The government’s response to a United Nations inquiry into the proposed mass eviction of Travellers in Dale Farm, Essex, has been condemned as inadequate and misleading. In April 2010, the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Raquel Rodnik, who reports to the UN’s Human Rights Council on states’ compliance with non-discrimination norms in housing, wrote to
Giuseppe Conlon House opens in London
A new London Catholic Worker project offering hospitality to refugees and other vulnerable people has opened in East London. Named Giuseppe Conlon House, wrongfully imprisoned as a member of the Maguire Seven in 1975 and father of the Guildford Four’s Gerry Conlon, the house has already been functioning as a refuge for undocumented migrants in
Ricin – a jury man’s journey
A new book on the supposed ricin plot should be recommended reading for anti-terror police and the media as to how not to investigate or report on terrorism. Five men, all Algerians were rounded up by anti-terror police in connection with an alleged plot to produce the deadly poison ricin between September 2002 and January
Call for justice for Jimmy Mubenga
On 12 November 2010, over 150 people marched from the Angolan Embassy to the Home Office in protest at the death of Jimmy Mubenga during a deportation. Campaigners from the Angolan community first delivered a letter to the Angolan Embassy to call on the authorities to intervene. The march, led by the family and friends
Asylum-seeking families in Glasgow face imminent move
UKBA has cancelled its contract with Glasgow City Council for the accommodation of asylum seekers, leaving hundreds of families with the prospect of moving out of the city. On 5 November 2010, the UK Border Agency wrote to all the 600 or so asylum- seeking families housed by Glasgow City Council on its behalf, telling
Study the past if you would define the future*
A report comparing Irish and British Muslim experiences of the government’s counter-insurgency policies provides a unique insight into their impact on those who find themselves on the frontline and national security. The report Countering Terror or Counter-productive?: Comparing Irish and British Muslim Experiences of Counter-insurgency Law and Policy, produced by Professor Mark McGovern with Angela
Demonstration in memory of Jimmy Mubenga
A demonstration in memory of Angolan man Jimmy Mubenga who died after being restrained during a forced deportation earlier this month. Friday 12 November 2010, 10.30am Angolan Embassy, 22 Dorset Street, London W1U 6QY (nearest tube stations: Baker Street/ Marylebone) to march to the Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF Related links Download
Ending children’s detention: hope deferred
The announcement that children will continue to be detained until at least March 2011 reveals the coalition’s true priorities. It was supposed to be the face of the compassionate, caring coalition, defying cynical critics and overriding entrenched bureaucratic cruelty to do the right thing. ‘We will end the immigration detention of children’, the bold announcement
The end of settlement rights for workers?
Theresa May’s 5 November announcement of proposed reforms of the settlement rules envisages a system of temporary, rightless and dispensable ‘guest-workers’, with only the highest earners deemed deserving of permanent stay. The Home Secretary said that it is currently ‘too easy’ to move from temporary residence to permanent settlement. ‘If people enter this country saying
The politics of voluntary returns
Outrage greeted French prime minister Sarkozy’s description of the mass expulsion of Roma as ‘voluntary’ – but what is the reality of voluntary return programmes in the UK? The International Organization for Migration (IOM), an intergovernmental body which implements most voluntary return schemes, received around £70 million from the Home Office since 2005 (including money