RESPONSE TO DRAFT POLICE & CRIME PLAN

Here's the text of the Council of Faiths response to the draft Five Year Plan proposed by the recently elected Police and Crime Commissioner, Sir Clive Loader.

As well as writing and submitting this response from our organisation, I've contributed to the writing of a collective response, to be submitted in association with our colleagues at Leicester LGBT Centre, Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living and The Race Equality Centre

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Response to Police and Crime Commissioner's draft Five Year

George M Ballentyne,

Equality & Diversity Officer,

Leicester Council of Faiths

Having searched the electronic version of the draft plan throughout, looking for relevant terms such as “faith”, “religion”, “place of worship”, “church”, “mosque”, “temple” etc., I was disappointed not to find any of them included.

I searched every conceivable variation on these terms and the only mention of any of them to be found was the use of the word “religious” twice, both times in connection to “racially and religiously motivated hate crime” (p.23). Even this slight mention gave cause for concern: under the new legislation embodied in the Equality Act 2010, race and religion are deemed distinct “Protected Characteristics”. Lumping the two of them together like this appeared a backward move, not in keeping with the change in legislation and public recognition.

So on even the most cursory reading, the draft plan makes no reference to any faith communities, or to any organisation representing anyone or anything to do with religion or belief. This is particularly disappointing for two reasons:

1. Firstly, absence of acknowledgment of the need to engage actively and positively with the city’s diverse faith communities – their places of worship and related community centres (numbering close to 300 and steadily increasing), the growing number of faith schools, the many festivals spread across the year.  Each of these communities, organisations and premises – as well as those responsible for the many public occasions – has worked hard over many years to establish, maintain and develop good relations with police at all levels. They each have particular sensitivities and vulnerabilities that need to be recognised and addressed, as well as distinctive strengths and contributions that should be acknowledged and accommodated. This is a certain kind of community policing that Leicester has become good at. Its omission from the draft plan could make it appear that all this hard work is not valued and may well go to waste under a new regime.
2. Secondly, absence of recognition that as well as giving so much to the celebrated diversity of the city, these communities, organisations, premises and events present potential flashpoints in terms of criminal behaviour and disruption of social order. Whether seen in the two recent visits by the English Defence League, in the on-going tension around ownership and use of Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, in the armed attack on the Moghul Dharbar restaurant in East Park Road or around the much-publicised issues of sexual exploitation, there is a new hardening of attitudes, a testing of relationships, a willingness to point the finger – and to take unilateral action, in word and deed – against, among and between communities that is altering the environment of peaceful coexistence in the city.

Faith communities and organisations can be engaged in the plan not just on crime related to “religion or belief” (e.g. religiously aggravated or motivated hate crime), but in other ways too. Places of worship, community centres, infrastructure organisations related to one particular faith (e.g. British Hindu Voice, Christians Aware, Federation of Muslim Organisations, Leicestershire Sikh Alliance) or related to a variety of faiths (e.g. Leicester Council of Faiths), opinion formers, influential figures, spokespersons and activists play an important part in all aspects of relations between police and community – and none of that seems to be recognised or included in the plan. These functions work in both a softer context in everyday terms and in a “harder context (e.g. role played during visits by English Defence League. Faith-based organisations are also experience and interested in rehabilitation work and can contribute much to cutting down re-offending.

The draft plan gives no indication of who should speak for or about the faith communities and issues of policing and crime that affect them – and on which many of them can make positive contributions. If only Voluntary Action LeicesterShire is to represent  the voice and interests of these communities and organisations (as well as those of every other voice and interest in the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector) then Leicester Council of Faiths – and the communities and organisation with whom we work – would consider that an inappropriate and ineffective way to engage. Several years ago, when the Leicester Strategic Partnership set up its system of Host Organisations to represent the many “communities of interest” in the city, Voluntary Action LeicesterShire sought to be an all-encompassing “mega” Host Organisation, bidding to cover all the Protected Characteristics of age, disability, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation. It was not considered fit to do so in the end and the Host Organisation were picked from among user-led organisations (ULOs) all of which were (and still are) working on the ground with the communities they would claim to represent. From the Council of Faiths’ point of view, VAL at that time had no specialist knowledge, experience or interest in the area of religion or belief and no personnel working with the faith communities. Nothing has transpired in the intervening period to make us believe that VAL has the capacity to undertake that role now. We can only speak for this matter as it relates to our specialist area of religion or belief – but we wish to make it clear, in no uncertain terms, that (I believe, in common with our colleagues in other ULOs in the city and county) we would not have confidence in VAL to perform this role in way outlined in the draft plan. We would urge direct engagement with ULOs, preferably in partnership alignment. 

