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NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
You can show your support by e-mailing NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
To read the background to these
criminal acts and keep up to date on the resistance, You can show your support by e-mailing the Northamptonshire County Council at dbrennan@northamptonshire.gov.uk KB 12.09.02
COUNCIL DEMONSTRATES RACISM 'GYPSIES
ARE SWAMPING LOCAL POPULATION' Local
villagers had expressed their fear of being "swamped by the
Gypsies". 'Swamping' is a word frequently used by racists to
describe their fear of being overcome by people of minority ethnic
groups. It was used by Margaret Thatcher, Tory prime minister in the
1980s, who, like Elizabeth I four hundred years ago, worried about the
number of coloured' people in the country. It was also the word used
by David Blunkett, the current New Labour Home Secretary, about the
number of refugees and asylum seekers using government facilities.
Most of these might be described as Caucasian but, as Blunkett is
blind, skin colour would hardly be a factor for him. £300,000
INVESTMENT WILL BE LOST Frequently
people who imprison themselves in stone boxes complain that Gypsies
are unacceptable as neighbours because they are accused of being
thieves and dirty. Further it is not uncommon to for Romas to be made
to feel very unwelcome in shops and pubs, where even notices stating
"No Travelers" can be found, in spite of the fact that such
notices are illegal. However, one of the main complaints of villagers
against Woodside Caravan Park Romanies is that some of them are
"born-again Christians". Once again English people are
demonstrating their traditional intolerance towards anyone who is
different. SYCOPHANTS
SLIP AND SLIDE DOWN THEIR TONGUES The
long suffering public have once again been inflicted with the
sycophantic diarrhea that too often is strewn on the airwaves by
former Tory Arts Minister and now Lord, Norman St.Jean Stevas. For
this driveling life peer, who describes himself as a 'constitutional
expert', the royal parasites can do no wrong. The Queen for him has
always been an extraordinarily intelligent woman with more political
experience than any of her prime ministers, but now he protests that,
as she is a septuagenarian, she cannot be expected to remember so much
about a conversation with a former servant of hers a few years ago,
Also, as she is not a lawyer and, although "a highly intelligent
woman", Lord Norman in his sickly accent claims she would not
have appreciated the significance of what Burrell had told her. What a
slimy crawler this worm is who, by bathing in the glory of his
'betters' like all his kind, feels himself to be superior to everyone
else. Another
great sycophant, the social capitalist prime minister Tony Blair,
tells us the "the Queen behaved properly throughout" and
that he does not believe her exemption from the law requiring the rest
of us to attend court when ordered should not be changed. Born into a
Tory family and educated at private schools, this wannabe
EuroPresident will not allow any criticism of his royal mistress nor
of the principles of privilege for, in spite of his much vaunted
commitment to "education, education, education", state
schools are not good enough for his own children. Not having any right
to an hereditary peerage, Blair has been happy to get rid of most
these gentlemen from the House of Lords because he does not want
anyone above himself. Meanwhile, more than any premier before him he
exercises the royal prerogative like a monarch by divine right. This
allows him to rule as a dictator including declaring war on countries
which represent no threat to his own without reference to the people's
elected representatives. No wonder he wants no change to the monarch's
privileges. This
Guy Fawkes Day the effigies we burn should not be those of that rebel
against the crown 400 years ago. They should be of StJean Stevas,
Blair and the Windsor family, all of whom believe they are entitled to
continue to screw the public for as much as they can.
