Poles attack Daily Mail bias

[TheQuiltedLlama 34]

UK Poles attack Daily Mail 'bias'

Daily Mail: one of the stories the paper claimed gave a fair view of Polish workers in the UK

The Federation of Poles in Great Britain has "reluctantly" filed a complaint to the Press Complaints Commission accusing the Daily Mail of defaming Polish residents in the UK.

In its letter of complaint to the PCC the federation accused the Daily Mail of printing articles that gave rise to "negative emotions and tensions between the new EU immigrants and local communities".

But the Daily Mail has strongly rejected the complaint, with a spokesman telling MediaGuardian.co.uk that it is "not in any way anti-Polish" and pointing out that the paper ran plenty of positive stories about people from Poland.

The FPGB letter, sent last month, also complained about 50 Daily Mail headlines it said all displayed anti-Polish sentiment.

FPGB claimed that the paper has a deliberate policy aimed at encouraging discrimination against immigrants and in particular Poles and their families.

However, a spokesman for the Daily Mail dismissed these claims.

"If you take the balance of articles published by us the Polish migrant has not been identified as a hate figure and we have often and continuously drawn attention to the benefits Britain has and does derive from the skills that immigrants bring us," the spokesman said.

The federation is the largest of the organisations representing Poles in the UK.

"We reluctantly complained because we prefer to sort out our own problems. But we have been paying for our pride, and we have run out of patience," an FPGB spokesman told MediaGuardian.co.uk.

Jan Mokrzycki, the chair of the FPGB, told Polish media: "It was the headlines which were the most offensive, using emotive anti-Polish language.

"Poles seem to be unable to please the Daily Mail whatever they do.

"On one day you get a headline 'Poles flood into England' implying the country is drowning in immigrants, and the next day you get 'Poles desert England' as if we are abandoning them.

"Poles are not totally innocent, no society is totally innocent, and if a Pole does something wrong then he or she should have to face the music.

"But when you get a series of articles and none of the headlines shed a positive light, and all shed a negative light by using this sort of terminology then it is fair to say we can complain about bias.

Mokrzycki said the Daily Mail had refused to respond to earlier complaints direct from the federation, which had now been forced to act through the PCC.

But a PCC spokesman said it had been unable to assess the complaint and had requested more information from the federation and was awaiting a response.

The Daily Mail spokesman said the paper was not against any ethnic group.

"We do reserve the right to criticise bogus asylum claims, benefit cheats, tax dodgers and militant fanatics no matter where they were born," he added.

"The Mail is entitled to run stories about immigration, the more so as the last ten years have witnessed immigration on a scale at a vastly increased rate than at any time in this country's history since and including the Norman invasion of the 11th century.

"We have run articles praising the skills of Polish workers and pointing out that many employers prefer their work ethic to the lack of commitment of British workers. We have run stories pointing out the areas in which Polish workers have been exploited. We have run pieces pointing out that Polish children are generally better behaved in our schools than British children. We have run letters pointing out th

[panthersimcity4 162]

That's funny, my cousin from Poland just moved to Liverpool not long ago for some engineering job

My mom's a Polish immigrant too, she went on a ship to New York from Gdansk in the 1980's.

[GingerBlokey 30]

About bloody time too!!

Seriously. The Daily Mail needs a slap on the wrist and a whack across the back of the head.

I am dying to see if someone can find these "positive stories" on Polish people.

The Daily Mail is fully known as being racist, xenophobic, homophobic and generally a disgusting piece of scare-mongering, tabloid [swear].

It makes me sooo angry.

[belfastuniguy 18]

Indeed about time. The Daily Mail is completely disgusting.

I read about this in The Guradian and was very happy. About time the trashy British tabloid press were given a good smack in the face....hopefully the Daily Mail will get one.

[GingerBlokey 30]

Originally posted by: belfastuniguy The Guardian.quote>

The Guardian is a voice of reason in a sea of bile. Maybe the Independent too. Possible the Morning Star if your'e that way inclined.

[TheQuiltedLlama 34]

I thought I would provide you with a small selection of stories concerning poles. I found all of these within a matter of seconds just by searching 'Immigration' and 'Poles' on the Daily mail website.

Do a search yourself and you will see how obsessed the Mail is with polish people.

'Immigrants here for good': Half of Poles plan to stay in UK

One in five of UK home buyers are Polish

One in every four Poles in Britain plan to stay for life, says survey

The Polish baby boom: Fears for NHS and schools as 1,000 Polish children are born EVERY month

[belfastuniguy 18]

The Daily Mail is obsessed with such nonsense. Funny thing is the people that are building the house or extension for the normal Daily Mail reader or cleaning their office is most likely Polish........I find that hilarious in many ways.

I SERIOUSLY doubt that 1000 Polish children are born every month in the UK. The Daily Mail also fails to understand that Poles are allowed to work, study and live here legally. I don't see them screaming about British people going to live in France or Spain. Total racism on behalf of The Daily Hate Mail.

[nazaguy 0]

At least it gives me a bit of breathing space before I have to read about how i'm trying to stop Christmas, bomb stuff, and kill people over teddy bears. But, back to topic, i read something once about a man who lived with some Poles. His house was bricked, he was beaten, and they were eventually forced to leave. Many of the things that were said to them seemed ripped from a tabloid paper. All I can say is good on the Poles. And thank God for the Guardian

[fukuda 351]

"The findings suggest that migrants will continue to place enormous pressure on schools, hospitals and other public services."

"when eastern Europeans began arriving in the UK following EU expansion in May 2004, most opted to rent - pushing up rental prices for Britons seeking homes in the private sector."

"It cited noise and disruption around migrant housing, street drinking, breakdowns in refuse collections, tension over parking spaces and arguments in libraries where migrants "monopolise the Internet". "

"His comments reflect the fact that - since the former Communist country joined the EU in 2004 - its citizens have completely free access to the UK."

I like the strategical placement of the word "communist" here

"He said it was a "miracle" that since May 2004 Britain had absorbed so many new immigrants without more strain and friction." How to change a postive fact into a negative one.

"Members of the National Association of Head Teachers will tell Parliament this week that the influx is starting to change the culture of some schools." So?

"Mr Brookes, who will give evidence to a Lords inquiry on the impact of immigration, added: "If you get a sudden influx not only will it strain or even break the resources of the school, it will also change the culture of that school.""

Wow, it feels like reading our extreme-right newspapers

[saltandsauce 0]

the number of Poles in Peterborough is just insane