Fury as far-right group claim teen’s death ‘race crime’

Exclusive by Chris Murphy Friday, January 27, 2012
8:24 AM

Parents of Sittingbourne’s Michael Chapman left fuming

The parents of tragic Bobbing teenager Michael Chapman have reacted furiously after their son’s photograph was used in a far-right group’s campaign to crackdown on ‘Britain’s racist murders’.

The 16-year-old was killed after being punched and kicked as he walked on playing fields close to Gore Court Cricket Club by Lee Cowie in a case that shocked the nation.

But Cowie was white, race was not cited in the case, and the perpetrator was jailed for manslaughter – not murder - for four years.

Yet this week Michael Chapman was featured in an email sent out by Britain First – a group set up by Paul Goulding, a former member of the British National Party and one-time Sevenoaks councillor.

Pictured alongside dozens of other apparent ‘race victims’ it promotes an online petition which claims the majority of victims in racial attacks in the UK are white and that MPs should do more to highlight the fact.

A video on the Britain First website supporting the campaign also says the Stephen Lawrence murder case was a “20-year witch-hunt” which had become a “cause celebre” among the “liberal left”.

Also featured was murdered Harry Potter star Rob Knox who was stabbed in Sidcup shortly after appearing as Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Again, race was never mentioned as a factor in his death.

The email said: “These poor souls - all of them members of our own nation and our own flesh and blood - have been deprived of life by violent immigrant racists in horrific and brutal attacks.

“This campaign is about honouring their memory - the media and the politicians have ignored virtually all of them as if their tragedy is irrelevant and only the immigrant victims of racism matter.”

The leaflet adds: “Britain First is a patriotic political movement that campaigns to put British people first.”

But Michael Chapman’s parents Lloyd and Sue, who are setting up a charity – Protect Our Communities Against Violence - to combat mindless violence against young people, were left staggered at their son being part of such a campaign.

Mr Chapman, a former Grenadier guard told YourSwale: “This flyer is just wrong. The claim it was a racial attack is just not true.

“It was a white guy who killed him. I am fuming about this.

“They didn’t even get in touch about using his photograph.”

He said the stress of losing their son has had a devastating impact on their family.

He added: “Sue and I came very, very close to splitting up, closer than anyone can think. I was blaming others and Sue and I were arguing a lot.

“This is why we need to make POCAV work and stop Michael’s memory being abused like it is on this leaflet.”

Michael Chapman died after he was assaulted as he walked home with his brother in June 2006. Lee Cowie, then 19, admitted manslaughter.

It is believed he reacted in a jealous rage after Michael was spotted talking to a girl he liked.

Maidstone Crown Court was told Cowie ran up behind the boy and punched him to the ground before kicking his head “like it was a football”.

It ruptured an artery that would cause Michael’s death.

Britain First’s Paul Golding admitted he may have made a blunder when we contacted him. He said: “Let me take a note of these and try to get them removed.

“I can confirm though that if they are upset at the use of the images in our campaign all they had to do is ring our office and we would have immediately removed them from our literature.

“We have received no phone calls or inquiries whatsoever. In fact, to the contrary, we have received a lot of interest and support of this campaign.”

When it was pointed out these two were not the victims of racial attacks, he said: “They wasn’t? Right, OK. Well, as I said, I will look in to it and I will remove them.”

The images were removed from the poster available to download from the site by Wednesday but both still appeared in the YouTube video which appeared on the site.

The voice-over for the video focuses on the Stephen Lawrence case. It says: “After 20 years of this cause celebre of the liberal left it is still being rammed down our throat. No-one condones the terrible murder of Stephen Lawrence but people are angry that this one particular crime from two decades ago has turned into a 20-year witchhunt while a multitude of British white victims of racist murders and attacks are completely ignored or marginalised.

“It is becoming patently obvious that British victims of racist attacks simply don’t count.”