In a new specification that runs initially to the end of 2014, Leicester City Council has commissioned the following activities from Leicester Council of Faiths:

• To promote trust, understanding and co-operation among faith communities and organisations in Leicester, working collaboratively with Leicester City Council and other strategic groups and partnerships to achieve this.
• To disseminate accurate information about the beliefs and practices of the diverse faith communities of Leicester, working collaboratively with Leicester City Council and other strategic groups and partnerships to achieve this.
• In pursuit of these activities, Leicester Council of Faiths is to deliver the following outcomes, all of which would be relevant and useful in the context of the Police and Crime Plan:

• Offer a collective voice for the city’s faith organisations and the communities they serve, ensuring that issues of religion or belief are given appropriate consideration within the policies and operations of the City Council (and other strategic groups and partnerships), leading to improved design, delivery and monitoring of services.

• Provide a central point of contact for the City Council (and other strategic groups and partnerships) on behalf of the city’s faith organisations and the communities they serve, ensuring that issues of religion or belief can be addressed in an effective, sensitive and timely manner.

• Assist faith communities and organisations in Leicester more fully to engage in the life of the city in general.

• Ensure dissemination of accurate knowledge of the beliefs and practices of the city’s diverse faith communities and organisations, in order to increase trust, understanding and cooperation among them (and between the city’s diverse faith communities and the general public in Leicester). 

Leicester Council of Faiths is working with Leicester City Council as a partner on issues relevant to section 4.3 of the draft plan. Leicester City Council wants to use “using lines of communication between and within faith communities and organisations to improve design, delivery and monitoring of services”.  This same approach can be adapted to serve the purposes of the Police and Crime Plan. As a practical example, Leicester Council of Faiths is working with Leicester City Council on places of worship and faith-based community centres as focal points of “resilience” (see p. 30). It would make sense, as an example of “joined-up working” to match these needs and outputs. It would make sense for Leicester Council of Faiths to be taken on as a “resilience partner” in terms of the plan. There are many references in the draft plan to “working with partners” that could be seen as applicable to working with Leicester Council of Faiths. These include the following:

• “the Force already has an excellent reputation for working with our partners who play their own critical part in helping to reduce crime” (p. 51)
• “working with partners to solve locally identified problems” (p. 5)
• “working with partners to prevent and tackle crime and re-offending” (p. 9)
• “shared strategic priorities to tackle with our partners” (p. 11)
• “working with partners” (in relation to terrorism, p. 29)

PIG'S HEAD MAN SPARED JAIL

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Pig's head man spared jail 

by Tim Healey

A man who placed a pig's head at the door of a community centre used by Muslims has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Liam Ferrar (24) appeared at Leicester Magistrates' Court for sentencing yesterday, after pleading guilty to religiously aggravated harassment.

Ferrar went to Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, in Thurncourt Road, Leicester, in the early hours of December 26 and placed the severed head by the locked doors.

The head was facing worshippers from Muslim group As Salaam as they arrived at the centre that morning for prayers.

District Judge John Temperley, sentencing Ferrar to 12 weeks in jail, suspended for 12 months, told him: "You were well aware of the significance of your actions.

"You knew what you did would cause great distress. Indeed, that was your intention."

"The pig's head was positioned in such a way it could not be avoided by all those, including, potentially, young children, who had the misfortune to enter the building that morning.

