Lee Bridges, Chair of the School of Law at Warwick University, comments on the government’s new Criminal Justice Bill. A government’s authoritarianism is marked by the numbers of its citizens it imprisons. Under New Labour the prison population, already rising under the Tories, has soared to over 70,000, so high that even the prison governors
Theme: Health
Man charged with murder of Asian taxi driver
Paul Craig, 46, of Higginshaw, Oldham, has been charged with the murder of taxi driver, Israr Hussain. Craig has also been charged with assault and intent to rob. 42-year-old Israr Hussain, a father-of-six from Glodwick, Oldham, died after a stab wound to his neck following an incident in his taxi in the early hours of
Nation-wide protests against asylum destitution
Refugee and homelessness organisations have united to protest against new measures in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act which are set to throw tens of thousands of asylum seekers on to the streets. It is estimated that from 8 January 2003, when the new powers to withhold support apply, every day will see a further
West Ham condemned for buying Lee Bowyer
We are disappointed and dismayed at the actions of West Ham United Football Club by buying Lee Bowyer. Suresh Grover from the NCRM and the Najieb Family Campaign said: “Over the past few years West Ham Football Club have done much to distance themselves from racism. It has also worked with local partnerships and secured
Asylum: the end of the road
As new immigration laws come into force, human rights and immigration barrister, Frances Webber, gives her view on recent developments. Within days of the 2002 Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act coming into force on 7 November, and even before it was published, the first Czech and Slovak Roma were being bundled out of the country
Prejudice and contempt: terror trial by media
On 17 November, the Sunday Times claimed on its front page that MI5 had foiled a poison-gas attack on London’s underground. Six men had several days earlier been arrested under the Terrorism Act (2000). The report alleged that the men were part of an Al-Qaeda network operating in Europe and had been planning to build
Asians do mix, say researchers
The idea that Asians ‘self-segregate’ has been challenged by researchers investigating housing in Leeds and Bradford. Since the riots in Oldham, Burnley, Leeds and Bradford, during the summer of 2001, a number of reports and commentators have promoted the notion of Asian ‘self-segregation’. What began as a racial myth – ‘Asians don’t mix’ – became
Sweatships: what it’s really like to work on board cruise ships
This little booklet written by Celia Mather and published by the charity War on Want and the International Transport Workers’ Federation tells the horrific story that lies behind the luxury facade of the holiday cruise ships. It is a tale reminiscent of the bad old days of the British Empire. Low wages and long hours
Home Office research heralds ‘managed migration’ policy
The UK government has taken a step forward in its plans to establish a ‘properly managed’ scheme for economic migration to the UK. Announcing new research on the role of foreign-born workers in the British labour market, the Home Office has claimed that migrant workers do not take away jobs from the resident population if
Tough questions at Climbie meeting
Norman Tutt, Director of Social Services at Ealing Council, faced hostile questioning at a public meeting organised to discuss the public inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié. Around fifty people attended the meeting held at Ealing Town Hall on 9 December 2002, which was preceded by a vigil on Ealing Broadway. The event was