Proud without prejudice
I am extremely glad to know that The Spectator watches BBC News 24 (5 November). However, I fear that your leader writer must have momentarily allowed his attention to wander as he watched our coverage of the resignation of Mr David Blunkett. At no time was I ‘dismissive’ about the significance of the event. At no time did I say that the Prime Minister would ‘emerge stronger’ from the resignation. Such a suggestion, as your leader writer asserted with his usual verve, would indeed be preposterous. I merely speculated that Tony Blair might use Mr Blunkett’s departure as an opportunity to have a wider reshuffle. This speculation was based on conversations with several Labour sources who warned that a reshuffle later in the year could be seen as a reaction to the election of a new Conservative leader. I am therefore somewhat miffed to be described as a ‘sympathetic voice’ to the government. This is tosh and just the sort of thing that gets my learned friends excited. I spend more time broadcasting live about politics than any other BBC television correspondent. If I did not strive daily to be fair and impartial, there would soon be a job for me counting paperclips in the BBC’s admin office.
James Landale
Chief political correspondent,
BBC News 24,
London SW1
Why migrants are welcome
The article by Richard Ehrman (‘A dying breed’, 5 November) is unnecessarily alarmist. It is the case, as Mr Ehrman claims, that the citizens of Europe are not replacing themselves at a sufficient rate to avoid economic and social consequences. However, the population boom in Africa and in the Middle East could help Europe avoid the consequences of a population bust. These areas are close enough to Europe to facilitate significant migration of peoples to work in the European economy. There is also ample evidence, in Britain, Germany, Holland and other European countries, that the vast majority of immigrants are being successfully integrated into European society, and that most, if not all, European nations, are making the transition from ethnic democracies to liberal democracies in a smooth fashion. Once settled in Europe, most migrants become model citizens, contributing to the economy and the multiethnic ethos of modern Europe.
Buks van Rensburg
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Fair point
Phillip Oppenheim’s article (‘Fairtrade fat cats’, 5 November) misses several key points about Fairtrade. Fairtrade is not about charity. It is about transforming the impact of commercial trade in the lives of producers in developing countries. The success of Fairtrade shows that you can pay a fair price to the producer and still compete successfully in the conventional commercial environment. Certification with the Fairtrade mark means consumers can be totally confident that the producers have received a price that provides a decent income and a little extra to invest in a better future for their families and communities. This is what matters most to the farmers, and is rightly supported by consumers who are buying Fairtrade products.
Fairtrade is also about empowering farmers in the developing world, enabling them to participate more actively in the trading relationship. As Amos Wiltshire, a Caribbean banana farmer, has said, ‘With Fairtrade, small farmers have been transformed from marginalised farmers into businessmen.’ The Fairtrade Foundation will continue to work with all retailers to maximise the sales of Fairtrade products so as to deliver more benefits to more people in the developing world. This work complements that of the development charities and the campaigns for wider international trade justice.
Barbara Crowther
Fairtrade Foundation, London EC1
Making hatred history
Alasdair Palmer, in his article ‘Muslims are an ethnic group’ (5 November), asserts that the supporters of the government’s Bill to prohibit incitement to religious hatred have just not looked at its details carefully enough. It is strange, then, that closer examination of the detail reveals that Alasdair Palmer is guilty of the very negligence he accuses others of.
While the criteria as laid down by the opinion of Lord Fraser are accurately stated by Mr Palmer, he omits to inform his readers about how those criteria have been applied and defined by the courts in practice. Lord Fraser’s lead opinion was used successfully to argue the inclusion of both Jewish and Sikh communities in the courts as racial groupings, thereby qualifying members of both faiths for protection under the existing incitement to racial hatred law. However, on several equivalent cases, like that of Tariq vs Young (247738/88), the courts interpreted the opinion as not applying to any faith that is not mono-ethnic, including Islam and Christianity. Over the last 20 years Muslims have failed to get the courts to interpret things any differently.
So there is a very clear gap in the law which needs to be closed so that followers of all faiths can be protected equally against those intent on inciting hatred against them. And if supporters of the Bill are indeed repeating this argument like a ‘mantra’, it is probably because they wish to encourage people like Mr Palmer to look at the actual facts in full.
Sher Khan
The Muslim Council of Britain, London E15
Reader, I married her
My article on luxury fencing bags by Bibikov (Luxury goods, 5 November) omitted an important detail and has consequently caused a stir among the nation’s gossip columnists. Your readers might be amused to know that, having written the piece earlier this year, I loved the bags so much that I married the designer.
John Laughland
London W6
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