RACISM AT NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL You can show your support by e-mailing the Council at dbrennan@northamptonshire.gov.uk
PRESS RELEASE 5th August 2002 RACISM FIGHTER TO STAND IN ELECTIONS Former Director of Finance of Wellingborough Afro-Caribbean Association (WACA), David Roussel-Milner, is to stand for re-election as a Director at WACA’s next Annual General Meeting. He will also lead the opposition to any Special Resolutions designed to change WACA’s constitution in order to give the Northamptonshire County Council control over the organisation’s administration. The County Council, which Roussel-Milner accuses of being the most racist local authority in England, has recently been negotiating with certain WACA directors to bring about the changes it wants, including a change in its name, on the promise of a grant of £25,000. However, as WACA is a company limited by guarantee, its constitution cannot be changed without Special Resolutions being approved at a General Meeting of members, proper written notice for which must have been given. Roussel-Milner said:
The Northamptonshire County Council, at the instigation of Cllr James Ashton, has recently cut funding to five local Black groups in order to save money while trying to take control of WACA, the county’s most successful Black community organisation. Roussel-Milner has also said that he will stand against Cllr Ashton at the next county council elections on an anti-racism ticket. As a member of the Labour Party it is likely that he would be expelled for standing against an officially sponsored party candidate, but this is unlikely to concern him as he has said that he believes that "the Labour Party should not promote candidates guilty of racist activity". This fighter against racism for forty years claims that, when the assaults on WACA started earlier in the year, Cllr Ashton attempted to intimidate him by threatening him with legal action if he were to repeat his charges that the county council is racist. Roussel-Milner invited the councillor to go ahead and recently said:
David Roussel-Milner has published the following four reasons for his charges of racism against the Northamptonshire County Council:
PRESS RELEASE 5th August 2002
The chains are being forged by Northamptonshire County Council to take total control of Wellingborough Afro-Caribbean Association (WACA) as two senior council officers, Ms Pratima Dattani and her boss, Danny Brennan, insist on choosing an administration officer and having her/him report to them rather than to the WACA Board of Directors. The resignation earlier this year of former Director of Finance, David Roussel-Milner, to free himself to fight racism at the council in his own way, and the President of WACA, Councillor Mike Prescod MBE, agreeing to withdraw from the management of the organisation he founded some twenty years ago, have reassured these council officers that they can now safely deal solely with co-opted WACA director, Rev Murphy Brown. The Rev Brown is a highly competent commercial systems analyst. The officers have promised that, if he brings about the changes they want, the council will give WACA a grant of £25,000 towards the costs of its administration. The changes they want are that only persons approved by them should be permitted to become directors of WACA and that the constitution of this Black group, the most successful community organisation in the county, should be changed to ensure this. Behind the two council officers stands Cllr James Ashton, a cabinet member of the Labour controlled county administration, who has been accused of racism. This serious charge arises out of his decision to select for funding cuts five African Caribbean groups in the county in order to save money while not cutting any white or Asian groups. Cllr Ashton has acted for some years as the legal advisor to the Hindu community in Wellingborough and claims a family relationship with the Asian community, although this connection does not appear to have educated him in how he should speak of and to Black people whom he calls "coloured"! It is suspected that part of the reason for the assault on WACA is a conspiracy to obtain access to the Rock Street, Wellingborough, community complex for Asians in the town. Such ignorance of and insensitivity to the differences between the various cultures of South Asia, Africa and the Caribbean and the resulting lack of respect towards all of them by English politicians has been noted over the last half-century. A well documented example in the eighties was the Round House Arts Centre in London which, as in every other case, led to its loss to any minority ethnic community. At recent well attended meetings of members of WACA, David Roussel-Milner has distributed copies of papers warning against the dangers of submitting to County Council demands. (Copies of these papers are attached). These have received substantial support. Ends. PRESS.RELEASE 7th
July 2002 RACISM
FIGHTER RETURNS HOME FROM HOSPITAL Historian
and writer, David Roussel-Milner, returned to his home in
Wellingborough on 5th July after spending four weeks in
Kettering General Hospital with cardiac problems. His health problems
interrupted his battle against racism in Northamptonshire County
Council which, led by cabinet chairperson, Cllr James Ashton, has cut
funding to five local African Caribbean groups in order to save money
while not making similar cuts in funding of Asian, English or any
other ethnic groups. The
groups cut are Wellingborough Afro-Caribbean Association, the Roots
Festival, Northampton African Caribbean Nursery, ACE Elders Centre for
African Caribbean Elders in Northampton and Wellingborough Black Arts
Consortium which promotes Black History Month each October. The County
Council may have been able to refute racism charges if they had cut
only one Black group, but to cut five at the same time is prima facie
evidence of criminal discrimination. Cllr
Ashton has denied racism but Roussel-Milner has pointed out that, in
spite of the fact that the County Council has been unable to identify
how it has managed to overspend on its Social Security budget by £5
million, it has suggested financial impropriety against some of the
groups, particularly against Wellingborough Afro-Caribbean Association
which it accuses of having a “hole of £72,000” in its accounts
while stressing that there was nothing fraudulent. Racists frequently
stereotype Black groups as being incapable of handling public funds
properly, frequently fraudulently. Moreover, Roussel-Milner states
that White racists cannot tolerate success by African peoples
especially in areas where they have themselves been failures, as in
the case of Northants County Council comparing themselves with WACA.
