Gov's Race Report is an Insult to British BAME communities.

                                                         

                                                      PRESS RELEASE.

30/03/2021 22:43

Says, Gov Race Commission report a 'slap in the face for Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities.'

The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities Chaired by Dr Tony Sewell publishes its today and what absolutely clear is that he report will read like an apologist charter for systemic racism. The report gave the the UK a clean bill of health and declares there is no evidence of institutional racism. 

I have been an equalities adviser to five successive Home Secretaries, a London Mayor and a leading advocate of black communities for some 37 years. This report is an outrage and let me explain why. 

The level of denial of the realities of systemic racism in this report is breath taking. 

In writing this I'm aware of the real function of this report and believe as Toni Morrison said,

“The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of this is necessary. There will always be one more thing.”

This report is a propaganda piece in the Gov's culture wars. It is a rewriting of history, a denial of contemporary realities and constitutes a literal slap in the face for Britain's Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities. 

We should expect the right wing and liberal media to be fulsome in its praise of the report as a result of what appears to be the selective briefing of journalists in advance of the reports publication. 

Nadine White Britains first Race Correspondent writing for the Independant stated in a tweet, 

"Despite my numerous requests for updates over the weeks (months) about when the report will be published, the govt did not send details of the Race Commission's report to me - the only Race Correspondent in the UK. But other journalists received it."

This report fails to arrive at any significant conclusions on a range of critical issue of profound importance to our communities.

Issues such as ethnic health inequalities, the ethnic pay gap, rising black youth unemployment, rising rates of poverty, homelessness and the scandals of systemic racism within criminal justice and the school exclusion to prison pipeline are either superficially covered or ignored.  

Systemic racism is a literal life and death issue for our communities. 

The leading headline says it all, 

"Britain has become a more open society where children from many ethnic communities do at least as well or substantially better than white pupils in compulsory education, a landmark study concludes."

                     

The Report is so forceful in its denial of racism and so divorced from reality that its reminiscent of the press releases issued by the South African regime during the dark days of apartheid, denying all forms of racism.  It has no comment to make on institutional racism in policing, the Windrush scandal. and the Grenfell fire are all simply brushed aside 

Described as a 'landmark' publication, the Commissioners assert that the report...

"…challenges the view that Britain has failed to make progress in tackling racial inequality, suggesting the well-meaning "idealism" of many young people who claim the country is still institutionally racist is not borne out by the evidence."

The  report finds that,

"…. issues around race and racism were becoming less important and, in some cases, were not a significant factor in explaining disparities."

And states:

" We found that most of the disparities we examined, which some attribute to racial discrimination, often do not have their origins in racism, and continues, that some communities continue to be "haunted" by "historic cases" of racism, creating "deep mistrust" in the system which could prove a barrier to success."

The reality is of course as this You Gov survey show 84% of BAME Brits people believe the UK is racist. 

The report continues. 

“The report highlights the significance of education as the single most powerful tool in reducing ethnic disparities. The effect of education is transformative on individuals but also their families and their communities, sometimes within a generation."

Warming to its blame the victim narrative it sallies forth...

"However, there is also an increasingly strident form of anti-racism thinking that seeks to explain all minority disadvantage through the prism of White discrimination. This diverts attention from the other reasons for minority success and failure, including those embedded in the cultures and attitudes of those minority communities themselves."

Whilst there is no doubt about the realities of some Black and Asian and ethnic children's educational success, this represents an island of excellence surrounded by seas of mediocrity. The toxic effect of systemic racism continues to hugely disadvantages these children in a myriad of different ways.

According to the press release, the report in seeking to portray Britain as a world leader in tackling racism actually exposes its inherent contradictions.

Logic would suggest that any community doing so well in terms of education should see this success reflected in terms of incomes and quality of life outcomes. In the real world, what all the evidence points to is quite the reverse. Despite our educational success, the realities of systemic racism dramatically disadvantage our communities. It's a disadvantage the doesn't impact white working-class boys to the same extent as found in a 2019 report published by Aberdeen University. 

The Commissions remit was to review inequality in the UK, focusing on poverty, education, employment, health and the criminal justice system. It appears to have utterly failed even on its own terms.

