Labour has made former Conservative Attorney General Dominic Grieve the boss of a review to determine a new definition of Islamophobia. The work sits in the in-tray of a renowned theological expert, none other than the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner…
The Tories rejected defining Islamophobia while they were in office. Labour has promised to bring forward a definition. That knotty problem now falls to arch-remain legal beagle Mr Grieve…
Eyebrows are sky-high, though, over Grieve’s previous work. Grieve was asked to conduct an independent investigation into Islamic Relief Worldwide in 2021 which concluded the organisation is “a highly effective charity”. Guido is told that his review was assisted by a former employee of Islamic Relief, Kalin Padberg, who returned to the organisation after it had concluded…
Moreover, beginning in 2015, Grieve also chaired a Commission into Islam for Citizens UK that listed members of MEND and the MCB as committee members or advisors – groups Labour has ruled that its ministers cannot engage with. Dr Taj Hargey, from the Oxford Institute For British Islam, said: “Without a record of genuine objectivity, it calls into question his potential role in defining Islamophobia.” Fiyaz Mughal, Founder and Director of Faith Matters and Tell MAMA said: “Dominic Grieve seems to have a blind spot to whom he works with and associates with on issues affecting British Muslim communities. Maybe he should leave the work to Muslims who really understand some of the toxic groups around.” Yikes…
For his part, Mr Grieve told the BBC: “We know Islamophobia is as challenging to define as its existence is undoubted. We need to balance addressing the lived experience of those who are victims of it and the right of British Muslims to feel heard and protected as equal citizens of our country, with the unwavering requirement to maintain freedom of thought and expression under law for all.” This one will run and run…
Speaking on Times Radio, former Home Secretary David Blunkett spoke about overdiagnosis of mental problems:
“Let’s distinguish those who are really severely mentally ill, diagnosed with things that require prolonged medical and diagnostic treatment. My wife and I talk about this a lot, because she’s a retired GP, about the fact that you can be sad without being ill. You can be momentarily depressed because your boyfriend or girlfriend’s just thrown you and you’re not mentally ill. You can even have mild issues, which can be dealt with with the right kind of support, but it doesn’t make you mentally ill. So we’ve got a real task, I think, to get the psychology, if you like, of this over. But there are things where you definitely need medical intervention, and there are other things where you need good friends, you need good connectivity, and you need a job.”