A new film, ‘Young Rebels’, on the history of the Southall Youth Movement (SYM) is a must-see. The young men of the 1960s and ‘70s who were involved in transforming Southall into what it is today are now Asian elders, old enough to be respectfully addressed as ‘Uncle-ji’. And here in interviews they speak frankly
The family of Jay Abatan, having learned that a serving police officer was with a group of people who fatally attacked Jay fifteen years ago, have met senior police officials. Michael Abatan met the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne on 14 August 2014 to discuss the lack of progress of the investigation into
Dear IRR News subscriber, Earlier this year, the Swedish linguistics firm Sprakab was criticised in a significant Supreme Court judgment which said that its staff had given ‘wholly inappropriate’ comments to asylum tribunals. Subsequently, concerns were raised that this behaviour may have led to the wrongful deportation of hundreds of asylum seekers. In this week’s
This week, families and campaigners gathered outside the London offices of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in protest at its ‘inaction’ over deaths in custody cases. A number of families told of their experiences. Saqib Deshmukh spoke on behalf of the family of Habib ‘Paps’ Ullah who are awaiting a decision at the end of
Following a critical Supreme Court judgment on the Home Office’s use of controversial language analysis tests to determine the nationality of asylum seekers, Aisha Maniar asks: why does the government insist on using these tests? Language is a crucial element of the identity of each and every one of us, and a marker of social
The Edge Fund, a group working for justice and equality, is calling for new applications to its fund. The Edge Fund is inviting new applications from individuals and grassroots groups, in order to support projects which are relevant to communities campaigning on discrimination and injustice. Grants will be given to groups and individuals working for
Dear IRR News subscriber, This week we evaluate the different approaches of two official reports into state interventions after media witch hunts. In ‘Hatred, hysteria and a Trojan Horse‘, Robin Richardson is critical of a report by ex-counter terror chief Peter Clarke into the ‘Trojan Horse takeover’, in schools in Birmingham, for its failure to
A leading educationalist argues that the report by Peter Clarke into the ‘Trojan Horse’ affair, embraced by the new education secretary, is in fact a grave disservice. On Tuesday 22 July 2014 the new Secretary of State for Education in the UK, Nicky Morgan, made a statement in the House of Commons about the Trojan
This week the mother of Ricky Reel launched a petition following revelations that her family was spied upon, along with a number of others, as they campaigned for justice in the ‘90s. Mrs Reel is the mother of Ricky who was 20-years-old when he was found dead in the River Thames after being racially abused
A new book on Belgium, Guantanamo chez nous?, is an important contribution to the analysis of racism and the war on terror in Europe. It would be hard to find anyone in the UK who has not heard of Abu Qatada. But how many people know that he was recently acquitted of terrorist charges in Jordan?
