Councillor John Moss suspended!
Dear Supporters,
Firstly, a huge thank you to all those who have shown solidarity against racism and Islamaphobia and signed this petition. In a short period we’ve seen over 600 people sign this petition.
Initially the Conservative Party refused to suspend Councillor John Moss’s, but after pressure from the community, the Conservative Party have now suspended him. A partial success for this campaign!
Here is a link with the announcement:
https://tellmamauk.org/conservative-cllr-john-moss-suspended-over-anti-muslim-twitter-conduct/
Councillor John Moss issued the following “apology”:
“The Conservative Party received a complaint on the 15th of May 2019 regarding a number of comments that I had made on Twitter.
I have always been a passionate campaigner for LGBT and women's rights and I oppose the exemption granted to religious groups from regulations pertaining to the slaughter of animals. I also oppose Genital Mutilation and abhor the actions of extremists.
I accept that on a number of occasions my comments were disrespectful and inappropriate. They were not intended to be malicious, but they were careless. I apologise unreservedly for those comments and have removed them.
I will be undertaking diversity training and I will be seeking a meeting with the Imam at the mosque in the ward I represent to offer him and his members a personal apology.
The Conservative Party has suspended my membership and I will not take part in any political activity until my suspension is lifted. The allowance that I receive as a Councillor for that month will be donated to a charity of the Imam's choosing.”
This is a poor apology! The second paragraph is loaded with Islamaphobic tropes: “I have always been a passionate campaigner for LGBT and women's rights and I oppose the exemption granted to religious groups from regulations pertaining to the slaughter of animals. I also oppose Genital Mutilation and abhor the actions of extremists.”, yet again demonstrating the complete lack of understanding of the pain his hateful comments have caused for Muslims living in Waltham Forest and more widely.
Will the diversity training educate Councillor John Moss about (1) why his comments were unacceptable, (2) many of the Islamaphobic tropes he’s included in his “apology”?
Also, if the Conservative Party genuinely had a zero tolerance approach to Islamaphobia, we can see grounds for expulsion. However, rather than conduct a proper investigation, it appears a date has already been set for Councillor John Moss’s return to the party:
“The Conservative Party has suspended my membership and I will not take part in any political activity until my suspension is lifted. The allowance that I receive as a Councillor for that month will be donated to a charity of the Imam's choosing.”
The Conservative Party have form on this:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexwickham/tory-islamophobia-brandon-lewis
We need to continue to push for zero tolerance approach to all forms of hate, bigotry and prejudice. Please keep sharing this petition and help us to keep up the pressure on the Conservative Party to conduct a proper investigation into Councillor John Moss’s comments and continue to push for a full independent investigation into complaints of Islamaphobia within the party.