The attack on Lee Jasper is an attack on all of us

The unprecedented attack- front page and four other full pages -by the Evening Standard on Lee Jasper, and other Black individuals marks a new low in which this paper and its reporter Andrew Gilligan have sunk.

To be clear, the Evening Standard and particularly Andrew Gilligan have thrown their full support behind Tory Candidate Boris Johnson. In recent months individuals such as Doreen Lawrence and Black organisations sought to question Boris Johnson about his unsavoury comments about Black people: ‘Water melon smiles’ ‘picanninies’ and Nelson Mandela’s, ‘tyranny of democracy’.

The Evening Standard’s response has been to hit Jasper hard and any Black organisation he has had involvement in, with a series of lies, half-truths and personal slurs. Millions of pounds of taxpayers money ‘vanished’, according to one of papers more shocking untruths.

In a tough political battle in which the Black vote in London will be vital one expects a fierce and critical debate. However, Gilligan and the Evening Standard have gone way over that line. It is unacceptable that individuals and organisations that have served the Black community should be seen as collateral damage in the fight for the Mayoral office.

We know that if this paper is allowed to run such a vicious attack against anyone who disagrees with them, then no one is safe, particularly if you are African, Asian, Caribbean or from another minority ethnic community.

The undersigned demonstrate their support for Lee Jasper and others who have given much to tackle racism, and demand an unequivocal apology from Andrew Gilligan and the Evening Standard.

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