National

Death of Pauline Campbell

As I sifted through mail on my return from Cuba I read with deep sadness of the death of Pauline Campbell. I understand her body was found beside her beloved daughter Sarah's grave. Pauline had written to me while I was away to tell me of the inquest on Sheena Kotecha who died in the "care" of the prison services at the same time a s Sarah died in 2004.

----- Original Message -----
From: tyrrelljvle@xxx.com
To: paulinecampbell1@xxxxxxx.co.uk
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 8:17 PM
Subject: Re: * Criminal trial abandoned as CPS comes under fire *

Well done Pauline. Greetings from Cuba. I have come to a conference and this seems to be a world that sees things rather more humanely than what we're gatting at home a t the moment. Best wishes, John

To: John [in Cuba]: You certainly do get around, John. Many thanks for your message. I despair at the lack of humanity over here, and sometimes wonder if things will ever get any better. But people have to keep on trying. Regards, Pauline

In fact among the e-mail was the following entry on the latest climbdown by the Crown Prosecution Service when they dropped charges against her after protests against the deaths of women in custody. It was dated 11th May only a few days before her death. Pauline also linked up with the Mikey Powell campaign and commented on the outcome of the inquest into his death when once again there was no accountability.

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Posted by John Tyrrell at 3:42 PM May 18, 2008 | Comments (0)

Sheena Kotecha, 1982-2004. The verdict: "Left to die".

I am grateful to Pauline Campbell for updating me on the result of the inquiry into Sheena Kotecha's untimely, unnecessary and brutal death at the hands of the state. Privatised institutions employ staff at cut rates of pay and this is what we get. More.

In 2004 I wrote of my experience of meeting the family just as they learned of the beloved daughter's death the previous evening. Jamnadas Vadhia had been visiting her at Brockhill Prison where he took her fruit to perform Hindu rituals. It was the only way to get nutritious food to Sheena who had two stone.

At the time the Leicester Mercury had likened the story to Bonny and Clyde. Their reporting today looks a bit different. All it did at the time was to hide the reality in order to get a bit of sensational reporting. I hope they remember this disgrace.

Continue reading "Sheena Kotecha, 1982-2004. The verdict: "Left to die"."

Posted by John Tyrrell at 1:43 PM April 20, 2008 | Comments (0)

Modern Britain. The incarceration of Mothers and children

The date is 2008, place Britain. The Government Is New Labour. Mothers and children are incarcerated.The following is from NCADC

Mothers United in Yarl's Wood IRC / Listen To Our Cry

Seven mothers in the family unit in Yarl's Wood immigration prison have been on hunger strike since Thursday the 10th of April. The group includes two breastfeeding mothers.

A protest involving up to 15 families started last Thursday when a mother who was to be taken to the airport took sanctuary in the church in Yarl's Wood IRC with her baby and refused to leave, she was joined by up to 14 other mothers who refused to let the mother be removed from the church.

========================

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Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:18 AM April 19, 2008 | Comments (0)

Another criminal trial - another waste of the court's time - and an even greater waste of public money

The prison system is indefensible, not least in the way that women prisoners are treated. It is acknowledged over and over that those in prison need medical help. Because it is indefensible the government and its agents get tough. They hate to hear the truth. So people like Pauline Cambell are beaten up and taken to trial. Why? Because her daughter died in an inhumane institution, and yes she's angry.

If people in our prisons are treated like garbage what do we expect the outcome to be? David Blunkett toured South Africa to tell us about using warehouses for prisons - and he's a member of New Labour!!! Meanwhile in Scandinavia small local prisons are the thing where families can remain in touch more easily, rather than the end of civilisation as we know it.

The following is from Pauline Campbell and now a few day's old:

Outcome of pre-trial review
Macclesfield Magistrates' Court, Hibel Road, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 2AB
Wednesday 9 April 2008, 1130-1245 hrs
Defendant: Pauline Campbell

Summary

* Court has today announced a three-day criminal trial, to be held at Knutsford Crown Court, Wednesday 30 July 2008-Friday 1 August 2008.
* Application for legal aid has been refused, on the grounds of 'interests of justice'.
* The Crown intends to call 13 witnesses to give evidence against me, making a total of 18 witnesses in all.
* Unconditional bail was granted.

Background to case

1. Arrest and charge (obstructing the highway): 5 February 2008, at a prison-death demonstration outside Styal Prison, to protest against the death of the young mother Lisa Marley, who died on 23 January 2008 in the care of the jail. Thirty-two year old Ms Marley was on remand, and therefore legally innocent when she died.
2. Court hearing: 27 February 2008 - 'not guilty plea' entered [Macclesfield Magistrates' Court].
3. A pre-trial review was held on 19 March 2008, also in Macclesfield.

Today's hearing

* The hearing took place before a panel of lay magistrates: Mrs Saunders (chair); Dr Sharma (male); and Mr Fryer, and I was unrepresented in court today.
* Clerk of the Court ("Senior Legal Adviser") was Mrs Warren. She declined to answer my question about whether or not she was a qualified solicitor.
* CPS Prosecutor: Mr Jonathan McGahan (solicitor), based at the Crewe office.
* The court agreed to my request for the case to be transferred to another magistrates' court in Cheshire. The trial will be held in Knutsford; venue: Knutsford Crown Court, Sessions House, Toft Road, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 0PB.
* At the start of today's hearing, my legal aid position was still unclear, and I told the court this would need to be resolved before a trial date was set, to enable me to check if my lawyers were available on the suggested trial date. I further explained that, if my legal aid application was refused, it would be even more important that I speak to lawyers before agreeing to a date, as I would be dependent on lawyers acting pro-bono.
* Hickman and Rose, Solicitors, London, made an application for legal aid on my behalf on 28 February 2008, and again on 7 April 2008. I insisted the "Senior Legal Adviser" make enquiries about my legal aid status. I was told my application had not met the criteria necessary to meet the 'interests of justice' test. Despite my earlier request, the court insisted on fixing a trial date.
* The 13 witnesses for the Crown include police officers; Styal Prison staff; GSL prison van staff; and a local authority highways representative. Had these written statements been acceptable to me, fewer witnesses could have attended court. However, I told the court that I was not prepared to accept some of the statements, as they included factual inaccuracies and some outrageous comments about me, which will need to be challenged in court by my lawyers.
* The court has instructed me that legal issues and case law to be argued must be served by 30 June 2008.
* The CPS has still not provided all the necessary statements; two GSL statements are outstanding.
* New information was again handed to me in court today, including a statement from a GSL prisoner escort officer: page one of the statement included a glaring error about my late daughter - that she "had committed suicide [sic] in Styal". I protested about this factual inaccuracy to the bench, and said the jury did not return a 'suicide' verdict at my daughter's inquest, and I did not want to be confronted with such insensitive and inaccurate statements again in court.

Continue reading "Another criminal trial - another waste of the court's time - and an even greater waste of public money"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:04 AM April 16, 2008 | Comments (0)

Saint Enoch

It seems to have become fashionable of late to canonise Enoch Powell drawing on the infamous "Rivers of Blood" speech. The BBC put out a "white season" to be trumped by Channel 4 who use Rageh Omaar to front their series. Not quite sure what message was intended when the programme was advertised with a park full of dogs peeing and defecating all over the place. Maybe it referred to Powell's reference to the white pensioner who had shit posted through her letter box allegedly. Whatever the immigrants were to blame.

The programmes were high on sensationalism but short, very short, on analysis. Plenty of people sounding off on prejudice, which certainly accords with Powell. Rageh Omar's incredulity was stretched when he found that not only whites, but black people had prejudices too. Nothing said about the manipulation of labour by those wanting the cheapest possible source and the consequent exploitation. Nothing said about government policy supporting this.

