Lutfur Rahman says anti-immigration protests ‘spreading fear and hate’
Lutfur Rahman said recent anti-immigration protests reminded him of a time when ‘racist abuse was part of our daily life’.
The Tower Hamlets community will ‘stand united’ against far-right attempts to divide it, borough mayor Lutfur Rahman has said.
Speaking on Wednesday, Rahman said marches by the far right in central London and Canary Wharf reminded him of the racism migrants in East London faced in previous decades.
Rahman said: ‘It was deeply disturbing to see the far right marching through the streets of London once again last weekend, spreading fear and hate, as well as repeated recent attempts by the far right to bring their supporters into Tower Hamlets to intimidate members of our community.
‘It reminds me and many of us who grew up in this borough when racist abuse was part of our daily life.
‘We fought hard and our forefathers also did, fought hard to change that and to build a more fair, equal and inclusive and tolerant society. I never thought we would see racists so emboldened once again in our communities.’
Rahman was speaking after at least 110,000 people joined a march in central London on Saturday called by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Marchers fought with police in an attempt to reach a Stand Up To Racism counter-protest.
Speakers included far-right French politician Eric Zemmour, who spoke of a ‘great replacement of European people by peoples coming from the south and of Muslim culture’.
Also speaking via video link was Elon Musk, who spoke of the ‘destruction of Britain’ by immigration and a song that said the West is being made ‘to look like the Middle East’.
Rahman was also speaking in the wake of several protests in Canary Wharf targeting asylum seekers living temporarily in a hotel there.
Masked men calling themselves ‘spartans’ fought with police in a Canary Wharf shopping centre during an anti-refugee protest on Sunday, 31st August.
Regular protesters have filmed themselves harassing council workers and abusing hotel residents, calling asylum seekers ‘dirty rodents’ and ‘rats’.
Rahman said Tower Hamlets has a ‘long and proud history of standing up to racism’.
He pointed to the ‘Battle of Cable Street nearly 90 years ago’, which stopped Oswald Moseley’s British Union of Fascists, and a Unite Against Fascism protest in 2013, which stopped Robinson’s English Defence League from marching in Whitechapel.
Rahman also said that two events planned this weekend would ‘celebrate how our borough had been shaped by centuries of migration’.
These include a free open day at Tower Hamlets Town Hall on Saturday (20th), during which plaques in English and Bengali mark the former Royal London Hospital building’s renovation.
It will also feature performances reflecting East London’s diversity, including Celtic dancing, a steel band, Klezmer music and Bengali, Somali and Chinese cultural acts.
The Brick Lane Curry Festival on Sunday (21st) will feature henna workshops, Bangla dance classes and a parade.
Rahman said: ‘I’m proud that our community continues to stand united against attempts by the far right and others to divide us with hatred and prejudice.
‘In the East End we have never allowed racists to divide us and we never will.’
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There is a negligible amount of far right and racist people in Britain. Calling the ordinary British person far right is divisive and a slur. The one million plus British (which included Africans and Asians) who marched in protest were not far right. Tommy Robinson is not far right, nor racist, homophobic or misanthropic. I would like to see evidence to the contrary. Mr Rahman is the one guilty of division. What has he done to counter the fake jobs, the fake pay-rolls and other scams to enable more illegal entries into London? Then complain about homelessness. What has he done to expose the grooming gangs, has he stopped first cousin marriages, which result in handicapped children, has he stopped Halal meat which is illegal in Britain, has he stopped demanding blasphemy laws, which would make an exception of his religion, has he stopped dishonest voting practices, block voting, postal voting, intimidation? Is it any wonder the British are protesting, in their stolid, peaceful way? It is disingenuous to bring up Fascism in the conversation. Britain will never become a fascist nation, nor a communist one. It is not our way. However it is inevitable given the present mood that a proportion of ne’er do wells will take advantage and misbehave. That’s life and I regret any anxiety that it may cause. Best to talk it down and stop calling folk far right, which is an insult to our historically welcoming nation. Why would millions wish to live here if we were a racist country?