In a week where Hackney has become infamous for the longest armed siege in history and has been at the centre of the debate about gun crime, it’s easy to overlook much of the day to day violence that goes on but doesn’t always hit the national headlines.

In one week two horrific cases of violent assault have occurred in Hackney within a mile of each other.

In one – on the afternoon of Thursday December 12th – 85-year-old Catherine Wrenn was battered senseless on her doorstep by unknown attackers for the £13 that she had in her purse. She died two days later in Homerton hospital.

In the other – in the early hours of Saturday December 14th – 40-year-old Ahmed Ali was battered by four men – allegedly just because he was black. He is in intensive care and has lost an eye.

Muggers or racists, the perpetrators of these acts are anti-social scum.

The killers of Catherine Wrenn – if caught – are likely to be young working class men. Ahmed Ali’s attackers – if caught – are also likely to be young working class men. There can be no excuse for either assault.

Hackney Independent was formed to put the interests of the working class – of whatever race or age – first. Our interests cannot be furthered by toleration or justification for either of these acts of violence.

We are faced daily by two enemies: the middle class interests which seek to either ghetto-ise or destroy working class communities, and the parasites of our own class who are – albeit in a different way – also responsible for the ghetto-isation and destruction of our communities. Ultimately we have to organise ourselves to combat both if we want to make any progress.