Last week the High Court ruled that London Councils had failed to meet their statutory equality duties when cutting the funding of 200 voluntary and community groups. Pierce Glynn solicitors on behalf of the Roma Support Group took the judicial review in which the judge quashed the funding decisions and the London Councils were ordered
Where now for civil liberties?
In March, the IRR will be relaunching its popular lunchtime meetings with two highly topical discussions on civil liberties in the US and the UK. The first two meetings of the series are: The Obama administration and the ‘War Against Terrorism’, (Monday 7 March 2011, 1-2pm), Nancy Murray, director of education at the American Civil
The wages of fear
A new report on undocumented workers reveals the violent consequences of immigration clampdowns for migrant workers. ‘Illegal’ labour keeps many of us alive – providing so many vital services from the trimmed vegetables in our supermarkets to the care in residential homes. Such labour is almost by definition cheap and plentiful. The defining force being
Racist murders and possible racist murders
In the last six months, a number of cases have been before the courts following attacks which appear to have been racially motivated. Three of the four deaths detailed below took place in Scotland and one of these was on a takeaway worker, a profession at high risk of racially motivated attacks, identified in the
Public spending cuts savage dispersal system
Dispersal policies are polarising city councils, with some having their contracts terminated and others abdicating their responsibilities to house asylum seekers. In January 2011 the North East Contracting Consortium for Asylum Support issued a press statement, through Newcastle City Council, announcing that it was considering mounting a legal challenge against the UK Border Agency (UKBA).
Jews against Islamophobia
An anti-racist of Jewish descent asks if the time has not come for Jews to speak out against Islamophobia. It is, I suppose, given the politics of the Middle East, inevitable though not excusable, that some Jews will be vociferous about emphasising Muslim extremist crimes here. But what is not inevitable and is certainly unforgiveable
Cautioning project: cutting corners?
A pilot project to administer police cautions to undocumented and falsely documented passengers could endanger asylum rights. In December, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced a new six-month pilot cautioning scheme involving passengers at Heathrow, Stansted and East Midlands airports who commit one of a number of specified fraud and document offences to get in
Access to health care – a right worth defending
We reproduce below an article* by leading health experts on the struggles that migrants have in accessing primary healthcare. Download the article here (pdf file, 284kb). Related links Download the article here (pdf file, 284kb) Migrants’ Rights Network Project London Doctors of the World Pierce Glynn solicitors
Oury Jalloh International Independent Commission
We publish below the founding statement of the Oury Jalloh International Independent Commission, a body of human rights lawyers set up in December 2010 to monitor the re-trial of a police officer involved in the death in custody of Oury Jalloh, which is set to last several months. Berlin, 10 January 2011 1. We are
Immigration detention of children: a judge gets tough
A High Court judge has ruled that families with children can be detained for removal only in exceptional circumstances. A ground-breaking High Court judgment delivered on 11 January 2011, which means that henceforth, regardless of political decisions, detention of families with children can occur only in exceptional circumstances, when it is clear that no alternative