The attacks on Cllr Mike Prescod, the president of WACA, Chair of
Northants Probationary Service as well as a number of other public
bodies and former Mayor of Wellingborough, smacks of jealousy at his
success as a Black man and is particularly detestable. The
desire by English politicians to control every activity of Black
people is a further facet of racism being displayed by the County
Council. Roussel-Milner
has pointed out to Cllr Ashton that it was Black people working hard
for Labour in the borough, county and parliamentary constituencies
which resulted in them turning out the previous Conservative
administrations. He promises to do all in his power at future
elections to persuade Black people to vote against people like Cllr
James Ashton. He said: “Racism is an evil crime against ethnic
minorities which must be fought with every weapon available, and I
intend to go on fighting it whatever the state of my health.” ENDS RACIST
COUNTY COUNCIL CONTINUES
IS COUNTY COUNCIL RACIST? An open letter to Cllr. James Ashton 29th May 2002 Dear Cllr Ashton In an article in the ET on 23 May you were quoted as saying, "I am hurt by the suggestion that anybody could think of me as racist". While I have not heard anyone yet say you are, you are aware that I have said that the behaviour of the council, particularly the department for which you are responsible, "smacks of racism". You have threatened to sue me if I were to repeat the allegation publicly, but I have refused to be intimidated by you and have published my feelings on my website bachrabites.com. I wonder, however, whether you understand what racism actually is, as you have demonstrated a degree of political naïveté in tending to use the outdated term ‘coloured’ when referring to Black people? Racism comes in a variety of evil guises apart from offensive terminology: it can also be characterised by discrimination, racial stereotyping, an impulsion to control Black people’s activities or even jealousy of their success. The Wellingborough Afro-Caribbean Association (WACA) has for a number of years demonstrated that it can successfully deliver on projects undertaken with and sometimes without support from local authorities at a cost far lower and with greater sensitivity than its funders would be able to do. Did you feel envious of that success by a Black group when compared to the Council’s own dismal performance as illustrated by the admission by your leader, Cllr Mick Young, that the council "has been throwing good money after bad" (ET 23/5/02) in running up a £5m deficit in its social services provision? As a result of your unjustified attack on WACA, that has so paralysed this group which had operated for two decades without incurring a deficit, your council has now taken over control of services provided by WACA. Could it be that by forcing WACA into liquidation you also hope to renege on its county leasehold of the Rock Street community complex? In taking the chair of an important council committee, did you find the free, democratic approach of these uppity Black people restrictive of your political ambitions? Could it be that their emancipated attitude offended some English sensitivities of superiority? While you continuously protest that there is no implication that WACA has done anything illegal or immoral, the whole inquisitional nature of your investigation and your eagerness to "immediately inform all other bodies who might be providing financial support to WACA" suggests the standard racial stereotyping of Black groups as not being trustworthy with public funds. Had WACA been the only Black group to have felt the scourge of the council’s offensive, it might have been difficult to have argued racial discrimination. However, when four other Black groups, the Northampton African Caribbean Nursery, the Northampton African Caribbean Elders Day Centre, the Roots Festival and the Wellingborough Black Arts Consortium (which promotes Black History Month), all find themselves under threat at the same time, this is strong evidence of discrimination. There now needs to be a public inquiry into the behaviour of the county council to answer my charges that it is indeed racist. You, Cllr Ashton, as a career politician of principles which did not prevent you reversing your extreme anti-Labour attitude when a Liberal Democrat in order to aim for the leadership of a Labour county council, need to ask yourself whether your behaviour has been racist according to the definitions I have stated. Certainly Black people who worked so hard to elect Labour administrations within the local towns and county will want to ask themselves at forthcoming elections whether they want to cast their votes for candidates such as yourself. Yours truly,
QUEEN REJECTS RASTAFARIAN CALL FOR REPARATIONS "SLAVERY NOT
A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY..... Her Parasitical Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has told followers of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I that she cannot entertain a Rastafarian petition because slavery was not a legal crime or a crime against humanity and morality at the time her ancestors enriched themselves and their nation at its expense. Thus, like her kith and kin (or so she thinks!) in Zimbabwe, who insist that they have the right to hold onto the good farmlands which are the spoils of their fathers' robbery and murder last century, she insists that her subjects in England should continue to benefit from the cosy comfort of being the fourth richest nation on Earth, without any question arising of having to pay compensation to the descendants of the victims of slavery. Her treacherous prime minister, social capitalist Tony
Blair, is fond of quoting, even erroneously, international law as
established by the United Nations, particularly in respect of Iraq.
