Letter to Editor: Surely the time has come for Harlow Council to allow Razed Roof back to the Playhouse.
Your Say / Fri 6th Feb 2026 at 09:15am
Dear Editor
IT is now a week since Cllr Swords Leader of Harlow Council issued a statement prohibiting Razed Roof from using Council premises. A decision, apparently made without any detailed formal impact assessmen, which directly effects the wellbeing of approximately 50 vulnerable people who attended the Razed Roof and Gently Creates groups previously held at The Playhouse.
During the last week
Essex Police have issued a statement “Following reports regarding a matter of concern at a Holocaust Memorial Service in Harlow, Essex Police have now thoroughly reviewed the incident. All posts and footage have been fully assessed by senior officers, and we can confirm no criminal offences, including support for a proscribed organisation, have been identified.
We have had an apology from the Chair of Razed Roof Razed Roof was very proud to be involved yet again in the annual Holocaust Memorial Service and the distress which this incident may have caused to any member of the Jewish community is deeply regretted.
We also have had Rabbi Irit’s statement “There was clearly a grave error of judgement, but I do not believe there was any intention on the part of the Razed Roof team to offend or cause distress.’
So I publicly repeat my plea Surely the time has come for the Council to restore some sense of proportion and allow the Razed Roof to go back to the Playhouse.
An investigation is now being undertaken by the Charity Commission. This is however likely to take some time and in the interim the group should be allowed to meet. For the Council to act in any other way arguably pre-judges and prejudices the outcome of the investigation and threatens the ongoing viability of Razed Roof.
Cllr Tony Edwards
New Town Dreaming
2026-02-06 10:14:05
Anyone can play dress up, don a hard hat and make speeches about themself to a camera. It takes an adult to reflect, have awareness that they may have acted hastily to serve no good purpose, and change their mind. I wonder if Dan Swords has it in him. Despite ongoing comments of support for Razed Roof, he is silent. It’s the same distract and move on, as he did with the imaginary letter from the Home Office about asylum seekers. People don’t forget, Dan. They will think more of you if you decide the collective punishment of a group of disabled people was not the best thing for anyone.
David Forman
2026-02-06 10:53:16
Councillor Edwards forgets once again that this year's Holocaust Memorial Day theme allows any decent person to mention Gaza and that Joshua Gold was justified in raising the subject. Joshua has certainly shown a lot more bottle than Labour politicians who have supported their government throughout the slaughter with steadfast silence, despite ongoing UK arms shipments to Israel. I notice councillor Edwards doesn't even mention the fact that the numbers killed reported daily by the Gaza Health Ministry were confirmed as accurate by Israel's Defence Forces on January 29. Councillor Edwards wants to shoot the messenger and move on as it helps avoid the uncomfortable truth: the Labour Party are genocide deniers and enablers.
David Forman
2026-02-06 11:03:40
If only councillor Edwards had written as many letters on Gaza as he has on Razed Roof then I would have a modicum of respect for him. It seems some injustices rank higher for him than a daily slaughter of civilians.
Andrew Bray
2026-02-06 12:30:01
By cancelling Raised Roof the council is pandering to the far right, absolutely disgusting.
To David Forman
2026-02-06 12:36:40
What are you on about, David? It was Rabbi Irit, not Cllr Edwards, who told Razed Roof they were not to mention Gaza at the memorial. This statement is not to make a point about Gaza or the lives lost, but to stand for Razed Roof at this time and plea for the council to allow their sessions to return following heavy-handed and frankly disgusting decision to ban them. Your comments suggest you’re looking to shift the focus from charity Razed Roof, to score points against Labour. Could it be that Cllr Edwards is just looking out for a local charity, serving those with and without SEND, with this? I suggest you do the same.
