Wigan council signs anti-racism pledge

It commits the council to be a non-racist organisation, show respect to all ethnic groups and report any incidents of hate-crime.

The mayor of Wigan, Cllr John O’Brien, signed the pledge on behalf of the council.

He said:

"As someone who grew up in various parts of the world, I personally find all forms of racial discrimination abhorrent."

"We wish to make it clear that racism in any form is unacceptable and has no place in our borough. Our communities benefit from the contribution made to the economic and cultural life of the borough by people from diverse ethnic backgrounds.

He added:

"As a council we will show respect to all ethnic groups and hopefully our involvement will encourage others to do the same. We are totally committed to an anti-racist future and we will support all those who suffer racism by doing everything in our power to tackle it.

Wigan and Leigh United Against Racism is a voluntary organisation, which has been active in the borough for more than four years. It has cross party support, with members drawn from the public, private and voluntary sectors, including faith groups and interested individuals.

Any organisation that agrees to sign pledges that:
* We are a non-racist organisation;
* We show respect to all ethnic groups;
* We expect other people to do the same;
* We will report any hate-crime incident.