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The Black Londoners' Forum describes itself as "the voice of black Londoners". But there's only one voice which dominates its website - and although he's certainly a Londoner, he's definitely not black.
The 13th of November was typical: "Mayor announces Europe's largest fleet of hydrogen buses for London," proclaimed the BLF homepage. The next item: an attack on Tory-controlled Westminster council's attitude to the homeless - by the Mayor. Then there was a call for new homophobic hatred laws to be "robust and effective". The author of the call? Er, the Mayor.
It seemed puzzling that an organisation dedicated to black advancement should post so little about, say, the disproportionate exclusions of black children from school or gun crime. But when you compare the BLF's articles with the Mayor's own website, the explanation becomes clear: they are his press releases, cut and pasted.
Since the Standard started inquiring about the BLF, its website has started to carry more items not generated by City Hall. But the website is not the only way the BLF offers poor value for the at least £291,000 given it by City Hall since 2001. The GLA funding agreement for the 2006/7 tranche of that money - £53,000 - makes interesting reading. In return for the payment, the BLF has to produce four policy briefings, attend some meetings, and organise an online petition against the Asylum Act - and that, for the whole year, is essentially it.
There is also a further obligation to "produce and run eight training workshops on the cracking crime initiative". But in fact, according to the BLF's annual report, that programme was mostly funded by the Home Office.
There is a separate organisation, Afroice, for black parents, under the BLF umbrella. This got a further £18,700 from Mr Livingstone more than two years ago to "revise and upgrade its website". As of this morning, the Afroice website says it is still under construction and the last news item is dated March 2005.
One former employee of the BLF said: "You need to find out where all this money is going." One BLF employee, Lauren Bennett-Headley, took her concerns to officials at London Councils, which also funds the BLF. She was suspended for around a year.