"It is easy to imagine the shock, distress and disgust they would have felt.

"But the harm you caused goes further. Others in the community and beyond would also have been affected when news of the incident spread, prompting profound alarm, fear and insecurity."

The offence was committed at a time when protests were being held outside the community centre over plans by Leicester City Council to allow As Salaam take over a disused Scout hut nearby.

Mr Temperley said Ferrar would have been "keenly aware" of that background.

He said: "It should have been obvious what you did was intimidatory and would only serve to inflame an already tense and volatile situation."

He said the offence was so serious only a custodial sentence was justified. But Ferrar's remorse, previous good character, work in the community and the fact he was "highly unlikely to appear before a criminal court again" meant the sentence would be suspended.

The judge ordered Ferrar to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £85.

Ferrar had been to a party before he planted the head, which he had acquired at a barbecue the previous summer and kept in a freezer at his home in Brook Road, Thurnby Lodge.

Louise Cox, prosecuting, said Ferrar was a member of the Forgotten Estates group "that has been involved in protests about the use of the Scout hut".

Ferrar, who had acted as a liaison between the group and police and was seen by officers as a "calming influence", was recognised on the centre's CCTV footage.

After being arrested on December 28, he "became tearful" and confessed.

Ferrar's solicitor, Stephen Morris, said his client was deeply ashamed of what he had done and had distanced himself from Forgotten Estates.

He said Ferrar was concerned at the lack of facilities in the area and coached a junior football team for which he paid for items from his own pocket.

When the judge said the sentence would be suspended there was a sigh of relief from Ferrar's family and supporters.

After the hearing, Maxine Williams, licensee of the Stirrup Cup pub and a founding member of Forgotten Estates, said: "I was pleased for Liam that he is not going to prison.

"He is a good chap really."

As Salaam imam Moulana Mohammed Lockhat said: "We are happy justice has been done. We hope this will discourage anyone else from taking part in acts which promote religious and racial hatred."

Mr Morris said: "My client wishes to apologise to the As Salaam Trust for any distress his actions have caused."

Read the judge's comments in full here:

R v Liam Ferrar

Leicester Magistrates Court

18th February 2013

District Judge Temperley

Sentencing remarks

You have pleaded guilty to an offence of intentional harassment contrary to s4A Public Order Act 1986. The offence was religiously aggravated. In the early hours of Boxing Day last year, you placed a severed pig’s head outside the entrance doors to the Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, a building that has been used as a place of worship and Madrasah by a Muslim prayer group for approximately three years.

This offence was to some extent planned, premeditated and targeted. You were well aware of the significance of your actions. You knew that what you did would cause great distress, indeed that was your intention. On your version of events you had acquired the pigs head several months earlier. If that is true, your decision to keep it suggests that you either you or someone else had an offence such as this in mind. The timing of the offence may have been random but it was in my view clearly premeditated. The fact you were under the influence of alcohol is not a mitigating factor.

The pig’s head was positioned in such a way that it could not be avoided by all those, including potentially young children, who had the misfortune to enter the building that morning.

It is easy to imagine the shock, distress and disgust they would have felt. The witness statements I have read bear testimony to the serious impact of your actions. But the harm you caused goes further. Others in the local community and beyond would also have been affected when news of this incident spread, prompting profound alarm, fear and insecurity.

In sentencing you I cannot ignore the context in which the offence was committed. For several months protests had been taking place outside the community centre. The police have been involved and as a result there are a number of cases currently before this court.

Whilst I do not suggest you were involved in any of those incidents, as a leading member of the so called Forgotten Estates Group you would have been keenly aware of the background and you would have appreciated better than most the likely effect of your actions in this wider context. It should have been obvious that what you did was intimidatory and would only serve to enflame an already tense and volatile situation. There was a real risk that your behaviour could either prompt others to exact retribution or encourage others to behave in a similar way.

It is not disputed that initially you were seen by the police as a reliable point of contact and in their words a “calming influence”. I accept that you disassociated yourself from the Forgotten Estates Group because you were concerned that it was being hijacked by others with more sinister motives.

