A disturbing report that every Brent councillor and relevant officer should read about last Sunday's mayhem at Wembley Stadium

 

Newspaper commentary has focused on many  aspects of last Sunday's disturbances at the Euro2020 Final at Wembley Stadium, including how the new high density developments around the stadium may have contributed by funnelling  the crowd into a narrow space. The Independent today has a comprehensive special report that every Brent councillor should read as well as senior officers and those responsible on the day.

I asked Brent Council Press Office on Monday for a statement. Today  I was told that someone was working on it. Even a statement of sympathy for those injured or otherwise affected would have at least been an acknowledgement of the seriousnes  of what had happened - but nothing has been heard up to the time of the publication of this artcile.

The full independent article can be read HERE - I will publish just three extracts below which I think will be of interest, but do try and read the whole article. Comments welcome.

 

Several sources have told The Independent that the local council and the FA do not want strong numbers of the force around as “it’s bad for optics”.

Tim Roberts, who has lived across from Wembley for 16 years and was involved in the building of it, says the priority has been “ensuring the value of the area for retail and residential investment”.

He says that Quintain, the development and asset management team behind Wembley Park, wields massive power in the area.

“The local council, Quintain and the FA have an uncomfortably close relationship, which means there is no scrutiny. We are yet to have a comment from anyone political in Brent after what we saw on Sunday, which is shocking.

“It’s as though nothing happened when we were very lucky that there wasn’t a loss of life. All the blame has been placed on the fans, but they are not solely responsible. The management of the stadium and the area around it has been appalling. Whenever issues are pointed out, it’s brushed under the carpet.

“I have spent the last few days removing far-right insignia and even acknowledging there is a large element of that accompanying England and games here just goes ignored. It’s about pretending everything is great, Wembley is great, Wembley Park is great.”

 

 

Three employees from Wise Security, which provided stewards for the final, have approached The Independent to criticise the lack of preparation they received and care after a harrowing experience.

None of them are over 22. They have spoken anonymously to prevent being blacklisted for future jobs and confirmed that there had been fake stewards inside Wembley, that some accepted bribes because “the pay is a joke”, that there was no detailed plan of anything that could go wrong on the day or how to handle it, and that even after suffering both racist and physical abuse by ticketless fans, there’s “been more PR than caring about what we’ve just been through and asking if we need help.”

One of them, a young Asian male born in the south of England who was stationed in a stand that became overrun with ticketless fans, was racially abused. “I was told, ‘Go back to Pakistan. Don’t tell us where we can go in our own country, this is our stadium. All lives matter, but not P*** lives.’”

He says he was in fear of his own safety, but more worried that “a lot of people could die here, right in front of me”.

 

 

While the unacceptable actions of ticketless fans was deplorable and central to the dangerous scenes on Sunday, there was also a “serious failure of security and stewarding,” according to a safety officer of a Premier League club. Accountability must follow.

He was “completely staggered” by what he saw unfold at the stadium. He reached out to The Independent, but asked for his identity to be protected. His account of events tallies with a stream of testimonies from several different stakeholders.

“I can categorically tell you that the majority of stewards I directly came across or watched on Sunday had no training for the role. I would put money on it that a lot of them have never worked a big football match before, or any kind of match. They were young, out of their depth, and the ones who innocently turned up to do what must seem a fun job are also victims of what happened.

“Who was the stadium safety officer? What was the plan and protocol? Was every steward clued up on the layout and what to do in case of any and all emergency situations?

“What I saw on Sunday is a product of what we’ve seen for a long time in my line of work: cost-cutting and loss of quality control. There are very few solid, reputable security companies. Most will hit the number of stewards by any means necessary, which includes not bothering whether they have an NVQ or not.”