Recently it has been announced that settlers from the Asian Sub-continent may have rights curtailed or removed. The length of stay for visitors would be reduced from 6 to 3 months while £1,000 would be payable for each visitor. Lord Goldsmith has further recommended to Gordon Brown that these without British passports should lose the right to vote. No spouses under 21. Enter a new workforce from Eastern European countries with full voting rights and no such restriction.

So don't blame the victim. If the Tiber is going to foam with much blood it's idiot politicians who are causing the problem. Migrant labour is coming because people are doing jobs that no one else wants to and at very low rates of pay. In rural areas crops don't get picked anymore. Birmingham people used to take their holidays down in the Worcestershire countryside and help with the harvest. Farmers have had competing supplies of labour and have gone for those they are able to control and exploit the most.

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Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:33 AM April 15, 2008 | Comments (0)

Parliament's "dirty little secret"

It comes as no surprise to hear that black mps find Parliament "riddled" with racism and sexism. The real shock is that it remains so hidden in a culture of denial. It is a real problem for the British that it has been put about for so long that they are about tolerance and fair play that it becomes impossible to understand or believe that discrimination exists. That is unless you are a black MP and Dawn Butler, member for Brent South, has spoken out. Why others don't speak out is not so much of a mystery when you consider that patronage and privilege plays such a part in getting on. Many prefer to keep their heads down and play the system. Ms Butler makes the point that she has to "pick her fights" because discriminatory acts and behaviour are so common place.

Continue reading "Parliament's "dirty little secret""

Posted by John Tyrrell at 4:08 PM April 13, 2008 | Comments (0)

Can the train take the strain?

Blessed Margaret hated it. The train I mean, but people are voting with their feet and taking the train in record numbers, that is according to today's Independent (11/4/2008). That's after Beeching pulled up miles of line. New Labour, having made promises to the contrary, again displayed their Thatcherite credentials by going further than she did in putting forward a road building programme using costly private capital.

In Birmingham the infrastructure holds developments back. The New Street plan only deals with passengers but won't increase capacity for the train. The road lobbyists still fight for the right to put more and more cars on the road with the enthusiastic support of the present Cabinet Member for Transport in Birmingham, Councillor "Gridlock" Gregory.

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Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:27 AM April 11, 2008 | Comments (0)

Little benefit to British people

A group of peers has decided that immigrants are of no value to the British people.

"The peers had found immigration had had "little or no" impact on Britain's living standards, questioning government claims that it had brought significant economic benefits."

However there is an alternative view from an unreported source that a group of immigrants have issued a report which states:

"The immigrants had found that peers had had "little or no" impact on Britain's living standards, questioning government claims that they had brought significant economic benefit."

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Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:08 AM April 2, 2008 | Comments (0)

An inhumane system, or "how to learn to love fish and chips"

A report headlined in the Independent (27/3/2008) states the obvious: that Britain's policy towards asylum seekers is "inhumane" and "oppressive". It states that it "falls seriously below the standards to be expected of a humane and civilised society".

The report talks about "a culture of disbelief" where the odds are stacked against genuine claimants at the outset, lumped in with those who may not have a right to stay.

The inhumanity referred to here doesn't begin and end with the asylum system. It has become embedded in many other areas of our existence. The prison system it is well known is a place where those who are unwell end up, a place where self-harm and suicide have become endemic.
The rot starts in schools, however, where young children are oppressed by an over-zealous system which "tests to destruction". Primary aged children end up with stress and depression. Not the sign of a healthy society.

Continue reading "An inhumane system, or "how to learn to love fish and chips""

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:07 AM March 27, 2008 | Comments (0)

New Labour's Humanitarian Approach

Iraq is safe for return. New Labour has said so. UNCHR doesn't agree, but 1400 failed asylum seekers are being told that they will be forced into destitution in UK. They will also have to sign a waiver clause disclaiming the responsibility of the British Government if anything happens to them and their families. Proud to be British and swear an oath of allegiance to this fatuous crowd?

Having gone into Iraq in the first place against the wishes of a majority in the UK once again responsibilities are shelved. The same can be said of the treatment of those who came from former colonies when Britain set out to exploit vast areas of the world in competiton with other European powers. If you come from the Indian Subcontinent you have to be 21 to come as a couple, but only 18 if you come from Eastern Europe. Nothing to do with continuing racism?

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Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:46 AM March 13, 2008 | Comments (0)

G.Ps The story is out

George Monbiot has been thinking just what I've been thinking. It's just that he's come at it from another angle. It's about GPs and their opening times. Rememer I had a phone call asking me what would make me change my GP. But I DON'T WANT TO CHANGE MY GP.

According to George the government has embarked on a programme of change on the basis that many said they wanted a more convenient opening times like evenings and Saturday mornings. Except that the document cited never mentioned these supposed wishes at all. Monbiot likens it to the "dodgy dossier" which claimed the weapons of mass destruction were upon us.

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Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:32 AM March 11, 2008 | Comments (0)

"Thrashing around" on education

Estelle Morris has had something to say on the government's attempts to reform education. "Thrashing around" is how she describes it. There is this new initiative and that new initiative imposed on the system without bothering to see if it effective or not.

The criticism comes hard on the heels of a report on primary education asking whether it would have been better if New Labour hadn't made changes at all. Many were coming through their education without being literate. Changes have been made, and are continuing to be made against the advice and concerns of the teaching profession and outcomes are showing clearly that they have been right all along. Unfortunately Lord Adonis sits Buddha like dispensing his higher wisdom and understanding unperturbed by the mere mortals who say "no Andrew, come down from your pedestal into the real world".

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Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:36 AM March 5, 2008 | Comments (0)

Fair Trade profits up, but who benefits?

Fair Trade is catching on. I go to the Co-op quite often to shop. This week I was looking for the "organic" label since my family over from Canada like to eat that way. I couldn't see a single item but for "Fair Trade" there was plenty of choice.

The Co-op has been a leader in Birmingham for some years and helped when the Council declared itself a "Fair Trade" organisation. With expansion has come criticism, and as with organic produce prices are higher than non-branded equivalents. The question arising is how much of the mark-up goes to the producer and how much goes to massage company profits upwards. People are buying "Fair Trade" marked items presumably because they believe they are benefiting producers who face high levels of poverty.

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Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:57 AM February 24, 2008 | Comments (0)

Difficult to get it right when bigotry and intolerance abound

Yet another alarming story about British prisons is told in the Guardian (10/2/2008). The idea that Al Quaeda camps are all elsewhere like Pakistan has hit home, and the role of British prisons evident. Problem appears to be that staff are ill-equipped to cope and other prisoners are likely to reflect the intolerance to Muslims manifest in the population as a whole. This was illustrated by outbursts following even a mention of "Sharia".

Reading between the lines what is happening is even greater cause for concern. I recounted what happened to an Indian friend and colleague who was Sikh (and doesn't wear either turban or beard), when after 9/11 someone said "are you a Muslim?" Without waiting for an answer my friend was hit in the mouth losing his teeth as a result. No culprit was found. Prisoners and prison officers it seems are likely to take it out on anyone they might think looks to them like "a Muslim". In the U.S. Balbir Singh, a turbaned and bearded Sikh was the first to be murdered in the US after 9/11, because someone thought he resembled Bin Laden.

Continue reading "Difficult to get it right when bigotry and intolerance abound"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:55 AM February 10, 2008 | Comments (0)

Intolerence

The pronouncement of the Archbishop of Canterbury may or may not be words of wisdom, but the underlying sentiment was to try to regain a climate of tolerance. The outcry it produced confirms the depths of intolerance following the hysteria engendered by the neocons in the US supported by the New Labour government in Britain.