Seamus
2026-02-06 13:43:41
Usual subjects. They can't breathe without saying gaza, gaza, gaza. How about giving it a rest? Nothing you say in your little virtue signalling bubble in a small Essex town will help the people of Gaza. You know this but instead of seeing local events, you try and link eveything to Gaza. I can imagine your shopping list, bag of spuds, gaza, shredded wheat, gaza, bean pulses gaza. Honestly within the context of Harlows own issues you are on a different planet to the rest of us and you are quite boring to be honest. New town dreaming, you said "Dan. They will think more of you if you decide the collective punishment of a group of disabled people was not the best thing for anyone." Despite it being raised multiple times about letting it all cool down and let Harlow council and Raized roof having time to possibly resolve this, the usual suspects have been writing to your Harlow on a daily basis to keep the fire stoked for their own angry entertainment. Andrew Bray you said "By cancelling Raised Roof the council is pandering to the far right, absolutely disgusting". Wow, the far right had absolutely no input on this but we do know who did, the far left. From the far left of Joshua and David, the gaza twins, to the anti semetic Labour party and the weekly attacks by the far left pro gaza protesters. Try and shift the blame if you want but this has far left fingerprints all over it. Now can we please give the Raized roof letters a break and give the council and raized roof the opportunity to reflect and talk without the usual gaza gaza gaza fans in the background insistent on division rather than peaceful attemps to resolve this.
David Forman
2026-02-06 14:13:37
To the anonymous commentator, I did NOT say councillor Edwards told Razed Roof to avoid mention of Gaza. What councillor Edwards failed to do is to engage with the argument that mentioning Gaza was justified by the charitable purposes of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust in educating the public so that a genocide or Holocaust is Never Again. In fact, a close examination of this year's theme, Bridging Generations, argues that every generation should take a "step forward". HMD Trust then goes on to say: "Together at HMD, we’ll build empathy and understanding, using the lessons of the Holocaust and of Recent Genocides to sharpen our awareness and deepen our compassion in the face of Contemporary Injustice." That in itself is more than enough of an argument to mention Gaza and thus exonerate Razed Roof. However, councillor Edwards seeks to justify sweeping the horrors of Gaza under the carpet and throwing the messenger Joshua Gold under the bus. This is hardly surprising given the silence on Gaza by the vast majority of Labour councillors, despite their government's complicity in aiding the Israeli government to commit atrocities through arms shipments and intelligence gathering. Whilst I support Razed Roof, they have not supported Joshua Gold who did his duty as a humanitarian.
David Forman
2026-02-06 14:15:24
See the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust theme Bridging Generations at http://hmd.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/HMD-2026-Bridging-Generations.pdf
David Forman
2026-02-06 14:26:18
To Seamus, I would be a little more willing to engage with your arguments if you could spell Razed Roof correctly. I would be a little more engaged if the incorrect spelling and capitalisation was consistent. Seamus, I was bemused by your use of Raized roof and Raised Roof. I would have thought a keen supporter of a local charity would be able to spell it correctly.
Seamus
2026-02-06 15:05:51
David, I am bemused by your bemusement. That said, well done for writing a whole paragraph without mentioning gaza. Well done sir. See, you can do it. Now perhaps we can give both sides the undisturbed time and opportunity to resolve this which is certainly something that I feel is achievable.
Mag B
2026-02-06 15:37:00
I opened Your Harlow intending to thank Cllr Tony Edwards for his clear, compassionate and common sense letter of a week ago. It's a shame Cllr Edwards has had to write again, hoping to elicit a response from the council leader. Again, he writes clearly and succinctly to highlight the need for Harlow Council's elected members to "restore some sense of proportion". IE: Sit down and talk. I have written to Cllr Andrew Johnson, who is chairperson of the council, and a long-serving councillor for Harlow and also for Essex County Council. He was present at the Holocaust service so may have his own view on the hasty punishment meted out. My hope is that he would be prepared to work with councillors of his own and other political parties to seek an end to this particular conflict in which it is the theatre company's innocent members who are distressed onlookers in this threat to their wellbeing in the town that is their home. Can it be right to outlaw Harlow citizens from the right to enter Harlow’s public buildings: Civic Centre, Harlow Museum, Latton Bush Centre, Harvey Centre (eg home to Phoenix Live and Maybury Centre), town park? What other buildings could accommodate Razed Roof for meetings, rehearsals, performances? Maybe our churches could step up to offer accessible space, but let us hope it won’t come to that. I have copied my ward councillors into my letter to the chair of Harlow Council, hoping they may also wish to work co-operatively as elected members seeking to resolve the impact on Razed Roof’s survival. I have chosen to do this rather than sign the online petition. I may be naive in hoping local democracy will kick in if given a chance. May I respectfully suggest that Harlow readers contact their own ward councillors. Names, wards and email addresses are available on Harlow Council’s website and in the printed Harlow Times. Finally, I would like also to thank John Wake for his letter in support of Razed Roof. It contains much thoughtful and relevant information. When he refers to ‘the people of Harlow {who} are represented at the Civic Centre and in the House of Commons by people who not only turn a blind eye to the copious evidence……...” I can’t help thinking of the lyrics to Blowin’ In The Wind, which, ironically, was played as background to the Razed Roof contribution to the Holocaust service.
