Damning dossier goes to UN as police probe firebomb attack on Asian family
Special report: race issues in the UK

Martin Bright and Paul Harris
Observer

Sunday July 1, 2001

British politicians are stoking racial hatred with inflammatory comments on asylum and immigration, according to an independent report to be put to the United Nations tomorrow.

As new trouble flared in the north of England yesterday, with an Asian family of seven fleeing their house which was petrol-bombed as they slept, Amnesty International and other human rights groups said comments by Labour and Tory politicians had led to violence against asylum-seekers.

In a damning report to the UN Human Rights Committee, 11 organisations, led by Liberty, the civil rights group, and including the Law Society and the Bar Human Rights Committee, say 'politicians and media alike have been encouraging racist hostility in their public attitudes towards asylum-seekers'.

They say: 'Such negative presentation of asylum-seekers has not only led to direct attacks on asylum-seekers, but also an underlying greater hostility towards all those from ethnic minority communities, and heightened racial tensions. In our view, the recent race riots in Oldham and Bradford are to an extent directly linked to the above.'

Jagdesh Patel, of the Monitoring Group, which supports victims of racial harassment, last night backed the findings: 'There is a marked increase in reports to our helpline of attacks when politicians make speeches on race where they blame asylum-seekers for problems.'

But as towns across the North braced for more violence between Asian and white gangs, Lord Tebbit, the former Tory chairman, said he did not believe the rhetoric from the main parties had been excessive. 'I am convinced that the race relations industry is the main recruiting ground for the British National Party,' he said. 'There is a danger that, if the debate on asylum is suppressed, it will be continued only on the far fringes of politics.'

Tensions rose after racists fire-bombed the home of the Asian family in the Lancashire town of Accrington. The family, the youngest of whom is aged seven, were asleep above the former newsagent's shop when a covering over a front window was forced open and petrol was poured through and set alight. The alarm was only raised when the eldest son was awoken by the smell of smoke. He rushed through the house to alert his family, which will be rehoused because of the extensive damage to their home.

Police said it was luck that no one was killed. Superintendent David Mallaby of Lancashire police said: 'This is an appalling incident where an entire family could have been killed. The whole community should be united in helping us identify the people responsible for putting children's lives at risk.'

The arson attack early yesterday followed four petrol bombings in Accrington on Friday evening against two white-owned businesses, a school and a car. Two Asian youths were spotted running away from the blazing car, police said. Police and community leaders have appealed for calm in the town, where Muslim tombstones were vandalised a week ago.

Council leaders are considering a ban on marches and demonstrations in Accrington, similar to those in place in Burnley and Oldham.

Firebombers were also at work early yesterday in Burnley, which saw three nights of rioting last week. An empty Asian-owned greengrocer's shop was attacked just after midnight and two cars were set on fire. Nick Griffin, leader of the far-right BNP, blamed the tensions on 'Asian thugs'. His comments are certain to stoke anger in the town, where more than 4,000 voted for the BNP in the general election. 'Asian thugs for some years now, in places like Burnley, have been winding this up by attacking innocent white people,' he said.

Griffin, who has called for Belfast-style 'peace lines' to keep Asians and whites apart, was also at the centre of a media row yesterday after plans to interview him in Burnley on BBC Radio 4's Today programme were axed after police advice.

But the report to the UN committee will underline fears that the disturbances in the North are but a symptom of the state of race relations in Britain. Citing evidence of widespread discrimination against black and Asian Britons, the authors also express 'deep concern' about the continuing rise in deaths in prison and the high proportion of black people who have died in police custody since 1997. The organisations will raise the case of 17-year-old Zahid Mubarak, who died of his injuries after being attacked by his cellmate in Feltham Young Offenders Institution last March.

They will also discuss the hanging of three black men in Telford, Shropshire, and the police handling of the case.

In the report, the police are also accused of neglecting ethnic minority communities and failing to act on the recommendations of the Macpherson Report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, the black teenager, in south-east London .

Again race riots are cited to make the point: 'Although senior members of the police have formally accepted the Lawrence findings and recommendations, there is concern that these have not been fully accepted by officers on the street. The recent riots in Oldham illustrate the ongoing difficulties. There has been long-standing concern regarding relations between the police and the ethnic community in Oldham.'

Representatives from the groups will fly to Geneva tomorrow to present their evidence to the committee, which will start a formal investigation into Britain's record in October.