"We need to engender 'British values' " says Brown. What are we talking about exactly? Booze binges, gambling mania? Liam Byrne talked about fish and chips and roast beef (glad he didn't say "pork"). Reading further Brown spouts "fair play", "tolerance" and the like. Well I've always liked to think that way about myself and country. Learning about British colonial history it's difficult to sustain this cant for long. Intolerance and bigotry rule. Blair used to do the same, but for some reason I expected better of Brown. Why? Well I was in West Bromwich a while ago when he came to speak at a union office and he seemed quite passionate about child poverty. I'm afraid it's an illusion since he is one of New Labour's authors. More Thatcherite than Thatcher and its selfishness we see our children the unhappiest in the developed, record numbers in prison the majority of whom need treatment for their mental health. More and more are either killing or harming themselves.

A curious state of affairs exists with the government pressing people with disabilities into employment. At the same time Peter Hain announced that Remploy is to close its factories. Remploy specialises in giving employment to this group. Yes all firms should have policies and procedures in place for employing anyone on an equal basis. In practice many face discrimination when they meet ignorance and prejudice. Intolerance again. But then that can't be so. We're a tolerant bunch. Gordon has said so.

Blunkett is another New Labour figure who has been preaching what "Englishness" is supposed to mean. These are leaders of a diverse country who can't get it into their heads that their exclusivity gives a message which divides and deeply so. the whole thing is a myth anyway. There are so many examples of people who have given everything for Britain who came from anywhere else but Britain. They are invisible people, although fortunately there are attempts to reveal them. The search is intensely moving and satisfying so often. Birmingham archives have a site which has an extraordinarily rich seam of jewels.

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Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:11 PM February 9, 2008 | Comments (0)

Testing, testing testing

Teachers keep saying it, UNESCO said it, now a comprehensive survey report says our kids are being tested out of sight, or as the Independent (1/2/2008) has it "tested to destruction".

As a teacher I felt disempowered. When I was a member of New Labour I was disempowered by a lunatic bunch who had all the answers and glory in their power to wreak havoc wherever they tread.

Education is a process of learning by discovery, not imposition of facts and figures. It bores children, it bores teachers rigid. A good recipe for education which Blair emphasised as so important. New Labour is full of ...bl..ah. Blair (gone or has he?), Blears, Blunkett. All have blurred vision. Seven year olds everywhere else learn through play and adventure not ny being tied down to their desks to swot for tests, and tests and more tests. SATs at 7, 11 and 14 are being reconsidered, to do away with tests? Oh no, the proposals are for more tests every year. The model I suppose was USA again where they face similar problems from a similar idiot called Bush.

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Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:40 AM February 8, 2008 | Comments (0)

Arrested and charged for protesting over the death of a young mother at Styal Prison

From Pauline Campbell

Prison-death demonstration - Tuesday 5 February 2008
to protest against the death of the young mother Lisa Marley, aged 32, who died on 23 January 2008 while on 'suicide watch' and on remand at Styal Prison, Cheshire

Summary

- the 28th demonstration to be held outside women's prisons in England since protests began in April 2004;
- Pauline Campbell arrested for the 15th time;
- charged in the early hours of Wednesday 6 February 2008, and bailed to appear in court on Wednesday 27 February 2008.

The protest
A small group of protesters held a peaceful demonstration outside Styal Prison, during the afternoon of Tuesday 5 February 2008, to protest against the tragic death of the young mother Lisa Marley, aged 32, who died in the care of HMP and YOI Styal on 23 January 2008.
Ms Marley was on remand at the time of her death. A person held on remand is legally innocent until proven guilty.
Protesters, from Shropshire, Cheshire, and Greater Manchester, included representatives from FRFI Manchester (Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!)
Lisa Marley is the first woman to die from apparently self-inflicted injuries in women's jails so far this year.
Governor (F grade) Carol Williams, and Principal Officer Mark Whitehead, emerged from the jail and spoke to Pauline Campbell at the prison gates, but said they were unable to comment on Lisa Marley's death. They expressed condolences over the death of Sarah Campbell, adding they were not at Styal in 2003 when Sarah died. Ms Williams took an envelope into the prison for Governor Steve Hall, enclosing a demonstration leaflet and two INQUEST leaflets, in the hope that the information is passed to the grieving family.
Lisa Marley is the sixth woman to die in the care of Styal Prison since Sarah Campbell's death in January 2003. Both Lisa and Sarah were on 'suicide watch' when they died.
Forty-one women have died in women's jails in England (including Lisa Marley) since Sarah's death on 18 January 2003.
The demonstration, attended by reporters and photographers, was covered by local radio stations.
Protesters handed out leaflets to visitors to the jail. Banners were displayed, and flowers laid in memory of Lisa and, at the end of the afternoon, a memorial placard was left at the prison entrance. (See below for details of arrest and charge.)
The arrest and charge (Incident No. 173, Cheshire Constabulary; 05.02.08)
At 1505 hrs, a GSL prison van MV04 KJJ was stopped by protesters as it attempted to enter the prison. Minutes later, another prison van MV04 KKG, was forced to stop behind the first vehicle.
Cheshire Constabulary officers from Wilmslow and Macclesfield arrived on the scene. It was explained to both the police and the prison van drivers that in view of the recent death at Styal, protesters considered the jail to be unsafe, and a request was made for the women to be taken to a place of safety.
At 1525 hrs Pauline Campbell was arrested for obstructing the highway, handcuffed, taken by police car to Wilmslow Police Station, then transferred to a GSL cellular van, locked in a cell with no seat belts, and taken to Middlewich police custody suite.
Detention was authorised at 1700 hrs.
On Wednesday 6 February 2008, at 0042 hrs, Pauline Campbell was charged: "On 05.02.08 at Wilmslow in the County of Cheshire, without lawful authority or excuse, wilfully obstructed the free passage along a highway, namely Styal Road, Styal, contrary to Section 137(1) of the Highways Act 1980."
The reply to the charge, logged in police records was: "Wilfully taking women into Styal Prison, when Lisa Marley only died there two weeks ago, is shameful."
Unconditional bail granted; court appearance: Macclesfield Magistrates' Court, Wednesday 27 February 2008, 0915 hrs.
Released from custody: Wednesday 6 February 2008, 0050 hrs.

Continue reading "Arrested and charged for protesting over the death of a young mother at Styal Prison"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:38 PM February 6, 2008 | Comments (0)

4WardEver. A site for Mikey Powell and others who have died in custody

From Tippa Naphtali

4WardEver

Stand Up For Your Rights

4WardEver UK was developed as an off-shoot of The Mikey Powell Campaign for Justice. The Friends of Mikey Powell Campaign for Justice was established by the family of Michael Lloyd Powell (known as Mikey), a cousin of the renowned poet and writer, Benjamin Zephaniah, following his death whilst in Police custody. Mikey was 38 years old and a father of three young children.

4WardEver exists to provide information and resources on families that have lost loved ones and suffered injustice, and supports the call for reform within police, penal and mental health institutions in the UK and internationally.

In a very short time after Mikey Powell’s death, his family met with other affected families who, like them, had no voice on the worldwide web; and what began as a basic website focussed on Mikey’s case gradually developed into something much more comprehensive. The site developed to have a broader focus than its original theme, and it was decided that a new site would branch off independently, and be called 4WardEver.

The website has now become a widely used reference and information resource for many families, their friends, supporters and campaign groups. 4WardEver also provides other online resources, is involved in the organisation and participation of events for justice, and direct support of families through a West Midlands based sister organisation, the Family Advisory Support Trust; and a free website development service for affected families and friends called The Family Web Pages Collective.

Why we feel passionately about custody deaths:

Between 1969 and 1999 over one thousand people died in police custody alone, not counting deaths in prison and psychiatric institutions. No one has ever been convicted for any of these deaths.

In October 2004 the then Home Office Minister, Hazel Blears commenting on a Police Complaints Authority (PCA) report noting a reduction in such deaths said, “There was an encouraging reduction in the number of deaths of people from minority ethnic communities from 22 in 2002/03 to 10 in 2003/04.

