Difficult Times in Lozells & East Handsworth

It has without doubt been my toughest couple of weeks as Councillor for Lozells & East Handsworth. Unfortunately, Handsworth was once again making the headlines for the wrong reasons when during the first night of disturbances in Birmingham, at approxiamtely 10pm, businesses were attacked by thugs on the Soho Road and later on Grove Lane. I witnessed much of this first hand as I was on Soho Road before the trouble and looting broke out.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had many meetings with various sections of the community including neighbourhood forums, traders, young people, community groups, youth workers, faith institutions, West Midlands Police, Councillors, Parliamentarians, etc.

I would like to send my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Shazad, Muzafir and Haroon who lost their lives as a result of the rioting. Three innocent men who died protecting their community. I was at City Hospital Birmingham when one by one, their families were being informed of their deaths. The tension and anger amongst hundreds of people at the hospital was clearly a concern for me but the heroic and brave intervention of Haroon’s father, Tariq Jahan was clearly a moment for all to be proud of; Tariq spoke with immense bravery and represents the best of British Muslims.

I would also like to pay tribute to the many outstanding police officers who were on our streets trying their upmost to protect our communities and businesses.

For the first time in my life we have had disturbances in Birmingham and Lozells has not been at the centre of attraction. In 1981, 1985 and 2005, Birmingham was a victim of rioting and disturances with most trouble focusing around Lozells Road and Villa Road. I am pleased to say that there was not one report of disorder in the Lozells neighbourhood during the recent problems. I firmly believe that this has happened due to the excellent work in Lozells post-2005 Race Riots. The most significant contributor to the vast improvement has to be the Lozells Neighbourhood Policing Team between 2005 and April 2010 [prior to Programme Paragon]. I conveyed these feeling in my speech at the meeting of Birmingham MP’s and Councillors with the Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police.

I would also like to pay tribute to the group of community activists that worked very closely with the local Police in Lozells reassuring the local community. The close relationship of the community and Police in Lozells is a lesson for all across the country to learn from.

We have to now look forward and work together to address the underlying issues affecting some of our young people in Birmingham. However, I must stress that there were only a very small minority of young people on the streets of Birmingham creating problems. The vast majority of Birmingham’s young people are fantastic Brummie’s who will play a huge role in making Birmingham a great international city.