It's worth remembering that Prime Minister Boris Johnson commissioned this report in response to the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of last year. Exchequer Secretary launched the Commission to the Treasury and Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, who said,

"This Commission demonstrates this government's mission to level up opportunity for everyone, whatever their background. Our expert Chair and Commissioners will make evidence-based recommendations to change lives for the better. Their work will be crucial in informing and improving the national conversation on race."

This Commission has failed its remit, is intellectually confused and demonstrated a degree pf politically illiteracy on this issue that beggars belief. It is astonishing that the Commissioners would agree to have their names attached to this report.

The report also flies in the face of the UN's 2018 findings on racism in Britain who said. 

"The UK Government’s policies exacerbate discrimination, stoke xenophobic sentiment and further entrench racial inequality, the UN’s expert on racism and human rights said in a report. 

In the report to be presented to the Human Rights Council on 8 July, E. Tendayi Achiume cited persistent racial disparities in, among others, education, employment, housing, health, surveillance, interactions with police, prosecutions, and incarceration.

"The structural socio-economic exclusion of racial and ethnic minority communities in the United Kingdom is striking," the Special Rapporteur said in her report, based on a fact-finding visit to the country in April and May 2018" .

It is critically important for BAME Civil Society and NGO's organisations like Operation Black Vote, Runnymede Trust, and the Coalition of Race Equality (CORE) speak out and condemn this report.  

The entirety of British Black, Asian and ethnic minority communities and all credible representative organisations must jointly condemn this report in order to assert our fundamental rights to justice and equality.  I would suggest a collective statement be prepared. Where you stand on this report will now be a litmus test of credibility in our communities. The dividing lines have been drawn. 

This report will certainly inform the national conversation on race. It will inflame both the anxiety and anger that gave rise to the Black Lives Matter demonstrations last year and will undoubtedly lead to increased protest during this summer.

I note the recommendation to stop using the term BAME a welcome but in reality, this is little more than a performative gesture. Its importance is akin to changing the curtains in a burning house. 

The Commissioners who are a party to this disingenuous charade will see their professional and ethical reputations deeply damaged within their own communities and beyond.

Chief among them will be the chair of the Commission, Dr Tony Sewell, whose insistence in promoting Britain as a world leader in tackling racism can only best be described as equalling that of Uncle Remus singing Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" in the Disney song from the 1946 film, Song of the South.

The reputational damage to him will be terminal.

Editors notes.

Ten key facts that undermine the report's conclusions.

1. 45% of white British pupils attend university after leaving school, the lowest rate of all ethnicities, excluding Gypsy/Roma. However, they have better rates of entering elite universities. Of those who enrol in university, 24% of white British students attend a Russell Group institution, more than most minority ethnic groups. Black African and Pakistani students show the largest differential between high university attendance and low enrolment in Russell Group. The Sutton Trust 2016

2. A recent investigation by the Guardian newspaper into school exclusions found that black Caribbean students in English schools were up to six times higher than for those of their white peers in some local authorities.

3. Among people aged 16-24, unemployment rates were highest for people from a Black (29%) or Bangladeshi or Pakistani (27%) ethnic background in October 2019-September 2020. This compared to a rate of 11% for people from a White ethnic background.

4. The unemployment rate for people from a minority ethnic background was 9.5% in October-December 2020, up from 5.8% in the same period the year before. The unemployment rate for people from White ethnic backgrounds also rose, from 3.1% to 4.5%. Unemployment rates for people from both White and minority ethnic backgrounds are below the rates seen prior to the economic downturn in 2008.

5. In the 12 months to September 2020, the unemployment rate was highest for people from a Pakistani (9%) or Black (9%) ethnic background. The unemployment rate was lowest for people from a White, Indian (4%), or Chinese (5%) ethnic background. Source 3-6 Unemployment by Ethnic Background. House of Commons library briefing paper number 6385, 4th of March 2021

6. One in three ethnic minority workers say they have been unfairly turned down for a job, compared with just one in five (19%) white workers, according to research published recently by the TUC.

