Truly Vibrant And Diverse...

So, as both Angry Exile and Constantly Furious noted yesterday, postal vote fraud rears its ugly head again, does it? At least, in certain areas, among a certain demographic.

But don't listen to us nasty right wing, non-politically correct bloggers. Let a fearless card-carrying member of the MSM tell you all about it. Once he's had his wounds stitched, anyway...

When I look back on it now what surprises me is how disarmingly polite my attackers were.

"What are you doing?" asked one of the two, seemingly inquisitive, Asian teenagers who approached me on a quiet cul-de-sac in Bow, east London, shortly after 1pm yesterday.

"There's been a photographer around here, do you know her?" he added. I didn't, but I explained I was a journalist for The Independent looking to speak to a man at an address in the area, who was standing as a candidate in the local elections, about allegations of postal vote fraud. "Can we see your note pad," the boy asked.

I declined and then the first punch came – landing straight on my nose, sending blood and tears streaming down my face. Then another. Then another.

Well, that should quench the desire of any of his fellow journalists to investigate this odd phenomenon, shouldn't it?

What brought me to Bow yesterday were allegations of widespread postal voting fraud. Both the local Conservative and Respect parties in Tower Hamlets have been looking through the new electoral rolls for properties that have an alarmingly high number of adults registered to one address. The area has a large Bengali population and this type of fraud is unfortunately all too common. In some instances there have been as many as 20 Bengali names supposedly living in two or three-bedroom flats. When journalists have previously called, all too often there are far fewer living there. In some instances, no Bengalis at all.

Superb! Let no-one doubt that mass immigration and non-integration has been a success story, right?

Because even having had seven shades of journalistic enthusiasm kicked out of him, Jerome Taylor still can't quite believe that there are any lessons to learn from this:

Thinking back on my experience perhaps I was naïve to venture into the area on my own, although I do live in east London, know the estates well and have rarely felt threatened.

Perhaps you were 'naïve' to walk down a London street? Surely not! Aren't we always being told that there are no 'no-go' areas in the UK? Well, apart from those created by the horrible indigenous population and their binge drinking, that is.

At least the paramedics are in no doubt as to what this area is like...

The paramedics who treated me told me that they rarely went into the area without a police escort.

...although they seem a little confused as to the cause:

"These kids are trapped in an endless cycle of poverty," one of them said.

Mmm, it's 'poverty' that causes journalists asking awkward questions to be beaten to a pulp, is it?

Last night, I managed to speak to the man I wanted to interview about the alleged fraud, and whose house I was outside when I was attacked. He said: "I am not going to talk to you about this. Why have you been knocking on my door. You don't disturb me. If you knock on my door again I will take you to court."

For what? Bruising your henchman's fists with his face?

As Dungeekin puts it:

'Robert Mugabe was unavailable for comment.'