Maybe he should draw the old lady's attention to the Final Declaration
of the United Nations World Conference against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), held in
Durban, South Africa in September 2001 (Paragraph 13): Further the United Nations WCAR Declaration Can there be any doubt that it really is the blood-sucker in Buckingham Palace who has vetoed the use of the spare plinth in Trafalgar Square for a permanent monument to the millions of Africans whose blood was converted into gold on the cruel plantations of the 'New World'? Indeed she may be the leader of the leeches who want a statue of her late mother, a descendant of the 12th century Black Douglas, to be erected there, in spite of the fact that the Queen Mother did all within her power to ensure that the rebellious Whites in Rhodesia did not lose in Mugabe's revolutionary war against Ian Smith. Instead of worrying our heads about the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime, we should be working towards the time when we can watch every 'royal' tearing down the bastions of their wealth, power and privilege. KB 21.01.03
BLAIR BLOCKS LORDS ELECTIONS TO CONSOLIDATE PERSONAL POWER
RACIST
LABOUR PARTY LOSES SEATS IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE BLACK VOTERS WITHHOLD
SUPPORT FOR PARTY REFUSING TO DEAL WITH RACIST MEMBERS Chickens came home to
roost as Black people in Northamptonshire failed to turn out to
vote for New Labour candidates in local authority elections on May
Day. Their anger over the racial discrimination meted out to five
Black groups in the county by New Labour councillors just over a year
ago. These community groups had their funding cut by the county
council while no community organisations of any other ethnic group
were cut. The Black groups were Northampton African Caribbean Elders,
Northampton African Caribbean Nursery, the Roots Festival,
Wellingborough African Caribbean Association (WACA) and Wellingborough
Black Arts Consortium which promotes Black History Month each year in
October. Black people in
Wellingborough in particular have hit back at the Labour party which
has consistently refused to take disciplinary action against its
members on the county council who have been responsible for the near
devastation of the services formerly provided by WACA. There is also
considerable resentment against those racists who have forced the WACA
community centre to dump directors the county did not like and replace
them with others who the the council hopes will be more compliant with their
demands. The councillor who has
spearheaded the racist attacks against the five Black community
organisations is James Ashton, and it is this councillor who has
made the only Black councillor in Wellingborough the main
target of his most violent barbs against Black community workers in
the county. However, it is the Barbadian former Mayor
Cllr Mike Prescod MBE, who has demonstrated, in spite of the heavy anti-New Labour
trend in the county, the considerable personal
support he enjoys, as he was re-elected as a councillor in
Wellingborough when so many other labour candidates have lost their
seats Police find no
evidence of any crime Vindictively these
racists continued their assaults by trying to get the Charities
Commission to withdraw their registration of WACA as a charity by claiming fraud and misappropriation of public funds,
so the
Commission sent its officers to inspect the organisation’s books.
But they found no basis for the charges levelled by the racists and
could criticise Mike Prescod and his fellow directors only for working
too hard and taking on too much responsibility. Cllr Ashton and his
cohorts have failed to damage Mike Prescod’s status in the community
and have only increased his standing amongst Black people, so it comes
as no surprise that Mike has retained his seat on Wellingborough
Council. Throughout the period of racist hostility he has been the
pivot of Black dignity, a characteristic which cannot be found among
his critics, who no doubt will crawl back under their stones to plot
further attacks. Black Voters hit
back at Racist New Labour Party Wellingborough:
Conservative gain from Labour Kettering:
Conservative gain from Labour Northampton:
No overall control gain from Labour And in Luton,
where Black people have been following the racist activities of
Northamptonshire County Council with growing anger, Labour also
lost 15 seats. The New Labour Members
of Parliament in Northamptonshire will be wondering what they can do
to save their seats in a couple of years time at the next general
election. In particular, Paul Stinchcombe MP in Wellingborough should
be especially worried for, as he acknowledged in his maiden speech in
the House of Commons six years ago, it was Black people working and
voting for him which had got him elected in a seat which had been held
by the Tories for many years. But his standing amongst Black people
has fallen considerably due to lack of any visible action against the racists in his party. Convicted Racist
elected as Tory Councillor in Wellingborough KB
2.5.2003
17
