One Community: No Place for Hate

Join Tower Hamlets Council’s campaign to ban the English Defence League’s proposed march in the borough on Saturday, September 3. By sending in this online petition you are supporting this campaign calling for a ban of the EDL march in September.

Letter: Call on Home Secretary to ban EDL march

We the undersigned call on Theresa May, Home Secretary to ban the English Defence League’s proposed march in Tower Hamlets on September 3. The EDL has demonstrated – or threatens to do so – in our cities. As council, business, trade union and community leaders we know only too well how destructive these demonstrations can be.

The EDL aim to bring a message of hatred to our communities and the EDL plan to target one of the largest mosques in the country. The recent disturbances have shown the need for communities to work together, not against each other. Last month’s tragedy in Norway illustrated the devastating effect this kind of hatred can have on communities if left unchecked.

The EDL must not be able to bring their messages of hate and division to places where diversity is a strength not a weakness. There must be no place for hatred in our communities. Now that the EDL’s march in Telford has been banned the Home Secretary must ban the march in Tower Hamlets.

We oppose anyone who would wish to incite hatred against others because of their religious belief, ethnic origin or sexual orientation. The Home Secretary must act, and act now, to ensure that the EDL is not able to bring its tour of hate to the streets of East London on September 3.

Mayor Lutfur Rahman, Tower Hamlets Council

The letter to the Home Secretary is supported by:

• Charlie Briggs, Leader, Burnley Council
• Peter John, Leader, Southwark Council
• Mehboob Khan, Leader, Kirklees Council
• Sir Richard Leese, Leader, Manchester Council
• Gordon Matheson, Leader, Glasgow Council
• Mohammed Pervez, Leader, Stoke-on-Trent Council
• Peter Rankin, Labour, Preston Council
• Chris Roberts, Leader, Greenwich Council
• Hazel Simmons, Leader, Luton Council
• George Iacobescu, Chief Executive, Canary Wharf Group plc
• Len McCluskey, Unite General Secretary
• Billy Hayes, General Secretary, CWU 
• Christine Blower, General Secretary, NUT
• Kamaljeet Jandu, National Equalities Officer, GMB
• Rabbi Mark Goldsmith, Chair of the Assembly of Reform Rabbis UK
• Ben Rich, CEO of Reform Judaism
• Rabbi Danny Rich, CEO of Liberal Judaism
• Senior Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, The Assembly of Masorti Synagogues and New North London Synagogue
• Right Reverend Adrian Newman, Anglican Bishop of Stepney
• Father Pascal Ryan, Episcopal Vicar, East and Central Areas of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster
• Muhammad Abdul Bari, Chair of the London Muslim Centre
• Dr Faisal Hanjra, Assistant Secretary General, Muslim Council Britain
• Maulana Shamsul Hoque, Chair, Council of Mosque
• Neil Jameson, Lead Organiser, London Citizens
• Rev Paul Regan, Trustee, CITIZENS UK
• Glyn Robbins, Chair, United East End
• Sabby Dhalu, Joint Secretary, Unite Against Fascism
• Jack Gilbert and Rebecca Shaw, co-chairs of Rainbow Hamlets
• Thierry Schaffauser, Secretary, SERTUC LGBT Committee

Download the letter as published in the Guardian (pdf, 737 kb)

August 12, 2011