| Green Day - But You're Banned |
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| Written by John Franklyn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Friday, 03 October 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Climate Change Activists Banned From Green Fair
Everybody will recall the Penguins in Telford Town park and how they were ejected from the area because they were handing out leaflets to raise the awareness about climate change.
What happened was beyond belief.
On the 21st August 2008 Telford and Wrekin Council issued a letter to Mr.John Evans clearly stating,
“Our Town Park Staff approach adults that are not associated with any children in the Town Park, and request the reason for them being there”
This hidden policy led to wide spread condemnation of Telford and Wrekin Council, not only in the national press, blogs around the world, national children’s Charities but also the home office.
After much adverse publicity, Councillor Andrew Eade issued an apology, which was clearly a knee jerk reaction and timely as it was made in time for a press release about a Town Park Lottery application.
On the 12th September 2008, the following communication was sent to the leader of the Council,
12 September 2008
Councillor Andrew Eade
Telford & Wrekin Council Civic Offices Telford TF3 4WZ Dear Councillor Eade Telford Town Park and the Right to Protest
I refer to my letter to Denis Allen of 11 August 2008, written on behalf of the Wrekin Stop War collective and to which we are yet to receive a response. As we have learned in the last few days that several other correspondents and media outlets have received responses on the same issue, we wonder why those of us actually involved in the incident have not been extended the same courtesy?
As you are undoubtedly aware, myself and a fellow group member, Neil Donaldson, were asked to leave the Town Park after handing out leaflets about climate change whilst dressed as penguins. We were approached by three park wardens and advised that we would have to seek permission for our activities from the park management. We duly did this and were further advised that we were not allowed to undertake such activities without first undergoing a CRB check and risk assessment.
After being told that the police would be called if we refused to leave the park, we left but after discussing the events of the day later, felt that our removal from the park was unacceptable. We were not harassing people, merely offering them a leaflet, nor were we blocking access to the park. Furthermore, with reference to the issue that has since become the most contentious, we were nowhere near the children’s play area.
Significantly, when we attended the park just two days later to defy the purported ‘rules’ on such activity, we were able to spend over an hour in the park and handed out 200 leaflets. Not one member of staff approached us, despite our being far closer to the children’s play area than we had been before. We suspected that this may have been something to so with the presence of Shropshire Star journalists reporting on our activities but nevertheless, it seems that the rules of two days previous were not being as rigorously applied.
Earlier today, you issued an apology regarding the suggestion that adults without children would be stopped and quizzed in the park but this does not address the issue that members of our collective were asked to leave the park for undertaking peaceful activities in a public space. Indeed, our activities could not even be described as a demonstration, we were just standing in the park handing out leaflets on an issue that the Council claims to have placed high on its list of priorities.
At the time, Denis Allen was quoted as saying,
The Council will not make any apology for putting the welfare of young people first. The Council has a duty of care to the children and adult visitors to our parks in this instance and therefore, we need to know who the people are who are approaching park visitors, what they are doing and what they are distributing.
We fully appreciate the need to protect children and, indeed, every member of our community from unnecessary distress or harm, hence our concern on the issue of climate change. However, as stated above, we were not approaching or harassing park visitors, we were completely open with park staff about what we were doing and happily provided a copy of our leaflet for inspection. Some people did disagree with us on the issue of climate change but no-one expressed concern, irritation or distress about the fact that we were there. What’s more, on our way out of the park we met up with someone who had taken a leaflet and they were shocked and dismayed that we had been asked to leave.
Several correspondents to the local press and significantly, the Home Office, have made it clear that neither the Council nor their staff have the right to ask that anyone undergo a CRB check or risk assessment if they are not working with children or vulnerable adults. Telford & Wrekin Council have, therefore, clearly misrepresented and misused both the Police Act (1997) and the Protection of Children Act (1999) and whether this was intentional or not, it does not say much for the capabilities of a council that claims to be putting the welfare of young people first. If this were the case, surely council staff would have a better knowledge of the law in this regard.
Even a small amount of responsibly-minded research will show, child abuse (whether physical or sexual) is far more likely to be perpetrated by someone from within the child’s own family or at least, someone who is already known to the child. The mere suggestion that children can be protected from those rare individuals who abduct them from a public place, merely by asking lone adults what they are up to, is not only misguided but frankly, dangerous.
We therefore repeat the request made in our letter of 11 August that the Council provide a full public apology to those group members asked to leave the park, admit that they made a mistake and offer assurances that such spurious regulations will not be cited in the future.
It has been suggested to us that, as the park is supposed to be there for the use of all members of the community and not just those with children, some sort of ‘Speakers Corner’ area could be installed for the use of those who wish encourage public debate on issues of concern to them. However, we suspect that an organisation, which repeatedly refers to itself as the ‘landowner’ of the park and to those who use it as its ‘customers’ has little interest in such progressive ideas. Rather they seek to impose authoritarian rules and regulations to assert their authority over those to whom they are ultimately responsible as public servants.
We look forward to receiving your response by return and would advise that this letter and any responses will be made available for public viewing.
Yours sincerely
Rachel Whittaker
On behalf of Wrekin Stop War You might not be surprised to know that Cllr Andrew Eade has not replied to the legitimate communication, nor has an apology been offered.
However, it is said that Cllr Andrew Eade is working on a response.
This is talk for, if we ignore it, it will all blow over and people will forget all about it.
Well, people have not forgotten all about it and it has been noted that NO member of Telford and Wrekin Council has been held to account for this local disgrace that soon became a national disgrace and because of their mishandling and cover ups brought considerable embarrassment on Telford and Wrekin.
But this is not enough for the industrious desk jockeys
M a d e l e y G r e e n D a y ' 0 8
A truly family treat in Madeley Park Sunday 5th October from 1.00pm - 4.00pm The above event promises to a success and a lot of hard work has gone into it. As well as being a fun day for all, it will also raise the awareness of green Issues and naturally you would expect to find Climate Change Opinion Formers at the event.
Rachel Whittaker, who is well known and respected for raising the awareness of Climate Change in new and innovative ways had been invited to attend the event.
However,
In the latest twist and bully boy antics of Telford and Wrekin Council their invitation to attend has been
WITHDRAWN WITHOUT EXPLANATION BY TELFORD AND WREKIN COUNCIL
The Council know who this collective are, they know the contents of the leaflet they wish to distribute and have previously distributed, but in a weird twist say they do not know who they are.
This is another example of Active censorship and a 4 star Council that continues to flounder from one disaster to the next.
I now put it to you Councillor Andrew Eade,
Are you going to reply to this legitimate contact as outlined above?
Are you prepared to ensure that someone is to be held accountable for the issues surrounding Telford Town Park and the national embarrassment caused?
Are you finally prepared to lead and allow residents access to their fundamental right of free speech?
You have made promises you have failed to keep, now is time to actually deliver.
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