Far-right no show

'They won’t even be looking in this direction, inshallah'

Dear Patchers — Welcome to your Tuesday newsletter.

Kate headed to Bordesley Green yesterday following rumours that far-right mobs were going to turn up and riot in the majority-Muslim neighbourhood. They did not and thankfully, we haven’t seen violence near the levels that have been reached in Tamworth and other parts of the country. Kate spent several hours speaking with locals who were assembled outside Village Mosque and the McDonalds on Belchers Lane who said they were there to protect the community from any attacks. Since then, there have been reports that young men who broke away from the throng attacked several vehicles and The Clumsy Swan pub in Yardley. More on that in today’s briefing below.

Elsewhere, fresh back from a week of cycling across Germany (the interconnected cycle lanes have me this close to moving to Augsburg) I’ve unconsciously put together a driving-themed newsletter. Plus, news of a pub party coming up this weekend.

Take care, Dan.

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Brum in Brief 

📨Kate in Bordesley Green: Despite the widespread rumours, the English Defence League (EDL) did not make an appearance in East Birmingham yesterday evening. I headed to the Village Mosque on Daniels Road shortly before 5pm and found a large crowd of mostly men, peacefully assembled there. Akeel Nazar, 28, told me the aim was to protect the community and its institutions from attacks and that the rioters in other parts of the country had been a small proportion of racist people. “The last thing we want is to paint everyone with the same brush. That’s what they do to us,” he said. Another man, in his 30s, who did not want to be named, told me the trigger for the violence across the country has been agitators like Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) who were exploiting the white working class for their own gain. He said the assembly was an “essential, street-level response”. Before I left, mats were brought outside for the men gathered and the imam led them in prayer. He called on those present to be on hand in the coming days to help protect the community. “The EDL won’t even be looking in this direction, inshallah,” he said.

Men pray outside the Village Mosque. Photo taken for The Dispatch.

Just before 7pm I headed to outside the McDonalds on Belchers Lane where the atmosphere was busier, louder. A crowd of people, mostly young men were assembled on the roundabout, some waving Palestinian flags, many with their faces covered. People lined the streets near the junction. There were young men on bikes and in cars speeding around the roundabout and chanting “Allahu Akbar” (a common phrase used in prayer that means God is the greatest) although traffic could still get through. The same imam from earlier arrived and tried to get the young men on the roundabout to move on but they didn’t. I didn’t witness any violence but the photographer told me a young man had kicked his camera out of his hands when he tried to take a photo of the imam. He had a small bruise on his palm and his camera lens was broken. During the next 30 minutes, several people approached us to ask if he was ok and to apologise on behalf of the person who did it.

The local imam tries to get the young men to move on from the roundabout by Bordesley Green McDonalds. Photo taken for The Dispatch.

⌚Later last night: Sky News has reported that a man in a balaclava tried to stab the tyres of one of their vans with a knife but they were able to drive away. West Midlands Police have also said that yesterday there were three cases of criminal damage, one case of someone who was seen carrying an offensive weapon and one of assault. There have been reports of a group of young men, who appeared to have broken away from the demonstration in Bordesley Green, attacking The Clumsy Swan Pub in Yardley.

🚔‘Bad Driving’ reporting upswing: West Midlands Police has received more than 11,000 dashcam videos over the past 12 months — a huge rise on the previous period. In 2017 just 208 videos of bad driving were submitted, which rose to 7,145 in 2023. That figure has risen so much again that in June police were receiving 50 videos a day. Sargeant Steve Evans said 90 per cent of the submissions ended with “positive action”, including warning letters and prosecutions. This comes after work to invest in the Operation Snap portal, where other road users can upload videos securely. More here.

💰Ethnically diverse biz boost: Entrepreneurs from ethnically diverse West Midlands communities can now access up to £270,000 of funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). The WMCA cash follows research showing ethnic minority communities were more likely to start businesses but found it hard to keep them going. To help rectify this, budding business owners can work with either iSE Women’s Enterprise Hub, Legacy Centre of Excellence, Highlife Centre, Skills Work and Enterprise Agency or Access to Business in Wolverhampton to change outcomes. Full story.

🚕Fake taxi crackdown: Wolverhampton is cracking down on the impersonation of private hire vehicles by telling taxis to keep signage off doors. The city’s council hopes this will prevent fake taxis tricking unwitting customers via imitation signs with the change intending to get customers to focus on the licence plate rather than the door itself. The council said a consultation with the trade found 93 per cent were in favour of the changes and people responding felt they would make journeys safer. Full story.

🍻New pub opening: With over 700 UK pubs closing in 2023, the opening of a new one is surely worth a celebration. That is exactly what Temper and Brown, the new kids on the block in JQ, are doing, throwing a party with guest DJs, soul food and street food vendors on 8 August from 5.30pm onwards. It’s an iconic pub that was previously known as The George and Dragon, as well as The Pig & Tail, on the corner of Albion St.