Pipe: too much fuss over white middle-class victims

Last week Jules Pipe was criticised for his comments about the London Fields Shooting. ("Despite this very worrying incident, hundreds of people were able to enjoy the event in London Fields safely and without interruption.”)

Criticism of his comments (Hackney Citizen) (and Hackney Hive) led to a revision in which he said he was "deeply concerned" by the incident.

But did he mean it?

On Friday May 28, nearly a week later, the Guardian claimed that Pipe: "suggested the shock and indignation at the shooting stemmed in part from the background of the victim, who is white." (According to the Hackney Gazette the victim is "of Lebanese origin")

Pipe's actual quote was: "You can almost grade the coverage and shock that society gives to these events," he said. "If a victim was a white, middle-class passer-by, it is when it would be on the front page of a tabloid."

Will Hackney residents get the impression (again) that the Mayor's balanced views are based on not caring about black or white victims in equal measure?

Also could his observation about unbalanced "coverage" in favour of white people be just as easily aimed at his own Hackney Labour group? At a glance 38 out of his 50 Labour councillors appear to be white with British sounding names ranging from Akehurst - Webb meaning 76% of the Hackney Labour group is White British when it should be nearer 48%.

Hackney Council's Key Facts and Figures says that 61.8% of Hackney residents are various versions of white. But, in a small note at the bottom, it says that white categories include Stamford Hill's ultra-orthodox Jewish Community (7%) and the Turkish Community (6%) which, between them, make up 13% of the borough's population (this estimate is higher still in the Council's 2008 study: Estimating and Profiling the Population of Hackney ). That means, to be representative of the borough, the Hackney Labour Group should be around 48% white British. Judging by the names and appearance of councillors (a dangerous thing to do), it looks as if the Hackney Labour group is 76% white British... that's not including the white Mayor.