The Independent on Sunday have today reported on the story we recently covered on Roger Evan's GLA member calling the London City Airport anti-expansion campaigners, and other fellow attendees at the Flash Mob the 'climate change Taliban'. It seems that we were not the only ones to be deeply offended by his comments, for a variety of reasons. David Cameron is apparently not happy with Roger over it at all.
Roger Evans was also on LBC on Saturday morning as a guest of Ken Livingstone and the 'Taliban' comment was discussed. We were surprised that Ken who was AGAINST the expansion of London City Airport actually had sympathy for Rog. But more interesting was the statement from Rog that he had only had TWO complaints made to his blog, neither of which had names or addresses. Seems he still isn't being very genuine though: a series of formal complaints have gone into the Standards Board at City Hall and are due to be heard on 1st April. He failed to mention those. But Roger has yet again put his foot in it with his claims: we received an email from a resident today saying that they had indeed complained directly to Rog's blog and had provided a name and address. Well that directly contradicts his claim then.
Roger you really must learn to be more genuine and respect communities and fine upstanding citizens who pay your wages!
The Independent on Sunday 22 March 2009
David Cameron yesterday slapped down a senior Tory who compared climate change activists to the Taliban, as he continued his attempt to green his party, despite the recession and opposition from sceptics.
Sources close to the Conservative leader described as "inappropriate" a website entry by Roger Evans, a London Assembly member, describing anti-airport campaigners as "the climate change Taliban".
And a spokesman for Boris Johnson, London's Mayor – who once compared concern about global warming to "Stone Age religion" – added: "This is not language that the Mayor would use."
The assembly's assessment sub-committee is now determining whether the remark should be investigated by its standards board.
Ironically, "the Taliban" is also the epithet privately used by green Tories for the party's climate change sceptics.
Last Tuesday Mr Cameron again emphatically sided with the environmental wing of his party during a regular private meeting with backbench MPs. He told them that the commitment to green issues would remain at the centre of Conservative policies.
Next week he is to have a special meeting with Dr Rajendra Pachauri, who – as chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – is leading scientific calls for tough action.
Environmentalists feared that the Conservatives would scale down their commitment after the sacking in January of Peter Ainsworth – one of the greenest MPs in parliament – as shadow Environment Secretary and his replacement by Nick Herbert, a founder of the pro-hunting Countryside Alliance.
