Ghulam | Esposito | Haydar

It is utterly disappointing and arguably a betrayal to Bedford town that @PeterMcCormack who is the chairman of @realbedford allowed Tommy Robinson to spread baseless and recklessly dangerous lies about the Queen’s Park area of Bedford and the town’s Muslim community, who were targets of last summer’s race riots — with little to no pushback. I have emailed Peter conveying my disappointment and concerns, as well as notifying Bedford MP Mohammed Yasin about the dangerous disinformation being spread at a time when the country is a tinderbox waiting to violently explode. Nothing Tommy said is factually true, it cannot be corroborated with the crime data available for Bedford town by wards, and @bedspolice can also confirm that the heroin trade in Bedford is not run by “Muslim gangs in Queen’s Park”. Who Peter decides to host on his platform and why is entirely his prerogative, and excuses can be made for the host’s inability to live fact check claims made by guests during a show — but this wasn’t any subject which the host had no knowledge or connection to, these were baseless lies being made about a town Peter claims to represent and care about, he could’ve fact checked before the episode was released. A little bit of history about the Queen’s Park area of Bedford: - It was the ward where the Italians and Irish first arrived and settled post WW2. - It was the ward where Bedford's first West Indian migrants arrived during wind rush. - It was the ward where Pakistani, Kashmiri and Bangladeshi migrants, including my grandfather, arrived and settled in the 1960s and 1970s. - It was the ward where many of the town’s Polish and Lithuanian migrants settled in the 2000s before Brexit. - It is the ward where the town’s famous Charles Wells Brewery is located, and Rolls Royce factory used to be. - It is the ward where one of Bedford’s oldest church is (All Saints Parish church), and where one of the largest Sikh temples in Europe is. - It is the ward where Bedford MP Mohamemd Yasin lives and was a former councillor of. - It is the ward that produced Bedford's most well known and successful Saturday & Sunday league cricket team: Westfield Colts and Westfield CC. - It is a ward which successive MPs from Patrick Hall (Labour) to Richard Fuller (Tory) to Mohammed Yasin (Labour) have all stated has a cherished and historic place in the town’s history and multicultural identity. - It is a ward where successive mayors of Bedford from Mayor Frank Branston to Abu Bagchi to Dave Hodgson to Tom Wootton have ALL vouched is a thriving and vibrant ward at the heart of the town centre.  Does Queen’s Park have gang and drug activity? Yes, just like Putnoe, Black Tom, Cauldwell, London Road, Fenlake and other areas of Bedford do. Bedford’s Muslims have always been a well integrated, welcoming and harmonious element of the town’s genuinely cohesive makeup, from consistently contributing towards humanitarian and local charitable projects, soup kitchens, food banks etc. Peter allowed lies and disinformation to be shared on his sizeable platform about a town he claims to represent, has businesses in, and is the chairman of a local football club. Very disappointing, and very damaging. @Tom4Change @BedfordTweets @IslamBedford @BedfordTown @bedspolice @YasinForBedford