Newcastle appoints first BAME mayor in 800-year history

Habib Rahman moved to Tyneside from Bangladesh when he was 12

Newcastle's first BAME lord mayor has dedicated his position to his late father, who was killed over a curry.

Habib Rahman said Newcastle "is not the racist city" his father Azizur saw when he was killed in 1977.

Azizur had only been on Tyneside for 10 days when he was stabbed at a Wallsend restaurant by a white customer unhappy about the size of their curry.

Mr Rahman said he was proud to "make history" in what is now a "safe and tolerant city".

The 47-year-old Labour councillor, who has served two years as sheriff and deputy mayor of Newcastle, gave an emotional speech in which he paid tribute to his "inspirational" mother and directly addressed his father, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Mr Rahman said he wanted to tell his father he was "deeply missed by us all" and "Newcastle is not the racist city that he saw in 1977".

'Brutal racism'

The new lord mayor said: "This is a safe, tolerant city now thanks to the work that has been done from institutions and individuals. Perhaps some of that started from the death of my father.

"I wanted to say to him that he should not feel scared for us now, this city is a lot better than when he left it."

Mr Rahman, whose background is as a youth worker, said his childhood experiences of "brutal racism" had made him determined to defeat the evils of discrimination.

The father-of-three said his appointment was "history in the making" and it "sets a challenge for us now to make sure our city remains free and open to people of all faiths, colour, ethnicity, and gender".

Mr Rahman has been praised for his work with Show Racism The Red Card (SRTRC), with former Newcastle United players John Beresford and Shaka Hislop saying they were proud to see him in his new role.

Mr Hislop said: "Always driven and always leading by example, Habib continually gives of himself in supporting those who need it most."

Newcastle has had a mayor since Daniel, son of Nicholas, in 1216 but the office of lord mayor was not created until 1906, when King Edward VII granted the decree.