Carmarthen school 'should clamp down on pupil's racist website'

Carmarthenshire council has been criticised for distancing itself from an extreme right-wing website created by a county borough schoolboy.

A 16-year-old GCSE pupil at Queen Elizabeth High School in Carmarthen has been identified as the creator of The Carmarthenshire Front website, which calls for the closure of all mosques and warns of a threat against white men.

Campaigners for racial equality and members of a leading teaching union say the local authority should be working to educate youngsters in order to eradicate racial prejudice. The call comes after both the council and school declined to take action against the pupil.

Rex Phillips, from teaching union NASUWT Wales, said: "Although the school has correctly and swiftly dissociated itself from this racist website, the Carmarthenshire authority is wrong to claim that this is not a school matter. Such complacency is wholly unacceptable."

The website features videos of BNP leader Nick Griffin talking about the "Islamification" of Europe, and describes the dangers facing the "white man" from a "tsunami of immigration".

A member of the senior leadership team at Queen Elizabeth High School said: "We have got no control over what an individual writes in their spare time. We completely and totally dissociate ourselves from anything of this nature."

Meanwhile, a statement from the council added: "Queen Elizabeth High School completely disassociates itself from this website and its contents. This is not a school matter."

However, Taha Idris, director of Swansea Bay Racial Equality Council, said: "Protesters like the Welsh Defence League may influence young, impressionable people so it is vital that we educate our youths."

Chris Keates, General Secretary of NASUWT added: "There is still much more to be done to protect young people from having their attitudes poisoned in this way. Families, schools, communities and government all have a responsibility to combat and challenge these unacceptable views. It is not acceptable for either the school or local authority to claim to have no responsibility in this matter."

However Carmarthenshire Council has defended its stance. Head of improvement and skills Wyn Williams said: "The county council is very active in working with schools and instilling core values and beliefs in our children and young people. Our Children and Young People's Plan promotes a number of key values and beliefs, which are taught in our schools. It clearly states that children and young people should appreciate and respect their own and others' beliefs and attitudes."

This is South Wales

Anti-Islam website written and run by schoolboy, 16

An extreme right-wing website calling for the closure of all mosques and warning of the threat to “the white man” is the work of a 16-year-old Welsh schoolboy, Wales on Sunday has learned.

Website ‘The Carmarthenshire Front’ – named after the far-right National Front – features videos of BNP leader Nick Griffin talking about the “Islamification” of Europe, and describes the dangers facing the “white man” from the “tsunami of immigration” coming into Britain. It also features a section called “How and where to spread propaganda” which tells people to “hit” libraries, residential neighbourhoods, supermarkets and schools in order to pedal the sinister material.

But rather than a large-scale organisation, the website is written and run by a GCSE pupil at Queen Elizabeth High School in Carmarthen. Wales on Sunday is not naming the youngster. The school immediately sought to distance itself from the website, emphasising that they go out of their way to have an inclusive policy towards students. There is no evidence that the pupil worked on the website during school hours.

The “about us” section on the website reads: “Carmarthenshire Front is a collection of nationalist friends and comrades from various groups and organisations. We are here to promote racial awareness in the county of Carmarthenshire, amongst all classes. We do not promote anything illegal.”

The website fights against mosques, saying: “Say NO, Vote NO, Mosques must GO!”

It particularly attacks plans to build a mosque near the site of the 9/11 massacre in New York, saying: “This is the sickest thing I have ever heard, and it’s perhaps no surprise when we note that Obama is a Muslim himself, which I would say must go a long way to explaining why this evil plan has been passed.”

The website goes on to attack the media for “failing to report on racist attacks against whites” and also lays into the British Government for sending aid to foreign countries. It says: “Only the nationalist parties have called for an immediate halt to all foreign aid programmes, and the reallocation of that budget to pressing internal problems inside Britain.”

It claims to have links with other “fronts” across the UK, including Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, York and Newcastle. The website also features a page dedicated to printable posters and stickers showing masked protestors with their fists in the air under the banner “National Resistance”. There is also a picture of former UK PM Tony Blair and Barack Obama standing underneath a giant figure wearing a gas-mask and wielding a giant grim reaper-like scythe.

A member of the senior leadership team at Queen Elizabeth High School said: “We have got no control over what an individual writes in their spare time. The school has been recognised for, and has an ethos of, inclusiveness for everyone. We completely and totally disassociate ourselves from anything of this nature.”

A statement from the Carmarthenshire Local Education Authority read: “Queen Elizabeth High School completely disassociates itself from this website and its contents.”

“This is not a school matter,” it said.

Wales Online

Thanks to Old Sailor for the heads-up.