Race and Labour: In 2020 Starmer took the knee; today, he's just taking the piss

Keir Starmer's Ideological Blind Spot on Systemic Racism: A Black Critique.

 

Written by Lee Jasper, Co-founder of Operation Black Vote, Former Senior Political Adviser to the Mayor of London, Former London Criminal Justice Board Member, and Chair of the Alliance for Police Accountability (APA)

 

In the aftermath of the 2019 general election defeat, Keir Starmer assumed the mantle of leadership of the Labour Party with promises of unity, pragmatism, and renewal. Yet, as Starmer's leadership unfolds, a critical and disconcerting ideological blind spot has become glaringly evident: a profound misunderstanding and neglect of systemic racism within the United Kingdom. This oversight not only alienates a chunk of Labour's base but also starkly undermines the party's historic commitment to social justice and equality.

 

The pivot under Starmer's leadership towards a centrist stance, symbolized by an embrace of patriotism and the Union flag, has marginalised crucial discussions on race and systemic inequalities. Starmer and his team blocked internal constitutional reforms proposed by Black Labour members by providing constitutional guarantees with a focus on tacking Labour Party's lack of Black representation, disproportionate disciplinaries targeting Black and Asian employees and racism in candidate selection and deselection process. 

 

In 2020 Starmer took the knee; today, he just taking the piss. 

 

This shift, at a time when global movements across the world demand bold leadership on racial justice, highlights Starmer's reluctance to directly address systemic racism, revealing a significant ideological blind spot, a jaundiced view nurtured and weaned on the British societal and political culture of racism and xenophobia.  

 

The treatment of high-profile Black MPs and activists, characterised by disciplinary actions and investigations, signals a troubling trend of silencing important voices in the fight for racial inequality. This issue, combined with Labour's lukewarm response to the Black Lives Matter movement and a notable absence of a comprehensive policy agenda to combat systemic racism, raises substantial doubts about Starmer's understanding of these critical matters.

 

Moreover, Starmer's leadership has been marked by notable inaction in implementing the recommendations from crucial reports like the Lammy Review, the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, The Forde Report and the Baroness Casey Review. 

The slow response to the Forde Report's revelations of racism within the Labour Party itself underscores a lack of commitment to meaningful change. This ideological blind spot extends into Labour's policy and messaging strategies, with the scaling back of ambitious racial equality plans and cautious rhetoric around policing, immigration, and racial justice.

 

Such an approach suggests an overarching concern with not alienating Daily Mail readers. This benign neglect destroys what’s left of Labour's overhyped reputation as the defender of the marginalised. The stone-cold fact is Labour quietly marches with the Tories on race. 

 

A stark illustration of this failure is the launch of Labour's 'race action plan' fronted by Annaliese Dodds MP on Monday, 5th February 2024. Described as a total shambles and a debacle, the launch was first cancelled and then hastily rearranged online under some bullshit pretext of ‘Gaza security concerns.” 

 

The back of a “fag packet plan” was heavily criticised by a range of Black institutions for its lack of any real substance, lack of community engagement with Labours Black members and pithy launch that spoke volumes. Such is the level of blatant disrespect, even the of the Black press were excluded. 

 

The chaotic nature of the event, as reported by attendees, underscores the initiative as a cheap PR stunt, a poorly organised tick-box exercise, deeply insulting to Black communities. 

Frankly, a group of sixth-form students could produce more credible strategies and policies contained within Labour's plan. 

 

The Labour Party's hesitance to address racial justice, evidenced by the Forde Report debacle, the marginalisation of Black and Asian members, and the failure to condemn racial atrocities unequivocally, reveals a superficial commitment to anti-racism. Labour's race equality proposals, dismissed as cosmetic and performative, epitomise a leadership that takes Black votes for granted, offering little in the way of substantive policy changes to dismantle systemic racism.

 

As Labour stands at this critical crossroads, it must confront its failings on systemic racism decisively. Without critical introspection and transformative action, Labour risks not only its electoral prospects but also its very soul. The party must embrace a bold stance on systemic racism to rebuild trust with Black, Asian, and ethnic minority communities, affirming its commitment to the principles of equality and justice it professes to uphold. 

 

The time for decisive and authentic, radical action on issues of racial justice is now, more than ever and as James Brown famously sang, “It’s time to take it to the bridge,”

 

 

APA Slams Racial Attack on Met Black Police Association Chair and Calls for Discussion Re National Black Recruitment Boycott.

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

In Important Election Year, APA Condemns Racially Charged Attack on Met BPA Chair And Backs National Black Police Association (NBPA) Presidents Calls for a National Discussion about Black Police Recruitment Boycott.

Date: Monday, 5th February 2024

The Alliance for Police Accountability (APA) strongly condemns the Metropolitan Police Service's (MPS) recent racially motivated misconduct investigation against the Chair of the Met Black Police Association (Met BPA), Charles Ehikioya. 

 

This act of suppression highlights the systemic racism ingrained within the MPS, as revealed by the Casey Review in 2023, which found Black officers to be disproportionately subjected to misconduct investigations.

 

APA Chair Lee Jasper stated, "The MPS's targeting of the Met BPA Chair is an egregious attack on the campaign for racial justice in the Met and an extension of this government's phoney ideological war on the woke. 

