Fifteen years after the High Court condemned the prosecution of refugees for using false documents in their quest for a place of safety and parliament provided a statutory defence, they are still being wrongly convicted and sent to prison. The 1951 Refugee Convention is quite clear: penalties must not be imposed on refugees (including asylum
News Service
IRR News 21 – 27 February 2014
Dear IRR News subscriber, In a week when the Migration Advisory Committee has put forward proposals to auction off British visas to the highest bidders, Frances Webber asks whether the UK is turning into an offshore enclave for the world’s wealthiest, at the expense of the most vulnerable? The latest Race & Class radio broadcast is
Repatriations and visa auctions: the two sides of the migration business
Is the UK turning into an offshore enclave for the world’s wealthiest, at the expense of the most vulnerable? As the British government funds the repatriation of poor undocumented migrants from Greece to war zones in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, it is considering auctioning to the highest bidder the right to come to
Black history, black politics on Race & Class radio
The latest broadcast of Race & Class radio is now available to download. In the latest Race & Class radio show, Chris Searle discusses revolutionary poet Peter Blackman, who, despite being at the vortex of Black cultural expression for much of the 20th century, never received his due. Chris Searle also reads Peter Blackman’s poetry
Malcolm X’s visit to Britain
A new historical book looks at Malcolm X’s 1964 visit to Britain. Malcolm X was assassinated forty-nine years ago last week. As people reflect on his life and legacy, a new book looks at the visit he made to Britain toward the end of his life. In November 1964, Malcolm X ended a tour of
IRR News 14 – 20 February 2014
Dear IRR News subscriber, This week, a translator and human rights activist analyses the ongoing issues thrown up by the privatisation of court interpreting services by the Ministry of Justice. We also show how a small far-right campaign against a Muslim Legoland fun-day has been mainstreamed by the Daily Mail’s Richard Littlejohn. In news from
The building bricks of a rightwing press onslaught
A small far-right campaign against a Muslim Legoland fun-day has been mainstreamed by the Mail’s Richard Littlejohn. In recent months, Casuals United, a splinter group of the English Defence League, has been harassing venues hosting events run by so-called Islamists in an attempt to have them cancelled. In the latest example of this tactic,
Lost in privatisation: Capita, court interpreting services and fair trial rights
A translator and human rights activist analyses the ongoing issues thrown up by the privatisation of court interpreting services by the Ministry of Justice. Next year marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, arguably one of the most important legal documents in the world, guaranteeing the right to a fair trial. That right is
IRR News: 7 – 13 February 2014
Dear IRR News subscriber, Two giants of the Caribbean diaspora died this week – Stuart Hall, academic and cultural theorist; Buzz Johnson, publisher and people’s educator. Their lives and legacies are discussed by David Edgar and Jenny Bourne. With a new Home Office manual on deportation expected in the near future, IRR News has obtained
Buzz Johnson: 1951 – 2014
Buzz Johnson, people’s educator and the founder of Karia Press, died this week. Two giants of the Caribbean diaspora died this week – Stuart Hall, academic and cultural theorist; Buzz Johnson, publisher and people’s educator. They represented two ends of a black left spectrum of politics – the one an acclaimed theoretician and eminent wordsmith who