Stab in the dark
A Tory councillor in Leicestershire is facing criminal charges after he claimed Gypsies would ’stick a knife in you as soon as look at you’ at a packed public meeting. Cllr Robert Fraser also appeared to say that Romany Gypsies made Irish travellers ‘look like complete amateurs’ when it came to fighting.
The 59-year-old made the controversial remarks at a public meeting to discuss proposals to build a new Traveller’s site near the village of Groby in his constituency. But unknown to Cllr Fraser, his speech was filmed and later posted on the internet, where it has been seen by hundreds of viewers.
In the video, Cllr Fraser is asked by a member of the audience about crime levels associated with Gypsy sites. He replied: ‘The Romanians - they’ll stick a knife in you as soon as look at you. There might be some good ones. Forgive me if there are any Romanians here [to which the audience laughed] and hopefully that’s a ‘no’ because I wouldn’t get out of here. I’m a bit slow.’
He also told the audience: ‘By gosh, some of these European ones, they make the Irish look like complete amateurs and I would dread, I would dread, to see them in Groby.’ Hundreds of local residents attended the meeting two months ago to discuss the proposed Travellers’ site.
Now Leicestershire Police are examining the footage to decide whether his comments constitute inciting racial hatred.
Alfred Kefford, chairman of the Leicester Gypsy Council Liaison Group, said: ‘I’m appalled, shocked and disgusted at these comments.
‘They are racist. A lot of damage has been done and seeing these comments on YouTube, of all places, is very, very hurtful. If they were directed at any other ethnic group, there would be a public outcry.’
Dr Ion Jinga, Romanian ambassador to the UK, said Councillor Robert Fraser’s comments were ‘extremely regrettable and totally unfair’.
He said: ‘I would like to remind people that Romanians are citizens of the European Union, like the British people are. Romanians living in the UK are, in an overwhelming majority, highly skilled, hard workers and respectful to the laws, just as the few thousands of British citizens living in Romania are.’
Cllr Fraser has apologised and said saying he regretted the ’spur of the moment’ comments but added that he was not aware the meeting was being filmed and refused to resign.
He said: ‘There was no intent on my part to introduce any racist element into the meeting, but I accept I may have allowed my judgement to become momentarily clouded. I don’t regard myself as a racist in any way.’