However, this year will see the Mayor of London and a general election take place. It's more crucial than ever for us to challenge systemic police racism. The MPS's weaponisation of the misconduct system against Black officers is unacceptable. It demonstrates the reality of a toxic policing culture of racism and discrimination that must be brutally confronted and completely dismantled."

 

In light of the upcoming Mayoral and General elections, the APA will be collaborating with a range of national Black organisations, including the NBPA, to demand greater action against racism within the MPS. 

Jasper added, 

"2024 is not just any year; it's a pivotal moment for us to hold the MPS accountable. The MPS year-old Turnaround Plan and the Mayor's Action Plan - now four years old - are deeply emblematic of failed and outdated policy approaches, filled with warm words and pious statements but with no substantive action or outcomes. We repeat  ad nauseam that the MPS Commissioner's routine denial of the existence of institutional racism is a significant and fundamental blind spot, preventing any real progress."

 

The investigation into the Met BPA Chair, instigated after he highlighted senior officers' misconduct and the racism faced by colleagues, appears to be a concerted effort to silence a prominent voice for racial equality within the force. The restrictions placed on the Chair, including barring his involvement in discrimination cases and attendance at MOPAC meetings, are a clear attempt to silence black voices for racial justice.

 

The APA echoes the sentiments of Leroy Logan MBE, Janet Hills MBE, and Mina Smallman regarding the challenges Black police officers and activists face within the MPS. Andy George, President of the NBPA, has voiced a lack of confidence in the MPS's leadership to enact necessary reforms, suggesting a temporary halt on BAME recruitment into the MPS until significant changes are made. The APA believes this approach should now be discussed nationally among a range of national Black organisations as an urgent priority. 

President of the National Black Police Association (NBPA), Andy George, said, "Given the crisis in confidence highlighted through so many incidents and reports, I cannot say that we can adequately protect and support officers of colour within the MPS. For that reason, I take the extraordinary step of saying that we no longer have confidence in the Commissioner or his senior leadership team to bring about the necessary and promised reforms to the service. I also regretfully recommend that anyone from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds do not join the MPS until there is more rigorous accountability placed on the Commissioner and more resources are given to the Met BPA so they can provide wrap-around support to those in need.”

 

The APA fully supports the NBPA's demands for an immediate end to the racially motivated investigation against the Met BPA Chair. We call for genuine, transparent reform within the MPS to eliminate systemic racism and restore trust in the communities they are meant to serve. As we approach critical election milestones, the APA, alongside our partners, will intensify our efforts in demanding a policing system that is fair, just, and accountable to all Londoners.

 

End of Release

 

About the Alliance for Police Accountability (APA): The APA is a coalition of activists, community leaders, and justice advocates dedicated to systemic reform within the policing system. Our mission is to ensure fairness, justice, and accountability, promoting a policing culture that respects and protects the rights of all communities, particularly those historically marginalized and oppressed by systemic racism and discrimination.

Crisis Unfolds: The Shocking Surge in Britain's Policing of Innocent Black Children.

Crisis Unfolds: The Shocking Surge in Britain's Policing of Innocent Black Children

The news that there has been a 13% increase in the last year in the stop and searches of Black children will come as both horrifying and devastating news to many in Britain's Black communities and beyond. 

Recently published Home Office data revealed that in the last year, we have seen a massive ramping up of racial profiling and targeting black children by British police forces across the UK and, in particular, London at the hands of the Metropolitan Police. 

And the terrible news is these figures are rising, and child arrests are becoming increasingly violent. 

In addition to this worrying new trend, London-based youth charity Redthread has publically expressed its concerns after youth workers reported seeing increased incidents of black children, particularly black boys, arriving in hospital A& E departments after suffering from Taser injuries, head injuries, memory loss and trauma resulting from violent arrests. 

The majority of these arrests have led to no further action. In other words, most children are innocent of any crime. 

Recently published Home Office statistics indicate that out of 100,000 children stopped by police nationally last year, 20% were black youth, a stark overrepresentation given they constitute only 6% of the general population. 

Figures courtesy of @gmhalyes on X 

Alarmingly, nearly 90% of these young individuals, subjected to the indignity and distress of racial profiling under the guise of 'intelligence-led' policing, were subsequently found to be innocent.

Figures courtesy of @gmhales on X 

According to a report discussed in November 2023 at the newly created London Policing Board, over 70 children required hospital treatment, including plastic surgery for dog bites and taser injuries following violent, aggressive arrests that caused a range of injuries and severe trauma.

Terrell Decosta Jones-Burton, a 15-year-old, receiving critical hospital treatment following a wrongful and violent arrest while cycling in Bermondsey, South London, in 2017. 

The Officer concerned was cleared of any wrongdoing. 

The political context. 

The very year that saw the cases of Child Q, X and A (a ten-year-old Black girl tasered by the Met) alongside the excoriating publication of the Casey Review, the response from officers on the ground was to target more Black children. 

That message from the ranks was crystal clear; they gave us the metaphorical middle finger; despite the warm words and rhetoric of the Commissioner and statements by the Mayor of London about 'tackling racism in the Met,' the objective response is clearly written in these disturbing figures. 

In short, Met officers have decided the best way to respond to widespread concerns about their proactive racist practice is to ramp up the targeting of Black children. 

