Conservative Leader Apologises Over 'Apartheid' Remarks
Having originally doubled down Gerald McGregor admits they were inappropriate
Gerald McGregor on Chiswick High Road campaigning against Cycleway 9
|
The leader of the Conservative group on Hounslow Council, Gerald McGregor, has apologised for comparing traffic measures in the borough to apartheid.
The councillor for Chiswick Homefields ward had described the new traffic orders being implemented by the council as like a ‘creeping apartheid’ in his weekly update on this site and claimed that Chiswick residents were being subject to separation tactics similar to those previously used in South Africa.
That led one Labour councillor to describe him as a ‘bombastic dinosaur’ and say that he was out of touch.
Originally, he said he was not prepared to tone town his language and blamed the policies of the council for raising the temperature of the debate.
Now he has reconsidered and issued a statement saying, “I have taken some time to reflect on my remarks over the past week and would like to apologise unreservedly for the comments I made. The language is inappropriate and has understandably caused offence to residents and this was never my intention.
"My words fell well short of the high standards by which I try to conduct myself in public life and, while I will never stop standing up for people across the London Borough of Hounslow, I recognise that in future I must take more care with the language I use.”
The party recently suspended former chair of Riverside Ward Conservatives David Giles for using the phrase ‘Brentford Taliban’ in reference to Labour councillors representing that area. He defended himself by saying that he was quoting someone else rather than applying the description himself.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
November 9, 2021
