Latest news with #ElizabethGriffiths
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police investigate Enoch Powell portrait hung in village shop as ‘hate incident'
A village shop is being investigated by police over the display of a portrait of Enoch Powell alongside his most controversial anti-immigration speech. Mumfords, an ironmonger in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, has a framed picture of the divisive former Tory MP in its window along with an excerpt of his 1968 'Rivers of Blood' speech. Shopkeeper Elizabeth Griffiths said she put the photograph in her window in February to highlight the 'need for strong assertive leadership during tough political times'. But West Mercia Police said it was treating the display as a 'hate incident' after receiving a report on 16 May of 'offensive content'. Mr Powell caused a national political firestorm when he used inflammatory language to criticise immigration to the UK in a 45-minute speech to local Conservative members at a Birmingham hotel. The former Conservative MP for Wolverhampton South West said white British people would find themselves 'strangers in their own country' as a result of migration. He was sacked from the Conservative front bench for making the speech and it outraged his senior colleagues at the time. A hate incident is any non-criminal offence that a victim thinks is motivated by hostility or prejudice towards a person's race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. Last week, Sir Keir Starmer was accused of copying Mr Powell's words when he warned that the UK was becoming an 'island of strangers' while vowing to crack down on immigration. Sir Keir said he would 'take back control' to slash the number of people coming to the UK as the country 'risks becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together'. Norwich South MP Clive Lewis said: 'It's simply not sustainable for the prime minister to echo the language of Enoch Powell's 'rivers of blood' speech. This kind of language doesn't just alienate communities, it drives people away from our country altogether.' Downing Street rejected comparisons made with Mr Powell, who is a political hero of Reform leader Nigel Farage, and said Sir Keir 'absolutely stands by' his language. Ms Griffiths told The Independent the picture had been in her shop window since the first week of February and she had received 'nothing but praise for all the time it has been there'. She said it was put there alongside Sir Winston Churchill, St Francis of Assisi, 'our Lord Jesus Christ', Churchill mugs and books on Churchill and Donald Trump. A West Mercia Police spokesperson told The Independent: 'On 16 May we received a report of offensive content displayed in a shop window on Church Street in Cleobury Mortimer. 'This is being treated as a hate incident and enquiries are ongoing.'
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Shropshire Enoch Powell display investigated as hate incident
A shop display showing an image of Enoch Powell next to a copy of his 1968 "Rivers of Blood" speech is being investigated by police. The framed picture of the former Conservative MP was displayed in the window of ironmongers Mumfords in Cleobury Mortimer, owner Elizabeth Griffiths has defended her actions, saying it was one small part of a larger collection of images, including Sir Winston Churchill, depicting "a need for strong leadership"."I have had it in there for three and a half months, and the response has been always positive - no negativity at all until this week," said the Reform campaigner, who has now removed it. Powell's anti-immigration speech, delivered by the then Wolverhampton South West MP, caused a national controversy, prompting his sacking from Edward Heath's shadow cabinet. West Mercia Police said enquiries were ongoing after they had received a report of "offensive content displayed in a shop window on Church Street".The complaint had "obviously" come from "political enemies" after she had financed a campaign for two successful Reform candidates at the recent local elections, Ms Griffiths claimed. "Rest assured, since then, I've had knives in my back from left right and centre," she said. Earlier in the week she added an image of Sir Keir Starmer next to Powell's picture linking the prime minister's recent language around immigration to the Powell speech. The text of the 1968 speech, delivered at a Conservative Association meeting in Birmingham, he said, included observations on immigrants taken from his Wolverhampton constituents."If I had the money to go, I wouldn't stay in this country," the MP claimed he had been told."In this country in 15 or 20 years' time, the black man will have the whip hand over the white man."Powell added: "As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding: like the Roman, I seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood." The then Conservative Party leader Heath sacked him from the front bench, and he was widely denounced. Ms Griffiths said she had received support from her community, saying many thought it applied to the "present day". A spokesman for West Mercia Police said: "On 16 May, we received a report of offensive content displayed in a shop window on Church Street in Cleobury Mortimer."This is being treated as a hate incident, and inquiries are ongoing." Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Shopkeeper is 'gobsmacked' after picture of Enoch Powell in her window is recorded by police as 'non-crime hate incident'
