Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Keir Starmer Fauxpology to BanglaDeshi Community
I edited this to stick to checkable facts we can all look up.
Kier Starmer:was reported as saying: “I’m very concerned about any upsets I may have caused. That certainly wasn’t my intention. I didn’t mean to offend anyone or upset anyone and I’m genuinely concerned that I’ve done so. Not least because the relationship between Labour and the Bangladeshi community is very, very strong.”
Is that actually what Starmer said or what right-wing papers said that he said? This YouTube video seemed to be the most reliable local source I could find for us to judge for ourselves what he said in Tower Hamlets.
✔ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q78tWPAmJOA
This link to Middle East Eye gives a different perspective.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-starmer-complains-migrants-co...
I've called it a fauxpology because it seems not a genuine "Sorry". He's not withdrawing his remarks. His regret is for the fact that people ,may not agree with him. He does finally get round to saying the important point that collaboration between the UK and Bangladesh is positive, welcome and win-win; mutually beneficial.
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
-
Meanwhile
✖. ; . . Andrew Feinstein standing against Starmer challenges his singling out of Bangladeshis for removal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhPdsuabgj8✖ Councillor Sabina Akhtar said: “I can not be proud of the party any more when the leader of the party singles out my community and insults my Bangladeshi identity.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw4y3njqqzpo
-
Permalink Reply by Martin (Woodside) on
-
Could this be Starmer's 'Browngate' moment?.
Looks like the shiny floor had some extra wax left on it.
-
-
For those who don't remember Gordon Brown's chat with Gillian Duffy in Rochdale in 2010; he left his microphone 'live' after the chat. Making an unfair and hurtful comment which got out. Then it seems that Gordon went again and apologised to Ms Duffy for his rudeness. I'll admit to having a soft spot for Gordon Brown and would like to believe that tells us something positive about him and his character - including a genuine wish to make amends.
In contrast, I'm hard on Starmer. Believing for example that his high public office gave and gives him leverage to argue effectively against murder, maiming and malnutrition of children in Gaza.
What does he mention to show his sincerity as a principled person? He enjoyed a trip to Sylhet.If anyone reading this has family or friends in Starmer's constituency please suggest they seriously consider voting for Andrew Feinstein.
I don't know Feinstein and have never met him. But look him up. Especially the documentary films.
-
Permalink Reply by Geraldine on
-
Not quite on the subject of Starmer but the faux apology is well spotted. Since returning to this country five years ago it seems to me to be part of the culture here that no one apologises directly any more. Recently I was on the receiving end of a personal slight and when I objected I was told, "I'm sorry you feel like that." Clever stuff, eh. It was my fault not theirs.
-
Permalink Reply by Paul Greaney on
-
"I'm genuinely concerned ... " is what he said.
There was no use of the word 'sorry'. Not even in the conditional apology sense ... "I'm sorry if I caused offence".
He's scrapped the Rwanda scheme but I guess we can be sure the 5 faragists in the chamber will keep his feet to the fire on however the alternative 'stop the boats' policy turns out.
-
-
Later some commentators and a Labour Party apparatchik blamed an edit of the video to make it seem that Starmer wanted to remove British Bangladeshis.
I looked for but couldn't find this mischievous and masty edit. But anyone can look for themselves and decide what went wrong. My own take is that Starmer used words on camera which were sloppily phrased. They needed no 'Dark Web' anonymous edit to cause offence. Starmer should also have spotted the clue behind him - a big red and white sign: The Sun". So this was not a time and place for simple silly stumbles.
Here's a clip from the ITV news item.
https://www.itv.com/news/2024-06-26/starmer-faces-backlash-over-com...
It starts plain and simple with Starmer saying:
"I'll make sure that we've got planes going off... They'll go back to the countries where people come from. That's what used to happen. At the moment people coming from countries like Bangladesh are not being removed because they're not being processed."
Did ITV edit or change the order of this clip to distort the meaning? I very much doubt it. Or was it simply that Starmer "continued down the list" [of where asylum seekers come from] "and he landed on Bangladesh".What editing do the Labour non-apologists think that needs to be offensive ?
Notice too the apparent implication that nobody from Bangladesh could possibly have a valid case for asylum.
~ ~ ~ ~
If people haven't seen it I strongly recommend the rebuttal from Andrew Feinstein.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhPdsuabgj8
© 2024 Created by Hugh.
Powered by
