Furious farmer, bad broadband and unfortunate talk of ‘lynching’

CLEARLY it wasn’t the wisest thing to say when addressing a visiting dignitary. Indeed, one wonders what went through Devon farmer Richard Haddock’s mind when he told the chief executive of Ofcom that she would be “lynched” if she came to his area to talk about the problems of poor broadband connectivity.

Sharon White is black and, given the word’s odious historic associations, it is no surprise that the remarks went down rather badly.

As a result Mr Haddock, a member of the Torbay branch of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), was suspended by the organisation’s national body.

But now his fellow branch officials have resigned en masse in protest, on following his remark and it was only when he was later summoned to see the FSB’s national chairman that he realised he was in trouble.

Mr Haddock said: “They said to me, ‘Do you know that woman is black, and you said lynching?’ I explained what happened and I had no problem apologising if I caused offence.”

The FSB’s ruling body did not see it that way. A spokesman for the federation said Mr Haddock’s behaviour fell short of the conduct expected of members. He said: “The FSB is a grassroots membership organisation and we celebrate diversity and inclusion. We will not ignore or excuse behaviour that does not reflect our values. Withdrawal of membership is never done lightly and requires the full authority of the board of directors – who are elected by the membership. Given Mr Haddock’s behaviour, the board felt this was the right action to take.”

But Mr Haddock’s supporters in the FSB’s Torbay branch said the federation had not followed the correct disciplinary procedures in removing him from the organisation.

Jim Thompson, who has been Torbay branch chairman for seven years, said the committee had no choice but to resign in support of Mr Haddock.

He said: “It is a sad situation but we had to make a stand with Richard, who has done so much for the FSB. We think he deserves a fair hearing.”

Mr Thompson added: “Richard is not a racist. He is known for putting his head above the parapet and ducking when the 12-bore goes off. He did not mean it the way it came out.”

Before being appointed Ofcom’s chief executive, Ms White, who was born in east London of Jamaican parents, was second permanent secretary at the Treasury.

Mr Haddock, who was the FSB spokesman for Devon rural affairs and is also executive member for business at Torbay council, said he has since written to Ms White to apologise and that she responded saying she was not offended by his remarks.

Ofcom has declined to comment.