7. Youth justice statistics 2019/20 published by the Ministry of Justice reported that the proportion of Black children cautioned or sentenced has been increasing over the last ten years and is now double what it was in the year ending March 2010 (12% compared to 6%).

An article in the Guardian newspaper in a report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons identified that;

· About 51% of boys in young offender institutions (YOIs) – prisons for boys aged 15 to 17 and young adult men aged 18 to 21 – identified as being from a BME background, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) found.

· In addition, the inspectorate found 42% of children in secure training centres (STCs) – prisons for children up to the age of 17 – were from a BME background.

· The proportion of BME boys and men behind bars in YOIs in England and Wales is nearly four times the 14% BME proportion of the wider UK population.

9. Ethnic minority communities face a higher risk of falling ill and dying with coronavirus because of the UK's "colour-blind" vaccine distribution strategy, says the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a committee of leading doctors that advises the government.

10. Black women are just over four times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth and up to six weeks postpartum, according to research published by the Nuffield Department of Population Health. University of Oxford.


End.

Mohamud Hassan Family Statement on The Sad Death of Newborn Child.

The following is a statement issued by the Hassan family today. 

"It is with great sadness that the family of Mohamud Hassan announces that on 21.03.2021 Lamaya Ader Mohamud Hassan the beautiful daughter of Mohamud and Phoebe was born but sadly died the same day.

 

This is a further tragedy beyond words for Mohamuds family at this time but comfort is drawn from the knowledge that Lamaya is now with her Daddy as both are returned to Allah.   

 

‎Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhī rājiʿūn

 

Surely we belong to Allah and to him shall we return"

Hassan Family

 

Explosive Update. Mohamud Hassan blacked out in the back of a police van. They did nothing to help him.

South Wales Police Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan Must Resign. 

Dramatic developments and new updates in the Mohamud Hassan case. 

Mohamud died on Saturday 9th January 2021 after being violently arrested by Cardiff Bay Police officers at his home in Cardiff, Wales. He was detained overnight and released the next morning without charge. 

One police officer has already been served a notice of investigation by the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) for failing to inform the Custody Officer at Cardiff Bay police station that Mohamud had complained of feeling like he was about to have a fit whilst he was being transported in the back of a police van to the police station.  

Initially, the investigation into this officer was classed as a possible low level misconduct attracting nothing more than a warning letter if proven. 

The Hassan family immediately demanded this charge be elevated to Gross Misconduct, which could result in the officer's dismissal. The family also called for the officers suspension. The IOPC rejected these demands. 

Now, the IOPC has revealed that this same Police officer failed not only to report Mohamud's complaint of feeling seriously unwell to the custody sergeant at Cardiff Bay police station, he also saw him collapse, literally slumping over in the back of the police van, and still did not report this to his senior officer. 

In failing to report and get urgent medical attention, the officer missed a real opportunity to have potentially prevented Mohamud's untimely death. 

That the IOPC has revisited the original charge against this officer, in the light of this damning revelation makes no sense. 

It's as though the IOPC is watching this officer's bodycam video in instalments. Why would the IOPC partially investigate the 'back of the van' incident, instead of simply conducting a proper investigation watching the whole footage before fully determining the disciplinary charge's status to be levelled at the officer?  

Clearly the charge against this officer must now be elevated to Gross Misconduct, and he must be suspended immediately. 

Interestingly, the Cardiff Bay Police station's custody sergeant on duty at the time of Mohamud arrival at the police station is now also being investigated. He has been served a notice of potential Gross Misconduct charges. 

The IOPC statement reads that the IOPC served,  

"a notice at gross misconduct level on a police officer that they may have breached police professional standards of duties and responsibilities, and honesty and integrity. We are examining the adequacy of welfare checks carried out and whether these were in line with required standards, and entries the officer made on the custody record;" 

This charge could relate to false entries or omissions in the custody record and validates why the family's legal rep Hilary Brown has been asking for the police bodycam videos and police custody records from day one. The Hassan family don't trust the IOPC to do a proper investigation, and the haphazard nature of their investigation thus far illustrates why. 