A grandmother is under investigation over a 'non-crime hate incident' after she displayed a photo of Enoch Powell in her shop window. The portrait was placed next to an extract of the late Conservative MP's famous 1968 "rivers of blood" speech in which he warned mass migration would lead to violence on Britain's streets. West Mercia Police are now carrying out enquiries into the image, saying it was reported as 'offensive content'. It comes as shopkeeper Elizabeth Griffiths had also given photos of Winston Churchill, Jesus, St Francis of Assisi and Donald Trump pride of place in her street-facing window. The rivers of blood speech got its name from its allusion to the Roman poet Virgil where Mr Powell famously stated 'as I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding. Like the Roman, I seem to see the River foaming with much blood'. It was condemned by the mainstream media at the time and effectively ended the then-55-year-old's political career. Mr Powell has since proved a controversial figure, though there are claims Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer's "Island of Strangers" speech earlier this month has vindicated him - with the late MP having said over 50 years ago British people would find themselves 'strangers in their own country'. The rivers of blood speech got its name from its allusion to the Roman poet Virgil where Mr Powell famously stated 'as I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding. Like the Roman, I seem to see the River foaming with much blood' What was Enoch Powell's "rivers of blood" speech? Enoch Powell became a Conservative MP in 1950 and had risen to become Shadow Defence Secretary at the time of his speech. It was first delivered to local Conservative party members in Birmingham, ahead of a second reading of the Race Relations Act 1968. Feeling distressed at what he felt was his party's weak opposition to the Labour government's immigration policy, he resolved to speak out, in the strongest possible terms, about what he felt had to be done. Powell's 25-minute speech contained high rhetoric and vivid language. It warned, in the starkest possible terms, that unless immigration was stopped — and immigrants already in the UK were given financial incentives to return home — there would be racial strife of a seriousness never before seen in Britain. He quoted the poet Virgil when he said: 'Like the Roman, I seem to see the River Tiber foaming with much blood,' from where the speech takes its 'rivers of blood' name. In his speech, Powell also quoted extensively from two of his own constituents. One was 'a middle-aged working man' who, he claimed, had told him: 'I have three children; all of them been through grammar school and two of them are married now, with family. I shan't be satisfied till I have seen them all settled overseas. 'In this country in 15 or 20 years' time the black man will have the whip hand over the white man.' The other constituent was an elderly woman who claimed to be the last remaining white British person on her Wolverhampton street. 'She is becoming afraid to go out,' said Powell. 'Windows are broken. She finds excreta pushed through her letterbox. When she goes to the shops she is followed by children — charming, wide-grinning piccaninnies.' Ms Griffiths, a Reform UK activist and grandmother of 12 said she had showcased the images to 'promote powerful leaders'. The trader, who runs Mumfords, an ironmonger in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire placed the image of Mr Powell in her window in February. Following the police investigation, which began last week after a member of public claimed the portrait was offensive, Ms Griffiths has since placed a photo of Mr Starmer in her window to suggest his recent speech proves Mr Powell was correct. A spokesman for West Mercia Police said: 'On 16 May, we received a report of offensive content displayed in a shop window on Church Street in Cleobury Mortimer. 'This is being treated as a hate incident, and inquiries are ongoing.' The spokesman later clarified it was being treated as a non-crime hate incident (NCHI). Ms Griffiths claimed the report to police was a 'vendetta' because she had campaigned for Reform UK in the local elections earlier this month. She added she had received 'absolutely no police contact whatsoever' about the alleged 'hate incident' and had not been spoken to by officers about it. The Brexiteer explained: 'I am gobsmacked and baffled beyond belief. I did it to promote powerful leaders. 'For some reason, three and a half months later, there is a decision to try and focus on just one picture. 'I am not racist in any shape or form. Oh, good gracious no. I deal with Muslims every week. The Muslims I deal with are generally entrepreneurial. They are successful in business. They haven't come across on boats.' She concluded: 'I'm used to being bullied for standing up for what I believe in.' Mr Powell spoke German, French, Italian, Modern Greek, and Urdu. A poll taken after his controversial speech reported 74 per cent of Britons agreed with his opinions on mass immigration. But some public figures denounced it as 'evil', claiming the speech would stoke division and encourage generalisations. Conservative politician Michael Heseltine stated in its aftermath that if Enoch Powell had stood for leadership of the Conservative party he would have won 'by a landslide' and if he had stood to be Prime Minister he would have won by a 'national landslide'.
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Police record Enoch Powell shop window portrait as ‘non-crime hate incident'
Police recorded an Enoch Powell portrait hanging in a village shop window as a 'non-crime hate incident' (NCHI), it has emerged. The image of the late Conservative politician was placed in the window of Mumfords, an ironmonger in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, in February. West Mercia Police have now recorded the image as an NCHI, saying it had been reported as 'offensive content'. Shopkeeper Elizabeth Griffiths said the portrait was on display next to an extract from Mr Powell's 1968 'rivers of blood' speech, in which he claimed migration would lead to violence on Britain's streets. 'I did it to promote powerful leaders,' said the grandmother of 12. 'It wasn't just one picture of Enoch Powell. It had lots of other pictures around it. I think there were about six pictures of Winston Churchill, for instance. 'For some reason, three and a half months later, there is a decision to try and focus on just one picture. I think it's just an element of mischief making. My customers are overwhelmingly supportive of the display.' Mrs Griffiths, a Reform UK activist, also placed images of Jesus Christ, Francis of Assisi and Donald Trump in her shop window. But the display prompted a police investigation after a member of the public complained last week that it was offensive. 'On 16 May we received a report of offensive content displayed in a shop window on Church Street in Cleobury Mortimer,' said a spokesman for West Mercia Police. 'This is being treated as a hate incident, and onquiries are ongoing.' The spokesman later clarified that it was being treated as an NCHI. Mrs Griffiths said the report to police was a 'vendetta' because she had campaigned for Reform UK in the local elections earlier this month. She added that she had received 'absolutely no police contact whatsoever' about the alleged 'hate incident' and had not been spoken to by officers about it. 'I am gobsmacked and baffled beyond belief,' she said. 'I am not racist in any shape or form. Oh, good gracious no. I deal with Muslims every week. The Muslims I deal with are generally entrepreneurial. They are successful in business. They haven't come across on boats.' She added: 'I was a Brexit supporter. It isn't a case of reducing immigration. It's a case of controlling it, surely. I think it would be for the benefit of each and every one of us. 'In fact, when it was the Brexit campaign, I didn't campaign on anything other than uncontrolled immigration simply because of the strain on our resources, schools, health service.' Mrs Griffiths has now placed a picture of Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, in her window after he used the phrase 'island of strangers' in an immigration speech last week, which she said was similar to what Mr Powell had predicted in 1968. She added: 'I'm used to being bullied for standing up for what I believe in.'
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Police investigate Enoch Powell portrait hung in village shop as ‘hate incident'
A village shop is being investigated by police after it displayed a portrait of Enoch Powell alongside his controversial anti-immigration speech. Mumfords, an ironmonger in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire, hung a framed picture of the divisive former Tory MP and an excerpt of his 1968 'Rivers of Blood' speech in February. Shopkeeper Elizabeth Griffiths said she put the photograph in her window to highlight the 'need for strong assertive leadership during tough political times.' But West Mercia Police said it was treating the A4 display as a 'hate incident' after receiving a report on Friday 16 May of 'offensive content'. Mr Powell used inflammatory language and caused a national political firestorm when he criticised immigration to the UK in a 45-minute speech to local Conservative members at a Birmingham hotel. The former Conservative MP for Wolverhampton South West said white British people would find themselves 'strangers in their own country' as a result of migration. He was sacked from the Conservative front bench for making the speech and it outraged his senior colleagues at the time. A hate incident is any non-criminal offence that a victim thinks is motivated by hostility or prejudice towards a person's race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. Last week, Sir Keir Starmer was accused of copying Mr Powell's words when he warned that the UK was becoming an 'island of strangers' while vowing to crack down on immigration. Sir Keir said he would 'take back control' to slash the number of people coming to the UK as the country 'risks becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.' Norwich South MP Clive Lewis said: 'It's simply not sustainable for the prime minister to echo the language of Enoch Powell's 'rivers of blood' speech. 'This kind of language doesn't just alienate communities, it drives people away from our country altogether.' Downing Street rejected comparisons made with Mr Powell, who is a political hero of Reform leader Nigel Farage, and said Sir Keir 'absolutely stands by' his language. Mrs Griffiths told The Independent the picture had been in her shop window since the first week of February and she had received 'nothing but praise for all the time it has been there'. She said it was put there alongside Sir Winston Churchill, St Francis of Assisi, 'our Lord Jesus Christ', Churchill mugs and books on Churchill and Donald Trump. A West Merica Police spokesperson told The Independent: 'On 16 May we received a report of offensive content displayed in a shop window on Church Street in Cleobury Mortimer. 'This is being treated as a hate incident and enquiries are ongoing.'