October 2002 She is an extremely intelligent, very attractive lady but the BBC's Zeinab Bedawi, anchor person on Westminster Live, this afternoon (17.10.02) insulted not only Irish voters but the European public in general. She suggested that they do not have the intellectual capacity to appreciate the details of European legislation and in particular the Nice Treaty. For the second time voters in the Republic of Ireland are going to the polls to decide a question on which they have already democratically declared their will by voting 'No' to the Nice Treaty. Amongst other things, this treaty legalises the expansion of the European Union to include ten Slavic states in Eastern Europe plus Cyprus and Malta. It would also remove Ireland's cherished neutrality. Leaders of EU member states were unhappy that the Irish voter, who alone had had the opportunity to go against their political leaders' wishes, decided that the Irish must have lost their good sense by rejecting what they had worked out to be the means to extend their power by increasing their empire. They could not accept that what the people have decided in the normal democratic way should stand. This episode graphically reveals how important it is that the only consideration within the EU at the present time should be how to extend decision making to the people and the means to reduce the domination of the faceless bureaucrats in Brussels, as well as the power of the political elite who want to retain it in their hands. But the refusal of the Irish last year to approve the Nice Treaty shows how awkward democracy can be, so to extend it would not be a policy these ambitious men could accept. A 'Yes' vote at present would be crucial because there are signs that, following the collapse of the Dutch government, latent opposition to EU expansion and a desire for more European democracy in that country would force the incoming government in the Hague to reconsider its position in this regard. Any such move could result in ordinary people throughout the Union making their will known, including their opposition to the social capitalist policy of privatisation, which is proving world-wide to be of benefit only to the wealthier classes but devastating to the mass of the people. While in time there may be grounds for selective expansion of the EU, there must first be an expansion of democracy. KB 17.10.02 COUNCIL DEMONSTRATES RACISM 'GYPSIES ARE SWAMPING LOCAL
POPULATION' Local villagers had expressed their fear of being "swamped by the Gypsies". 'Swamping' is a word frequently used by racists to describe their fear of being overcome by people of minority ethnic groups. It was used by Margaret Thatcher, Tory prime minister in the 1980s, who, like Elizabeth I four hundred years ago, worried about the number of coloured' people in the country. It was also the word used by David Blunkett, the current New Labour Home Secretary, about the number of refugees and asylum seekers using government facilities. Most of these might be described as Caucasian but, as Blunkett is blind, skin colour would hardly be a factor for him. £300,000 INVESTMENT WILL BE LOST Frequently people who imprison themselves in stone boxes complain that Gypsies are unacceptable as neighbours because they are accused of being thieves and dirty. Further it is not uncommon to for Romas to be made to feel very unwelcome in shops and pubs, where even notices stating "No Travelers" can be found, in spite of the fact that such notices are illegal. However, one of the main complaints of villagers against Woodside Caravan Park Romanies is that some of them are "born-again Christians". Once again English people are demonstrating their traditional intolerance towards anyone who is different. SYCOPHANTS SLIP AND SLIDE DOWN THEIR TONGUES The long suffering public have once again been inflicted with the sycophantic diarrhea that too often is strewn on the airwaves by former Tory Arts Minister and now Lord, Norman St.Jean Stevas. For this driveling life peer, who describes himself as a 'constitutional expert', the royal parasites can do no wrong. The Queen for him has always been an extraordinarily intelligent woman with more political experience than any of her prime ministers, but now he protests that, as she is a septuagenarian, she cannot be expected to remember so much about a conversation with a former servant of hers a few years ago, Also, as she is not a lawyer and, although "a highly intelligent woman", Lord Norman in his sickly accent claims she would not have appreciated the significance of what Burrell had told her. What a slimy crawler this worm is who, by bathing in the glory of his 'betters' like all his kind, feels himself to be superior to everyone else. Another great sycophant, the social capitalist prime minister Tony Blair, tells us the "the Queen behaved properly throughout" and that he does not believe her exemption from the law requiring the rest of us to attend court when ordered should not be changed. Born into a Tory family and educated at private schools, this wannabe EuroPresident will not allow any criticism of his royal mistress nor of the principles of privilege for, in spite of his much vaunted commitment to "education, education, education", state schools are not good enough for his own children. Not having any right to an hereditary peerage, Blair has been happy to get rid of most these gentlemen from the House of Lords because he does not want anyone above himself. Meanwhile, more than any premier before him he exercises the royal prerogative like a monarch by divine right. This allows him to rule as a dictator including declaring war on countries which represent no threat to his own without reference to the people's elected representatives. No wonder he wants no change to the monarch's privileges. This Guy Fawkes Day the effigies we burn should not be those of that rebel against the crown 400 years ago. They should be of StJean Stevas, Blair and the Windsor family, all of whom believe they are entitled to continue to screw the public for as much as they can. KB 5.11.2002 ARROGANT
