Police are investigating racist comments made over the internet in response to plans for a Muslim place of worship in Hereford. Comments were made via social networking sites after plans for a community centre for Muslims were revealed.

One comment posted on the Hereford Masjid Fundraising Campaign's Facebook page, which has since shut down, threatened to contaminate any land identified as a potential site and referred to the group as vermin.

Supt Charlie Hill, the policing commander for Herefordshire, said everyone has a right to feel safe in the county. He said: "I'm keen to point out all minority groups should be able to live, work and play in Herefordshire in a peaceful environment and we are rigorously investigating the inappropriate comments made by people in electronic format.

"We vigorously support the fact that the Muslim community should have a community centre. The police in Herefordshire have really good relations with minority groups and if you find yourself under attack for being part of a minority group then get in touch with the police."

Anyone with information regarding the inappropriate comments can contact DC Dave Bentley on 0300 3333000.

Hereford Times, 20 September 2012

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Well, that's the editorial view of Stoke-on-Trent's local paper, the Sentinel, on the recent conviction of the city's British National Party leader on a charge of racial harassment over articles he posted on his Stoke Patriot blog.

According to the Sentinel,  the racist abuse that fills Coleman's blog merely amounts to "purple prose" and his views are "at worst objectionable".

This is a man who couldn't even bring himself to condemn the attempt to blow up a Stoke mosque. Stating only that he could not "sanction" their actions, Coleman described the two men jailed for this crime as "patriotic Britons" and wrote: "I understand and share the anger that must have been in their hearts as they witnessed this Mosque been [sic] built in their city."

If the vile comments that Coleman directs at Muslims on his blog were aimed at the Jewish community he would certainly be charged with incitement to racial hatred. Unfortunately Muslims are not covered by that legislation and the law against incitement to religious hatred is completely useless. The lesson here is that the law needs to be amended so that people like Coleman can be charged with a more serious offence than just harassment.

Yet the Sentinel argues: "this week's jury decision that Coleman's regular internet rants warrant a criminal conviction for racially-aggravated harassment, is not a welcome development. Particularly when reflecting that most of the freedoms we all enjoy would not have been won without the important principle of freedom of speech."

It's the kind of loopy libertarian defence of the far right that you might expect to read at Spiked.

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A Bournemouth councillor made a public apology for controversial online comments about the English Defence League.

Conservative Cllr Sue Anderson read out the apology at Tuesday's full council meeting. The mum of four, who represents Moordown, had said "nobody else except the EDL stick up for the English". She also tweeted to an account jointly run by a woman of Asian descent: "If you don't like it here go back to where you came from."

She told the full council the tweets were made in haste during a late night conversation without understanding the EDL's policies. Cllr Anderson added that her tweet to the joint account "could have been offensive" and she made an unreserved apology. She concluded by saying she abhorred any sort of intolerance.

Cllr Anderson, who referred herself to the standards board after the controversy broke, has also been told to do equality and diversity training.

Bournemouth Echo, 18 June 2012

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President Joachim Gauck has said in a newspaper interview that Muslims living in Germany are more definitively a part of the country than the religion of Islam, a slight change from the stance of his predecessor.

When asked about a quote from the previous president, Christian Wulff – who had said that "Islam is now also a part of Germany" – Gauck told the newspaper Die Zeit that he would not have used this particular sentence, adding "but I do welcome the intent behind it."

"I would have simply said that the Muslims who are living here are a part of Germany," Gauck said in an interview published in the current edition of the weekly paper. He elaborated further, defining what he considers the most important factor for people with immigrant roots to be part of Germany.

"Anybody who has come here and doesn't just pay their taxes, but also likes to be here, partly because there's a level of justice and freedom not available in their country of origin, they are all one of us; so long as they adhere to our basic rules," Gauck said.

But more generally, the president said he thought "one-sentence formulations on belonging" were problematic, "and especially when they concern something as delicate as religion."

The co-leader of the Green Party, Cem Özdemir, said in the Ruhr Nachrichten newspaper on Friday that he "can not understand this differentiation between Islam and practicing Muslims," adding that if Gauck considers Muslims a part of Germany, "then of course Islam is part of Germany too."

Deutsche Welle, 1 June 2012

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John Hurren is standing as a British National Party candidate for Coventry City Council. Via Hope Not Hate, here are some of his comments on Facebook:

It would also appear that Hurren shares Anders Breivik's views on the appropriate treatment for his leftist opponents:

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