 

FOOTNOTE

From the Leader of Brent Council, Muhammed Butt's  Register of Interests on the Council website

11/07/2021 - 2 x tickets Final Euro's. Aprroximate value £150.00 x 2. Received from GLA
7/7/2021 - 2 x tickets England v Denmark. Approximate value £150.00 x 2. Received from GLA
13/06/2021 - 2 x tickets England v Croatia. Approximate value £150.00 x 2. Received from GLA

Last Lib Dem on Brent Council explains why she has become an Independent

Cllr Helen Carr has issued the following statement explaining why she has opted to become an Independent councillor having been elected on a Lib Dem ticket:

Political parties are not reflecting the full range of interests – in fact, some serve to obscure them. The system is degenerating into the preservation of a status quo and a political elite. We all need to put an end to that political and social exclusivenessjavascript:;. The principles on which the parties nominally divide and were formed are increasingly blurred. A group of people, however powerful, without political principles is not a party, but a faction.

Inevitably, the public is furious – interest groups are focused too often on private ends, and we have seen this last six months how popular improvement is lost sight of in particular aggrandisement, and politics and politicians, local, regional and national, are increasingly viewed with contempt. There is a lack of interest in democracy and democratic processes. The public know exactly why they voted for Brexit and it is not because they do not like foreigners, but because they do not like smug, superior and self-regarding career politicians of all persuasion who are contemptuous of the decisions of the people they purport to serve, telling them they did not know what they were voting for.  The public do not like political parties filling the Lords with the unelected whose sole purpose seems to be to sabotage the decisions of elected MPs. They do not like political parties that exploit the ambitions of the young, the fears of the fragile and the vulnerable for votes.

The residents of Brent pay my salary. I look forward as an Independent Councillor to representing and promoting democracy in my ward, and the Borough, in particular to those groups who are an under/ unrepresented socio-economic demographic in the political process because they tend to be excluded and avoid participation. 

I look forward as an Independent Councillor to continuing my human rights work and protection of minority groups, especially important in the current toxic climate because historically, groups I work with such as Gypsies, Irish Travellers and Roma have suffered deprivation, discrimination and in the Roma case especially, persecution and genocide. Those times are upon us again.

This documentary was aired on my birthday the year I was asked to stand as a Councillor. I am involved in similar activities at the moment. It is 10 minutes of your time.

Greens back independent grassroots candidate for Willesden Green

Several members of Brent Green Party attended the Make Willesden Green campaign's policy discussion on Saturday as observers. The participants were local activists and residents, mostly non-party but with some disillusioned Labour supporters, who were concerned about their lack of say in local issues, poor consultation, the loss of some key local amenities, and the feeling that Willesden Green was being changed into a featureless dormitory which would squeeze out poorer people.  The Council was seen as remote and unresponsive.

The meeting was highly positive and very participative and people left determined to exercise some People Power at the local elections in May 2014.

Alex Colas is standing as an independent grassroots candidate in Willesden Green ward. He has worked alongside Green Paty members in several campaigns including the Keep Willesden Green campaign over the redevelopment of the Willesden Green Library and the loss of the Willesden Bookshop and the open space, as well as the continuing campaign against the forced academisation of Gladstone Park Primary School which serves many children from Willesden Green,

Alex wrote a Guest Article in the last edition of Brent Green Party's Willesden Green News.

At the beginning of the well-attended  meeting Alex explained the relationship between MWG and the Greens. MWG is standing on an independent platform and is not a political party and welcomes support from supporters of all parties and none. The 'Green' in Make Willesden Green stands for the place and not the party.

However, the Brent Green Party believe that an independent grassroots councillor for Willesden Green would enhance local democracy and has issued the  following statement:

Brent Green Party welcomes the candidature of Alex Colas who is standing as an independent on the Make Willesden Green platform in Willesden Green ward in the local elections.

We believe that the election of Alex Colas, arising from his principled participation in local campaigns, would be healthy for local democracy.  In recognition of this we will stand only two candidates in the ward and recommend that our supporters give Alex their third vote.

