A PR representative for the controversial Jack the Ripper museum has defended the Victorian era-murderer over claims that he committed sexual violence against the women he murdered.
PR hired to defend Ripper museum. Decides to also defend Ripper’s reputation.
Reporting on a planned protest against the Jack the Ripper museum by anti-gentrification group Fuck Parade, who paint-bombed Shoreditch's Cereal Killer cafe on Saturday, The Express said the action came "amid claims [the museum] glorifies sexual violence against women".
Joshua Walker, who is handling PR for the museum, tweeted Express journalist Tom Batchelor to state that Jack the Ripper did not sexually abuse his victims.
Walker wrote: "as an aside - the Jack the Ripper victims were never sexually abused. So the claim of sexual violence is wrong." The tweet has since been deleted.
Sunday's planned protest is part of an ongoing campaign by Class War and Fuck Parade, which describe themselves as "anti-gentrification" groups.
Next action 4 @Classwar2015 is opposing the vile Jack The Ripper Museum. Meet 2pm Sunday 4th October 12 Cable Street
The Jack the Ripper museum has said it will band together with local businesses to hold a counter protest on Sunday.
The group made news on Saturday when it marched through Shoreditch and attacked the Cereal Killer café, calling its owners "Thatcherite hipsters".
Gary Keery, who owns the café, told BuzzFeed News that they wouldn't be bullied by the groups. "How does 200 people throwing paint bombs and smoke bombs at a café help solve anything?" he said.
The museum originally caused controversy when it was announced that it would focus on Jack the Ripper, who notoriously murdered several women, when it had originally been planned as a museum about women celebrating groups such as the suffragettes.
Walker has defended the museum, saying it allows the story to be told "from the perspective of women".
