Drum Magazine Issue 3 | Page 69

Drum: IN FOCUS 6 7 and explained away by way of costs implications, you begin to get a sense of the engine that drives the man. When pushed he will admit that he has always spoken up for those who are unable to do so because of whatever set of circumstances. “I believe it’s my duty to afford them a voice. That’s why I speak up for asylum seekers, refugees and speak out against discrimination because most of the people who fall into those camps have not got a voice and cannot challenge the system and the bureaucracy. They’ve had the rough edge of the deal. I believe those of us who come equipped with the tools ought to help provide what’s missing.” Said jokingly, it still holds your attention when Sir Bill states “I believe I’m right until I’m proved otherwise.” This is a man who will not bow or scrape to meet his lofty end goals. He realises the scourge of ‘tokenism’ and gives the phenomenon short shrift. This sounds like a man who was always going to be on the side of the little guy in any David versus Goliath fight but make no mistakes, Sir Bill moves in esteemed and hallowed circles. Having been a Director of several high profile institutions including the Bank of England, this grandfather and widowed father of two, walks with leaders and people who can make a real difference in this country. Recently, because of these very connections and the drive to want to get something done for someone who was unable to rise up against the great British bureaucracy, Sir Bill made it possible for a Jamaican girl with a heart condition to get the transplant that would have been denied her because of the colour of her passport. “People have to either want to hear what I have to contribute to the organisation or I’m the wrong person. I’m not here to make the numbers up or provide the decoration around the table colourwise. It’s an insult to the individual if they allow themselves to be seen as the decoration or to give the issues or policy an acceptable face. I have to always ask myself what is the agenda here - so they’ve given me a seat on this nice board with a nice office but are they wheeling me out at every given opportunity to be the acceptable face of discrimination or in fact racism?” “That is one of the ways that ‘they’ try to get acceptability for their policies. The whole concept of the way the institutions and society work lends itself to tokenism. You have to dig deep and find out what underpins this because you have to make it clear, you’re not there for decorative reasons. When pressed on whether this played a factor in his being appointed to chair the panel into issues affecting the » The Miners’ Strike was generally depicted as a confrontation between PM, Margaret Thatcher, and NUM president Arthur Scargill, involving some of the most violent confrontations between trade unionists and police ever seen in England. 8 0s Bush and Blair get ever closer in the ‘ war on terror’ following the fall of the World Trade Centre on 11th September 2 001. (NATO photo, EAPC, 2 9 June 2 004). 90s 2 000 Death of ‘ The People’s Princess left a nation in mourning. Unprecedented crowds watch a gian Bf