The Leeds branch of the Green Party presented Mothin Ali, one of its city council candidates in last week's local elections, as a benign, humanitarian campaigner for local unity and social justice.
The Leeds branch of the Green Party presented Mothin Ali, one of its city council candidates in last week's local elections, as a benign, humanitarian campaigner for local unity and social justice.
The editor of Garden News, Simon Caney, whose weekly magazine regularly features articles by Ali, recently proclaimed: 'As gardeners we should all want a better, more sustainable world but that can't be achieved until we have a society that celebrates diversity and inclusivity.' Ali hailed his election as really 'a win for the people of Gaza', an echo of black Labour candidate Paul Boateng's boast when he was elected an MP in 1983: 'Tonight, Brent South. Tomorrow, Soweto.'
Married to Bangladeshi-born Selina, 36, whom he describes as 'the boss', he has three children: daughter Khadija and sons Tayyib and Zaky. The group's website trumpets it as a 'safe space where victims of racial abuse can openly share their experiences with the hope that this will encourage more of us to speak out'.
The Greens were last night facing fury over their failure to suspend a councillor who launched a hate-filled tirade against a rabbi. When presented with the evidence at the time, the Green Party told this paper it 'believes in free speech' and Mr Ali was allowed to stand, and win, as a councillor. But staggeringly, when asked about Mr Ali's offensive remarks in a television interview on Sunday night, Carla Denyer co-leader of the Green Party, appeared not to know about them.
It came as the party faces a showdown with the Government's independent adviser on anti-Semitism, ex-Labour MP Lord Mann, over its vetting of candidates. Ahead of a high-level meeting this week, he warned: 'Doing nothing is not an option.' The rabbi and his wife and children were all forced into hiding after receiving an avalanche of threats. Yet Mr Ali remained the Green candidate in the Leeds ward of Gipton and Harehills, where he last week celebrated his victory as a 'win for the people of Gaza' – a territory he has called a 'concentration camp'.
Accusing the Greens of 'hypocrisy', Mr Myerson said it was wrong for the party to continue to associate itself with Mr Ali.
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