I take account of the fact that you are a young man of previous good character. You have never been in any trouble with the police before. The character references I have read do you great credit. You regularly give your time, energy and money to good causes and to helping others.

I also accept that you have demonstrated genuine remorse and regret for your actions. You cooperated with the police and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

I have read the pre sentence report prepared by the Probation service and noted their recommendations.

Weighing up all these factors and applying the Sentencing Guidelines I conclude that this offence is so serious that only a custodial sentence is justified. Were it not for the element of religious aggravation a community penalty would be appropriate. But this is an offence where the targeting of a particular religious group is the most serious factor and consequently a custodial sentence is inevitable.

However in view of your considerable personal mitigation and the fact that you are highly unlikely to appear before a criminal court again, I will suspend the sentence.

I have reduced the sentence by one third to reflect your guilty plea. The sentence I impose is 12 weeks imprisonment suspended for the period of 12 months. There will be one community requirement attached to the order, namely that you will undertake 250 hours of unpaid work.

You will also pay costs of £85.

LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE: "NO TOLERANCE FOR DISCRIMINATION"

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Leicestershire Police: "No tolerance for discrimination"

Police have warned that there is no tolerance in Leicester for discrimination.

They spoke after Liam Ferrar (24) admitted religiously-aggravated harassment aimed at the Muslim community.

The force said Ferrar was arrested and charged within three days of the incident, in which he left a pig's head outside a community centre in Thurnby Lodge, in the city, where a Muslim group held prayers.

Superintendent Mark Newcombe said: "This was clearly a religiously- motivated offence which was directed at those using the community centre as a Muslim place of worship, who found the incident extremely upsetting and shocking.

"We have no tolerance for discrimination in Leicester, of any kind, and the majority of people in the area were left very upset by the incident."

He said he hoped that Thursday's hearing at Leicester Magistrates' Court would "send a clear message to people like Ferrar, that all those in the criminal justice system will do all they can to bring you to justice".

Judith Walker, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Everyone has the right to practice their faith without fear of harassment.

"There is no place in our community for this kind of action that deliberately targets people on the grounds of their religion and the Crown Prosecution Service takes this kind of offending extremely seriously.

"Liam Ferrar admitted that he had left the head at the community centre and, in charging the offence, we were satisfied that his actions were motivated by hostility to cause shock and distress.

"Pigs hold a particular significance in the Muslim faith and this action was highly offensive to his victims."

The court was told that on the evening of December 25 last year, Ferrar went to Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, in Thurncourt Road, and placed the pig's head by the locked doors.

The head was facing outwards, towards the worshippers from Muslim group As Salaam, who arrived at the centre the following morning, Boxing Day.

The community centre has been the scene of regular protests since the summer over a former Scout hut nearby, which Leicester City Council was going to allow As Salaam members to use for prayers instead of the community centre.

The protesters wanted the Scout hut to be kept for use by the wider community.

THREE DENY CHARGE OVER HUT PROTEST

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury (but not on its website):

Three deny charge over hut protest

Three men have appeared in court over offences alleged to have taken place during protests against Muslim group As Salaam using a former scout hut in Thurnby Lodge.for prayers.

Since the summer, people have been holding regular demonstrations outside Thurnby Lodge Community Centre in Thurncourt Road, Leicester, opposing plans to let Muslim group As Salaam take over the nearby hut.

The demonstrations were heavily policed, and protesters were kept 100 metres away from the community centre, where As Salaam members held prayers.

On December 14, three men who all live on the Thurnby Lodge Estate - James Ellliott, Jeffrey Copeland and Lee Murren - were allged to have breached the order.

They appeared in Leicester Magistrates' Court yesterday, where all three pleaded not guilty to knowingly failing to comply with a condition imposed by a senior police officer under section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986.

The case was adjourned until April, when a two-day trial is due to take place.

