London Local Assembly Member, Unmesh Desai AM, has written to the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid MP, calling for changes to be made to the Government’s existing hate crime action plan. This follows similar calls made last week by Kate Green MP, in a letter which Mr Desai and many other elected representatives from East London co-signed.
Following the far-right terrorist attacks that took place in Christchurch, New Zealand last month, which led to the murders of 50 people whilst worshipping at their local mosques, Mr Desai stated that there are a number of extra measures the Government should be taking to improve security at places of worship in the UK.
In his letter, Mr Desai welcomes the fact that the Government has increased the amount of funding available to religious groups through its places of worship security fund.
Introduced in 2016 as a component of the Government’s hate crime action plan, the places of worship security fund enabled religious organisations to bid for a portion of an £800k pot which could be used to improve physical protective measures such as fencing, lighting and CCTV. This fund has been doubled to £1.6million after the terror attack in Christchurch.
However, Mr Desai highlights reports made by the Catholic news publication, The Tablet, that in the first year of the fund being introduced, less than half of the £800,000 made available for faith organisations was allocated.
In light of this, Mr Desai has asked the Home Secretary to outline the measures that the Government will be taking to improve the take-up of the places of worship security fund and simplify the bidding process.
He has also asked for assurances that any left-over money from the fund will be ringfenced and exclusively reallocated to future rounds of the scheme.
Mr Desai’s letter follows on from his attendance of several vigils and community meetings across his constituency in wake of the Christchurch attacks, and his consultations with local faith leaders regarding what they feel must happen for religious communities to feel adequately protected in their places of worship.
Local London Assembly Member, Unmesh Desai AM, said:
“Whilst I welcome the increase in the places of worship security funding announced by the Home Secretary, it has been clear from my discussions with members of the local community that more needs to be done on a practical level to reassure all faith groups that their places of worship are adequately protected.
“This is why I have set out a number of recommendations in my letter on how the Government’s existing hate crime action plan can be improved and brought up to date.
“Sadly, we’re seeing far too many incidents of racist and religious hate crime and we have to do all we can to prevent a far-right terror attack of the kind we saw in Christchurch.
“This is no time for complacency or inertia, and I hope that Sajid Javid urgently acts upon my calls, and those made by Kate Green MP on this matter”.
ENDS
Related documents
Unmesh Desai Sajid Javid Places of Worship letter
Notes to editors
- A copy of Unmesh Desai AM’s letter to the Home Secretary can be found attached;
- Following the Christchurch terror attacks, in March 2019, the Government announced that their places of worship security fund will be doubled to £1.6 million;
- In March 2018, the Catholic news publication, The Tablet, reported that in the first year of the fund being introduced in 2016/2017, less than half of the £800,000 made available for faith organisations was allocated;
- Unmesh Desai AM is the London Assembly Member for City and East