On Saturday 25 October, over 300 people marched on Downing Street to remind the Prime Minister about the number of deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody. In the tenth annual march organised by the United Families and Friends Campaign (UFFC), the demonstrators, mainly family members and the friends of those who have died, marched
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Secret inquest plans thrown out
The government has thrown out plans to hold inquests in secret. The proposal under the Counter Terrorism Bill would have allowed the Home Secretary to issue a certificate requiring an inquest to be held without a jury ‘in the interests of national security’. The inquest would then have been held in front of a specially
‘Common Values’ campaign
Liberty, the human rights organisation, has launched a new campaign, ‘Common Values’ which aims to increase awareness and understanding of human rights issues. Coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the campaign hopes to bring about a renewed appreciation of and respect for the need and function
Organising in the banlieues
An interview with Pierre Didier, president of the Social Forum of the Banlieues. Pierre Didier, who is active in the Lyon banlieue of Vaulx-en-Velin, is president of the Social Forum of the Banlieues. He is also a member of the Movement of Immigration and the Banlieues (MIB), and DiverCités, a campaigning coalition in Lyon of
Unity of purpose in the French banlieues
For the second year running, French grassroots anti-racist associations joined forces to organise the Social Forum of the Banlieues (FSQP, Le Forum Social des Quartiers Populaires). This unique and exciting gathering, attended by over 500 people from across the country, was held over three days (3-5 October) in the northern Parisian suburb (banlieue) of Nanterre.
The mantra of our time: ‘British values’ good, ‘multiculturalism’ bad
Dominic Grieve, the shadow home secretary, hit the headlines the weekend before the Conservative party conference with his statement that multiculturalism had left a ‘terrible’ legacy on the UK. At the same time, he joined with the increasingly vocal constituency which promotes the assertion of ‘British values’ as a salve to the social malaise of
Charities call on government to turn ‘rhetoric into reality’
Leading UK charities have called on the government to act upon its promise of ending its discriminatory treatment of children seeking asylum. On 22 September, Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, announced that the government would remove its immigration reservation on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.[1] This reservation, which the UK entered
More destitution in Leeds
A report seeking to assess levels of destitution experienced by asylum seekers in Leeds has shown that figures have increased substantially over the past eighteen months. The report, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, was intended to measure progress following the original 2006 survey for their Inquiry into Destitution Among Refused Asylum Seekers. The
Revival of the numbers game?
The new Migrationwatch report is dissected by immigration lawyer Frances Webber. From the press reports greeting the launch in September 2008 of Balanced Migration: a new approach to controlling immigration, it sounded as though this was an official or at least authoritative report by a cross-party group of MPs, perhaps under the House of Commons
Call for end to deportations to Iraq
A protest calling for an end to the continuing policy of deportations to Iraq was held outside the Home Office on 11 September 2008. Organised by the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees and the Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq, it not only called for an end to the policy of deportations to Iraq, but