Elliott (20) of Rona Gardens, Copeland (37), of Thurncourt Road, and Murren (47), of Lyminton Road, were released, were released on conditional bail.

PIG'S HEAD MAN TOLD HE COULD GO TO JAIL

This article appears on the front pages of today's Leicester Mercury:

Pig's head man told he could go to jail

A man who placed a pig’s head outside a community centre used for prayers by Muslims has been warned he faces a possible jail sentence for the offence.

Liam Ferrar (24) appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court today to admit religiously aggravated harassment aimed at the Muslim community.

The court heard that Ferrar had acquired the pig’s head at a wedding the previous summer, and kept it in a freezer at his home in Brook Road, Thurnby Lodge, Leicester.

On Christmas night last year, December 25, he went to Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, in Thurncourt Road, and placed the head by the locked doors.

The head was facing out, towards the worshippers from Muslim group As Salaam who arrived at the centre the following morning, Boxing Day.

Louise Cox, prosecuting, said: “He was drunk and had been to a party and decided to get it out of his freezer and leave it outside the community centre.

“He did know the impact it would have.”

The community centre has been the scene of regular protests since the summer over a former Scout hut nearby, which Leicester City Council was going to allow As Salaam members to use for prayers instead of the community centre.

The protesters wanted the Scout hut to be kept for use by the wider community.

Miss Cox said the community centre keyholder, who was the first member of As Salaam on the scene on Boxing Day, later told police he was upset by the sight of what he at first had thought was a cat.

“He said he was sickened and disgusted and quickly returned to his vehicle,” she said.

Miss Cox added that the keyholder “said the protest had led to people congregating outside at prayer time and shouting racist comments”, and that “he has heard a number of those racist comments.”

She said Ferrar was a member of the Forgotten Estates campaign group “that has been involved in the protests about the use of the Scout hut”.

“There’s intelligence about this defendant playing a fundamental role in the protest group,” she said.

Ferrar, who at times acted as a liaison between the protest group and the police, was recognised by officers viewing CCTV footage, the hearing was told.

After being arrested on December 28, Ferrar “became tearful” and confessed, the court heard.

After the worshippers found the pig’s head, As Salaam imam Moulana Mohammed Lockhat decided to call the police, who removed it.

Miss Cox told the court Mr Lockhat said in his statement that the incident was “extremely distressing” for the worshippers, “The pig is a creature Muslims are forbidden from using any part of,” she said.Miss Cox added Mr Lockhat had said that “prior to the pig’s head incident, he received malicious communications in relation to pig’s heads and blood”.

There was no suggestion in court of who might have sent the “malicious communications”, nor by what means they were sent.The case was adjourned for a probation report.

District judge John Temperley told Ferrar it was an “extremely serious case”, and that “all options, including custody” were being considered.

Ferrar has been required by a court order to live outside the Thurnby Lodge area, and has been staying with a relative in West End, Leicester.

Steve Morris, representing Ferrar, made an application for his client to be allowed back onto the Thurnby Lodge estate, but the application was declined.

Ferrar is due back at Leicester Magistrates’ Court next month for sentencing.

After the hearing, Maxine Williams, licensee of the estate’s Stirrup Cup pub, and a founding member of the Forgotten Estates group, said: “When it happened I was so saddened by the whole affair and it was very sad and distressing for the Muslims, no doubt.

“I think it’s very sad that it’s so out of character for Liam to do anything like this at all.

“He’s a lovely boy and I still can’t believe it was him.”

She added: “It’s so sad he’s done it and the consequences are so harsh.”

LEICESTER MAYOR PETER SOULSBY GIVES HIS DECISION IN THURNBY LODGE SCOUT HUT ROW

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Leicester mayor Peter Soulsby gives his decision in Thurnby Lodge scout hut row

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has resolved a bitter dispute over the future of a disused Scout hut.

Demonstrations – some involving hundreds of people and a heavy police presence – have been taking place in Thurnby Lodge, Leicester, for the past six months over plans by a Muslim charity to turn the hut into a community centre.