Did the officers in the van and the custody sergeant conspire together to hide something and was that the fact that Mohamud had suffered disproportionate and unnecessary violence during his arrest and transit to the police station? 

The IOPC continues, 

"a notice at misconduct level on a police officer concerning their use of force while escorting Mr Hassan shortly after he arrived at the custody suite; we are examining whether the use of force was necessary, proportionate and reasonable in the circumstances;"

The charge here suggests officers assaulted Mohamud during being escorted from the police van to the custody suite. So the officer who saw him collapse must have been involved in this along with the officers sat in front of the vehicle. This is horrific. 

"a notice at misconduct level on a custody detention officer that they may have breached police professional standards of duties and responsibilities concerning the adequacy of welfare checks carried out, and whether these were in line with required standards."

After being subjected to potentially disproportionate force, reporting feeling unwell, no one checked on his welfare as required by law. They slung him a cell and left him there. 

The IOPC adds,

"In terms of the evening of Mr Hassan's arrest for alleged breach of the peace, we have served notices at misconduct level on two police officers concerning their decision-making on the use of force on Mr Hassan when at the property. We are considering whether the use of force was necessary and proportionate in the circumstances."

 

Conclusion. 

All the officers under investigation must now be suspend. The bodycam videos and full custody records must be released, and Jeremy Vaughan must resign. 

All this indicates that Mohamud was violently arrested at his home. He then slumped over in transit and was subjected to disproportionate force again when he arrived at the station and was subsequently left in his cell despite being seriously ill, no doubt, due to the manner of his arrest. 

All these revelations now suggest that he was subject to disproportionate police violence and that this was an avoidable death. 

The IOPC continues to communicate to the family through press release. On this occasion they emailed the family, causing one of them great distress while at work. Imagine being randomly emailed this information.This shows a stunning lack of empathy for the family. 

We now know that the South Wales Police and Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan's press statement of the 15th January was designed to mislead. About his referral of Mohamud's case to the IOPC, Vaughan said. 

"We immediately referred the circumstances surrounding his death to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, who have decided to independently investigate these circumstances.

We did this not because we thought that police officers had done anything wrong, but because it was the right thing to do, to give an independent view on the decisions that we made and the actions that we took."

Such is the seriousness of these failures and omissions, we now believe that this has to be a resignation issue. The Hassan family are seeking public support for this demand. 

It cannot be right that Vaughan, having defended his officers and determining that none of his officers had  "done anything wrong", then suffers no sanction when we now know that five of his officers face serious investigation. 

Quite clearly, his position is now untenable. Trust and confidence are essential to good community relations. Chief Constable's words are important, particularly in response to a suspicious death in police custody. His instinctive defence of his officers implied that Hassan's family accusations of police brutality were unfounded.

That he made this statement and its implied assertion that the family were wrong, in the absence of any objective evidence is deeply disingenuous. 

South Wales Police Crime Commissioner Alun Michael 

The Police Crime Commissioner of South Wales Alun Micael must intervene in order to restore confidence of Black, Asian communities  and allied communities of South Wales. 

Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughans integrity is now compromised. His word has no credibility. He must resign. 

NB: I will be hosting the Free Siyanda Mngaza campaign zoom this Saturday 20th March 2021 starting at 4pm Book your place here. 

Remembering Rolan Adams Memorial.

Honoured to be hosting this birthday remembrance celebration for Rolan Adams on what would have been his 49th birthday. It's 30 years ago now and we gather with the Adams family and special guests in celebration of his short life, a life we will never forget. #RolanAdamsMemorial 

Breaking News: Mohamud Hassan: Four More Officers Now Face Formal Investigation.

The case of Mohamud Hassan has taken an explosive leap forward today as the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) announced an additional four South Wales police officers including a custody officer, have today been served regulations 17 notices.

           Chief Constable of South Wales Police, Jeremy Vaughan Must Resign. 

Three of these notices are concerning his time in custody at Cardiff Bay Police station, and the other relates to officers who attended his home address at the time of his arrest.

One of these notices includes an allegation of gross misconduct relating to honesty and integrity, including whether or not there were false or omitted entries made in custody logs concerning welfare checks on Mohamud. 

