Yorkshire residents have hit out at the Daily Mail following the release of a damning article that described towns in the region as ‘no go areas for white people’.
Bradford and Dewsbury were two of four northern towns mentioned in the MailOnline article on academic Ed Husain – who visited UK mosques for book research.
Reams of locals living in the towns have hit back at the piece, contesting the remarks and the publication of the story.
One businessman said Dewsbury is “fed up to the back teeth” of negative press, whilst Musharaf Asghar, a local public speaker known for his appearance on Channel 4’s Educating Yorkshire, described the article as pure “lies”.
“Anyone who is afraid to enter Dewsbury is more than happy to drop me a message and I’ll take you to one of the best ice-cream parlours in [the town],” he tweeted.
Local leaders have also chimed in with criticism, with former Labour councillor Paul Ellis stating “The media needs to lay off towns like Dewsbury”.
“While people like Ed Husain, who has never lived here, gets to publish his book and the Daily Mail gets a headline, people in other parts of the country read it and must think God knows what about the North, despite having never been here.
“Towns like Dewsbury have some of the friendliest people you’ll meet.”
At the beginning of lockdown, the Muslim community was very active in mobilising to help others, said Ellis, contacting people at the nearby churches to see if there was anyone in their parish who needed food parcels or shopping done for them.
The response has been echoed by a raft of voices in local leadership roles including Councillor Jackie Ramsay, Labour councillor for Dewsbury South, her colleague Councillor Darren O’Donovan for Dewsbury West and Conservative councillor for Wyke in Bradford, Councillor Joan Clarke.
Author Husain said his upcoming book was “not about ‘no-go areas’”.