She went on to say; “The PCA report found that while there are grounds for concern about some aspects surrounding the general treatment of detainees, there is little evidence that this concern can be attributed to racist attitudes or behaviour.”

These words however, were of little comfort to the dozens of families who have lost relatives in these circumstances.

Continue reading "4WardEver. A site for Mikey Powell and others who have died in custody"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:27 PM January 31, 2008 | Comments (0)

The death of a woman prisoner. Yes, it's Styal again

Announcement from Pauline Campbell.

DEMONSTRATION TO PROTEST AGAINST THE DEATH OF ANOTHER WOMAN PRISONER

Lisa Marley, aged 32,
died on 23 January 2008, while in the care of Styal Prison, Cheshire

Demonstration will take place on Tuesday 5 February 2008
at 1.30 pm, for the duration of the afternoon,
outside HMP & YOI Styal, Styal Road, Styal, Nr Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 4HR

Banners will be displayed, and flowers laid in memory of Lisa
All are welcome to attend, including reporters/photographers


NOTES
Lisa Marley is the first woman to die in prison in 2008.
Ms Marley, a mother, was being held on remand at Styal Prison when she died.
The demonstration will be led by Pauline Campbell, mother of Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, 18, who died in the so-called care of Styal Prison and Young Offender Institution (YOI) on 18 January 2003.
The protest on Tuesday 5 February 2008 will be the 28th demonstration to be held outside women's prisons in England since protests began in April 2004.
To date, Pauline Campbell has been arrested 14 times, and has stood criminal trial just once [26.09.07] when the judge threw the case out of court. More.
Figures refer to apparently self-inflicted deaths, England and Wales. (There are no women's prisons in Wales.)

Continue reading "The death of a woman prisoner. Yes, it's Styal again"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:37 AM January 30, 2008 | Comments (0)

Anti-Labour legislation

The following piece from the Socialist Labour Party made its point forcefully! I want to share it:

THE TRADE UNION FREEDOM BILL

– A LESSON FROM HISTORY

BY LYNTON BENNETT

In 1863, dockers from Liverpool and Manchester refused to unload bales of cotton produced by slave labour in the southern states of the USA. This resulted in a bitter strike which brought hardship to the dockers and the workers in the cotton towns of Lancashire.

The sacrifice of the British workers helped the northern states of the US in the civil war. A monument carrying an address by Abraham Lincoln was erected near Manchester town hall to commemorate the strike.

But what relevance has this chapter of British labour history got for today?

Well, 150 years later, under a Labour government, the strikers would be thrown in jail, their union’s funds seized and the southern slave states allowed to pursue compensation for restraint of trade!

This leads us to the need to repeal all anti-trade union laws and, as one step in that struggle, secure a safe passage into legislation of the Trade Union Freedom Bill.

Despite wide support across the labour movement, the Bill continues to be talked out by New Labour apparatchiks.

Our forefathers stood up to the employers and government of the day to help free slaves, we haven’t even got that right.

Stand up against the anti-trade union laws and let’s win back the right to fight.

Ends.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:16 AM January 26, 2008 | Comments (0)

David Winkworth

My cousin, David Winkworth was well known in Cockermouth in Cumbria. He set up a printing press museum some thirty years ago in addition to the bookshop on the town's Main Street. David passed away following an operation shortly after Christmas and Vron and I went to his funeral on 6th January.

We arrived at the parish church midway through the first hymn having taken the wrong train from Birmingham New Street. We just hadn't considered that two trains left at exactly the same time for Edinburgh, one along the east coast, one on the west. Somehow the Virgin train manager, Michelle, worked out how we might get there. Nothing from Tamworth which does connect up with Penrith, so back to Birmingham just in time for the Glasgow train. This bypassed Penrith stopping at Carlisle, so we had to catch the next rain back to Penrith which arrived barely in time for a bus to Cockermouth. No snow in Cockermouth, but in the surrounding areas it added to the beauty of the scene with the trees decorated with white filigree. It didn;t appear of much consequence until we heard later reports that Helvellyn was a no-go area with warnings of an avalanche, unusual for the district.

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Posted by John Tyrrell at 6:20 PM January 20, 2008 | Comments (0)

Prison demonstration ends with more police abuse of Pauline Campbell

The link gives a full and vivid pictorial account of what happened when Pauline Campbell organised a demonstration following the death of yet another woman inmate at Holloway on January 16th.

Two days later Pauline was back at Styal Prison on the anniversary of her own daughter's death in custody:

HMP STYAL
Vigil held on Friday 18 January 2008 to mark the 5th anniversary of the death of Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, aged 18 who died in the so-called care of HMP and YOI Styal on 18 January 2003

A small group of supporters joined Pauline Campbell outside the prison on the afternoon of Friday 18 January 2008 to hold a vigil to commemorate Sarah's life, and to mark the 5th anniversary of her death.

Bouquets of flowers were laid at the prison gates, and banners were displayed. The vigil was covered by local radio, television, and newspapers, including: Channel M Television [Manchester], 17.01.08; BBC Radio Merseyside, 18.01.08; and the Manchester Evening News, 18.01.08 ("Mum leads vigil in Sarah's memory"): )
Professional visitors to the prison, and family members of those incarcerated in HMP Styal, stopped to speak to those attending the vigil. The apparent situation of one prisoner, as described by a family member, gave particular cause for concern, and will need to be looked into.

The vigil was attended by Georgina Griffiths, best friend of the late Sarah Campbell; and a representative from FRFI Salford (Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!).
Police: one police officer arrived at the vigil, at about 4 pm, but left after a few minutes. A police presence was unnecessary. No-one was breaking the law, and it was unclear why he was asked to attend.

Comment

"The fifth anniversary of Sarah's death was another very sad, and moving occasion, when her life was commemorated, and flowers were laid outside Styal Prison. I cannot even say that 'lessons have been learned' from Sarah's death, as a further 40 women have died in the 'care' of the prison authorities since 18 January 2003, when Sarah died. Every time another woman prisoner dies, it reactivates the feelings of loss and grief that I first experienced five years ago. The absence of an apology merely adds insult to injury."

Photographs

Two photographs are available [nil copyright]; anyone requiring a copy, please e-mail Pauline Campbell.

-------------------------------------

Continue reading "Prison demonstration ends with more police abuse of Pauline Campbell"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:15 AM January 20, 2008 | Comments (0)

Death Row U.K. style

The Birmingham Post has highlighted a massive rise in suicide in British jails during 2007.

"There were a total of 92 "self-inflicted deaths" in 2007, including 84 males, eight females, seven male young offenders (under 21) and one juvenile.

The total also included 23 foreign nationals, 18 prisoners sentenced to life, and 41 prisoners on remand." Source Birmingham Post 2.1.2008.

The issue appeared to be under some control after a decreasing number were reported over recent years, but numbers have always been too high for comfort. The government's answer? Build more prisons - super jails based on David Blunkett's journey to South Africa. These warehouses will be just the thing. No humanity here. More New Labour. Just what we expected from the Tories in the past, who we finally got rid of. They couldn't hold a candle to New Labour's "achievement".

Continue reading "Death Row U.K. style"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:02 AM January 3, 2008 | Comments (0)

Our happy children

Remember folks our UK children must be the happiest by 2020. The Independent today (30.12.2007) shows two ways we are going about it.

First in our young offenders institutions staff are following to the letter the top secret manual that the government won't talk about. It shows ways to restrain kids- and staff are doing just that. It involves blows to the face, bending back thumbs to the limit and bending back arms.