All the evidence increasingly points to the fact that this was an entirely avoidable death.

Another charge relates to police officers' use of force whilst escorting Mohamud into the police station.

These are explosive allegations that provide solid evidence that the Hassan family's accusations that police officers beat up Mohamud are entirely credible.

Accusations its important to note, that have been routinely denied by the South Wales police and the IOPC, accusations that have been consistently articulated by the family and their legal rep Hilary Brown. Both should be congratulated for their persistent demand for the truth and their rejection of public statements by the South Wales Police Chief Constable and the IOPC that initially suggested no evidence of disproportionate violence or any issues of concern concerning the arrest of Mohamud Hassan.

I wrote previously about this apparent conspiracy between South Wales Police and the IOPC. They were issuing public statements designed to allay public concerns that there was anything to be unduly concerned about this case.

The IOPC issued a press release stating that "preliminary indications" show that Mohamud had not suffered any physical trauma that could have resulted in his death on the 12th January 2021. The fact that four additional police officers are now subject to serious accusations makes a mockery of this statement and completely validates the stance taken by the family, Hilary Brown and indeed this blog.

This critical development fundamentally undermines both the IOPC's and Chief Constable of South Wales Police Jeremy Vaughan initial press statements. Press statements that sought to reassure the public or calm rising tensions, implying there was no case to answer in response to the accusation that South Wales Police were in any way responsible for Mohamed's death.

The Chief Constable issued a press statement on the 15th January 2021 in reference  to his referral the case to the IOPC,

"...we did not do this because we thought that police officers had done anything wrong, but because it was the right thing to do, to give an independent view on the decisions that we made and the actions that we took."

The Hassan family and Hilary Brown have consistently demanded that the IOPC release the police bodycam videos, the custody records and that the officers concerned should be immediately suspended.

That is a demand that we now repeat urgently in the light of these developments.

All of the officers concerned must be immediately suspended, and given the public statements of the Chief Constable of South Wales police, I firmly believe that he should now be forced to resign. 

At the recent Inquest, Micheal Mansfield QC complained that the IOPC's preferred communication method with the Hassan family is through a press release. Once again, today, news of these developments was communicated in a press release. The shock and horror of receiving this news in this brutal fashion by the Hassan family can only be imagined. 

The Welsh Parliament needs to understand that this case has now escalated into a critical issue. As the democratically elected political representative of the people of Wales, they must intervene and demand the officers' suspension, the release of the police bodycam videos, and the resignation of the chief constable of South Wales Police.

Mouayed Bashir died in police custody. His family called for help and were treated like criminals.

            (L-R) Mouayed Bashir, Mahasin Khalil (Mum) Mamoun Bashir (Dad) Mohammid Bashir (Brother) 

This article is about the tragic death of a yet another black man in Wales, Mouayed Bashir. He was 29 years old, and he died after being detained by Gwent Police at his home in Newport, Wales. This death occurred some five weeks after the death in January of 24-year-old Mohamud Hassan in Cardiff.

 

The Bashir family will now be reliant on the IOPC to find out what happened to their son. Given the lack of public trust and confidence in the IOPC, police bodycam videos must be made available to the family and their legal team to be forensically examined as to what happened. Hilary Brown of Virgo Legal Consultancy is representing the family.

 

The IOPC will deny access to the police body cam videos. Nevertheless, we need to increase the campaign to ensure that all such videos are made available to families of those who die in police custody - as a matter of human rights. As I have stated previously concerning the Hassan case, it cannot be morally or legally right that the IOPC decides if and when families can see this material.  

 

Having spoken to the Bashir family, here are the summary details of what we do know.

 

The Police arrived at Mouayed's home on Wednesday, 17th February 2021, at around 9 am after his parents called for an ambulance as they were concerned for his mental well-being.

 

Mouayed had been a victim of an assault in January this year. He suffered a life-threatening injury after he was stabbed in the right upper thigh. Having been taken to a local hospital, he was urgently transferred by air ambulance to a specialist hospital, such was the seriousness of his injury.