The consequence is that we now see a new development in the nature and scale of systemic racism in operational policing. That is the transparent extension of the type of vicious systemic racism and heavy-handed police brutality generally reserved for adults, which is now being extended to our children.

Think about that for one minute. 

OK, let's keep it moving.  

The Met is a police force, not a service. Referring to a systemically racist institution as a 'Service' is a total misnomer that fails to accurately reflect the reality of their oppressive policing of London's Black communities. 

The term 'Service' implies a commitment to public welfare and safety, a standard that is starkly contradicted by the systemic racism and brutality embedded within the culture of the Metropolitan Police. 

The stone-cold truth and their own figures prove this the Metropolitan Police Force oppresses black communities rather than protecting them and discriminates rather than serves. 

London's Black communities should redefine the Metropolitan Police as the ' Metropolitan Police Force.'  This encapsulates the harsh, bitter truth and the oppressive nature of the policing of London's Black communities  

Publically redesignating the Met as a force, not a service, acknowledges the harrowing experiences of those on the receiving end of their racist policing practices and serves as a constant reminder of the urgent need for systemic reform within this institution.

The Met doesn't care about your concerns. 

We all know the horrendous cases of Child Q, Child X and Child A and the public outcry that followed. Yet here we are today, with these new Home Office figures confirming that what we are witnessing is a very worrying and growing trend: the criminalisation of black children being subject to racial profiling and violent arrests.  

The Alliance for Police Accountability (APA) highlighted the issue of adultification and the Case of Child X late last year, revealing the horrific armed hard stop that saw a 13-year-old schoolboy rammed off his scooter and held at gunpoint. At an APA public meeting (held at the IDPAD Centre in Hackney, the family's home borough), we saw a packed venue and a furious crowd demanding justice and accountability. Yet despite widespread and overwhelming public condemnation – not a single officer has been disciplined regarding this Case.  

 Things are getting worse. 

This important Hackney public meeting, followed by another APA pubic meeting among the Somalia communities of Lambeth at Stockwell Community Centre (where a 14-year-old Muslim girl was aggressively arrested outside her school by a School Police Officer) both gave a solid mandate for the APA urgently expose and address this critical issue. Parents at both meetings were angry and demanded action. The APA is serving the community and has decided to take action.  

According to data provided by the Metropolitan Police, 31 children between 11-17 years old required hospitalisation for police-related injuries across London in 2023. However, this figure was immediately challenged by Redthread, who alone recorded 24 child injuries after the use of police force in the same period at just eight London hospitals. The conclusion is clear - we can have no confidence that the Met's figures capture the actual reality. 

We suspect there is a massive underreporting of the violent arrests of all children, particularly Black children, who are hospitalised due to the use of police force, the vast majority of whom are guilty of no crime.  Redthread youth workers reported seeing increased numbers of children arrive at hospitals with injuries such as police dog bites and other injuries received during arrest and other interactions with the police. These included head injuries, fractures, memory loss and wounds requiring plastic surgery. 

The significant point to note is that this disproportionality has increased over the last two years, at the same time as public concerns over previous child arrests and the publication of the  Casey Review. Black communities are being policed by the worst nightmares and stereotypical anti-Black assumptions of serving racist police officers and commented upon by a largely unrepresented and hostile press. 

What the above figures show is that despite the racist stereotypical reporting of sections of the press, the reality is that both Asian and White communities are more likely to be arrested for gun crimes. Figures courtesy of @gmhalyes on X

The Talk.

One aspect of the lived Black experience that is not well understood is the extent to which black parents are forced to provide survival techniques and advice to their children in the event they encounter aggressive and racist policing. 

Baroness Casey, in her searing and devastating report into police racism, misogyny, and homophobia, was at pains to point out to predominantly white audiences, in many subsequent interviews and speeches, this little-known (outside of Black communities) fact. 

Until she spoke with black parents, she was entirely unaware of the realities of how black families are forced to equip their children with the skills necessary to successfully navigate the realities of systemic racism in policing. There comes a time as children approach adolescence when Black parents will sit down with their sons and daughters and have "the talk." 

This coming-of-age 'talk' involves equipping their children with the knowledge, tactics, and skills to de-escalate an encounter with racist police officers. Is this really the vision of a multicultural Britain we want to see? One where our children are increasingly seen as 'fair game' by a predatory police force that refuses to accept the toxic reality of their profoundly dysfunctional policing culture

It's less than a year since Baroness Casey published her damning review highlighting what the black community has known for the last five decades that the Metropolitan Police Service is a systemically racist, misogynist, and homophobic organisation. We would add to that list Institutional islamophobia. 

What is crystal clear is the persistence of police racism leads us to conclude that racism is secreted into the very sequencing of the Met's organisational DNA. 

What the Baroness Casey Review revealed was the reality of a racial hierarchy and a bruising, dominant and deeply dysfunctional policing culture that infects every aspect of the organisation. 

And let's be clear about the broader dynamics at play: it took the brutal murder of a woman, Sarah Everards (whose grandfather was a Jamaican from Saint Elizabeth), by a serving police officer, followed by the vicious policing of the Sarah Everard memorial at Clapham Common, and finally the intervention of another white woman Baroness Casey, to inform the British public, of precisely the very same things Black communities have been telling the powers that be for the last 50 years. 