JOURNALISTS CHERIE AND CHARLOTTE UNDER ATTACK WHILE NORTHANTS LOCAL PRESS COVER UP FOR RACISTS Cherie Blair and Charlotte Church are two very successful women, but they are easy targets for the chauvinist charlatans who own and control the British press. The recent attacks on Cherie Blair, wife of UK prime minister Tony Blair, and on Charlotte Church, the 16 year old songbird from Wales, are impertinent intrusions into their privacy whether allegations are true or not. Both ladies have been accused by journalists of lying to the press, which is apparently seen as a heinous crime even though no profession is so mendaciously corrupt as journalism. Cherie Blair demonstrates how a woman can be a feminist while still remaining essentially feminine. She excites both jealousy and admiration amongst those close to her husband, mostly male, by her ability to act as a leading human rights lawyer who is quite prepared to represent clients who are taking a legal stand against the government, while also acting as a part-time judge, and fulfilling her duties as the wife of the prime minister as well as successfully being a mother to a growing family. It is in the last capacity that she has come under criticism by ensuring that her eldest son will enjoy comfortable accommodation while at university in Bristol . Mrs Blair expressed her gratitude to the man who helped her to obtain what she wanted by calling him a 'star', but he has turned out to be an Australian con-man who has served a number of prison terms for fraud. There was no illegality in his dealings with Mrs Blair or on her behalf, but the press saw the opportunity to sell more papers by making a big story out of nothing,. regardless of who might get hurt in the process.
The former convict has served his time and has every right to conduct business without harassment so long as he does not repeat his offences, but that is not good enough for the arrogant rogues in the media who will twist anything especially the truth in search of a fast buck. Ironically the British press in searching every crevice to find some barbs to throw at Cherie Blair are, however, following the same discredited path as her husband and cowboy president Bush in their pursuit of Saddam Hussein. They are not concerned with what the Iraqis say in their own defence. If they admit to possessing weapons of mass destruction, they will be attacked but, if they say they have none, they must be lying, which will justify war. Day after day the creepy writers, who arrogantly think they have the right to undermine legitimately elected governments while acknowledging no responsibility to the truth or the public, search every sentence of documents officially released or treacherously leaked to them. Suddenly, they spew an alcoholic 'Whoopeee!" over their keyboards as they spot the fact that the flats were paid for through the Blairs' blind trust. These trusts are required to distance ministers from their investments and are run by trustees who neither consult with nor report to the minister concerned on the investments made on his or her behalf. This means of avoiding sleaze was necessary so that ministers would not be able to use insider knowledge to take advantage of likely changes in share prices as had frequently happened in the past, particularly when the Tories were in power. Social capitalist prime minister Blair may have recently stepped out of the closet as he espouses more and more Tory policies, but he is keen not to be tarred with their corrupt brush. So he checked with the Cabinet Secretary that there would be nothing wrong in using his and Cherie's money tied up in their blind trust to buy the flats in Bristol for their son. He was assured that this would be in order, so the purchase went ahead. His politics may be despicably devious, deceitful and discriminatory against ordinary working people, but his financial integrity is above criticism. Charlotte Church is a teenager who admits to being as confused as any other as she learns how to come to terms with maturing from a child into a woman. Tremendous demands are made on her time as she tries to fulfill her worldwide singing engagements while still pursuing her education. Like any teenager she wants to choose her own boyfriends, wear the latest fashion and follow her pop idols. The press do not approve of her current boyfriend so, instead of allowing the puppy love to develop or end naturally, they continually attack him with innuendo. They put out stories about Charlotte having arguments with her mother and sacking her as her manager, which the child denies, but they carry on with their nasty reports. What business is it of theirs anyway? They are putting tremendous pressure on the young singer who should be allowed to enjoy the fruits of her hard work and success without their cruel behaviour. Journalists have no right to demand that celebrities or unknowns should tell them the truth, and what Cherie Blair and Charlotte Church should tell the poison pen pushers is that, whenever their privacy is being invaded, they will put out stories both true and false, they will leak real and invented documents, and the press can spend as much time as they like pursuing whatever leads that take their fancy. Their readers will never be sure whether the latest scandal in their daily rag is true or a case of a dumb journalist being led up the garden path. PRESS FAIL TO
