Day: May 20, 2019

    Danyaal Mahmud had no idea far-right activist Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was due to be campaigning in Warrington last month. The 23-year-old apprentice was in the North West town for an appointment when he was invited to join protestors awaiting Yaxley-Lennon’s arrival. I was the only Asian person there. All these people from [United Against Fascism] kept hugging me and telling me I was brave to be standing with them, Mahmud later told the Observer newspaper. Within seconds, Yaxley-Lennon who is standing to be one of the region’s members of the European Parliament – sought Mahmud out. The first time he approached me, he asked me if I thought he was racist and I said: yeah, Mahmud explained. Then he says: do you know 80% of grooming gangs are ...

    A church has raised eyebrows after offering to 'cover up' a cross and allow Muslims to say prayers in its building during Ramadan. As part of the plans, men who attend a nearby mosque were reportedly invited to use the aisle of the parish church in Darlington as a place of prayer. Muslim women were also offered space in adjoining rooms of St Matthew and St Luke’s church, it is claimed. The proposals are said to have been discussed in a meeting on May 9 and attended by the Reverend Lissa Scott. It is also claimed members were told that a devotional image of Jesus,  a copy of The Light of the World by the pre-Raphaelite artist William Holman Hunt, would be covered up, reports The Sunday Times . The newspaper reported that minutes from the meeting read: "One aisle i...