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