London accounted for almost a third (32%) of stop and searches of children in England and Wales. Baroness Casey was right when she said stopping and searching by force needed "a fundamental reset". She also highlighted research that shows "larger numbers of Black people felt traumatised and humiliated by the experience of stop and search than other ethnic groups."

Black Trauma Matters. 

Imaging the trauma experienced by Black children, their families and the broader community of repeated, aggressive and, on occasion, violent policing by a hostile force? 

Police racism is deep, persistent and consistent. History demonstrated that within the beating heart of the culture of policing lies an unrelenting river of racism infecting every aspect of operational policing, stop and search, road traffic stops, drug possession, rape, murder investigations, Case after wretched Case has been publicly exposed and driven home the terrifying point that we are subject to the soft apartheid and devastating outcomes of police service that has effectively demonised Black adults and children as being inherently criminal and dangerous. 

Racial profiling requires a closed system mindset and is just one aspect of a systemic culture of racism. It's a self-reinforcing belief system where disproportionate focus on Black people leads to disproportionate stop and searches and increased arrests that inevitably leads, somewhat ironically, to the reinforcement of police prejudicial stereotypes that justify a continued disproportionate focus on Black people. Psychologically, police officers have, in other words, executed, rationalised and justified their innate prejudice as 'just doing my job."

Policing culture. 

Such is the ferocity of the culture of policing (and all greenlit by the stubborn refusal of the Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to admit his force is systemically racist) that the subculture or what was once known as 'canteen culture' simply eats race equality policies for breakfast, followed by sexual equality for lunch, and a late snack on those tasty LGTBQ policies. Such woke policies are despised mainly and ignored by the massed ranks of PCs. 

A Call To Action. 

In conclusion, the Alliance for Police Accountability (APA) is issuing an urgent call to action, appealing to every concerned citizen, community leader, and human rights advocate to amplify our message. We urge you to share this article and our crucial petition. This petition is directed at the Mayor of London, the London Policing Board, and the Home Office, demanding immediate action to address the profoundly concerning practices of the Metropolitan Police Force. 

You can sign the petition here. 

Specifically, we are calling for the Metropolitan Police Force to be mandated to routinely monitor and report all interactions with children under the age of 18, especially in instances where force is used or the children require hospital treatment. 

This is a critical step towards transparency and accountability, ensuring that the rights and well-being of our children are safeguarded.

Furthermore, we insist that the Metropolitan Police and the Mayor directly consult with London's Black communities. The aim is to develop stringent, transparent, and fair protocols governing the strip search of children, particularly in sensitive cases where intimate body parts are exposed. Such measures are vital to protect our youth's dignity and rights and prevent the misuse of police authority.

Your support in sharing this article and endorsing the petition is invaluable. It is a step towards ensuring justice and upholding the rights of our children and towards building a society where the safety and dignity of every child are paramount, irrespective of race or background.

To this end, the APA will also host a "Policing and the Black Child Conference" (hat tip to Diane Abbott MP- if you know, you know) in May  19th 2024 in partnership with the University of East London's Peel Centre on Policing one year on from the publication of the Casey Review. Contact us if you want to join our APA-focused youth working group developing the conference's theme.  

Conference details will be announced soon. 

Follow APA for more info. 

 

 

GMC Continues to Target Black Doctors for Investigation. Dr Valentine Udoye's story will leave you shocked and stunned.

My name is Dr Valentine Udoye, the background and the origination of my persecution by GMC

are as follows:

I am a full registered Medical Practitioner with the General Medical Council, with registration no (6094869) since 2007

I graduated from Nnamdi Azikiwe University -Nigeria in 1999, where I was awarded MBBS. I registered with the Nigerian Medical Council (FM 27,449) in 1999. I started my medical practice with Nnamdi Azikiwe where I worked as a House Officer from 1999- Jan 2001, after which I moved to practice as a General Practitioner in Nigeria.

I worked as a GP in various hospitals in Nigeria before coming to UK in 2005.

The reason for this move was due to a horrific bandit attack on one of my trips on the motorway, where I witnessed murder, rape and beatings by bandits up to 30 in number. After coming out unhurt, this led to the decision to leave Nigeria for a better life for my family in the UK.

From 2005-2010, I did clinical attachments and worked as a trust grade doctor - FY1 and FY2 levels in various hospitals in the UK.

Due to my experience in general practice in Nigeria, I wanted to continue my medical practice here in the UK as a General Practitioner. On enquiry, I did understand that I could practice as a GP in the UK via two routes:

1. (a)  By obtaining a certificate of completion of training in General Practice (CCT) or

2. (b)  By obtaining a certificate of eligibility for GP registration as an international GP

Having weighed my options in terms of length of time and cost, I decided to pursue a CCT route. I applied for GP training, and I was accepted to do the training in Scotland. During my GP training, I had to apply for a visa every time I changed hospitals, which I couldn't afford as a father of a young family.

Therefore, I changed to a Tier 1 visa to avoid frequent visa applications. 

Unfortunately, I realised I couldn't work as a trainee under this Tier 1 category.

Thus, I decided to stop GP training.

In light of this dilemma, I decided to develop my GP skills by working in various departments as a non-trainee from 2011 to 2014. Having a wide experience in different fields of medicine, I decided to renew my desire to go for registration as a GP with GMC. 