 

For two weeks, he stayed in hospital. He was eventually discharged and went to his parents’ home to recover. However, it was immediately clear to his family that he wasn't coping well with his injury as a result of losing five litres of blood and suffering combination of PTSD and physical pain from his injury. Mouayed would stay for long periods secluded in this bedroom and constantly worry his wound was becoming more infected.

 

On the day of his death, Dad rang his GP at 8 am to seek advice. Mouayed had a lousy night, and whilst Dad was on the phone to the GP's surgery downstairs, Mum was upstairs tending Mouayed. She became very concerned about the deterioration of his behaviour and decided to call 999 for an ambulance. Hearing a commotion, Dad rushed upstairs, and Mum handed the phone to Dad to speak directly to the emergency services.

 

Within minutes a female and male Police officer arrived at their home and asked the parents if Mouayed was violent, to which they responded “no”. He never attacked individuals, although he was manically concerned about the severe injury to his leg.

 

The parents report that officers repeatedly asked Mouayed if he was violent. And both stressed that whilst he was distressed, he had never been violent. Nevertheless, they were asked this question again and again by police officers in attendance. It would appear as if the Police were treating this as a potentially serious public order incident rather than employing the compassionate approach that is required for dealing with people suffering a mental health crisis. 

 

Time and time again, inquests have made recommendations for police services to improve how they deal with people suffering from mental ill-health. 

 

Time and time again, we hear of Police immediately reverting to offensive policing tactics instead of employing best practice approaches as outlined in countless inquest recommendations and subsequent public enquiry reports.

 

While the Police were talking to the parents downstairs, Mouayed was in the shower. When he came out, he again barricaded himself in his bedroom. The Police made their way upstairs and were in the hallway outside his bedroom, and eventually forced their way into his room.

 

Dad poked his head round the bedroom door and saw Mouayed throwing things from his bedroom window. The officers asked Dad to leave the room, and he returned to his bedroom with Mom. It's then he saw more officers coming up the stairs; once the officers were inside Mouayed’s room, Mum and Dad report hearing a series of loud clicks, leaving their bedroom and asking police officers what was going on.

 

At that point, Mouayed fell utterly silent; both Mom and Dad were now extremely concerned and repeatedly asked what was going on; the Police told them to go back to their bedroom.

 

In this chaotic scene, Mum was in floods of tears and deeply distressed. Dad left their bedroom and went back to see what was happening. He saw Mouayed lying face down in his bedroom with his head in a wardrobe with Police tying him in leg restraints.

 

He was handcuffed behind his back. Dad asked if he could breathe and was told “yes” by a police officer. In response to asking why his son was handcuffed, unbelievably, he was told to stop interfering, or he'd be arrested. Mom was in shock at the aggressive nature of the officers. She couldn't believe they were being treated like this when they had simply requested help for their son. At this point, it was pointed out to the Police that Mouayed had a severe leg injury, and that leg restraints were likely to make that much worse.

 

Dad said that Mouayed’s legs began shaking at this stage, and he could see that he clearly had difficulty breathing. At this point, dad knew Mouayed was taking his last breath.

 

No ambulance had arrived, and an officer ran downstairs and came back with a rag that he passed to officers inside the room. We speculate that this may have been an ammonia-soaked cloth that may have been used to seek to revive an unconscious Mouayed. Maybe it was used to wipe blood seeping from his severe leg wound.

 

At this stage, his parents were so concerned that no ambulance had arrived that Mom called 999 for an ambulance. They report that Mouayed was lying motionless and unconscious. His father observed that he looked like he wasn't breathing.

 

Once Mom and Dad got through to the emergency services, they immediately passed the phone to an officer who told the ambulance service that Mouayed was conscious. Immediately Mum and Dad protested, saying, having seen Mouayed, it was clear to them that he was not conscious.

 

Police officers forcefully told them to go away. Elderly and frail Mum, who was utterly distressed, was then pushed in her shoulder by an officer. Both were ordered back to their bedrooms. When the paramedics arrived, they tried desperately to administer first aid to no avail. Two ambulances attended the property. One took Mouayed to the hospital. The state of shock and distress that Mum suffered meant that paramedics decided that she needed to go to a hospital in the other ambulance.

