On 30 October, a man was found dead at Harmondsworth removal centre in west London. The deceased has been named as 31-year-old Prince Kwabena Fosu from Ghana. The Home Office released a one-sentence statement and refused to answer any questions: ‘This death is being investigated so it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage. We will
This week, the Azelle Rodney Inquiry heard from the police officer, known only as E7, who had shot 24-year-old Azelle six times, (including twice in the head), as he sat in the back of a car in Edgware, north London in April 2005. Echo 7/E7, now retired, told the inquiry that he had also killed
Action groups and ‘residents’ associations have, in recent months, been using all kinds of legal technicalities to stop Gypsy and Traveller settlements, in some cases with the express backing of local authorities. Using the Localism Act, local ‘residents’ groups[1] are emerging to fight, usually successfully, against Traveller and Gypsy attempts to establish legal sites –
Dear IRR News subscriber, This week, over 500 people marched in London for the annual United Families and Friends Campaign procession to remember those who have died in state custody. Chris Searle reviews two challenging new books for young people. And we reproduce an open letter from Grattan Puxon of the Dale Farm Housing Association
Below we reproduce an open letter to Tony Ball, leader of Basildon Council, from Grattan Puxon of the Dale Farm Housing Association. Dear Mr Ball, You have announced that further action will be taken shortly against families on the Dale Farm estate, especially those now compelled to live in caravans on Oak Lane following your
Two challenging new books to inspire young people in these grim, austere and unjust times. The description of William Cuffay (1788-1870), his father an ex-slave from St Kitts, his mother a Kentish woman, from the November 1849 ‘Convict Description List’ after his arrival from transportation from Wakefield Prison to Hobart in Tasmania, is lucidly set
On Saturday 27 October, over 500 people gathered to march from Trafalgar Square to Downing Street for the annual United Families and Friends Campaign remembrance procession for those that have died in state custody. The march made its way slowly down Whitehall, led by the sons, daughters, grandchildren, nieces and nephews of those that have
Dear IRR News subscriber, This week, we reproduce a letter to the Guardian by IRR director A. Sivanandan on the recent controversy surrounding Kick it Out and the Football Association’s response to racism in football. The IRR’s Victoria Brittain reports on the Home Office’s double standards in the Gary McKinnon case, and the IRR’s Jon
Below we reproduce the speech by Helen Bamber at the launch of Borderline Justice: the fight for refugee and migrant rights by the IRR vice-chair Frances Webber. I grew up in the ’30s, I watched, under the guidance of a politically minded father, the rise of fascism, not only in Europe but in England. I watched
An overview of racial violence and convictions over the last three months. The stabbing to death of delivery van driver Mohammed Saleem Khan last month, in an attack that police believe to be racially motivated, indicates the brutal reality of violent racism in the UK. Mr Khan had been delivering shower products in the quiet
