Metropolitan Police contacted regarding anti Cornish race hate crimes allegedly committed by Daily Express newspaper

News from Kernow Matters To Us:

Kernow

12 Mys Kevardhu 2016

Following shocking and highly offensive newspaper articles in the ‘Sun’ and ‘Daily Express’ recently reporting on the publication of the Dame Louise Carey Report, a senior member of ‘Kernow Matters To Us’ (KMTU), Craig Weatherhill, a Bard of Gorsedh Kernow, historian, archaeologist and author has written to Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police with a complaint of incitement to cause racial hatred made against the Daily Express newspaper’s journalist Joey Millar and the Daily Express editor Hugh Whittow.

The Express main headline read: “Government spends more on CORNISH lessons than English, anti-extremism report reveals.”

The sub-headline went much further, making the following false and malicious claim: “Extremism is on the rise and integration is stalling because the Government is spending more money on Cornish lessons than English lessons, a damning report has claimed.”

This directly, and falsely, links the Cornish language with a purported rise in extremism, when the fact is that the many Cornish language users are decent, caring and law-abiding people, which include several serving and former police officers, members of the legal profession, elected councillors and former Members of Parliament (several of the latter, including current Cornish MPs have actually made their Oath in the House in Cornish). No mention is made of the fact that all government funding for the Cornish language was cancelled in April 2016, or the additional fact that not a single school teaches Cornish as a curriculum subject.

The cited Report, by Dame Louise Casey, is misinformed regarding funding but, in fact, makes no claim that links Cornish with extremism.

Cornish, like Welsh, a descendant of the indigenous language of this island, is a protected language under the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages, and listed as “seriously endangered” by UNESCO; while the Cornish people are also recognised and protected under the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The UK Government is a signatory to both the Charter and the Framework Convention.

Copies of the letter laying out the circumstances of the alleged offence together with a pack of supporting documentation have also be copied to Independent Press Standards Organisation, The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities at the Council of Europe, The Devon & Cornwall Police Force Diversity Officer, Cornwall Council’s Corporate Equality and Diversity Advisor, The Equality and Human Rights Commission,  Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and Cornwall MPs Steve Double,
George Eustice, Scott Mann, Sherryl Murray, Sarah Newton and Derek Thomas.

Other members of KMTU have lodged complaints with both newspapers as well as to the Independent Press Standards Organisation. 

KMTU has made it perfectly clear that it will not tolerate racial abuse towards the Cornish people and has already made several reports to the police following on from instances of anti Cornish racism which have resulted in individuals being cautioned or warned by the police and the offences officially recorded.

The KMTU campaigning organisation formed in late 2015 has seen a phenomenal growth in membership comprising people who are of all ages, skin colours, ethnic backgrounds, countries of residence, occupations, vocations and professions, religious beliefs, political persuasions, sexual orientations and gender identification, who are drawn together by a common cause, a love of Cornwall and a belief that Cornwall matters. The group has a social media following of tens of thousands.

Enclosures:

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/740477/government-cornish-language-lessons-english-integration

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2335329/government-officials-spent-more-on-cornish-language-lessons-than-english/

John, Teresa, Craig, Tony, Matt, Mike, Clive, Ronan , Samuel & Mark

Elected Members of the KMTU Steering Group

Disclaimer: 
This blog is provided for general informational purposes only. The opinions expressed here are the author's alone and not necessarily those of Transceltic.com.