Further information on the Make Willesden Green campaign can be found HERE

Swaminarayan to bid to become a free school

 The independent, fee paying,  Hindu,  Swaminarayan School in Neasden is considering becoming a free school. The school for 4-19 year olds currently charges between £2,600 and £3,600 per year according to the pupil's age.  A few scholarships are available for those unable to afford the fees. The Swaminarayan is rated as one of the top performing independent schools in London and emphasises the 'best of English education combined with Hindu tradition'.

The Swaminarayan School was founded in 1991 and is housed in the former Sladebook High School building in Brent field Road, opposite the Swaminarayan Mandir.

The school's admission information states:

In order to qualify for entry, a child must reach a certain academic standard in the Preparatory School entrance examinations in English and Mathematics. He/she will have to pass an oral and written examination. Although Kindergarten/Nursery children are not tested academically, an informal interview is arranged between the parents, Head of Nursery and Head of Preparatory School. Assessments of the following areas will be carried out: child’s spoken language, vocabulary, nursery rhymes, ability to listen to instructions, solving simple puzzles, social skills and hand-eye co-ordinations are carried out

Free school status would mean that the school would become directly funded via the Department for Education. It was the first 'all-through' school in Brent combining primary (or Prep as the Swaminarayan call it) and secondary departments, and was followed by the Ark Academy and Preston Manor.  I doubt that the school could keep the admissions procedures if it becomes state funded - nor should it.

I understand that some parents are concerned that direct funding would result in class sizes becoming larger and I am not sure whether the regulations allow for some residual fee charging to enable school class sizes to be retained.  Parents, particularly those with several childrem, will save a considerable amount of money if the bid is successful.

I asked the Principal to comment on the reports about a possible free school application and also on rumours that the school might buy the neighbouring Centre for Staff Development when Brent Council vacates it next year.

Mr Mahendra Savjani, Principal of Swaminarayan School said:

The Swaminarayan School is considering applying for Free School status. Whilst we have not found a site, we would wish to locate to a site in the heart of the Hindu community. The excellent education that the school provides at present will be open to all.

There were rumours several years ago when Brent Council was looking for school sites that the Swaminarayan may move to Harrow but these reports were denied. Brent is expecting a shortage of secondary school places in the future as the swelling primary school population moves through the system.

The previously independent fee paying Batley Grammar School converted to free school status last September with much flag-waving from the government. LINK

Brent Council has decided that it will actively seek free school partners to address the shortage of school places.

There are a considerable number of small fee paying prep schools in Brent that might consider a similar move.  St Christopher's in Wembley upset parents a few years ago when it announced at short notice that it would be unable to run a Year 6 class the following academic year because numbers were not viable.

I'm Barry - Fly Me!

Today's Independent draws attention to the number of flights and expenses paid trips undertaken by members of parliament LINK 

242 MPs declared an average of £6,500 for 'fact finding missions' and trips.


Barry Gardiner MP, who ironically is Ed Miliband's Special Envoy on Climate Change got a special  mention:

Barry Gardiner, the MP for Brent North, has accepted £52,071 in foreign trips since the election, spending a total of 73 days out of the country as Vice-President of Globe International – an international group representing parliamentarians.

Protest Works - Just look at the proof

Excellent article by Johann Hari in today's Independent he reflects on the success of the Vodaphone protests over the last few days (stimulated by a comment he made about Vodaphone's tax avoidance in one of his columns):

"Protest raises the political price for governments making bad decisions. It stopped LBJ and Nixon making the most catastrophic decision of all. The same principle can apply to the Conservative desire to kneecap the welfare state while handing out massive baubles to their rich friends. The next time George Osborne has to decide whether to cancel the tax bill of a super-rich corporation and make us all pick up the tab, he will know there is a price. People will find out, and they will be angry. The more protests there are, the higher the price. If enough of us demand it, we can make the rich pay their share for the running of our country, rather than the poor and the middle – to name just one urgent cause that deserves protest."