Children in care are there in the first place most often because of the abuse and neglect they have already experienced. Our country, enshrining its Christian values (the Catholic Blair and Presbyterian Brown) shows them that abuse is the right way to behave. Hopefully when they have children themselves they will want to avoid them facing the same traumas. Unfortunately records indicate that abused children are likely to turn into abusers. No one is breaking the cycle.

I raised this at the case conference of a young woman in care whose mother was in care and whose children are being placed in care. Social Care and Health Service in Birmingham has set up a Children's Rights group to ensure young people's voices are heard. Unfortunately it is not independent from the service encumbered by a bureaucracy which gives the young people added additional problems and misery.

Continue reading "Our happy children"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:54 AM December 30, 2007 | Comments (0)

New Labour is it's own worst enemy

The insistence by Gordon Brown on extending the period of detention without trial looks to be heading to considerable opposition. The quote from the Director of Public Prosecutions damns the proposals for relying on threats which are not based on evidence. The road taken by Blair has already done immeasurable damage to community relations and stirred up feelings against Muslims in a way which draws uncomfortable parallels with the stoking of hatred against Jewish people. It looked in the first week that Brown was embarking on a process that drew away from this. That intention has now become very blurred.

" It emerged as Sir Ken Macdonald, the Director of Public Prosecutions, delivered a damning verdict on Mr Brown's 42-day plans. He argued that the 28-day limit was working well, accusing ministers of wanting to pass laws based on a theoretical threat. 'I think the basic point is whether you want to legislate on the basis of hypotheticals or whether you want to legislate on the basis of the evidence that we have acquired through practice,' Sir Ken told BBC Radio 4's The World at One. "It seems to me that if you are legislating in an area which is going to curtail civil liberties to a significant extent, it is better to proceed by way of the evidence and the evidence of experience." Source The Independent 27.12.2007.

Continue reading "New Labour is it's own worst enemy"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:59 AM December 27, 2007 | Comments (0)

Private practice

Why it is this New Labour Government persists in privatising everything it can, undermining public services is inexplicable to Labour supporters. The only way it can be understood is by seeing Labour as a party hijacked. It took over Tory policies implementing them in ways unimaginable under the Thatcher government. Health, education, legal services are all fair game. Although time again privatised services have come to grief and proved costly. there seems to be no let up. Since New Labour came to power a number of businesses have flourished. Those like Capita have grasped local government contracts and flourished. They have acquired a power which is not in the public interest. They have been able to acquire profit even when they have provided less than adequate services.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:37 PM December 26, 2007 | Comments (0)

UK children will be happier by 2020. That's an order

The government are right to be worried about our young people. What they are unable to grasp is that their own ideas and policies have helped us into the mess we find ourselves. The insistence on mechanistic rather than humane processes have reaped their reward of disaffected and unhappy children.

It is not only the children who are suffering though, the burden placed on teachers has meant that they have to deal with the paperwork, so where is the time for the child? I was trained as a teacher in the now reviled 1960's with a diet of radical education writing. The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, School of Barbiana, Learning to Labour and - yes - de-schooling. None of that has darkened New Labour's Tory hand-me-down policies. The intention of this new administration looks OK but the methods look suspiciously like more of the same, so the pressures on schools to cure the country's ills looks like intensifying if anything. It won't work Gordon. It won't work Ed. Nor will it work in policing, in health or the prison service.

Continue reading "UK children will be happier by 2020. That's an order"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:25 AM December 12, 2007 | Comments (0)

A bit of sense has entered the frame

At last I have heard something I can applaud unreservedly from this beleaguered government. Suddenly out of nowhere John Hutton has announced a programme of wind farms sufficient to provide for our domestic heating needs.

The advanced state of climate change that we now know is with us, not at some distant point, has to be tackled with a complete change of thinking. I was beginning to think that those wedded to the present system were quite incapable of doing that. Of course the thinking has to be replicated over and over in what we all do. Good public transport across the UK, not just in th South East where billions are spent against a pittance elsewhere. Opportunities to share personal transport and build vehicles on alternative fuels. Stop the destruction of rain forests. (We hear the area is expanding appropriate for rain forests, but it was said that was a bad sign. Why necessarily?) Solar panels and underground heat exchangers also provide alternatives. Are all our eggs going to be in one basket, even without resort to nuclear fuel?

Continue reading "A bit of sense has entered the frame"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 1:06 PM December 9, 2007 | Comments (0)

This is Durham Jail

The circumstances around the death of a 20 year old woman at Durham jail make grim reading. She had severe mental health problems from the age of 13, had continually harmed herself and taken overdoses.

As the prison population continues onwards and upwards Jack Straw et al advocate warehouse prisons overlooked by Group 4. The number of women banged up had risen the most.The staff at Durham jail were more preoccupied with Sudoko than looking after the welfare of their vulnerable charges. Young unexperienced, doubtlessly underpaid, staff.

We carry on about inhumane regimes elsewhere, but where is the human concern in New Labour's proposal for prison in the 21st century, which capitulate totally to the "hang 'em, flog 'em" brigade?

Continue reading "This is Durham Jail"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:50 AM December 8, 2007 | Comments (0)

Cluster bombs are OK under Brown

According to Al Jazeera (6/12/2007) the UK has no plans to discontinue cluster bombs, declared "immoral" by many. The UK got its last consignment from Israel. Given that they are still going off maiming civilians, including children in the Lebanon, they are a significant threat.

Anyway the government spokesperson has said that they have a mechanism for self-destruction, but there are counterclaims that this is not effective. We're told that Israeli cluster bombs are more reliable than the US manufactured ones - that is in the sense they fail to go off when dropped. The US senate admitted the high failure rate and the dangers. However there needs to be a ban on the bloody lot of these evil devices.

Continue reading "Cluster bombs are OK under Brown"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:23 PM December 6, 2007 | Comments (0)

Gigantic super prisons for the UK. "It's not like Alcatraz" says Straw

When Channel 4 News announced that the government was proposing 3 "super prisons" to take 25,000 prisoners each I believed it, 'cos it's the kind of bloody stupid thing New Labour would do. No, it's 2,500 each with a projected prison total exceeding 100,000 before long. Jack Straw was full of humanitarian warmth and kindness about it all. The prisons would be humanitarian (not at all like we've got now then) and inmates will be lovingly and tenderly cared for. But it's humanitarian for those outside to since there won't be anybody left outside to mug them. See? Jack you're amazing, just see how far you've come since you were President of the NUS. How much further can you go?

Who else is lurking in the background? Having just written the above I look at the Independent-on-line. Amazing discovery. Where did the "super prison" idea come from? David Blunkett and South Afrixa, I'll be taking a closer look at that haven. Did he visit Robben Island? Is that on the agenda? Nothing would surprise me when this lot's let loose running the country. Serially discredited they creep back again and again. No one can tell them anything! New Labour, New Conservative. Blunkett a socialist? What happened?

The Real Prison Numbers Scandal. Independent 6/12/2007

Blunkett and the Mission to South Africa

Continue reading "Gigantic super prisons for the UK. "It's not like Alcatraz" says Straw"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:20 PM December 5, 2007 | Comments (0)

New Labour's officers are out of control

It's been obvious to us for a long long time that New Labour's officers have been running out of control. Ian Reilly, West Midlands Regional Organizer and co. have been indulging themselves with all sorts of scams which always come to grief. They at the very least turned a blind eye to postal vote fraud - they're still in denial - and lost 6 councillors from Birmingham's then ruling Labour group, so they have a lot to answer for Labour losing control. The guy they let into the new Handsworth Wood Ward they quickly found was as bad as we had been saying he was, so when they told him he couldn't stand again he promptly decamped to the Tories. So the safest Labour seat in Birmingham had a Tory councillor thanks to Mr Reilly. And he's still there. Of course he'll remain there 'cos New Labour's got bigger fish to fry. Ian you're bloody useless, but carry on. I don't care any longer because I'm out of New Labour.

