Following Sun Columnist Katie Hopkins’ provocative article titled “Rescue boats? I’d use gunships to stop migrants” in which Hopkins refers to illegal immigrants as “cockroaches” – complaints and condemnation have flooded social media websites with many calling for Katie Hopkins to be sacked from The Sun newspaper (with one petition “Remove Katie Hopkins as a Columnist” having reached 264,000 signatures at the time of posting).
On Monday, however, a more serious complaint has been raised to the Metropolitan Police Commissioners Office, accusing The Sun editor and Katie Hopkins of inciting racial hatred. A crime, which if found guilty of, carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years.
Msn.com reports:
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The complaint was made by the Society of Black Lawyers directly to the Metropolitan Police Commissioners Office, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, at 4.05pm on 20 April.
It reads:
Dear Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe,
I hope this email finds you well. You will recall that I was an independent member of the Metropolitan Police Authority (2000 to 2008) and Vice Chair for a period of two years during part of your earlier career at the MPS.
As former Chair of the MPS Hate Crime Forum we did on occasions report incidents of incitement to racial hatred directly to the Commissioners Office for urgent action. More recently as SBL we have done so with anti-Semitic and/or racist comments in the football arena.
The recent comments by the Sun journalist Katie Hopkins, authorised for publication by her Editor and senior staff, are sadly some of the most offensive, xenophobic and racist comments I have read in a British newspaper for some years. These comments comparing the African migrants fleeing Libya to “cockroaches” , almost certainly all “trafficked” persons facing intimidation, violence and extortion at the point of departure represent some of the most vulnerable people in international law at the present time. Many will have legitimate claims for asylum under the 1951 Geneva Convention.
The use of this term employs a word used with devastating results to describe the Tutsi minority and Hutu moderates during the 1994 Rwanda genocide when they were referred to by those responsible for the genocide as “cockroaches”. This fact is well known to journalists and is a matter of historical record proved by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in several judgments.
The Society of Black Lawyers (SBL) therefore requests that this matter is investigated as a matter of urgency under the Public Order Act 1986. I am aware that this section requires some intention but given the scale of the tragedy currently unfolding, the likelihood some some of these migrants may already be in the UK having fled during previous months or likely to land here in due course these comments can amount to incitement to racial hatred.
We are in the process of writing formally to the International Criminal Court to petition for an investigation into these comments under the provisions of incitement to commit crimes against humanity.
Given the huge circulation of these comments in the Sun and in the media generally, the propensity for racial violence against people of African descent in the UK is obvious. We request that these matters be investigated as a matter of urgency and the case file be passed to the CPS for a decision to be made as to the merits of a prosecution.
We will submit a more detailed letter in the course of this evening but would request that your office makes a public statement about the need to avoid such comments being made by any in the media whilst this matter is the subject of a criminal investigation.
Our complaint is against the journalist herself, the Editor of the Sun newspaper and other editorial staff involved in the publication of this commentary. We would request that you obtain a transcript of her interview that we understand was conducted on LBC radio on Sunday morning, 19th April 2015.
The journalist concerned sought to justify her comments in that radio interview so may provide evidence of her state of mind.
Yours sincerely,
Peter
D. Peter Herbert O.B.E.
Chair Society of Black Lawyers
The complaint follows a similar report made about Hopkins to Greater Manchester Police by Labour MP Simon Danczuk in March.
The journalist appeared to equate men of Pakistani origin to child abusers in a series of posts on Twitter.
Her comments follow a lengthy argument with Danczuk on the social network about his decision to mark National Pakistan Day on 23 March in his constituency of Rochdale by raising the Pakistani flag for 30 minutes.
Hopkins claimed it was wrong to raise the flag in the constituency where, in 2012, nine men were jailed for their part in a paedophile ring. Eight of the men were of Pakistani origin.
Hopkins, Dinsmore and representatives of The Sun newspaper are yet to respond to request for comment about the allegations.
What do you think about Katie Hopkins’ article? Should she go to prison for ‘inciting racial hatred’? Comment below.
Sean Adl-Tabatabai
This Society of Black Lawyers had better shut the f up. Katie Hopkins is absolutely right. Migrants are like rats, they can’t stop breeding. They will come to Britain and scrounge on the British taxpayer. It is a war. It’s either us or them.
Society of Black Lawyers
Society of Black Lawyers
Funny they don’t get called migrants when they are privileged white folks leaving Britain to set up homes in sunnier countries. I wonder if the locals there think of British settlers as cockroaches or rats?
