A campaign launched to prevent an Afghan youth from being deported is the latest in a series of vociferous crusades championed by the Kent Campaign to Defend Asylum Seekers. According to the group, many young Afghans, who arrive in the UK as ‘unaccompanied minors’, are being forced to return to their country of origin because
Geography: South-East England
London becomes BNP heartland
New research has found that support for the British National Party is higher in London than any other part of the UK, with 23 per cent of Londoners saying they would consider voting for the far-Right party. Speaking at the launch of The Far Right in London: a challenge for local democracy?, Professor Helen Margetts
Haslar staff routinely carry weapons, alleges inspector
A report on the inspection of Haslar Immigration Removal Centre, conducted in May by Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers, has elucidated a number of serious concerns regarding the safety, accommodation and legal representation of detainees. Some custody staff at Haslar, which is run by the Prison Service on behalf of the Immigration and Nationality
Student campaign leads to stay on deportation
A coalition of students and anti-deportation campaigners have rallied together and helped Abrahim Rahimi win the right to a judicial review of his asylum claim. A young Afghan man, Abrahim Rahimi, has just won the right to a judicial review of the Home Office decision to refuse to accept new evidence in his new asylum
Death case throws up police failings
On 29 June, at a second disciplinary tribunal of police officers involved in the failed police investigations into the murder of Jay Abatan in January 1999 in Brighton, two police officers were found guilty of various misconduct charges – for which they were reprimanded or cautioned. The tribunal revealed many troubling details about the police
Worries over DNA and racial profiling
Black men are four times more likely than White men to be on the national DNA database and there is growing concern about racial profiling in criminal investigations. The police national DNA database (NDNAD), launched in 1995, now contains almost three million profiles. The prospect of everyone providing a DNA profile for the database is
Turkish-speaking communities in Britain: a rude awakening
A new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation examines some of the major issues affecting young people from one of Britain’s long established, yet little heeded, ‘invisible’ minorities. Here, a community worker reflects on some of those issues and the need to air them in a wider debate. ‘I’d rather be a P*ki than a
Funeral for Omid Jamil Ali
In November last year, the family of a Kurdish migrant, who died trying to enter Britain in 2001, were finally able to bury their son in northern Iraq, after his body was released from a Kent mortuary. IRR News has now received pictures of the funeral. In May 2004, IRR News reported on the plight
Police launch investigation into Black man’s death at Belmarsh
IRR News has learnt that a young Black man has died in suspicious circumstances at Belmarsh maximum-security prison in south-east London. A police investigation is currently underway into the death of 25-year-old Godfrey Moyo, a Zimbabwean. The Home Office told IRR News that Godfrey, who was on remand, was pronounced dead at 5:40am on 3
New Danish government will link development aid to asylum
Next week, the Danish parliament will reconvene and prime minister Rasmussen will announce the composition of Denmark’s next coalition government. But whatever shape the new government takes, the results of the February general election has implications for refugees, not only in Denmark but across the EU. Since 2001, Denmark has been governed by a coalition