But oh dear me, Gordon Brown is finding Tony's legacy the hard way. Perhaps he (Blair) set the time bombs purposely so they'd be going off like unexploded cluster bombs in the Lebanon for some time to come. Nice one Tony.

Continue reading "New Labour's officers are out of control"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:53 PM November 30, 2007 | Comments (0)

New Labour had brought this all on itself

To witness the scene in parliament yesterday was not to feel pity for Brown and his appointees as some commentators appear to have done, it's something that is the outcome of the stubborn stupidity that marks out the whole New Labour project.

Alright Labour was never anti-capitalist but its origins were to create a just and inclusive society. New Labour became infatuated with the false god money and forever become entangled with its impossible demands. You name it Northern Rock, privatization of public services, party funding - every project has fallen apart, gone rotten in their hands, and all this could have been avoided. There have been a few moments when I thought that Brown isn't Blair - his stance on casinos for instance - but together they stand as authors of New Labour. Mandelson keeps popping up as a reminder of the early days which said loud and clear that what New Labour was about was not going to be sustainable. Problem is they never learn.

Continue reading "New Labour had brought this all on itself"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:29 AM November 29, 2007 | Comments (0)

Academies questionned

No the government are planning to scrap the academies, but questions are being asked. They've discovered the not targeting those most in need.

Last night I attended the annual incantation to Birmingham governors on what good things were on offer. Academies were among them. Outside teacher unions had joined forces with an alliance to stop their advance. Inside the assembled governors admitted their unfamiliarity with what was going on. Well there's The Forum - haven't you heard about the forum which tells you everything you'll ever need to know. Deathly hush. Well the chair of the Forum is here to tell you alla about it.

One governor said he been a governor of a prison which had been privatized and now they were trying to claw these back realizing the terrible mistake. Wouldn't this be the same again? Another sprang to the defence of the "inspiring" words of the Director. "We in Birmingham have to support these magnificent academies". I don't think so. Nothing should be accepted uncritically, certainly not from New Labour who continue to privatize even when successive ventures have come to grief. Railways, London Underground, prisons, you name it.

Academies? Well up north a company that has got its hands on some schools has dictated the curriculum and put, yes creationism on the menu. Just what has been going on in the neocon agenda in America responsible for the morass that is Iraq today.

Continue reading "Academies questionned"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:08 AM November 13, 2007 | Comments (0)

The glorification of war

Today we remember the dead. Problem is the official version will paste over the reality to give going to war an acceptable face. Both The Independent and the Observer report the appalling record of the MoD in the conduct of unnecessary conflicts.

1. There are 88 recorded instances where personnel have died as a result of inadequacies in protection.

2. Badly wounded soldiers have been excluded from today's remembrance parade at the Cenotaph in London on the grounds that a "serving soldiers are not allowed to take part" policy is in force.

3. A further report shows that troops are stretched to the limit in Afghanistan.

Continue reading "The glorification of war"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:02 AM November 11, 2007 | Comments (0)

BAE investigation

I've commented on BAE before when a contract was completed for providing an unnecessary costly defence system for Tanzania supported as I remember by New Labour under T. Blair. The persistent reports of BAE's flirting with Saudi Arabia to secure contracts by bribery are also dismissed by the government. It appears that a number of MPs think corrupt practices are acceptable.

I went to a meeting in Birmingham this week that gave some detail of what went on when BAE paid a Saudi defence chief millions and provided lavish hospitality. It was likened to Lockheed paying the British Air Chief Marshall for buying its products and asking what the outcry would be in the UK. No it is a patriotic duty for BAE to act thus after all it involves British jobs. Actually other British jobs were lost when firms who did not offer bribes consequently lost contracts. BAE can do no wrong as far as New Labour is concerned. Once again it demonstrates how far from socialism New Labour has travelled and eagerly champions aggressive capitalism.

I wanted to know about individual MPs involvement. Some whose constituencies BAE exist passionately defend while others have grave reservations. Clare Short spoke out at the time, while Khalid Mahmood appeared on TV giving hearty support to Saudi Arabia. Do any MPs conduct business in the region, if so what is the natures of their operations? The speakers at the meeting had no idea.

Continue reading "BAE investigation"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:43 AM November 10, 2007 | Comments (0)

De Menezes action defended by Met to the last

The Metropolitan Police attempted to shift the blame to Jean Charles de Menezes for his death at Stockwell tube station in front of horrified and traumatized onlookers. The police were found guilty of endangering the public but they didn't come clean and went down fighting, as the solicitor acting for the family said "into the gutter".

I said at the time of the shooting "Shoot first ask questions afterwards". It appears there are many more questions to answer and while the family of Jean Charles are grateful for a successful prosecution no one person is held responsible. Above all Sir Ian Blair remains in post. For how long?

Continue reading "De Menezes action defended by Met to the last"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:23 AM November 2, 2007 | Comments (0)

Three Reports on British Prisons

Pauline Campbell sen me the following information:

Neha Kumar recently completed an MA degree in International Journalism at City University, London, and has now returned to Tokyo.

"Suicides in UK Prisons" (Photo: Pauline Campbell)
20 September 2007

"Private Prisons: a success or failure?" (Photo: Web)
14 October 2007

"No to Women's Prisons" (Photo: BBC)
14 October 2007

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:45 AM October 20, 2007 | Comments (0)

Routine abuse of detainees

As a Briton I have been brought up in a climate of indignation and outrage at stories of abuse by "foreign" regimes. Such stories have been legion in the media and countless books. The persistent stories of abuse and worse by people supposedly "on your own side" in consequence gives an initial reaction of disbelief. Guantamo Bay, Iraq, an over-stuffed prison system and ejection of those already persecuted has dealt with that.

I call on my MP, Khalid Mahmood, to support an Early Day Motion to make significant changes to practices, procedures and approaches to people detained and open to abuse by all and sundry put in their charge. Many of these "guards" are part of the privatisation that New Labour indulges itself in.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:29 AM October 20, 2007 | Comments (0)

Farepak. A year on the struggle continues

I received the following e-mail from SLP in Scotland:

"As the first anniversary of the Farepak disaster approaches, SLP member and Chair of the Farepak Victims Committee (FVC), Louise McDaid, interviewed on BBC News 24 tonight, (Saturday), stressed that the fight for justice for the thousands of working class people affected by the Farepak collapse is continuing.

Louise asked for the Labour government to show consistency when she compared the struggle of the FVC with the government's attitude to the recent Nothern Rock crisis, and then sounded a warning because Farepak is now in administration and the administrators costs from January to October are £300,000, a sum that will come out of the victims own money!

Although not a penny has yet been returned to thousands of Farepak's victims the FVC are determined to fight on until justice is done.

For background to the Farepak collapse and the struggle of the FVC, please see the SLP national website which has a separate section on Farepak.

Also - Crime and Justice Foundation (an organisational offshoot of Kings' College London) have produced a report influenced by the FVC that is to be launched soon. The director of said organisation is keen for Louise to attend the press launch in London. According to him interest is so high that for the first time ever they have had to break their own press release embargo."

(Report from SLP Scotland).

Continue reading "Farepak. A year on the struggle continues"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:52 AM October 14, 2007 | Comments (0)

Airline refuses to co-operate with enforced removals

I find it heartening to find that an airline is refusing to play a part in enforcing removals of those who have probably endured endless catastrophe in their lives. Gordon Brown spent his time prior to his elevation going round the world proclaiming the need to help the poor. We had hoped for better following the abject record of his predecessor who is now now has a job of sorting out problems of the dispossessed in Palestine.

After Blackwater and Haliburton it is heartening to find a business which won't put people before its corporate interests. While no one expects businesses to do this governments are supposed to look after their peoples. Burma, Israel and others with depressing records on human rights? Have no expectation of the UK either. Tax payers' money goes into paying for privatisation, never cheap, and propping up now even the banks. But who came to the rescue of the savers who lost out when Farepak went to the wall?

