The large-scale sexual exploitation of young girls in Rotherham and elsewhere euphemistically referred to as the grooming gang scandal has been a travesty of justice for years and so it is great that at least one survivor, Liz, has won a £425 000 award in court against her rapist, Asghar Bostan.
Liz’s civil suit win in the High Court on Monday will bankrupt the child rapist and she may only get a fraction of the award but it is one more way of punishing those who have committed these vile crimes. Bostan served half of his 9-year jail sentence and has already been released.
The courage and tenacity of Liz is commendable and inspiring.
Speaking after the damages award was ordered, Liz said that she had sued Bostan “to show that, having been badly let down by South Yorkshire police and Rotherham council, we survivors can take things into our own hands and fight back for real justice”.
I found it interesting that the Times mentioned the campaign group who assisted Liz in very neutral terms and didn’t offer any background on this organisation.
Peter Mcilvenna, director of the campaign group Hearts Of Oak, which had assisted Liz with her civil claim, said that she had been “admirably courageous to see the legal process through to this victory”.
He said that “other grooming gang survivors should take heart from her success” and it that was “just the start of a wider campaign to get compensation for more victims and to punish more grooming gang rapists where it hurts”.
Heart of Oaks is routinely described as a far right hate group by the media and any one associated with it even accidentally is vilified as fascist adjacent. It is so anathema to progressive liberal sentiments that wikipedia does not even have an entry on the organisation but attacks it under Tommy Robinson’s entry although he
In February 2020, Robinson, Carl Benjamin (also known as “Sargon of Akkad”) and other former UKIP members launched the far-right organisation Hearts of Oak. At its launch, the members said that it is not a political party but a “cultural movement”, whose key issues include “strong borders, immigration and national identity”, “authorities privileging and protecting Islam alone” and “freedom of speech”.[40][41] Other contributors to Hearts of Oak include Dr Niall McRae, the co-author of an Islamophobic and anti-Semitic conspiracy booklet, and Catherine Blaiklock, the former leader of the Brexit Party.[42]
Hearts of Oak’s address is 71-75 Shelton Street. Vice World News found eight separate companies currently or formerly run from that address whose directors are members of the Orthodox Conservatives, the Bow Group or Turning Point UK.[42]
Spotify has been criticised[citation needed] for distributing podcasts by Hearts of Oak, whose guests have included Lutz Bachmann, the founder of the far-right anti-Islam Pegida movement, as well as Robinson and Benjamin.
Robinson and Benjamin pre-recorded a speech that was displayed at a protest on 1 August 2020 demanding the deportation of the men involved in the Rochdale child sex abuse ring. Richard Inman, the founder of Veterans Against Terrorism, a campaign group with far-right associations, was also a speaker and demanded the death penalty, stating “this rape epidemic” is “carried out by one section of the community”, referring to Muslim Pakistani men. However, a 2011 government report showed that almost 85% of men found guilty of sexual activity with a minor in England and Wales were white.[40]
Antifacist counter-protestors produced a leaflet that said, “Hearts of Oak are ideologically based on Islamophobia, racism and nationalism. By focusing only on sexual attacks by Muslims, they dismiss all other sexual attacks by men who are not Muslims. Singling out one group of people as the sole perpetrators of sexual crimes is a lie and it is racist. Focusing exclusively on sexual crimes and violence against women committed by Muslims is sexist, as it deliberately forgets all the other victims of sexual crimes and violence against women.” As the protest finished, Stand Up to Racism tweeted, “Several speakers didn’t show & the ‘highlight’ of Tommy Robinson’s video message went down poorly […] Hearts of Oak are going nowhere.”[40]
On 18 September 2022, Standing For Women, founded by Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull held a rally in Brighton. Hearts of Oak attended and live-streamed from the front of the inner circle at the rally.[43]
Heart of Oaks is closest in origin to UKIP figures rather than Tommy Robinson despite the reporting. Vice News and the dear old Guardian are terrified of this islamophobic outfit. They recently ‘exposed’ a nefarious conspiracy between A Secret of Lords Group Working Hand in Hand With Dastardly Far Right Groups. Heart of Oaks, Baroness Cox et al received honorable mention.
Observers may wonder why immensely brave and articulate female survivors of organised rape gangs are never featured in the ultra-feminist Guardian to speak in their own voice about their own lived experiences, their struggles and victories. Wrong skintone? Wrong social class? Wrong politics?
Congratulations to Liz and all who helped her, including Hearts of Oak. Congratulations to the Times for the neutral reporting too, such a shock these days.
One hopes that this ruling also encourages civil suits to be launched against the local officials and police who so badly failed these girls and their families.