Ed Miliband: Scrap Bahrain Grand Prix

Downing Street says it is 'concerned' over violence
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20 April 2012
WEST END FINAL

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Labour leader Ed Miliband today urged David Cameron to add his voice to calls for the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Mr Miliband said that it would send out the wrong signal for the Formula 1 motor race to go ahead on Sunday at a time of concern over human rights abuses in the Gulf state.

But Downing Street said it was not for the Government to dictate what sporting events take place in countries overseas.

Speaking during a visit to south Wales, Mr Miliband said: "I certainly think it is the case that, given the violence we have seen in Bahrain and given the human rights abuses, I don't believe the Grand Prix should go ahead.

"I hope that the Government will make its view clear and say the same."

Downing Street said the Government remained "concerned" about the violence in Bahrain, but refused to be drawn on whether the race should go ahead.

"It is not for us to dictate what sporting events happen in other countries," a No 10 spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, Bernie Ecclestone arrived to say the race would go on unless called off by the Bahrain government. He suggested stories of unrest have been exaggerated.

He said: “You guys want a story and it’s a good story and if there isn’t a story you make it up like usual, Nothing changes.

“The political thing is going in so many countries. These things happen. We are not here to get involved in politics.

“There are many more countries higher up the priority list that you should be writing about. Go to Syria and write about those things because it is more important.”

Additional security troops were deployed around the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) and across the capital Manama today as the three-day event leading up to Sunday's race got under way.

Two members of the Force India team have flown home after a car was caught up in a petrol bomb incident on Wednesday, and the team's drivers Niko Hulkenberg and Paul Di Resta are to cut practice sessions short today to be able to leave the desert circuit before nightfall.

Opponents of the kingdom's Sunni monarchy - many of them drawn from the country's Shi'ite majority - are expected to rally in an area close to the BIC later today.

Yesterday, police used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse a gathering of around 700 people close to the British embassy.

At Westminster, 17 MPs signed a cross-party motion calling for the race to be called off, warning that it will be used by the Bahrain government as "an endorsement of its policies of suppression of dissent".

Last year's race was cancelled amid international condemnation of the bloody crackdown by state security forces on pro-democracy protests, which killed at least 50 people.

Mr Miliband said: "Sport and politics generally shouldn't mix, but... what kind of signal does it send to the world when this Grand Prix is going ahead, given the concerns there are, given the violence we have seen in Bahrain, given the continuing issues around human rights?

"I don't think it's the right decision to let this Grand Prix go ahead and I think the Government needs to weigh in and express its view."

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper urged British Formula 1 stars Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton last night to pull out of this weekend's controversial event.

"It shouldn't go ahead, I don't think British drivers should go, I think the Formula 1 should not go ahead in Bahrain," Ms Cooper told BBC1's Question Time.

But McLaren driver Button refused to become embroiled in the issue during an interview yesterday, telling reporters: "I'm not going to get into the details of it. You are here interviewing me as a driver and that's exactly what I am going to talk about - motor racing. The outside issues, I'm not going to talk about."

Respect MP George Galloway said the tracks of the Middle Eastern race circuit were "stained by the blood of the people who are asking for a vote", adding that "anyone who drives over them will never be forgiven."

And Conservative former shadow home secretary David Davis said: "The only ethical option for Formula 1 is not to continue with the Bahrain Grand Prix.

"Regrettably, this is an example of where big money is over-ruling serious ethical concerns."

The Foreign Office (FCO) has advised British motor racing fans against travelling to the Grand Prix.

The Bahrain International Circuit is only 25 miles away from the capital Manama, which has been the scene of violent clashes over recent weeks.

In a recent report, Amnesty International said security forces were still using excessive and unnecessary force against anti-government protesters.

Amnesty said it was receiving reports of the torture and ill-treatment of demonstrators, who have been involved in clashes with police.

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