EXPOSE RACISM IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL For almost a year, led by former solicitor Cllr James Ashton, the council has pursued a policy of attrition against the Wellingborough African Caribbean Association (WACA) after cutting funding to four other Black groups in the county. This was being done while grants were being confirmed for the white serving Victoria Centre and the Hindu Association. This is one of the clearest cases of prima facie racial discrimination by any public authority seen in recent times, yet the local press, while publishing allegations of missing money, £60,000, then £72,000 and most recently more than £118,000, the other side of the story is not mentioned. The Northampton Evening News in particular has been supplied with the facts on many occasions but, as has always been the case in the Anglo-Saxon world, white newspapers protect their own kith and kin and join in the attacks on Black people and organisations, frequently exaggerating or distorting the facts. Recently the Northampton Evening Telegraph reported on a county council meeting which was considering a highly erroneous report on WACA which suggested that £118,000 was 'missing'. This was the most recent salvo in the racist war being conducted by certain officers and councillors at the county council against WACA. Months ago they had secretly taken their so called 'evidence' to the police, while telling WACA directors that there was no suggestion of anything illegal, but the fraud squad threw them out. The 'evidence' did not stand up to scrutiny. In spite of that the committee chairman, Cllr Brian Brinley, pressing the racist trigger again, said "We should recommend this case to the monitoring officer to see whether it should be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service". The CPS response should be to prosecute racist councillors and officers for wasting police time. Former WACA Director of Finance, David Roussel-Milner, immediately wrote a letter to the Evening Telegraph for publication, in which he laid out the facts of the case. The newspaper has not published the letter nor used any of the information it contained, nor has the editor of the paper had the courtesy to reply to Mr Roussel-Milner. Sadly, although the Commission for Racial Equality and the New Labour Party have been informed of all the details, neither has seen fit to conduct any enquiry into these cases of racism. It is yet to be seen whether the Press Council will follow them in covering up the evils of racism so evident in Northamptonshire where recent official reports confirm that a Black person in the county is five times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police than their white counterparts.. What Black people in Northamptonshire find particularly galling is the published fact that the county council is unable to account for £8,500,000 due to their incompetence. How dare such racist morons accuse decent law abiding Black people of financial impropriety? Kwesi Bacchra 9.12.2002
Letter for Publication
28 November 2002 The Editor Dear Editor, The article by Tom Morton, "Association probe could go to law" (ET 26/11/02), about the County Council report on Wellingborough Afro-Caribbean Association is so full of inaccuracies that I must offer you some facts. While not in post during the period covered by the Council’s report, I was the Director of Finance at WACA earlier this year when the Council commenced their audit. What I saw of the conduct of the investigation persuaded me to resign so that I might fight in my own way what were to me clearly acts of racism. It was significant that at the same time the County Council were announcing cuts to four other African Caribbean groups while confirming grants to white and other ethnic groups such as the Hindu Association and the Victoria Centre. The Black groups cut were ACE Elders Day Centre for African Caribbean Elders in Northampton, the Northampton Afro-Caribbean Nursery, the Roots Festival and the Black Arts Consortium which organises Black History Month each October. The Council report was so flawed that even its description of WACA’s management structure was totally in error, being a description of a management committee of an unincorporated association instead of the company limited by guarantee which WACA actually is. Moreover, the Council’s auditor failed to understand that the certification of the Accounts for 2000/2001 (the year in question) by Trevor L Newell & Co, Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditor, was as required under section 294A(4) of the Companies Act 1985 rather than the form of audit certificate appropriate for much larger companies which she had expected. The Council had never, in any case, previously stipulated what form they required the accounts of companies in receipt of Council funds to be in, so it is patently ridiculous to level criticisms at any organisation on that basis. As to the funds purported to be "missing", some simple arithmetic exposes the parlous state of the Council auditor’s comments . According to the certified accounts, gross income was £220,672, of which £161,455 was from Northants County Council grants for social services provided at a cost far lower than the Council would have incurred had they organised these services themselves. Total expenditure was £248,750 resulting in a deficit of £28,078, which was almost totally covered by the increase in value of WACA’s assets, leaving an insignificant loss for the year of £482.Expenditure for which no invoices would normally be issued, being for Staff Costs, Grants Made and Accountant’s Fees, amounted to £147,081, and the Council has not suggested that any part of this was recorded in error or miss-spent. The remaining