Damage control after charges over racist post

Ellie Muir, The Independent

Burnley-based tradesman James Anderson, 56, set up Depher — which stands for Disabled and Elderly, Plumbing and Heating Emergency Response — in 2017, and was left stunned this month after Love Actually actor Grant, 63, and his Swedish TV producer partner, 40, this month handed him £20,000 to help the cause. The Independent can reveal Anderson — who has been dubbed “Britain’s kindest plumber” and has been handed a total of £75,000 by Grant and his wife over the years — is being slammed for backing racist material. During the 2016 Brexit campaign, the plumber shared a picture of a golly doll.

Speaking to The Independent, Anderson said: “In 2016, during the Brexit campaign, I reposted that picture (of a golly doll) with no comments.” Anderson insisted he was unaware of the offensive racist connotations attached to the golly doll due to his childhood. Referring to how the symbol used to be plastered on jars of Robertson’s marmalade, he added: “When I grew up as a child, it was on the jam jar.

“So I didn’t really understand what that meant. But obviously, I do now, after the fact.” Anderson also said he had already apologised for the golly doll and other controversial posts to critics online, as well as to an anti-racist blogger who has targeted him on the web. He added: “I’ve got nothing to hide. I’ve apologised for being an idiot on social media. I’ve made mistakes. It doesn’t make me a racist — I hate racism.”

Anderson went on about his plumbing charity: “(Depher) never, ever, ever, turn anyone away because of colour, or ethnicity, or because of race, because we’re not that type of company. “I made a mistake. They just need to accept that mistake and move on.” Asked whether he backs the sentiment of the “All Lives Matter” ‘movement’, Anderson said: “Every single life matters on this planet. Doesn’t matter whether you’re black, brown, you’re left, right, centre or upside down — I will stick up for you because your life matters. “Black lives matter because they’ve had it so bad in the past. The things that have happened (to black people) in the past are absolutely disgusting. And the people who have done that should apologise.”

One blog post written by a black woman details a list of allegations against Anderson. She recalled an incident where Anderson joined in on a conversation on X — formerly known as Twitter — which had turned heated. Replying in the thread, which had several black women involved in the conversation, Anderson tagged the official Twitter account of the Home Office. In a post dated 28 July 2022, the blogger wrote: “Tagging us with the Home Office like they were gonna round us up and deport us.”

When asked about the exchange by The Independent, Anderson denied any racist or anti-immigrant sentiment behind his decision to tag the Home Office account — and claimed he linked them into the conversation as he had been a victim of online trolling. “I tagged every law enforcement that I could on their post, because they were targeting me. They were harassing me,” he said. Anderson added he filed a report to the police when the incident happened in relation to harassment, and has branded his online critics “trolls” on his X account. The Independent contacted the blogger involved in his confrontation for comment. Anderson added: “All of a sudden they (bloggers) found the mistakes that I made because I believed in Brexit (at the time.)

“Now don’t get me wrong, if I were to vote in Brexit again, I would vote to stay because that’s the biggest mistake we’ve ever made as a country.

“But again, that’s my choice. Don’t hold that against me because I made mistakes. Especially because I’ve said sorry many many times. How many times do I have to say sorry?”

In May 2022, Anderson tweeted from the Depher UK account his company had been “accused of being racist because we follow or like posts and accounts”. He said: “We do not discriminate against any colour, belief, gender, age or community. Everyone receives help from Depher, we will not be drawn into any argument.”

Today — minutes after his conversation with The Independent — Anderson posted on X about being quizzed about his racist posts. Referencing how he this week appeared on ITV’s This Morning after news of Hugh Grant’s latest donation to his pro bono plumbing efforts broke, he hit out: “So I have now been on this morning. The Independent newspaper has called me over a group of trolls who are accusing me of being racist.

“They are doing a story on it today for them, and it will be more than likely biast (sic) against me. I made mistakes during the Brexit ordeal, I have posted in the wrong context, and I have shared posts without thought, but I have apologised 8 times, for not thinking of my stupid actions.

“However, this group has targeted me by doctoring pictures and using our customers to create what they say they are fighting.” Anderson then shared a series of images, including one he said had been “doctored” to include a badge of right-wing party Britain First. He also shared an image of the golly doll he had reposted, claiming it had originally been put online by someone else before he shared it online.