That David is a ridiculous argument. Brits going to live in sunnier climates take money with them to support themselves. They don’t rock up claiming asylum and holding out their hand for benefits.
This Society of Black Lawyers had better shut the f up. Katie Hopkins is absolutely right. Migrants are like rats, they can’t stop breeding. They will come to Britain and scrounge on the British taxpayer. It is a war. It’s either us or them.
Society of Black Lawyers
Society of Black Lawyers
Funny they don’t get called migrants when they are privileged white folks leaving Britain to set up homes in sunnier countries. I wonder if the locals there think of British settlers as cockroaches or rats?
That David is a ridiculous argument. Brits going to live in sunnier climates take money with them to support themselves. They don’t rock up claiming asylum and holding out their hand for benefits.
OMG Mike in brum….you’re so dumb. Go join Katie in prison please!
OMG Mike in brum….you’re so dumb. Go join Katie in prison please!
I don’t have any fondness for k Hopkins but we cannot keep looking out for illegal immigrants something MUST be done let’s face it the French do not seem bothered with the Calais situation.she does have point just used the wrong words eamon Holmes put it better with his comment about electric fences/barriers
You think you are worth more because you happen to have the good fortune to have been born in a country not torn by war? Roll on mass forced migration due to impending climate change. Without borders we will just get on with what we need to do, and people who spend their precious little energy and time touting hate for fellow humans who happen to not be local will no longer serve a purpose and will soon be forgotten about.
I think “concerned” appreciates the fact he is born in a country not torn by war and full of fortune and simply wants to keep it that way:)
I don’t have any fondness for k Hopkins but we cannot keep looking out for illegal immigrants something MUST be done let’s face it the French do not seem bothered with the Calais situation.she does have point just used the wrong words eamon Holmes put it better with his comment about electric fences/barriers
You think you are worth more because you happen to have the good fortune to have been born in a country not torn by war? Roll on mass forced migration due to impending climate change. Without borders we will just get on with what we need to do, and people who spend their precious little energy and time touting hate for fellow humans who happen to not be local will no longer serve a purpose and will soon be forgotten about.
I think “concerned” appreciates the fact he is born in a country not torn by war and full of fortune and simply wants to keep it that way:)
It astounds me that we let politicians pass laws to silence the indigenous population,whilst pandering to the brainwashed PC brigade (who in my opinion should be kicked out with the rest of them,if you love them that much).P.S:If I form a Society of White Lawyers am I a racist?
It astounds me that we let politicians pass laws to silence the indigenous population,whilst pandering to the brainwashed PC brigade (who in my opinion should be kicked out with the rest of them,if you love them that much).P.S:If I form a Society of White Lawyers am I a racist?
I am of an age when you once could have called a Welshman “Taffy”, a Scotsman “Jock” an Irishman “Paddy” and a Black man a “Coloured Git”. No one used to take offence at these names for hundreds of years. Suddenly it’s all gone PC and you mustn’t hurt peoples feelings because they will report you to the Police. Grow up people, your Parents and Grand Parents survived two world wars with these sayings – you need to as well. Let KH say what she wants and live with it as you all do down the Pub!!!!!
I am of an age when you once could have called a Welshman “Taffy”, a Scotsman “Jock” an Irishman “Paddy” and a Black man a “Coloured Git”. No one used to take offence at these names for hundreds of years. Suddenly it’s all gone PC and you mustn’t hurt peoples feelings because they will report you to the Police. Grow up people, your Parents and Grand Parents survived two world wars with these sayings – you need to as well. Let KH say what she wants and live with it as you all do down the Pub!!!!!
The word racist is being abused to the max, all words of attack are. Dare not be white & say anything these days. Your automatically crucified. Inciting hatred what a crock, get over it. Plenty of journalists make remarks on all sorts of thing’s. Refugees (illegal) are causing more problems for our country. They pass several safe countries, but illegally choose here? ILLEGAL / SMUGGLERS. I take the comment cockroaches as a problem out of control. Which it certainly is.
The word racist is being abused to the max, all words of attack are. Dare not be white & say anything these days. Your automatically crucified. Inciting hatred what a crock, get over it. Plenty of journalists make remarks on all sorts of thing’s. Refugees (illegal) are causing more problems for our country. They pass several safe countries, but illegally choose here? ILLEGAL / SMUGGLERS. I take the comment cockroaches as a problem out of control. Which it certainly is.
she has her opinion, leave her be
she has her opinion, leave her be