Protest planned outside education conference in London

A row has broken out over an educational conference which will take place in central London tomorrow.

Furious campaigners are set to demonstrate outside the Insitute of Education near Russell Square after accusing the Mayor of London for hijacking a conference which was set up and run by Diane Abbott MP.

They are angry that Boris Johnson has, in their words, hijacked the London Schools and the Black Child (LSBC) conference, which was set up to deal with the increasing problem of educational underachievement in the Black community.

Campaigners say that the Mayor's office has dropped the word "black" from the title and have invited speakers who do not understand the issues which affect young Black people.

The panel, say the campaigners, include Boris Johnson, Michael Gove MP, Daily Mail columnist Lindsay John and Tony Sewell, conservative educationalist.

Campaigner Lee Jasper said,

“This is part of the Mayor’s plan to culturally-cleanse London of all race-specific initiatives. The entire platform of speakers is of the view that institutional racism does not exist. This is the typical response of those on the Right who seek to dismiss the reality of racism and place the blame on the victims."

Viv Ahmun, from the organisation Black Men In The Community, said,

“This is yet another blow to London’s struggling black families, with 48% unemployment amongst Black young people. Boris must stop playing football with the lives of London’s Black youths.”

Fellow campaigner Lester Holloway added,

“LSBC has always given a platform to a range of views about how to raise achievement of black children and tackle the barriers that hold them back. This year’s panel has been picked to echo the mayor’s own opinions, which has no credibility in the community. A progressive agenda has been hijacked by ideologues who do not understand the experience of black children in the education system."