Black leaders support Livingstone

Louise Nousratpour at City Hall
Tuesday December 11, 2007
The Morning Star

LONDON black community leaders vowed to mobilise support for Ken Livingstone's re-election on Tuesday after a "racist" smear campaign by a newspaper sympathetic to Tory mayoral candidate Boris Johnson.

The Evening Standard stood accused of racism and running a campaign designed to damage Mr Livingstone's mayoral bid in favour of Mr Johnson, who has made racially offensive remarks about black people in the past.

Last week, the right-wing paper carried a series of stories by Andrew Gilligan making serious allegations against the Greater London Authority (GLA) and London Development Agency (LDA) and their financial relations with various black groups across the capital.

Black politicians and community leaders, including Damilola Taylor's father Richard, joined Mr Livingstone (pictured) at City Hall on Tuesday to rebut what they called "unfounded and unjust" allegations.

The newspaper alleged, among other things, that the mayor's equality adviser Lee Jasper was under investigation for instructing the GLA to fund black organisations.

It also claimed that the LDA had been intimidated by threats of gang violence to give grants to black community groups that had become a "vibrant hub for criminals" in south London.

"These charges are entirely false," the mayor stormed.

In a statement last Thursday, GLA chief executive Anthony Mayer said: "I wish to make clear that no formal investigation of Lee Jasper by the GLA is taking place."

Mr Taylor warned: "Smearing the work of organisations that work with some of London's most deprived and excluded communities only reinforces prejudices and stereotypes and helps to legitimise racist views."

London pastor and Peace Alliance chief executive Nims Obunge said that the smears had left some councils feeling "jittery" about funding or having anything to do with black organisations.

"These smears and vilification of black leaders have the potential of killing the hopes and dreams of our young people," he warned.

Karen Chouhan of black community group the 1990 Trust, which was mentioned in Mr Gilligan's stories, dismissed the allegations as "baseless."

She called on the Standard to give those whom it accused of wrongdoing "an equal amount of space to tell our side of the story."

She added: "Contrary to the Standard's allegations, our organisation is not motivated by money or a specific political agenda.

"We are about giving voice to the black community and hunting out the racists in our society and smoking them out - including the likes of Boris Johnson."

Ms Chouhn vowed to mobilise the black vote against Mr Johnson in the mayoral elections next May.