Yvonne
2026-02-06 19:57:43
Andrew Bray, your comment is just so redundant. 'Far Right' is used to describe anything that is not Far Left that it has become devoid of meaning. People are no longer inhibited or intimidated by this nonsense. Just check the latest local by-election results and opinion polls. After the Mandelson fiasco, Labour is toast. The most incompetent government in living memory. I hope the Council and Razed Roof might reconcile, but be under no doubt that Dan Swords ( and Chris Vince) acted correctly on reasonable suspicion that an offence might have been committed with regards to possible support for a proscribed terrorist group. Interesting that the author John Wake who is a far left supporter has been seen outside the CIvic Centre chanting pro terrorist themes in support of the proscribed terrorist pro Palestine Action group . Doubt if he will dare do it again for fear of arrest and prosecution.
New Town Dreaming
2026-02-07 10:54:23
Seamus, you talk about the dust settling, in the meantime, it has been two weeks. The police have investigated, all clear. Rabbi Irit does not want Razed Roof to end. The only problem is Dan Swords and his knee jerk reaction which doesn’t seem to have taken into account a group of vulnerable people - which legally I think I’m right in saying the council has to do. For the people who are engaging in Razed Roof, that’s four sessions where they’ve lost their point of community, their chance to socialise, their extended family. They are banned from meeting in buildings which have been their home for years. How long is long enough for those people to endure that? And who does it benefit? What dust needs to settle? It’s Dan Sword’s ego vs a group of disabled people. Meanwhile, the council has upped its PR game - look over there and forget. I hope you take some time to look through the Razed Roof Facebook page or check out our MP’s maiden speech in Parliament, then you’ll see who this is impacting. You might have a think about your dust then.
Seamus
2026-02-07 20:01:38
New town, yes it's been two weeks, but hardly two months or two years. Just because you think it's taken too long it doesn't mean it has. The police only gave their statement a few days ago so the time line so far has been effected by that. Was it right to refer it? It was a deliberate act to incite by an individual who recognised that, at a ceremony that meant to heal and not divide but Joshua Gold thought he was more important than any consequence razed roof might face. So if Dan Swords believed a deliberate act to incite hatred, then him referring it to the police and asking "I have concerns, can you have a look and see what you feel?", was something he was entitled to do even if you disagree with it. I remain puzzelled as to why the editor of your harlow is obssessed with this also with multiple daily letters by the gazza twins who still seem to be unable to see why such an event went as it did, I can only pressume it's for clicks. You mention ego's and dan swords but none of the ego's of those who seem to think everything is about gazza and their faux outrage ego's. As to the group itself, have any of you actually asked razed roof what's going on and are they in talks with the council? I suspect they are but none of the labour supporters have asked them. Why? because like most far left, they suffer from missionary status where they feel many people are beneath them and only far left labour can fight their cause and save them. You can't rule out that most of those in the gazza group of Harlow are little more than missionaries and political opportunists. I'll ask you a question if I may? It's been asked that everyone take a step back to allow Harlow council and razed roof to talk many many times. With that in mind, why do the left ignore that by writing daily attack letters of the council's actions ? How about the left let razed roof handle the matter in their own way rather than one or two of the left/far left trying to get likes by other crazies on the internet? if the left genuinely care about razed roof then let them deal with it in their own way. Far left insitigators have no care for razed roof, they are just a group those antagonists see as an opportunity to raise their own profile within a local group of silly people. Letting razed roof deal with this in their own way and at their own pace would be the respectfull thing to do would it not?
Leave a Comment Below:
14 Comments for Letter to Editor: Surely the time has come for Harlow Council to allow Razed Roof back to the Playhouse.: