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
Theme: Health
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
Too Black? the case of the Oval 4 revisited
A gripping new autobiographical book has been published on the case of the ‘Oval 4’. The book, Black for a cause … not just because … the case of the ‘Oval 4’ and the story of Black Power in 1970s Britain, written by Winston Trew makes for compelling reading especially where the author describes the
Both class and race
We reproduce a contribution to the debate, about Prospect’s ‘End of multiculturalism’ feature, organised by Soundings a new initiative on the Muslim Council of Britain’s website. The basic points Munira Mirza (and co) make, parroting much of what was said by Prospect editor David Goodhart six years ago, are that racism is no longer the
Who made black history?
A reflection on the impact personal black histories of struggle have made on the movement for racial justice in the UK. In the official account of black British history, there are a number of individuals whose lives and accomplishments have for a long time formed the backbone of black history teaching, their names now synonymous
Learning from the enemy
A report from the Right, making the case for control orders, contains some useful information. The Coalition government is nearing the end of the counter terrorism review, which will decide whether to continue the draconian measures, introduced since 2001, which have so compromised rights such as the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair