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Tory shadow Home Office minister says Luton has 'no-go zones'; Labour MP calls it untrue

Blake Stephenson, a shadow Conservative Home Office minister, told a Tory conference fringe event that parts of Luton are 'no-go zones' where 'white people won't go'. Luton North Labour MP Sarah Owen called the claim 'simply untrue'; the Conservatives have been approached for comment.

2 outlets · 2L · 0C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: The Guardian
Image: Daily Mirror

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The story, neutrally told

Left · 2Blake Stephenson, the Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire and a shadow Home Office minister, said at a Tory party conference fringe meeting that Luton has "no-go zones" where "white people won't go". Left · 2The event was a Centre for Policy Studies fringe meeting in Birmingham entitled From Boriswave to Brain Drain: How Can We Fix Migration? Left · 1Stephenson, who was appointed to the frontbench role two weeks earlier, described Luton as "a very dangerous place" and "a shadow of its former self", said "the police will tell you this", and said some communities "live in ghettoes".

Left · 1Stephenson said other towns across the country were in a similar situation, that fixing it required "deep levels of integration", and that there should be no ghettoes "where there are no-go zones for anybody". Stephenson said they knew Luton because they live "10, 15 minutes away" in a village just over the border. Left · 1Earlier in the same event, Stephenson said the Equalities Act had led to "white young men" being discriminated against and that government schemes barring them from internships were "state-sponsored racism"; Stephenson also said "mass migration has been an absolute disaster", describing a consensus on the right. Left · 2Sarah Owen, the Labour MP for Luton North, called it "deeply irresponsible" for any politician, "let alone a senior Conservative", to repeat what she called "rightwing nonsense" also heard from Tommy Robinson (Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) and Reform. She said the claim was "simply untrue" and urged the Lib Dem/Tory/Green-run Luton council to disown the comments.

Left · 1The Guardian noted the remarks echo claims by far-right figures including Anders Breivik and Tommy Robinson, who co-founded the English Defence League in Luton in 2009; it said local police and local Muslim and Christian groups have denied such claims. Bedfordshire police said in a statement at the time of Breivik's 2012 court statement that "no-go areas do not exist in Bedfordshire". Left · 2Both outlets said the Conservative Party had been approached for comment; no response is reported.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left2 outlets

Framing
Both outlets lead on the 'no-go zones' remark and present it as controversial. The Guardian links it to far-right talking points; the Mirror headlines Labour's 'deeply irresponsible' rebuke.
Emphasis
The Guardian stresses the Breivik and Tommy Robinson parallels and police denials; the Mirror stresses Owen's criticism and Stephenson's short time in post.
Leaves out or plays down
Neither carries a Conservative response, nor any police comment on Stephenson's remarks specifically. No right-leaning or centre outlets are in the coverage to show how the remarks are defended.
Charged language
“rightwing nonsense”“deeply irresponsible”“white people won’t go”
For example
“His comments, made at a fringe meeting at the Conservative party conference, mirror claims by far-right activists including from the terrorist mass murderer Anders Breivik” — The Guardian
“Tory shadow minister branded 'deeply irresponsible' over claim Luton has areas where ‘white people won’t go’” — Daily Mirror

Centre0 outlets

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.