Defiant race row councillor apologises but refuses to resign
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by Sam Lennon
A councillor accused of a
racist online attack on an Asian man has apologised.
Ashford’s Jack Woodford who told
Nunu Amin to "get back to washing dishes in a curry house," says he
now offers "unqualified apologies."
The Ashford Independent member had
launched his shocking tirade on Facebook, prompting other borough
councillors to demand his resignation.
In a statement he now says: "I
offer unqualified apologies to all those members of the Facebook
discussion group who have been offended by my response to Nunu Amin
and withdraw my comments including that made in my post of June 18,
concerning him."
The Wye ward member had been in a
bitter row with Mr Amin in a Stop the BNP forum when he told the
British-born Asian in a
posting on June 18: "Just get back to washing dishes in
whatever curry house you work in. Have you thought of emigrating
back to India or Pakistan?"
The two men had been in a heated
exchange in which Mr Amin had earlier sworn at him and called him
"racist scum."
Other Facebook contributors had
also rounded on him over his views on subjects such as
immigration.
Audio: Cllr Neil Bell
tells kmfm why he thinks Cllr Woodford should resign
Cllr Woodford’s statement went on:
"I hope that members of Facebook will appreciate from reading the
site that I had been subjected to offensive insults for some
days.
"I have been called a ‘******
bitch. ‘ a ******pig,’ racist scum, and worse, my family
insulted.
"Nevertheless I now realise that my
reaction in the heat of the moment was wrong, however serious the
provocation."
Cllr Woodford had for several
months taken part in a debate on race and expressed concern over
mass immigration.
His statement went on: "I am not a
racist, I am not a supporter of the BNP..
"I am not against immigration
although like many people I have concern at the scale of it and the
lack of control.
"I participated on the site as a
private individual and I wanted to learn more about various issues,
which concern our lives. I now see that this was a mistake."
Cllr Woodward’s outburst at Mr Amin
prompted public calls for resignation for other councillors
including deputy leader Paul Bartlett.
He called the remarks "disgraceful"
and said that provocation was no excuse.
Ashford Borough Council says it has
now referred the matter to the authority’s standards committee.
Cllr Woodward says he will not
resign but told the Kentish Express he wanted to additionally
apologise to the people of Wye and Ashford and the borough
council.
Thursday, July 02 2009
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