Woolas in more leaflet bother

Race-relations chief weighs-in

ELECTION leaflets distributed by Labour MP Phil Woolas have come under more fire after being branded “unhelpful” in maintaining race relations.

The criticism came from Equality and Human Rights Commission chairman Trevor Phillips who has passed concerns on to the Electoral Commission.

Mr Woolas is already facing legal action over election material that could result in him being jailed, disbarred from public office and a by-election forced.

Lib-Dem candidate Elwyn Watkins claims the Oldham East and Saddleworth MP made false statements against him that affected the general election and wants the constituency result declared void. Mr Woolas won by 103 votes after a second re-count.

Mr Watkins has submitted a petition for a hearing of a rarely-convened election court, based on an alleged breach of Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act.

He claims the one-off “Examiner” newspaper, an edition of the “Labour Rose”, and a full-colour “Election Communication” leaflet, contained misleading and erroneous claims. His case will focus on three areas: the claim that he doesn’t live in the constituency, that he “wooed” Muslim extremists, and accusations on how his campaign was funded.

Mr Phillips became involved after Oldham Council leader Councillor Howard Sykes wrote to him to complain about the “Examiner”.

The Lib-Dem leader wrote: “In a borough where memories of race riots are still fresh in many people’s minds, I believe that this type of inflammatory literature is incredibly detrimental to community relations and promoting equality.

“I would appreciate it if you could make an impartial assessment of your views on the impact of this literature and any steps that we, as a council, should be taking to ameliorate the impact that this will have on community relations in our borough.

“We have worked hard in Oldham to build connections and understanding between communities and I do not want to see that undermined by the actions of any candidate in this election.”

In his reply, Mr Phillips said: “I agree with you that some of the language used in the election publications you sent me is not helpful.

“The Commission has a mandate to promote good relations and as such encourages everyone, including political parties, to use language which will not cause misunderstandings or undermine community relations.”

But he added that while the Commission has statutory powers to challenge breaches of equality and human rights, race equality legislation does not prohibit offensive discriminatory statements. Any statements that amount to incitement to racial hatred are dealt with by the police.

He has forwarded the complaint to the Electoral Commission.