildly. He told me that he was angry with his schoolmates for saying this, that he knew Muslims, that he knew I work with and for Muslims - and that they're good people, who wouldn't do such a thing ("Would they Dad?"). I really don’t want to have to hear that from my kids this time. Surely we can do something to counteract this kind of thing, whether it be simple misinformation or malicious rumour-mongering.

Secondly, I mention that this is starting to remind me of The Empire Strikes Back. Perhaps we’re being punished for being a bit too smug over how we handled it last time, a bit self-congratulatory, a bit too quick to pat ourselves on the back. What we might have done is more like making a rod for our own back. On the day following the EDL demo in October 2010, we had “Celebrate One Leicester Day” as a way of claiming back the city centre, of cleansing it even. On the stage that afternoon, Billy Bragg said that that weekend would be remembered as the time when the back of the EDL was broken, that Leicester would be remembered as the place where it happened and that we’d be remembered as the people who did it. Well, here we are, hardly 16 months later – and they’re coming back. You know how Star Wars (the original one, or Episode IV: A New Hope for you fanboys out there) ends with the big ceremony in which Princess Leia hangs medals on Luke, Han and Chewie, the droids are all shiny and tweety, our heroes exchange knowing lovey-dovey looks and everyone takes the applause of the grateful multitude. Then Darth Vader returns, wiser and badder (with the wickedest most spine-tingling theme tune in movie history), kicks the rebels’ collective butt and they only escape defeat in the final reel by the skin of their teeth.

Thirdly, some anxiety is expressed that, following the proposed demo next month, EDL might put down a marker for another run-in on St George's Day in April. I back up the importance and significance of that occasion and point out what a good job City Council has done in the past few years in appropriating the weekend of St George’s Day, filling it with multicultural, family-friendly activities and leaving no room for extremist groups to muscle in. I can only commend City Council for doing this and hope that the same will be done this year – and that all our groups will see fit to join in and support it. There’s testimony to the diversity of Leicester if ever it were needed – a Scot like me bigging up St George’s Day (and not just because I share his name).

STREET ATTACK USED AS REASON FOR EDL DEMO IN LEICESTER

This article is published in today's Leicester Mercury:

Street attack used as reason for EDL demo in Leicester

A vicious street attack by a gang of young women in Leicester provoked the English Defence League's decision to protest in the city.

The EDL, which says it was formed to combat Islamic extremism, issued an online video last week to link its proposed protest on Saturday, February 4, with the case of 22-year-old Rhea Page.

The assault on Miss Page and her partner in the city centre in June 2010 was widely reported in several national newspapers and on a number of web sites.

It was claimed that the sentencing judge had decided not to send the women to prison after hearing that they had acted out of character because at least one of them had been drinking.

As Muslims, one of the defence lawyers told the court, they were not accustomed to alcohol.

The Leicester Mercury was the only news organisation in court for the hearing last November.

In sentencing the women, Judge Robert Brown made no reference to their drinking or their religion.

Instead, he decided to suspend the sentences because he said Miss Page's partner had possibly used unreasonable force in protecting her, although he was not charged with any offence.

The judge said: "I can see there's a context in which there's a sense you felt you were the victim of unreasonable force."

Miss Page later criticised the judge and said the women should have gone to prison because of the attack.

Some critics of the authorities' handling of the case have claimed the women should have been charged with racially aggravated assault because one of the Somali women reportedly called Miss Page a "white bitch" once during the attack.

The Crown Prosecution Service, which determines which charges are brought against offenders, has also clarified its handling of the case.It said: "The CPS reviewed all the evidence in this case, including whether a racially aggravated offence should be brought on the basis that the comment 'white bitch' was reported to have been heard during the incident.

"However, this racist comment could not be attributed to any particular suspect and was not adopted by the group as a whole. There was no realistic prospect of conviction for a racially aggravated offence."

The women – sisters Ambaro Maxamed (24), Ayaan Maxamed (28) and Hibo Maxamed (24), all from East Park Road, Leicester, and their cousin, Ifran Nur (28), of Gotham Street, in the city – all admitted actual bodily harm and got six-month sentences, suspended for 12 months.