But yesterday, Sir Peter announced a plan which appears to have satisfied both sides in the dispute. The protesters, who have formed a group called the Forgotten Estates Committee, will be given the lease on the Scout hut for two and a half years rent-free.

The group has told Leicester City Council it will develop it as a community centre.

The Muslim charity, the As-Salaam Trust, has been told it can have the lease to another city council-owned building, the Raven Centre, which is next to the Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, where the charity has been meeting for prayers for the past three years.

Sir Peter said a "small number" of groups which use the Raven Centre will transfer to Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, or other local council buildings.

Mohamed Lockhat, As-Salaam Trust's imam, said: "We are happy a solution has been found. Some people have felt very passionately about the Scout hut, but everyone will be able to work together for the good of the community."

Maxine Williams, licensee of the estate's Stirrup Cup pub and a founding member of the Forgotten Estates Committee, said: "Everybody I have spoken to so far about Peter Soulsby's decision has been ecstatic.

"When we first heard that As-Salaam wanted the Scout hut we knew it was the wrong place because of problems with traffic and noise.

"The Raven Centre is in the community centre complex, so car parking is available for As-Salaam's members."

The Forgotten Estates Committee has collected thousands of pounds for its plan to turn the Scout hut into a community centre.

It followed a public consultation in which questionnaires were sent to 7,000 households in Thurnby Lodge and neighbouring Netherhall.

Some 1,400 responses were returned to the council – a turnout of about 20 per cent.

Most backed the plan unveiled by Sir Peter yesterday, which was one of two options on the questionnaire.

"This option meets everyone's needs, and I am therefore offering both groups the opportunity to make this happen," said Sir Peter. "I think both groups recognise we have worked very hard with them to find a solution which meets everyone's hopes and needs. Both recognise there is a need to move forward in a constructive way and I've been encouraged by the responses both have given.''

The protests began in August and were held outside Thurnby Lodge Community Centre when As-Salaam members met for prayers.

A police operation was launched to make sure the protests remained peaceful after complaints that worshippers felt intimidated.

Two months after the protests started, the Mercury reported the cost of policing them had reached £200,000.

The final total is unknown.

On Boxing Day, a pig's head was found outside the centre.

A 23-year-old man has been charged in connection with the incident and is due to appear in court later this month.

THREE ARRESTED IN LEICESTER AFTER PIG'S HEAD FOUND BY MUSLIM PRAYER GROUP

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Three arrested in Leicester after pig's head fond by Muslim prayer group

A woman and two men have been arrested after a pig's head was found on the doorstep of a community centre used by Muslim worshippers.

The severed head was discovered at the Thurnby Lodge Community Centre on Boxing Day by members of As Salaam - a Muslim group which uses the building for religious purposes.

It was found at about 7.30am when worshippers arrived at the centre, in Thurncourt Road, to open up for prayers.

Police said they are treating the incident as being religiously motivated.

The gesture could be seen as an insult as Muslims are forbidden from eating pork and many consider pigs to be unclean animals.

Earlier today, police arrested a 40-year-old woman and two men aged 37 and 46 in connection with the investigation.

It follows a recent row over As Salaam's desire to use a nearby former Scout hut for prayers.

Residents claim the disused building should be used for a wider range of community activities.

PIG'S HEAD DUMPED AT THURNBY LODGE CENTRE USED FOR PRAYERS BY MUSLIMS

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Pig's head dumped at Thurnby Lodge centre used for prayers by Muslims

A pig's head has been left at the doors of a community centre used as a Muslim place of worship.

Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, in Leicester, is used for prayers by Muslim group As Salaam.

In recent months, the centre has become the focus of a row over the group's desire to pray instead at a neighbouring disused Scout hut, owned by Leicester City Council.

Muslims going to and from prayers at the centre have had to walk past protesters who say the Scout hut should be for wider community use.

At 7.30am on Wednesday, Muslims who arrived to unlock the community centre in Thurncourt Road found a pig's head by the automatic front door.