 

Having seen their son prone, face down and restrained, both parents said they believe their son was dead before the ambulance arrived.

 

At this stage, we're not sure how many officers had attended the family home. Initial reports from the IOPC suggest a total of nine officers were in attendance. However, this appears to be contradicted by the number of police vehicles reportedly seen outside the family home.

 

Things are reaching a crisis point in the Wales community’s confidence in policing, and the IOPC is at an all-time low. People are deeply dissatisfied with the alienating process of an independent police investigation and the complaint processes into these matters. The IOPC's arrogance, its culture of using former police officers to investigate former colleagues, is exemplified in this case. The lead investigation officer is a retired Gwent Police Officer.

 

There has been no contact with the family, who have already expressed their distrust of the institution, given the 40-year track record of the IOPC and its predecessor, the IPCC, in failing to prosecute a single police officer concerning any death in police custody case. The worthless IOPC statement on this case can be read here.

 

It is now urgent that the Welsh Parliament intervene and express its view on the inadequacy of independent police investigation processes. It must urgently tackle institutionalised racism and operational policing practices.

 

The Bashir family's reality will be a long slow process of denial of information, accountability, and then justice. This is precisely why the whole system of independent police investigations and the Inquest process needs radical reform. These institutions are incapable of delivering justice for any family, white or black, and must be the focal point for a national Civil Rights campaign that demands immediate and urgent reform.

 

We will support the Bashir family and all affected families to bring together the most inclusive and most significant possible civil rights agenda for change.

 

Please follow @Justice4Mouayed on Twitter or on Facebook for more info and contribute to the crowd justice fundraising page here.

 

 

Open Newham website: An open sewer of blue Labour, racism and mysoginy.

The Open Newham Editorial Board 

This week saw International women's Day, the Megan and Harry interview with Oprah Winfrey, the resignation of Piers Morgan on good morning Britain and Society of Editors boss Ian Murray resign as a consequence of seeking to deny the realities of racism in Britain, it's been a good week for antiracism in the UK.

What has been a consistent feature of contemporary racism in modern Britain since the death of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement is the relentless and unceasing series of public attacks on black women by sections of the British media and the torrent of negative online commentary.

From the most denigrated and maliciously maligned public politicians such as Diane Abbott MP to the journalist Nadine White to the everyday racism and the workplace racism faced by women like the late Belly Mujinga, the targeting of black women continues with both pace and ferocity.

Another example of this trend exists in Newham. The ironically named newly launched website Open Newham, this week distinguished itself in an article focused on the East Ham central by-election entitled "The Odds, Runners, begin to declare.

The website claims to be a ‘A topical/satirical political website focused on the London Borough of Newham."

And in its about section, it asks of its contributors:

"The only thing we ask is that you submit something purporting to be factual, but that it is true and ideally can be verified. We love to hear the gossip and rumours, but it is for publication, we'd like to be very sure that it is true."

The article, written in a runners and riders style. with odds given on each of the rumoured candidates, attempts to use puerile humour to mask it’s obvious racism and misogyny.

I can only assume there isn't a single Black or Asian person in this undoubtedly male, pale and stale editorial team. Let's put aside its obvious McCarthyite style ‘red baiting’ suggesting a blue Labour ideological slant, the fact that out of the eight women it highlights, it denigrates as potential by-election candidates, the seven black women, and the sole white woman is praised as ‘ arguably the best qualified of the candidates’ as well as being both ‘intelligent and knowledgeable’.

In response an open letter criticising and challenging the article was published and signed by a huge list of women and men from right across the country.

The multicultural free zone website is also totally obsessed with attacking one of the few Asian women senior politicians in British politics, Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz.

There can be no doubt that this all-white labour male tendency, skulking around, hiding behind the anonymity, prosecuting their racist and misogynistic agenda. The article is so typical of weak white men forced out of power.

I’m guessing this cabal of Caucasion consciousness are probably old friends of the former Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales.

 

One can imagine they sit there, hunched over their computers, feeling utterly emasculated as they watch the rise of black women in one of London’s most multicultural boroughs, balls retreating to their stomachs, lamenting their loss of power and jealously watching black women take full control. 