Because of my experience in 2011, I decided to take the CEGPR route ( Certificate of Eligibility for GP registration). The information on the RCGP website stated that exams for membership could alternatively be taken abroad in countries such as Dubai.

I contacted the Royal College of General Practitioners Office in Dubai, and I was informed of the requirements I had to meet in order to sit the MRCG exam, as well as the exam curriculum. I noted that the exam curriculum in the UK is the same curriculum obtainable in Dubai.

I prepared for the exams from late 2014 to 2015, and I flew to Dubai on three occasions to take some of the preparatory courses in accordance with the Curriculum. Having finished the courses in Dubai, I took the MRCGP exams. I passed all the courses, including AKT & CSA. I was thereafter awarded MRCGP(INT).

This indicates that notwithstanding my qualification as a GP in Nigeria, I am now a certified General medical practitioner accredited by the Royal College of General Practitioners in the UK and worldwide. This certificate satisfies the criteria for registration as a GP with GMC. I, therefore, made an application to the GMC in 2016 for a certificate of Eligibility for GP registration.

However, The GMC, in consideration of my application, refused my registration on the grounds that I needed more training and experience in certain areas of general practice, which the GMC recommended could be fulfilled through general practice training in the UK; or through General Practice work experience in the UK or gain the necessary competencies in the posts other than GP training.

Determined to practice as a GP, I found that the GMC, in their refusal decision, stated that the responsibility to undertake any further training to meet up with their recommendations rests in me. I enquired from the NHS Health Education as to what I should do next to be able to practice as a GP.

I was advised to contact the Head of Continuing Practice, Postgraduate School of Primary Care Health Education England North East, in the name of Dr Iain Lawther. 

In April 2016, I contacted him with an enquiry about the best way for me to proceed to GP Practice in the UK. My email enquiry which clearly set out my dilemmatic situation was provided to GMC. Dr Lawther (whom the NHS Officers I contacted for advice directed me to) responded to my enquiry and clearly and rightly acknowledged that I, as an international GP, was entitled to take the route of Induction via the NHS Induction and Refreshers Scheme programme (I & R Scheme) his organisation, Health Education England runs.

Dr Lawther made it clear to me that the I& R scheme is for those GPs who were trained and qualified abroad and who would want to enter the UK to practice as GP. He directed that there were, however, some exams and processes to undertake, which included interviews, pre-assessment exams, and clinical placements.

When it became clear that I was entitled to undertake further training under the I&R scheme, all the officers of the NHS continuing education and speciality programme was involved in making it possible for me to undertake this training, and I was so grateful to all of them particularly Dr Lawther, Ellaine Griffiths and Dr Tranter.

I was asked to undertake the first pre-assessment exam in stimulatory Surgery, which I did and had a successful outcome. I was told to proceed to clinical placement in Surgery as part of the scheme. I was eventually sent for I & R placement at Mansion House Surgery under the supervision of Dr Richard Tranter, who is a GP training Programme Director in the North East, for the remaining part of the training scheme.

I worked hard to write all the assessments and works assigned to me by my clinical supervisor -Dr Tranter, and at the end of the 6 months of training, I passed all the courses, and I succeeded. I was given the structure report necessary for my registration as a GP with the GMC.  As soon as my structural report was sent to Health Education England North East, a request for full Performances List inclusion was requested. 

Then, an allegation from nowhere was fabricated that I was working as a full GP while I was undertaking the training placement as part of the I & R scheme at Mansion House Surgery. I could not believe what was happening, and before I knew it, this was escalated to GMC, who initiated an investigation and immediately moved to the Interim Tribunal of MPTS to get interim restriction orders against me on the basis of protecting public interests and patient safety.

My practice was restricted for 15 months; however, my lawyers made an application for review in December 2018 to IOT of the MPTS, which revoked the restrictions order on the basis that even if I had practised as a GP as alleged for the 6 months training placement, there was no risks report or any concerns raised during the training period and more importantly, I have finished the training. Therefore, there was no need for any restriction since I moved back to my employer to continue my work as a locum specialist Doctor.

I thought that by the MPTS IOT decision, GMC would agree with the IoT reasoning and its order of revocation and leave me alone. Unfortunately, my lawyer received a letter from GMC in January 2019 that they would be proceeding to drag me to Medical Practitioners Tribunal services (MPTS) for Fitness to practice to investigate me on totally new allegations. 

The allegations were that whilst I was undertaking the training placement at the Mansion surgery, I was paid the I & R scheme bursary, which the GMC argued I was not entitled to receive on the basis that I was not entitled to undertake the I & R scheme programme. 

They alleged that by my receiving the bursary, I have been dishonest.

The GMC further alleged that during the filling of my application for the I & R scheme form in 2016, I had ticked yes to the question “are you on the GP GMC register” which was a one-off mistake among all other similar questions I had ticked correctly. 

That by me ticking yes, I have been dishonest. These allegations were subjected to MPTS proceedings from January 2019 until January 2020, when the MPTS dismissed all the allegations without finding even misconduct on my part. I thought I was resurrected from death, and it was the end of my trial part of life, but alas.

Despite the fact that the MPTS proceedings lasted for 2 years before I was finally acquitted of all GMC charges on January 2020, and despite the huge financial burden I personally faced throughout the duration of the GMC proceeding, the GMC appealed the MPTS to the High Court.

