Palace Pavilion Shutdown
Diane said: “The Pavilion has a bloody history of attracting trouble. Now another young man has lost his life. It is time this club is permanently shut down. Security on the door may be efficient in ensuring that weapons do not enter the club, however, we have seen fatalities on the club’s doorstep time after time.” She added: “Gun crime is not new to us here in Hackney. A history of gangland-style executions in the area surrounding Lower and Upper Clapton Roads have earned it the terrifying tag ‘Murder Mile’. Once again it has lived up to this horrific reputation. I support local police in their campaign to revoke the club’s licence and want to encourage all residents to make their views on this matter known to the council as they consider the future of the club.”
Diane continued: “For years we have heard stories about young men not feeling properly ‘dressed’ for a night out without a weapon. This misconception is obviously still around. I have long argued that to tackle this problem at its root we have to investigate its underlying causes. It remains a disheartening fact that more than 80 per cent of gun crime in London is "black on black", often involving boys in their teens. For me, as a black woman and the mother of a teenage son this is terrifying. We must acknowledge that there is a real and persistent problem of continuing educational underachievement of black boys. We must also acknowledge that there is a direct link between underachievement and falling into crime. Until we get to grips with these facts we will not be successful in our campaign against gun crime.”
She went on: “As an MP I have campaigned successfully for longer sentences for carrying guns and a ban on imitation weapons. However, more has to be done. Tackling our local gun crime problem will require more than a shutdown of a trouble spot. The community has a crucial role to play in the fight against gun crime. Of course it is all too easy to understand what the perpetrators are capable of. No one would want to risk crossing them. However, it is rarely a secret who commits these shootings. Lots of people were present on Lower Clapton Street as the Pavilion closed, and someone must know where those guns came from. I urge the community to come together to show we are united against further meaningless loss of life.”
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