A solicitor at Harrison Bundey in Leeds explains how, had police officers taken a young black man, who had swallowed packets of drugs, straight to hospital, he might still be alive. On 20 February 2012, an inquest jury returned a verdict of misadventure on Reece Staples, who was 19 when he died in police custody
News Service
Community wrecker of the year award
Tony Ball, leader of Basildon council, was nominated for two very different awards for his role in the eviction of Travellers from Dale Farm. The eviction of hundreds of the Dale Farm Travellers last October was a mass, state-sanctioned programme of enforced homelessness. More than eighty families were forced from a piece of land which
Secret justice = injustice
Frances Webber assesses proposals in the coalition’s Justice and Security green paper to extend secret evidence regimes to any civil proceedings. ‘I can still recall my deep feeling of shame when I heard the appellant ask the judge the question: why are you sending me to prison? To which the judge replied: I cannot tell
Response to G4S: 900 asylum seekers face eviction in Yorkshire
Academics take issue with G4S’ defence of its treatment of asylum seekers. Two weeks ago on IRR News, we published a letter from Yorshire academics protesting that a contract for housing asylum seekers had been awarded to G4S. The company responded to its critics (pdf file, 1.1mb). And in reponse to this, the group have
New helpline for undocumented migrants
The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) has announced the launch of an advice line for undocumented migrants in London. The free advice line is aimed at irregular migrants, which includes migrants who have overstayed their visas, those whose asylum applications have been refused and those cases where refugee status has been revoked.[1]
Racism and the use of force during deportations
The parliamentary Home Affairs Committee has recently published a report on rules governing enforced removal from the UK. Concerns surrounding the treatment of people being removed by the UK Border Agency (UKBA) [and its contractors] have been growing in light of recent events. In particular, the death of Jimmy Mubenga in October 2010 during a
No Borders activists arrested after west London blockade
Eleven No Borders activists have been charged with public order offences following an action to stop a charter flight to Ghana earlier this week. On Valentines’ evening a group of over forty No Borders activists carried out a blockade of Colnbrook and Harmondsworth detention centres in west London. The aim of the action was an
Lies, damned lies and racism
The numbers game around immigration statistics has turned into a bloody battle. In January, Polly Toynbee called the Coalition’s benefits campaign to stir up ‘prejudice against the poor'[1] a ‘bloody battle’. It had, she wrote, initiated a ‘clever marketing’ campaign ‘where slippery figures abound’ as part of a ‘virulent debate’ designed to stir up ‘a
No Borders Convergence
London No Borders, Goldsmiths students and other groups are organising a convergence in London between 13 and 18 February. The Convergence will draw together a plethora of experiences relating to restrictions on free movement and will provide a space for people to share skills and create strategies for further action. The Convergence has been set
G4S and asylum seekers’ housing
Below we reproduce a letter signed by academics in the Yorkshire region expressing concerns over the awarding of a housing contract to a private company. As researchers and university teachers in the fields of housing and immigration in the Yorkshire region we oppose the plans of the Coalition government, through the UK Border Agency (UKBA),