Asha Patel & Sali Shobowale / Leicester Mercury
Sir Peter Soulsby is facing criticism over his appointment of an academic to lead an independent inquiry into the disorder in east Leicester. Representatives of 15 Hindu organisations in the city say they will boycott the review because of Sir Peter’s choice for the role.
The city mayor announced on Wednesday, October 26 that Dr Chris Allen, an associate professor of hate studies at the University of Leicester, would lead the review into the incidents in September. However, leaders of a number of Hindu organisations have since declared their dissatisfaction with Sir Peter’s choice of Dr Allen.
They claimed the academic had recently posted on Twitter that he had “ruled out Islamist extremism” as a factor in the disorder. They added: “Though we don’t cast any judgement as to the presence of any extreme Islamist influence in the unrest, to assert a conclusion ahead of the review sheds [light on] Allen’s inability to remain independent”. The statement was not accompanied by specific evidence.
Sir Peter is also being asked to retract comments made to Channel 4 News earlier this year that he believed political ideologies, including Hindutva – a form of Hindu nationalism which is not the same as Hinduism – played a part in the unrest. Leaders of Hindu organisations say the mayor’s comments leave them with “little confidence” in the current review process – but they say they would work with a ‘truly independent review delivered with the highest level of transparency and integrity’.
The statement added that the signatories believed the appointment of Dr Allen was “biased against the Hindu community.” They also accused Sir Peter of “breaking his promise” to community leaders that the details of the inquiry would be announced after the festive period – Diwali was celebrated on Monday, October 24 followed by the Hindu New Year on Wednesday, October 26, the same day as the announcement.
The statement followed one made by Councillor Deepak Bajaj, who recently defected from Labour to the Conservative Party, also making accusations of bias. Coun Bajaj said: “The City Mayor has appointed a single individual to run the review who has previously published open opinions siding with one community over another.
“This review should be paused until a tested review panel is appointed.” He went on to say the suggested panel should be selected with the assistance of Leicestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner and the Government before being voted on by city councillors.
As reported by LeicestershireLive, the review will be carried out by a number of researchers working with Dr Allen and will seek responses from hundreds of people, from across various communities, including elected officials and public bodies such as the police and the city council. That means the report, which is due to be published in March 2023, may well put Sir Peter and the council in the line of fire.
The city mayor said: “Dr Allen has a very strong reputation as someone who is guided only by the evidence and is independent in his judgement. He was recommended by a wide range of people including a number of Hindus, because of his previous work.
This story was originally published in leicestermercury.co.uk . Read the full story here