I see Tommy Robinson the founder of the EDL has been attacked and beaten up today in prison. He fears the authorities are doing nothing to protect him. Even deliberately leaving him vulnerable to attack by Muslim prisoners. I expect thats true. I did a story about the EDL for the Sunday Times Magazine and spent some time with Tommy Robinson I watched him attacked and beaten up but the authorities specifically chose to do nothing to defend him or to find and charge his attackers.
It is perfectly possible to be very hostile to the politics and actions of a person like Robinson without thinking he should be treated as if does not deserve the ordinary protection from violence under the law.
By the time I spent time with him he had left the EDL. He had publicly disavowed all racism and condemned far right racist elements operating within the EDL. He had joined with The Quiliam Foundation the Muslim organization against extremism. You know I felt the police should at least give him the ordinary protection of the law…… after all……. Thats their job ………. And possibly he might even lead others in the EDL away from racism and extremism …….. Anyway the police are supposed to without prejudice simply uphold the law but I watched them specifically choose not to uphold the law specifically allowing Robinson to be attacked then choosing not to investigate the attack on him.
I watched an unprovoked attack on Robinson. I photographed it, an American TV crew filmed it, we jounalists clearly all saw and recorded the actions of the attackers as did others but the police were not interested they did not want statements of any of the many witnesses or evidence of any attack, they left almost immediately as they were leaving the attackers were still present, I asked the police not to leave to afford him and us few journalists some protection. The officer told me they were under instructions not to intervene in these circumstances. They left deliberately allowing Robinson to be attacked again. Robinson has the classic working class thing of standing his ground not running, but he was worried because of the possibility of knife attack. Some of these Muslim blokes who were attacking him because in their view he had denigrated their religion intimated they had knives as they threatened and attacked Robinson.
Robinson told me later he had suffered hundreds of attacks like these and the police had investigated none. You know I would not have believed that if I had not seen some of it with my own eyes.
As you see above my photograph clearly identifies the people who carried out the completely unprovoked attack on Robinson as he walked down the main street in Luton. He did not run or back down but he did not fight even after he was repeatedly attacked, he was clear that if he fought at all, even to defend himself, the police would arrest only him, because that would then fit their narrative of these kind of events.
Cheers Jez XXXXXXX
www.jezblog.com
[ 8 ] comments
- Sympathy for the Devil?
kathy K @ February 8, 2014, 2:24 am
- Well, nothing can be resolved without some level of negotiation or everything turns to violence. He is possibly a negotiator with the credibility of coming from the street fascist side of this conflict, but is coming over to compromise and debate, moving away from violence and intimidation, he is influential on EDL members, maybe he can bring others. But if they see, as they will that they’re only protection is to stand together and fight against the youth of the Islamic community and the manifestations of authority in the police and the prison service etc…… well the violence goes on………. The police really ought to stop politicking in this business and just enforce the law.I know the EDL has been associated with attacks on the Muslim Community and the police should do everything to protect innocent muslim families that come under attack and everything to arrest and charge those that illegally bring about violent attack. It’s certainly right and important to oppose the intimidation and violence of the far right EDL members.
But clearly the police need to be seen to bring the same protections for all. The EDL rises out of a perception that ordinary working class white families and their traditional culture do not matter and are second class to the Islamic families and culture in the eyes of authority. This perception of inequity is central to the EDL outlook and fuels conflict and street violence. There is very much the perception inside the EDL that there is one law for them and another for us. Its crazy for the police to fuel that perception further by actually making it true.
Cheers Jez XXXXXXXXXXXX
jezblog Atlanta :-))))) XXXXX @ February 8, 2014, 11:27 am
- It true what your saying Bro… Like or dislike someone, its the police job to still do the job they are paid for… Hope all is good Bro,Stay Safe xx
PaulS @ February 8, 2014, 4:46 pm
- Just stick to the rules and try and do it in an even handed way thats all I say …….. this terrible flat footed politicking that they simply do not appear to be able to pull off in anything approaching a nimbe way is always rubbish and unjust………. they always look ignorant and unfair when they bring police interpretation of community politics to bear…….. it would be fine if they could do some of this stuff with some level of intellegence and finese but as they really are always incapable of such a thing……. they really ought to just do what it says on the tin…….. apply the law properly and even handedly……… by the time they are ignorantly announcing its policy to leave some people to get beaten up or hospitalized even killed……. I really think they have no business with this kind of politicking.Cheers bro Hope all is good :-)))))))))) Jez XXXXXXXXXXXX
jezblog Atlanta :-))))) XXXXX @ February 9, 2014, 1:33 am
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX21u8chAGg
Harv.! @ February 8, 2014, 4:56 pm
- Total abuse of power…….. the number of times I have seen policemen completely abusing the powers they have on protests and marches ……. this stuff is totally disgusting…….. the vid was just a complete abuse of freedoms of the individual…… sickening stuff Harv…….. makes my blood boil ……. the only way of proving this stuff is having video of it….. makes you think you should be videoing every single exchange with cops…….. cos you never know how its gonna go down……. especially as a press person covering protest…………Cheers bro Jez XXXXXXXXXX
jezblog Atlanta :-))))) XXXXX @ February 9, 2014, 1:23 am
- Tommy Robinson is a devious self publicist, of which there are many on the edges of British politics. I’m all for equality under the law, but I can understand the police wanting to keep clear of the negative press that would come with an ex football hoolie who won’t walk away from a fracas that he himself either directly or indirectly created.
Lee @ February 8, 2014, 5:15 pm
- He is certainly a controversial person ……. and the EDL is often associated with vile acts and vile beliefs…….. some of the stuff he has said previously makes him hated in the Islamic community generally …….. but should he be beaten up or killed for excercising freedom of speech in the UK ? Come on……. Cops should not be deciding some folks get to be beaten up or killed because they don’t feel like protecting them or because the views they hold are thought to be vile. Police are required to defend freedom of speech amongst other freedoms threatened by violence. Tolerance for freedom of speech requires some people to not express their outrage through violence no matter how offensive they find the views stated, thats important in an open society. Its important not to have blasphemy laws and privacy laws etc limiting what can be said in a liberal society. Cops should not just arbitarily decide an attack on one individual does not count as violence or any kind of offense because they have policy against protecting that one individual. Its possible to have every sympathy with protestors against the EDL but not tolerate people just using violence on other individuals in the street…….. from either side…… it just should not be tolerated by the cops……..Cheers bro Jez XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
jezblog Atlanta :-))))) XXXXX @ February 9, 2014, 1:51 am