expenditure mainly covered by invoices thus amounted to £101,661, which is less than the £118,000 alleged to be "missing from the charity’s accounts". Thus the allegations do not make arithmetical sense, as this expenditure legitimately covered office expenses, premises costs, travel, training, development, legal and consultancy fees, and it is not possible for more money to be missing than was there in the first place. It is therefor hardly surprising that the Fraud Squad had earlier in the year told Council officers that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute; after all, they too can add up. Perhaps the police should now consider whether they should take action against council officers for wasting their time while including racist overtones in the charges. The Council also criticised the revaluation of WACA’s assets. This was good commercial practice as mini-buses that had not been shown in previous accounts were conservatively valued at £5,800. Of the other assets that required revaluation there were for example the steel band instruments that had been written down to £1 in the accounts, although being worth some £1,800. For insurance purposes alone it is not wise to undervalue assets. It is ironic that criticisms of well run voluntary organisations have come from a council where the social services department has overspent as much as £5,000,000 without its finance department noticing because of a lack of proper management procedures. It is further not true to say that Council "has since replaced the charity’s management". It has no such power to do so as directors are elected by the membership of WACA, and any suggestion that the County Council or any other outside body should dictate their leadership is vigorously rejected by African Caribbean people. Council officers led by Cllr James Ashton had indicated that they were unhappy about certain of WACA’s Directors, especially the chairperson, the company secretary and its president, Mike Prescod. These three are recognised as being of the highest integrity and they have spent much of their time over the years building up the organisation without any financial recompense. Soon after my own resignation from the board, the Council’s unhappiness with myself was understandable as I launched an attack in the media and on the website BakraBites.com against the behaviour of James Ashton and the Council, which I perceived as grossly racist. When I had first told Ashton that "the council’s actions smacked of racism", he had berated me with threats of legal action, but soon quietened when he realised I could not be intimidated. However the personal attacks on Mike Prescod, the first Afro-Caribbean Mayor of Wellingborough and still chairperson of the Northamptonshire Probation Service amongst a host of other public services over the years, suggested to many of us that there was some jealousy over his award by the Queen last year of an MBE. We were ourselves conscious of certain weaknesses and lack of focus in our accounting procedures, so Mike Prescod and I had spent many hours writing and updating procedures and protocols within WACA. The Council would themselves do well to introduce our policy documents on Child Protection and Health and Safety which are far superior to their own. However the former centre manager, who had been appointed following satisfactory references from the Council where he had been previously employed, failed to implement improvements as required. So Rev. Murphy Brown, who was brought into WACA by Mike Prescod and whom I had proposed to be co-opted onto the WACA board, was instructed to complete the implementation so that procedures would be above criticism. This he has done while attempting to keep lines of communication open with the Council, but he needs to take care that he is not used as an Uncle Tom to promote the Council’s sectional interest. What the Council has done has been devastating to WACA where all administration staff lost their jobs. However, antagonism towards the leadership that the Council hoped they had stimulated has not been as great as racists within the Council had perhaps expected. The Rock Street community centre premises are held on a long lease from the Council, and it cannot be revoked unless WACA is forced into liquidation, but that has not happened because the Black community has ensured sufficient continuing income in the absence of grant aid. As a result Cllr James Ashton will not be able to take back the premises to put to whatever use he may personally have in mind for them. Racism can have extremely dangerous results and, although Black people in the county may not yet have expressed their displeasure, the resentment ferments and no-one can say what form any explosion of anger may take in the future. There should be a public inquiry into the charges against the County Council of racial discrimination against the five Black groups, and there may be a complaint to the Press Council over biased reporting of these racist actions by the Council. For my part, I will continue to attack racism, as I have done for nearly fifty years, and I intend to stand against James Ashton in the coming county elections on an anti-racist ticket. I will not stand on behalf of New Labour, of which I am a member and as has been suggested to me, because the party has failed to deal with racism within its ranks. Other Black candidates may also stand against New Labour councillors, as there can be no place for racists in local government. Yours truly, David Roussel-Milner
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