The Council agreed to suspend Procedure Rule 13.1 to enable the following urgent motion to be debated without notice:

14.1 Motion regarding the terror attack in New Zealand

Mayor John Biggs moved and Councillor Asma Begum seconded, the motion as tabled.

Following debate the motion was put to the vote and was unanimously agreed.

RESOLVED:

This Council notes:

1.         The appalling terror attack which took place in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15th March 2019, in which 50 people died and over 20 people were injured;

2.         That there have been a number of other terror attacks in recent months against people of other faiths and none;

3.         That the men, women and children in Christchurch were targeted simply because of their faith;

4.         That a number of vigils were held at mosques, including here in Tower Hamlets, to show support and solidarity to Muslim communities around the world and that the solidarity of our community is reassuring but cannot be taken for granted;

5.         That our community has repeatedly been attacked by those who seek to divide us. With the anniversary of the Brick Lane bomb upon us, we are reminded of our vulnerability and need to always be vigilant;

6.         That while many aspects of life for British Muslims have improved in recent years instances of Islamophobia and hate attacks on Muslims remain a continuing issue in our community;

7.         That the dissemination of hate messages and graphic images promoting extreme causes on the internet is a new and unregulated aspect of modern life, and that this is reinforced by the continued promotion of negative images in ‘mainstream’ media too;

8.         That while the Christchurch attacks targeted Muslims, other minority groups face attack too, at different times and in different ways, but we note that there have been a number of attacks on places of worship of different faiths in recent years.

This Council believes:

1.         Those who seek to divide us must never succeed, and we stand together against hatred as we have always done in Tower Hamlets;

2.         That the council should send an unequivocal message of support to the people of New Zealand and to Muslim communities around the world to make it clear that Tower Hamlets stands with them.

3.         That 21^st March is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and this should be marked each year by the council.

4.         That the council should mark the 20^th anniversary of the Brick Lane bomb this year.

This Council resolves:

1.         To call on the Mayor to write to the Mayor of Christchurch to express sympathy and solidarity on behalf of Tower Hamlets;

2.         To ask the Mayor to write to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, to call for better regulation of the media and social media to guard against racism and the spread of hate, and to emphasise the need to combat the dangerous role that the media and the internet can play in radicalisation;

3.         To hold a one minute’s silence;

4.         To continue to work with our faith communities;

5.         To confirm that we will always celebrate the diversity that makes us stronger and stand united against hatred.

6.         To refer this motion to the Community Safety Partnership and ask them to consider what additional, practical steps can be taken, including calling for additional police resource to be made available to local mosques, and supporting and working with local places of worship to review their security arrangements, including whether physical security like barriers can be arranged and ensuring that all places of worship have given proper consideration to their security arrangements.