Continue reading "Airline refuses to co-operate with enforced removals"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:16 AM October 8, 2007 | Comments (0)

Pauline Campbell's case dismissed

Pauline Campbell sent this report of her acquittal when common sense prevailed at the court hearing. How much it cost to get to this point is another question.

OUTCOME OF CRIMINAL TRIAL

North Avon Magistrates' Court - Wednesday 26 September 2007
Defendant: Pauline Campbell
Charge: Obstructing the highway
Judge: District Judge David Parsons
Defence barrister: Mr Peter Thornton QC, head of Doughty Street Chambers; instructed by Messrs Hickman & Rose, London

(1) The alleged wrong occurred outside HMP & YOI Eastwood Park on 24 January 2007, at a prison-death demonstration to protest against the death of mother-of-five Caroline Powell, 26, who died in the 'care' of the jail on 5 January 2007. Ms Powell was on remand, and therefore legally innocent, when she died.

(2) Today's trial finished at around 5.30 pm, and was attended by representatives from the 'No More Prison' group; Crossroads Women's Centre, London; and other supporters. A demonstration was also held outside the court building, commencing at 9.30 am.

(3) Reporters, photographers, and local television were present at today's court hearing.

(4) BBC Online News report: "Woman cleared after jail protest"; published 26 September 2007 -

Continue reading "Pauline Campbell's case dismissed"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:17 PM September 27, 2007 | Comments (0)

Our Human Dustbins

600 dead in custody in 2006, one third of which were suicides. Pauline Campbell alerted me to the Guardian sub headline as she continues to demonstrate after the deaths of women in "the care" of HM Prison (privatised) "service". BBC Report including Pauline Campbell's comments.

Here is Pauline's report of her second demonstration at HMP Send this year":

Prison-death demonstration - Thursday 20 September 2007
to protest against the tragic death of the young mother Lisa Doe, aged 25
who died on 11 September 2007 while in the care of HMP Send, Surrey


(1) The protest on 20 September 2007 was the 26th demonstration to be held since protests began in April 2004.

(2) Lisa Doe is the seventh woman to die in prison so far this year.

(3) The appalling death toll: 39 women prisoners * (including Lisa Doe) have died since Sarah Campbell's death in 2003. Lessons are not being learned.

( * 12 women died after Sarah Campbell in 2003; 13 died in 2004; 4 died in 2005; 3 died in 2006; 7 deaths so far this year = 39)

[Figures refer to apparently self-inflicted deaths; England and Wales]


REPORT
A small group of protesters held a peaceful 3-hour demonstration outside HMP Send and, for part of the afternoon, were joined by two relatives of Ms Lisa Doe, who laid flowers in memory of their loved one.
At 2 pm, Mr Andy Peacock, Head of Reducing Reoffending (Duty Governor for the day) emerged from the jail, and spoke to protesters, but said he was unable to comment on Ms Doe's death.
At 3.45 pm, a Serco prison van (BW04 VZH) was stopped as it attempted to enter the jail. The driver was informed that protesters considered the jail to be unsafe, in view of the recent death, and he was asked to take the women to a place of safety.
Surrey Police were summoned to the prison. Officers 1905 and 2751 attended; sergeant 1905 indicated that Section 14, Public Order Act 1986, would be invoked if the prisoner transport van was not allowed to proceed into the jail. The Serco vehicle was eventually allowed to enter the prison, and no arrests were made.
A number of visitors to the jail spoke to protesters, and expressed concern about the physical and mental wellbeing of their loved ones held in HMP Send.
The Conservative MP for Mole Valley, Sir Paul Beresford, was invited to attend the demonstration, but did not respond to the invitation.
The protest was attended by Sky Television; local reporters and photographers, and was also covered by local radio.
At the end of the afternoon, protesters left bouquets of flowers and a memorial placard at the prison entrance, in memory of Ms Doe.

COMMENT

"Another woman has died, and another family is left to grieve.

"This latest death at HMP Send brings into sharp focus the prison's custodial care record. Two young mothers have lost their lives at Send Prison this year: Emma Kelly on 19 April 2007, and Lisa Doe on 11 September 2007. It is particularly worrying that both women were on 'suicide watch' when they died.

"Courts must act responsibly and stop sending women, many with psychiatric and drug-dependency problems, to the punitive regime of a prison, when they are in need of treatment and care. Unless and until this inhuman practice stops, more families will have to deal with the tremendous pain and anger resulting from the death of their loved ones." [Pauline Campbell]

PHOTOGRAPHS

Photos of the demonstration are available from freelance photographer Guy Smallman.
(Charitable/non-profit publications are not generally charged, but a by-line must be given.)

The demonstration was also attended by a freelance video journalist; anyone wanting contact details - please e-mail me.


Pauline Campbell
[Bereaved mother of Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, 18, who died while on 'suicide watch' in the care of Styal Prison, 2003]
Trustee of The Howard League for Penal Reform
Awarded The 2005 Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize

Continue reading "Our Human Dustbins"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:58 AM September 22, 2007 | Comments (0)

Keeping the faith

The education system in Britain maintains many forms of selection as the great comprehensive dream fades into history. Now a report on faith schools in London shows how schools there "Cherry pick" their pupils The characteristics of their intake are affluent, middle class, and yes, white. Racism is alive and sick here too.

New Labour's ham-handed way of introducing league tables encourages schools to select children who are judged less problematic. The report above focusses on London and secondary education yet in Birmingham there are some primary schools who find ways and means of selecting their intake. Some of these are faith schools, some are not. One school in inner city Handsworth will only admit children who can show achievement in SATs results. It has been declared "a beacon school"!

Ed Balls speaking for the government declares it has "no policy" on faith schools. "Let the people decide" he declares. Here in Birmingham there is an appetite for privilege and division among different groups in the community. They are aggressive in their wish to get their children into the grammar schools while a local gurdwara campaigns for Sikh faith school at all levels. Since Blair encouraged faith schools some have been opened for Muslim girls in Birmingham. (It's quite amazing how Blair's zeal for faith-based institutions quickly gave him grief when they were then supposed to harbour and promote "extremists!")

Seventh Day Adventists provide a school for mostly African Caribbean pupils. In the latter case there is some justification while racism pervades education elsewhere. Nevertheless the result is division upon division and the community is reaping the consequences.

Continue reading "Keeping the faith"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:03 AM September 16, 2007 | Comments (0)

Racism is felt at a high level

The Guardian (15.9.2007) reports on supermodels mounting a demonstration with the claim that racism has reached its highest point since the sixties.

There is a smugness in society that we have gone through a period of "multiculturism" (the acceptable term for the more radical antiracist movement) and have come out on top. If you've been on the receiving end of racism you may not see it that way.

Black people I've spoken to recently seem to have taken an air of resignation that discrimination is an inbuilt feature of existence. Just at a time we're looking at 200 years since abolition, the result has been the view that that was then. Don't blame the current generation for what happened a long time ago. If you consider the story about the supermodels it looks as if the consequences haven't gone away at all.

My apology and challenge on behalf of Birmingham has fallen on deaf ears. Only the Stirrer took notice, but the responses were dominated by a very racist contributor called "headless chicken" I think.