All my sickness resurfaced, and I was struggling all the while with emotional, psychological and financial hazards, including the impacts which led to the breakup of my marriage. 

That effect has not left me to date. 

Then, the High Court, rather than acknowledging that the MPTS had heard the 8 witnesses presented by GMC and all of them did not blame me, including the Lead and the Director of Health Education England North East who runs the I & R scheme, ignored all of these and set aside the MPTS determination and remitted it back to a different MPTS panel albeit not on grounds of public interest or patient safety reasons but only on the technicality that MPTS did not understand the GMC case.

The remittal hearing has been again listed for 13 days long hearing in October 2022, which in effect subjected me further to another huge financial hardship, psychological and emotional trauma.  I have been struggling to sleep for the past 4 years. My marriage has broken down, and my children have been confused about what has been happening to me. 

I really need help.

I am facing serious emotional, psychological and financial trauma because of the GMC’s unwarranted attacks against me. GMC’s attacks on me are without any justified reasons. I have never practised as a GP during the I & R training placement; rather, I was under the supervision of a GP trainer Dr Tranter who also confirmed that I was his candidate and an I & R GP trainee.

GMC’s unwarranted and aggravated atrocious attacks on me and other BAME doctors need to be brought to the attention of the public with a view to stopping their unnecessary attacks on medical doctors in the UK, particularly against BAME doctors. 

This has destroyed my family, what I have worked for, and me as a person. Additionally,  I am struggling now to live with a lot of debts accruing from legal costs in defence of GMC attacks and persecutions. 

Call to action. 

My hearing is due to take place in Manchester on 29th September at 10.00 am at Medical Practitioners Tribunal Hearing St James Building, 79 Offord Street, Manchester M1 6FQ.  

I ask that you share this article. Promote my campaign material, and finally, help me mobilise community attendance at my forthcoming hearing. 

Lee Jasper On the Independent Office of Police Conduct Report into The Death of Rastaman Ian Taylor.

Lee Jasper On the Independent Office of Police Conduct Report into The Death of Rastaman Ian Taylor. 

In 2019 on the hottest day of that year, a black man lay dying on the streets of Brixton. That man was Rastaman and severe asthmatic Ian Taylor. On police bodycam video played at this Inquest earlier this year, Ian is repeatedly heard crying out the terminal words, “I can't breathe. It’s worthy of note that Ian died a full year before George Floyd’s murder, and this desperate plea became a global demand for justice. Not once was there any reference here in the UK media to Ian's tragic death for reasons I shall explain shortly.

The Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation report published recently into the controversial and preventable death of Ian Taylor has remarkably determined that there is effectively no case to answer regarding Lambeth Police Officer's treatment of our brother. Ian, a 54-year-old Rastaman, died a brutal and unnecessary death on 29th July Coldharbour Lane in 2019, surrounded by a callous group of Lambeth Police Officers who mocked him as he lay dying.

Arrested on suspicion of being involved in a fight, Ian was found lying on the pavement outside Brixton Domino Club, Coldharbour Lane, and immediately handcuffed. The circumstances surrounding Ian’s death have become a lightning rod for change that demands police accountability and radical change.

At the time of Ian's death, Lambeth Police issued a press release stating that Ian had died because of an assault, and subsequently, two local black men were arrested on suspicion of his murder. Unbelievably, those investigations are still ongoing even though Lambeth Police knew at the time that the likely cause of Ian’s death was nothing to do with an assault. 

Why would Lambeth Police put out such false and misleading information? Some would say this was a cynical media diversion tactic to shift the initial focus away from the Officers and ensure that the local community didn’t discover what had happened for fear of a community outcry and public backlash.

As was recently revealed dramatically, at a recent Brixton public meeting attended by Ian’s Taylors family that I helped organise and co-chair, not only was the community kept in the dark at the time about what happened to Ian, but so were local Councillors, MP Helen Hayes, the Leader of the Council, and the media.

What has become abundantly clear in the subsequent period since Ian’s death and his Inquest is that Lambeth Police decided to keep the facts from the public, elected officials and the media at the time. They failed to inform, brief, and reassure or be accountable to the public in any meaningful way. That is a severe and catastrophic error of judgment.

When the Police engage in media manipulation and fail to be accountable to local communities and elected officials, that is a grave matter. Community confidence in policing, consultation and local accountability are vital cornerstones of any effectively functioning democracy.

As we can see, the initial Lambeth Police Service briefing on Ian’s death bears no relation to this incident's facts. Despite the truth being revelated shining a light on the culpability of Lambeth officers for Ian's death, Lambeth Police have, to date, chosen neither to apologise nor publicly correct this deeply misleading police briefing.

Ian's death was not caused by injuries caused by anyone else. His avoidable death was a direct result of police inaction. An inquest later determined that Ian died due to an acute asthma attack and dehydration on the hottest day of 2019, with temperatures well above 30 degrees. His asthma was aggravated by the stress of his arrest and the fact that he was seriously dehydrated.

Had he been taken to hospital, there is no doubt in my mind that Ian would be alive today.

When the first officers arrived on the scene, Ian was already on the ground and struggling to breathe; the officer's evidence stated that on arrival ‘.… I could see the man on the floor appeared to be in pain and some distress”. 

