New report reveals devastating impact on families of Britain’s control orders and detention regime. The Institute of Race Relations has published a new report on the devastating impact on family life of Britain’s anti-terrorist control order and detention policy. The report, entitled ‘Besieged in Britain’, has been written by journalist and author Victoria Brittain, co-author
Crusade against the undocumented
Every day, across the UK, aggressive raids are being carried out at workplaces to root out those without papers. Britain’s ethnic restaurant sector is under attack from government officials who, in their single-minded drive to meet ever higher targets for deportation, have no interest in the impact of their policies on small family businesses or
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
Government U-turn on ‘single identity group’ funding
The government has quietly announced a U-turn on a controversial proposal to withdraw funding from organisations which work for only one ethnic group and not across groups. The draft proposal issued by Hazel Blears in February 2008 suggested that funding (both governmental and private) be re-focused specifically towards organisations which complied with the government’s community
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
Campaign to outlaw caste discrimination in the UK
A number of groups in the UK are campaigning for the new Single Equality Bill to address caste discrimination. Caste does not just thrive in India. Caste discrimination is based in Hinduism (though it is also practised in other religions) and today, in the UK, where many South Asians have made their home, caste discrimination
Impact of arbitrary detention under anti-terror laws
A new initiative has been launched by the Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) to assess the impact of detention under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.[1] CAMPACC has become concerned about the use of Schedule 7 of TACT 2000 which allows people arriving or leaving the UK to be stopped and questioned and held
‘Citizens for Sanctuary’
On 13 January, over four hundred Zimbabweans gathered in Westminster to demonstrate for permission to work legally in the UK. The event publicly launched the Citizens for Sanctuary campaign, organised to implement the findings of the Independent Asylum Commission which recommended that Zimbabweans currently seeking sanctuary in the UK be allowed to work and pay
Young? British? Muslim? Listen Up!
An innovative new youth project has made itself felt in north London, challenging media stereotyping and an increasing sense of marginalisation amongst young British Muslims. The project, Young Muslim Voices (YMV), could provide a useful model of successful youth engagement for other groups of young Muslims in the UK, and young people more widely. IRR
‘British handcuffs, the handcuffs of freedom’
We publish the extraordinary testimony of an asylum seeker from the Congo Republic ‘Laurent Mpinde’ who is fighting to stay in the UK and cannot give his real name. Laurent Mpinde, who was studying sports science in Brazzaville and teaching in schools and colleges, was interviewed last year by Jeremy Seabrook researching the book, The