A culture of fear seems to be re-establishing itself at Harmondsworth immigration removal centre (IRC), where a recent report reveals that peaceful protests about detention have led to those concerned being transferred to prison. The latest annual report of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), published in March 2009,[1] reveals that in April 2008 a group
Geography: South-East England
Fifty years on – remembering Kelso Cochrane
Last weekend, a series of events were held in west London to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the racially motivated murder of Kelso Cochrane. Kelso, a 32-year-old immigrant from Antigua, was murdered on 17 May 1959 in Notting Hill by a gang of White men as he walked home from a local hospital after receiving
Lords refuse to hear Travellers’ appeal, whilst UN pledges support
Dale Farm residents’ hopes of an eleventh hour reprieve from eviction have been crushed by the House of Lords’ refusal to hear their appeal – a matter of hours after a spirited meeting in parliament saw the UN pledge its support. Residents from Dale Farm in Essex, often described as the largest ‘illegal’ Traveller site
‘Our parents did not come to this country to bury their children’
Below we reproduce a statement from the brother and sister of Habib ‘Paps’ Ullah, who died after being arrested by police in High Wycombe on 3 July 2008. ‘It has now been almost nine months since Habib/Paps, our brother died in High Wycombe whilst being arrested during a routine drugs search. No one knows what
Remembering Kelso Cochrane
Next weekend, a series of events will take place in west London to remember Kelso Cochrane, one of the first recorded victims of racially motivated murder in the UK. Fifty years ago on 17 May 1959, Kelso Cochrane, an immigrant from Antigua, was murdered in Notting Hill by a gang of White men as he
Excluded pupils’ group on brink of collapse
A vital community group working with excluded BME children faces closure because of funding shortfalls. The Communities Empowerment Network (CEN) was established in 1999 in response to the growing demand from BME parents and children for help, support and advice concerning school exclusions and reintegration. Since then it has established a small but effective caseworking
Pro-Palestinian campaigners arrested after racism allegation
On 12 March, police raided the homes of activists in Swansea and arrested two people on suspicion of ‘conspiring to commit racially aggravated criminal damage’. This was no racial attack in the conventional sense and was not an attack on any person. The two people arrested are members of Swansea Action for Palestine. And their
Unlawfully detained asylum family compensated
The High Court has awarded a family, including a one-year-old baby and a child of eight, £150,000 damages after the Home Office accepted that it had unlawfully arrested and detained them. On 9 February 2009, in the face of court proceedings brought by the family, the Home Office accepted that the family’s arrests and subsequent
Last ditch attempts to save Dale Farm
In a further blow to the Traveller families living at Dale Farm, the Court of Appeal has turned down their appeal application to the House of Lords, the final appeal court in the UK. This follows the Court of Appeal ruling on 22 January which overturned an earlier High Court ruling quashing a decision by
Man injured during police chase still lies in hospital
A Romanian man is still in a coma in a south London hospital, three months after collapsing and falling ill during a police chase. According to reports in a local South London newspaper (News Shopper 29.10.08), a 24-year-old Romanian man was in a critical condition in Queen Elizabeth hospital, Woolwich. The man had allegedly been