Photo: Leo Reynolds

A grandmother with links to right-wing extremist organizations has been announced as the British National Party candidate in the Lewisham mayoral race.

Tess Culnane, who is in her seventies, has been described by her opponents as a ‘neo-Nazi granny’, and will represent the controversial far-right party in the upcoming election. Campaigning on a nationalist platform, she has said she plans to turn Lewisham into ‘a borough where British interests and people are put first’.

Ms Culnane, who said she intends to take a strong stance against crime, has previously insisted that she is ‘not a Nazi’ but ‘a true blue patriot’.

However, her history of association with more extreme right-wing organisations adds weight to opponents’ claims that BNP attempts at promoting a moderate image are deceptive.

Ms Culnane previously stood unsuccessfully as National Front candidate for Greenwich and Lewisham in 2008’s London Assembly elections, and has also run for that party in Yorkshire.

She has also been linked to the self-described ‘ultra nationalist’ British People’s Party, who describe her as a ‘veteran activist’ on their website, which features overtly Nazi imagery. An official blog of the BPP includes sections contesting the historical facts of the Holocaust, and describes immigration as a ‘vociferous cancer’.

Other local politicians have spoken out against the BNP’s campaign, including Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Chris Maines, who described the party as ‘vile’. Green Councilor Dean Walton, who is also running, said: “Racists aren’t welcome in a diverse and tolerant borough like Lewisham.”

Sir Steve Bullock, the incumbent Labour mayor, has expressed scepticism about the BNP’s electoral prospects. “The residents of Lewisham have too much sense to be taken in by the superficial makeover of the BNP,” he said. “It’s still a nasty, racist party with nothing to offer but division and hate.”

Photo: Tony Webster

A human rights lawyer who was stabbed to death at his Lewisham home is suspected to have been murdered for his political views.

Police today issued an appeal for information about the killing of AbdelSalam Hussain, 56, who was found murdered at his home in Boone Street, Lee on Saturday.

At about 7.10 am, a neighbour noticed Mr. Abdel Salam’s front door was open and discovered his body just inside. He had been slashed across the face and stabbed in the leg. Emergency services were called but he was pronounced dead at the scene. A post mortem examination gave the cause of death as severe blood loss.

Mr. Abdel Salam, who was originally from Sudan before becoming a British national, worked for international human rights organisation Redress as the Sudan adviser, helping victims of torture.

He had also worked for the charities Human Rights Watch and Justice Africa, who have paid tribute to him and describe him as, “a guiding light of Sudan’s human rights movement”.

Colleagues said today they feared there was a political motive behind the attack. Lutz Orzette, 43, a project adviser at Redree, said: “He was very well known in the field of human rights. Some people think there is a political motive. There have been threats against a number of Sudanese human rights campaigners.”

Police say there is no intelligence the lawyer was targeted because of his human rights work but could not rule out the possibility.  Detective Chief Inspector Damian Allain, of the Metropolitan Police’s homicide and serious crime command said: “We have a number of lines of inquiry and we believe it is linked locally. “I am keen to trace Abdel Salam’s movements and appeal for anyone with information to come forward to assist my teal with this investigation.

Abdel Salam was a large man, who used two sticks to walk as he had some difficulty. He would travel by minicab or bus to take him to the charity where he worked in central London, and many people would have seen him on his route.”

DCI Allain added: “This was a brutal attack on a defenseless man, made more tragic, as Abdel Slam had devoted much of his life combating the abuse of human rights upon others.”

Anyone with information can contact Crimestoppers, on 0800 555111.

Photo:wirewiping

Members of East London’s Jewish community have called for their long standing cultural involvement in the area to be recognised as part of plans for a local heritage trail.

The cultural trail has already caused controversy with the proposals to install ‘hijab gates’ on Brick Lane – which have now been temporarily withdrawn.

Now there are plans for a Jewish heritage centre  to  be housed in the last synagogue in Spitalfields, located on Sandys Row, just off Petticoat Lane. It would celebrate Jewish history and culture with archives and memorabilia. (more…)

A stall at Ridley Road market. Photo: sean-b

One of the most popular markets in Hackney will be redeveloped thanks to a major council investment.

After a consultation of  local residents, shoppers and traders, carried out last year,  Hackney council decided to invest £1 million into improving the popular Ridley Road market. Works will run from late April to November 2010 and the market will remain open for business during the redevelopment.

The aim of the long-term work is to improve general market conditions for consumers and traders, as well as making the space more attractive for residents and external visitors. (more…)

Photo:diamond geezer

Croydon’s art centre, Fairfield Halls, has announced the appointment of Simon Thomsett, as new chief executive. Thomsett was, until August 2009, chief executive of the Hackney Empire.

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The trial will be at the Old Bailey. Photo:ryanfb

The trial of a New Cross man charged with murder and arson has been rescheduled to September this year.

Richard Coore, 52, was due to appear at the Old Bailey this morning for a preliminary pre-trial hearing. (more…)

Photo:Ewan-M

Plans to sell a building used and owned by the Hackney Empire in order to pay back its spiralling deficit were greeted with anger by local residents at a stormy public meeting last night.

Many of its supporters said they were  ‘shocked’ by the announcement that the building at 117 Wilton Way will be sold off in a multi-million pound deal with developers the Thornsett Group to build affordable housing. Speakers heckled the panel of theatre and Arts Council officials. (more…)

Boris Johnson has announced new tax rate Photo:©Crossrail

Local traders  have expressed anger at a looming “tidal wave” of tax that is set to hit businesses in April.

Business rates are not set by local authorities. They just collect it for central government.

Business rates in Hackney, for example,  are likely to balloon by an average of 36.5 per cent this year, following the first revaluation of business premises since 2005. Tower Hamlets will also see one of the steepest increase in rates in the Greater London area.

Companies rated above £50,000 will also see a further 2 per cent increase on the official estimate of the property’s value under conservative Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s new business rate supplement to help fund Crossrail. It is estimated this will cost the borough £150,000 annually.

Similarly, in the borough of Croydon, businesses with rateable values of more than £55,000 will also have to pay an extra 2 per cent. (more…)

Photos by Artemis Ignatidou

A major fire which broke out early Thursday morning  gutted a restaurant and an office block in Shoreditch in East London.

The blaze broke out at about 4 am at the Sosho restaurant on Tabernacle Street, on the border between Shoreditch and the City of London and fire engines were still at the scene on Friday.

The flames quickly spread up the four-storey office building, engulfing half of the roof.

London Fire Brigade said 20 fire engines, four aerial appliances and around 100 firefighters attended the scene. There have been no casualties and it is not thought anyone was trapped in the building. (more…)

A window cleaner scales a high-rise building in Canary Wharf. Photo: Ermell

Employers of the daredevil window-cleaners charged with maintaining Britain’s tallest building are backing a government campaign to emphasise safety in the workplace.

Canary Wharf Management Ltd are supporting the Health and Safety Executive’s ‘Shattered Lives’ initiative, which aims to highlight the risk of injuries at work.

Safety is a matter of particular importance to the company, who contract cleaners to wash the glass façades of the Docklands’ numerous skyscrapers.

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