 

Take one of their targets Donna Guthrie who they laughably ( I’m guessing this is their attempt at satire) claim to have uncovered and exposed as a former member of the Socialist Worker Party. The article thanks its readers for providing this explosive information. No shit Sherlock? 

Doona Gutherie National Women's Officer for the national organisation Black Activists Rising Against the Cuts (BARAC) 

Everyone who's anyone knows that Donna was national organiser for Unite Against Fascism and Love Music Hate Racism for years, and her former membership of the SWP is an open secret. The article goes on in its dog whistle fashion to claim that Donna is not keen on British society because of her steadfast commitment to opposing systemic racism in the UK.  

 

That Donna has no intention of standing in this particular by-election and therefore the website's claim to be satirical yet truthful is complete and utter bollocks. Donna who is the National Women’s Officer for the national organisation Black Activists Rising Against the Cuts (BARAC) has a consistent track record of fighting racism for decades. 

 

But the conclusion of this website seeking to summarise her commitment to demanding justice for the family of Stephen Lawrence, opposing the fascist British National Party on the streets, being a key figure in uniting all communities in opposing racism, is to be categorised as a member of "a far-left party." The designation of antiracism as being the equivalent of a subversive revolutionary communist sect is a well-worn tactic of blue Labour and the right-wing. 

 

Should be of no surprise therefore that they share the same political perspective as Tory Minister Kemi Badendoch who declared that  antiracism being taught in our schools was a criminal offence, tantamount to extremist radicalisation.

 

I’m calling out their puerile racism, misogyny and left baiting. 

 

Such crude racism means this website can't be trusted, block it from your browser. 

 

It's pathetically poor humour, loose association with the facts, its crude baiting of the left, combined with its Tory ideological perspective, should render it largely irrelevant to all unfortunate enough to stumble across its privileged white pages. 

 

 

  

South Wales Police Unleash a Campaign of Political Intimidation Arresting Four BLM Campaigners

In the aftermath of many Black Lives Matter protests outside Cardiff police station following Mohamud Hassan's death, we now aware that South Wales Police are conducting a campaign of political intimidation and have raided the homes and arrested four people in connection with those protests. 

These arrests constitute a vicious, unnecessary and intimidating campaign designed to criminalise those who demanded police accountability, truth and justice in support of the Hassan family.

These actions are nothing more than an attempt to brutally crush and dissuade those that would seek to hold the police to account for the untimely death of Mohamud. 

Thursday, 9th March 2021, saw a Justice 4 Mohamud Hassan public meeting with over 200 people in attendance. The meeting was a great success. Over £1000 was donated to the family's legal defence costs and commitments from right across the country for individuals pledging support for the family's fight for justice.

We also heard from a protester who was recently arrested who didn't want to be identified. He told the meeting, "The Cardiff police came for me at my home, and they handled me like I was Pablo Escobar. I'm a legitimate businessman. They arrested me for shining my iPhone light at an officer who claims he was blinded as a result."

The protester went on to say he would not be intimidated by the boy policing tactics and would continue to support the campaign. He called upon young people across the country to get involved and to help fight this injustice.

This naked campaign of flagrant political intimidation being conducted by South Wales Police must now attract the Welsh Assembly's urgent intervention. Their actions merely aggravate and alienate whole swathes of young people who have genuine concerns about what happened to Mohamud and whose only demands are accountability, transparency, and justice. 

For them to be subject to this type of policing is an outrage in any modern democratic society. Cardiff is not Myanmar, and the police cannot merely unleash this criminalisation campaign, targeting those who are demanding justice. Such action smacks the kind of policing one can expect in Hong Kong or Moscow but certainly not within the United Kingdom.

In 2020 across the UK more 200 BLM protests have been targeted for arrests nationwide. The Metropolitan Police Service reported it had arrested 240 protestors by the 6th July 2020. 

Our voices must be raised loud and strong in support of the protesters. We will be working with local organisations to fundamentally expose, reject and respond to this campaign of criminalisation and political intimidation.