Despite this, Officers placed Ian in handcuffs within two minutes of arrival. So, there was no doubt that the Officers were aware that Ian was in severe pain and was showing signs of acute distress.

Ian repeatedly asked officers to find his asthma pump. Although the IOPC report indicates officers did conduct a primary search through his jacket and called an ambulance, they continually mocked Ian’s insistence that he couldn’t breathe and refused to give him water; they laughed, accused Ian of faking distress, and watched him while he lay dying.

His Inquest found Ian to have died from an acute asthma attack and severe dehydration. They could have added ‘and the damaging effects of unacknowledged institutional racism in policing.’ Coroner Andrew Harris was shocked that police had not considered driving Mr Taylor to a nearby hospital, given they were aware of severe ambulance delays that day.

Add to this horrific scenario that he died on the hottest day of the year, with temperatures well above 30 degrees, surrounded by seven Lambeth police officers. Ian was pleading for his life, handcuffed, lying prone and in the searing heat. While Ian lay struggling for breath and dying of thirst, surrounded by officers mocking him, one officer took out a fresh bottle of water, drank some and poured the rest over her head and as was revealed at his Inquest, she didn’t offer Ian a single drop.

Despite the recent IOPC finding, the Coroner was sufficient concerned that he referred a police officer who was recorded as dismissing Mr Taylor’s complaints of being unable to breathe to his sergeant as “blah, blah, blah ... all a load of nonsense” to the police watchdog for investigation. The IOPC has dismissed his concerns.

The IOPC report states that an officer responded to Ian, “you can breathe because you are breathing, but you need to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, ok? I am helping you.’ Ian, in response, repeatedly says, “I’m dying,” and complains of being hot and thirsty. One of the seven officers in attendance was heard on camera saying, “…ignore him. He’s playing the poor me card.”

Just consider that as Ian lay dying, repeatedly saying, “I can’t breathe,” Lambeth Police officers stood around and made jokes.

Body-worn video shows the officers eventually took him out of the sun, pulled his jacket down, and stated they provided him with some shade by ‘positioning themselves to block out the sun.’

That’s certainly one interpretation, but the police body cam videos available to the IOPC show a completely different story. Given the video evidence, I find some of the IOPC finding perverse and make little to no sense in the real-world policing experience of London's Black communities or the expected professional policing standards.

As Police waited for an ambulance, officers were constantly made aware of massive delays to ambulance services on that fateful day. Yet, despite being just five minutes away from Kings College hospital, not one of the seven officers decided to take Ian to A&E despite his deteriorating condition.  Ian was eventually placed in the back of a police car. There are four minutes of missing body cam video of Ian in the Police car, and they happen to be the last four minutes that preceded the end of his life. Filming resumes seeing the officer's frantic efforts to save Ian's life, who had stopped breathing, leading to blind panic among officers.

Officers bizarrely claimed and were believed by the IOPC that they were unaware they could transport an arrested suspect to the hospital. They incredulously stated, and this was their core defence, that they genuinely believed that doing so was ‘against force policy.’

This unbelievable response from officers should have been instantly dismissed as nonsense by the IOPC. How can professionally trained police officers claim that they actively believed they were not allowed to transport people requiring medical treatment to the hospital when faced with such an extraordinary situation? Even more concerning is that the IOPC appears to have accepted this explanation at face value. This cannot be a reasonable conclusion given the available evidence of camera footage and police interviews.

In stark contradiction to their finding that there is no case to answer, the IOPC report clearly states that police officers can and, in fact, regularly transport suspects/members of the public to hospital.

“MPS policy does not prohibit the transport of detainees to hospital in a police vehicle but does make it clear that such a decision will only be appropriate in exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the police driver.’ Despite officers not following their policy and transporting Ian to A&E, the IOPC found no evidence of misconduct on their part.

Notwithstanding the above, the IOPC investigation report starkly contrasts the galling evidence revealed at Ian Taylors Inquest, where the Officer's evidence demonstrated the callousness and shocking levels of unprofessionalism.

The Inquest findings highlight the mediocre quality of this IOPC investigation and its inexplicable conclusions. The Ian Taylor Inquest shone a bright light on Lambeth police officers who failed in their duty to save his life. They could have transported Ian to the hospital and should have done so straight away. This is lethal incompetence if one accepts the officer's testimony, and I, for one, do not.

This alleged incompetence cost an innocent man his life.

Nor do I accept that this is a matter of better training for police officers. I assert that Police officers shouldn't need professional training to ensure they offer basic human empathy and compassion to a person in distress. Had just one of them done so, their intervention could have saved Ian's life.

This IOPC report concludes that the officers did nothing wrong, suggesting that just one officer be given “words of advice and offered reflective practice.”

Local MP Helen Hayes, who also attended the Brixton meeting on Ian’s death, subsequently complained to the IOPC following the Corner's comments that called for one of the officers who failed to offer Ian any assistance to be referred on disciplinary charges to the IOPC. Interestingly, the Coroner, the local MP, the Council, and the local community all disagree with the IOPC's conclusion that there is no case to answer.

In many ways, this scenario reminds me of Rashan Charles's case. A young Black man was choked to death by a police officer in 2017; all caught in the full horrific video glare.

Back then, if you recall, the IOPC investigated, and we were told not to believe our lying eyes and accept that Rashans death was lawful and proportionate.