Muslims are forbidden from eating pork and many consider pigs to be unclean animals, and leaving a pig's head at the doors is an insulting gesture to Muslims.

Police are investigating who is behind the incident.

Moulana Mohammed Lockhat, the Imam for the As Salaam group, said the act had only made members more determined to continue to pray as normal.

He said: "We arrived to open up the centre for prayers and found the pig's head. It had probably come from a butcher's.

"I was deeply saddened by this development. It was clearly an act of deep, religious discrimination against us.

"But that doesn't mean it's going to stop us from praying in the building.

"We still had our prayers on Wednesday morning and putting a pig's head outside isn't going to change things, except maybe make us more determined than ever to carry on."

The prayer group called the police who took the pig's head away.

A 23-year-old Muslim, who attends evening prayers every day at the centre, said: "It's a highly charged atmosphere at Thurnby Lodge at the moment and this was a very provocative act.

"Muslims are prohibited from eating pigs and whoever did this obviously knew that and were setting out to be offensive and make fun of something very serious to us.

"For me, it's mainly the insult but some Muslims are extremely sensitive about the cleanliness of a pig's head."

The protesters trying to stop the Muslim group using the Scout hut, in Nursery Road, are arguing that it should be for everyone and not just Muslims.

Superintendent Mark Newcombe said: "The only people using the community centre on Wednesday were from a local Muslim group and it's easy to draw the conclusion that the pig's head was meant for them, and is the reason we believe this to be religiously motivated.

"We have no tolerance for discrimination in Leicester, be that racially or religiously motivated, and we want members of the public to help us do all we can to find those responsible and bring them to justice."

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact police on 101.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers, which is anonymous, on 0800 555 111.

THURNBY LODGE COMMUNITY CENTRE PROTESTS "INTIMIDATING" VISITORS

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Thurnby Lodge community centre protests "intimidating" visitors

People using a community centre have complained to police that they feel intimidated by a continuing protest.

Groups of demonstrators have been gathering outside Thurnby Lodge Community Centre most evenings for the past two months to object to plans to let a Muslim prayer group take over a disused Scout hut.

At a police beat surgery on Monday, attended by more than 20 people, officers were asked to do something about the protesters.

Officers said they would continue to patrol outside the centre – which is also a police station – but could not end the demonstrations because the group had a right to peaceful protest.

Up to 400 people at a time have been expressing anger about proposals for the former Scout hut in Nursery Road, which is likely to become a community centre operated by Islamic charity As-Salaam Trust.

The trust currently meets at the community centre next door. The protestors want Leicester City Council, which owns the building, to use the hut as a venue for the whole community.

While police said there had been no "major policing incidents", many estate residents who have not taken sides in the Scout hut issue said they were disturbed by the long-running protests.

One member of a Friday night bingo group said numbers had dropped from about 30 to 20 since the protests began.

She said: "Our Friday night group's on the point of closing because of this. People in their 70s, 80s and 90s aren't reassured just because the police are there."

Another woman at the meeting said: "We don't want to be involved and feel pestered by them."

A 46-year-old man at the meeting said: "The protesters are there every day.

"We appreciate what the police are doing but people are frightened about what's going on and groups in the centre are not getting as many people.

"People coming in who don't want anything to do with it are being asked why they don't join in the protest."

Pc Susan Oakes told the meeting: "This has been going on for some time and there haven't been any major policing incidents. I know it's intimidating for someone who's 70 or 80 who has to go past the protest but the numbers of protesters are dwindling and the situation has been handled maturely. The police don't have any power to move them anywhere else and it's a peaceful protest.

"Some comments have been made on both sides but we don't want to be going in and arresting people when feelings are high. That's not in the best interests of the community as a whole."

Maxine Williams, the manager of the Stirrup Cup pub on the estate, who has been helping to organise the protests, said: "I wouldn't have thought it would put people off using the centre – the protesters are mostly older people and families.

"There are some younger lads who are more boisterous and are shouting at cars asking them to toot their horns to show support but I wouldn't say they were intimidating."