Like hell it was. As in the case of Rashan, these woeful IOPC conclusions on the end of Ian Taylor are, I believe, fundamentally respect for the rule of law and police officers in general. In both cases, the UK authorities have tried to bury their harrowing evidence and protect the police officers involved.

And we all know why.

The elephant in the room is the continually denied existence and reality of a toxic culture of institutional racism. A culture that strips both police officers of everyday compassion and black people of our humanity. Institutional racism dehumanises police officers and black people alike. The consequences are the most dramatic loss of Black public confidence in the long and turbulent relations between the Met and London’s Black communities. 

And that's why these IOPC conclusions are more than just an embarrassing whitewash. They are a damning indictment of the Met institutional racism that has had the generalised effect of oppressing and criminalising London's Black communities for decades. 

This IOPC whitewash of Ian Taylor's death sends a clear message to the Met and London's Black communities that the culture of institutional racism will be allowed to continue with impunity. It also reinforces the view that black lives don't matter, an approach and sentiment that can only have catastrophic consequences for London.

In releasing this report in the middle of August, the IOPC could also be accused of cynical media manipulation, choosing to publish during the holiday period. Given the deeply tarnished public reputation of both the IOPC and the Met, there remains a series of essential questions and contradictions between the officer's evidence to the IOPC, and the evidence heard at the Inquest.

Cllr Mahamed Hashi, Lambeth’s Cabinet Member for Safer Communities, who was in attendance at the recent Brixton meeting, said in response to the IOPC report, 

 “Ian Taylor’s death has traumatised his family and shocked the local community. That pain was laid bare during a community meeting at Lambeth Town Hall in July when his relatives spoke with searing honesty and clarity about their tragic loss.

“They also spoke of their extreme concern about how the information had been shared and how this had made a terrible situation even worse for them. This shock and anger were reflected across the room as others in our community spoke about their own experiences and reflected on what had happened.

“This latest announcement is profoundly disappointing and makes very clear that much more must be done to change the culture of policing. At Lambeth Council, we are already working hard to improve public accountability regarding policing the borough, whether around stops and searches or how the police engage with local communities following incidents in their area.

“But it must be backed up by the Met responding to being put in special measures by developing new and better ways of engaging with communities, becoming more transparent and more reflective of the diverse city it seeks to serve.”

Speaking at the Ina Taylor community meeting last month, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, Helen Hayes, condemned the “gross failure” of responding officers over Mr Taylor’s death.

She also called upon the then-acting police head, Sir Stephen House, to investigate what role “racism may have played in the way that Ian Taylor was treated”.

Chief Superintendent Colin Wingrove, the most senior officer in Lambeth, repeated an “unreserved apology” to Mr Taylor’s family for the officer’s comments, saying they lacked “care, compassion and respect”.

“When we deal with any incident, especially when someone needs our help, we expect the highest professional standards and care, treating people with dignity and respect,” he said.

“This is what the public rightly expects from their police service, and I am sorry we did not meet those high standards in every respect when responding to Mr Taylor.”

He acknowledged the impact on Mr Taylor’s friends and family and said his officers would work with them and the wider community to respond to their concerns and “rebuild trust and confidence”.

The Mayor of London. 

There is growing political consensus across the capital on the need for the Met to tackle systemic discrimination. The Mayor of London reported in the Pink News speaking on the current Met crisis, and former Commissioner Cressida Dick said

“One of the reasons why I lost confidence in the previous commissioner was my lack of confidence in her plans to address the two big issues – addressing the systemic racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny, but also the trust and confidence required from our public when you police by consent,”

Lambeth.

The problem for Supt Wingrove is that in the two years since becoming borough Commander, the general public, specifically Lambeth Black communities' trust and confidence in Lambeth police have collapsed. Under his watch, Lambeth has the highest recorded incidence of race complaints, the lowest level of Black trust and confidence, and the highest level of race disproportionality across all use of controversial police powers of any borough in London and of any Police service in the UK.

Further, he has allowed the most catastrophic deterioration of police accountability forums in the borough. As public surveys of policing satisfaction in Lambeth have shown, throughout Wingrove's time at Lambeth, both rates of race disproportionality have risen whilst the quality of community relations and public confidence in policing have all seriously deteriorated under his command.

Restoring our trust and confidence in Lambeth is predicated on the existence of robust and publicly accountable police-community forums. One of the immediate legacies of Ian's untimely death is that the Council is fully committed to addressing these controversial policing issues and re-establishing rigorous and practical community police accountability structures in the borough. This comes not a moment too soon.

The Met is now in deep crisis and has been placed in special measures by its own regulatory body due to its failure to acknowledge and address the issues of what, under former Commissioner Cressida Dick, became a virulent and resurgent culture of institutionalised racism and discrimination.

The National Police Chief Council’s recently published Race Action Plan and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, have both prioritised tackling systemic racism as a matter of urgency,

The return of genuine police accountability in Lambeth can’t come soon enough. It's too late for Ian Taylor, but we can ensure sufficient scrutiny and public accountability to minimise the extent to which such a sad and avoidable death could happen again.

On the issue of police accountability and tackling racism, the challenges for the Met, the Mayor and Government are existential and critical. With the quality of senior officers and borough commanders at the Met today, I’m not sure the Met has the commitment, resources or personnel or skills necessary to ever recover fully.