Continue reading "Racism is felt at a high level"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:29 AM September 15, 2007 | Comments (0)

Another woman's death. Another demonstration. 20th September, HMP, Surrey

DEMONSTRATION

TO PROTEST AGAINST THE DEATH OF A WOMAN PRISONER

Lisa Doe, aged 25
died on Tuesday 11 September 2007, while in the care of HMP Send, Surrey

Demonstration will take place on Thursday 20 September 2007
at 1.30 pm, for the duration of the afternoon,
outside HMP Send, Ripley Road, Send, Surrey, GU23 7LJ

Banners will be displayed, and flowers laid in memory of Lisa
Reporters/photographers are welcome to attend


NOTES

*
Lisa Doe, a mother, is the seventh woman to die in prison so far this year.
*
In 2006, three women died in the care of Her Majesty's Prisons.
*
The demonstration will be led by Pauline Campbell, mother of Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, 18, who collapsed, dying (while on 'suicide watch') at HMP Styal on 18 Jan 2003; Sarah died several hours later in hospital. See Guardian article.
*
The demonstration at HMP Send on 20 September 2007 will be the 26th demonstration to be held outside women's prisons since protests began in 2004. To date, Pauline Campbell has been arrested 14 times.
*
Figures refer to apparently self-inflicted deaths, England and Wales (though there are no women's prisons in Wales).

HMP SEND: PREVIOUS DEMONSTRATIONS

11 May 2004 - to protest against the death of Paige Tapp, 23, a severely depressed mother-of-two, who died in the care of Send Prison on 18 April 2004. Ms Tapp was on 'suicide watch' when she died. See: letter published in The Guardian, 15.10.04, from five grieving mothers (including Paige Tapp's mum) - "Crisis in women's prisons".

9 May 2007 - to protest against the death of Emma Kelly, a 31-year-old mother, who died in the care of Send Prison on 19 April 2007. Ms Kelly was on 'suicide watch' when she died.


INFORMATION

(1) BBC Online News report re Lisa Doe's death, published 12.09.07.

(2) Labour has presided over a shameful increase in the number of women sent to jail. In 1997, when Labour took office, 2,629 women were imprisoned. Number of women and girls currently locked up: 4,390 (as at 07.09.07). Yet there has been no equivalent increase in the number of women committing offences, or of women committing more serious crimes.

(3) The Guardian, 13.03.07: "the number of women in prison has increased far more rapidly than the number of men: over the past decade there has been a 126% increase in the number of women in prison, compared with a 46% rise in men in jail".

(4) The Corston Report (a report by Baroness Jean Corston of a review of women with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system): ISBN 978-1-84726-177-9; published March 2007 - report was handed to Government in March 2007; Ministers have promised to respond by Autumn 2007. The Home Office-commissioned report calls for existing women's prisons to be closed down, and replaced with a local network of small custodial units reserved only for those who are a danger to the public:

(5) All prison inmates are owed a legal duty of care.

(6) When a death occurs in State custody, the burden is on the detaining authorities to provide a satisfactory and convincing explanation for the death. In the absence of such explanation, Article 2 (right to life) is breached: European Convention on Human Rights [Human Rights Act 1998]. Information source: House of Lords, House of Commons, Joint Committee on Human Rights, "Deaths in Custody", 3rd Report of Session 2004-05, Volume 1; ISBN 0 10 400573 4, published 14.12.04.


COMMENT

"The tragic death of the young mother Lisa Doe, so soon after the previous death at HMP Send, raises serious questions about the prison's custodial care record.

"Thirty-nine women prisoners (including Lisa Doe) have died in the 'care' of the State since my daughter's death in 2003. Lessons are not being learned. Who is responsible for this appalling death toll?

"In 2003, following my daughter's death, I repeatedly called for an independent public inquiry: Two years later, I was informed that Government had rejected this in favour of conducting a review (by Baroness Corston).
"However, in the six months since the Corston Report was handed to Government, and while Ministers continue to deliberate, five women prisoners* have died. It is a shocking state of affairs.

"Instead of building 9,500 extra prison places, Government should increase provision for the mentally ill. Two out of three women in prison are mentally ill; prison exacerbates their difficulties. There is something cruel about sending sick people to a place of punishment." [Pauline Campbell]

* 5 women prisoners:

Kerry Devereux (HMP Foston Hall; 18 April 2007)
Emma Kelly (HMP Send, 19 April 2007)
Helen Mary Cole (HMP Styal, 3 June 2007)
Marie Cox (HMP Holloway, 30 June 2007)
Lisa Doe (HMP Send, 11 September 2007)


USEFUL CONTACT DETAILS

INQUEST
www.inquest.org.uk - advice, policy, research re deaths in custody

The Howard League for Penal Reform
www.howardleague.org - the oldest penal reform charity in the UK


Pauline Campbell **
[Bereaved mother of Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, 18, who died in the so-called care of HMP & YOI Styal, 2003]
Trustee of The Howard League for Penal Reform.
Awarded The 2005 Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize.

Continue reading "Another woman's death. Another demonstration. 20th September, HMP, Surrey"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:56 AM September 14, 2007 | Comments (0)

"The bureaucracy has to be seen to be believed"

The flash action by prison officers should be taken seriously. Very seriously. The government acted quickly to get a court order to force their hand. Not only is this a sign that prisons aren't working but that the overcrowding seriously impeded any meaningful work they might be able to achieve. The whole system is a mess and a blot on what is supposed to be a civilised society.

"The bureaucracy has to be seen to be believed," says Mr Robinson. Legal papers, suicide watch checks and personal data form small piles for prisoners who may be in the prison for under a week. "The strain is increased hugely in my time because of drugs and mental health problems.

"When I started here we were locking up criminals. Now it's mostly people with a drug habit or psychiatric disorders. I'd guess 80%." Source Guardian 20/8/2007.

This extract from a Guardian interview with a prison officer illustrates how bad things are away from public view with Thatcherite policies maintained and intensified under New Labour. Let's repeat what he's saying.

When I started here we were locking up criminals. Now it's mostly people with a drug habit or psychiatric disorders. I'd guess 80%

So what we suspected is the case: prisons have become used for more than dealing with criminals, including the most vulnerable people in society with mental illness. Even so his estimate of 80% is unbelievable. But we and the government better believe!

Continue reading ""The bureaucracy has to be seen to be believed""

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:48 AM August 30, 2007 | Comments (0)

Solve the prison crisis by banging more up. Women first

The jails are full to bursting point with more women in particular going inside. From the evidence so far there can be few places imaginable that are less suitable for sending the most vulnerable desperate for help and support. Now magistates once more have the power to lock up women who refuse to submit to rehabilitation.

Prison services are increasingly privatised with demoralised staff on low pay. Some prisons appear out of control. Some aren't, but having visited one such place the regime is so oppressive one wonders how any one involved in it, staff or prisoner, survive the experience. People still harbour a belief that prisons are holiday camps. Try it some time.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:19 AM August 12, 2007 | Comments (0)

Rough justice. What justice?

Jean Charles de Menezes, Mikey Powell and this week we learn of two people spending years in Guantamo Bay. All apparently innocent, but the first two dead.

In the case of the first two not only were the killings bungled, what happened in the aftermath continues the sorry tale. Looks as if someone is now taking the rap over the Stockwell tube shooting.

I wondered if they'd got the right guy at the very beginning. What went on subsequently in attempts to cover tracks with Met Commander Ian Blair kept in blissful ignorance. We learn that the duty officer on watch outside de Menezes apartment was of having a pee at a crucial moment. What we're learning now is that there are more victims who have suffered at the hands of the police while the investigation into the handling of the affair has been going on.

Continue reading "Rough justice. What justice?"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:12 AM August 1, 2007 | Comments (0)

Getting about, or not

On the one hand we are panic stricken over carbon emissions and their effect on global warning, on the other we appear to be pussy footing about any real challenge to clogged up roads for getting about. Clearly more and more people are using the train and probably a lot more want to. So is putting up fares for rail users going to help?

Here in Birmingham we are still waiting with bated breath about an announcement about New Street Station (£350 million, no hang on that's a porkie, the government are offering £128 million) which has become hideously overcrowded. But it seems like we are going cap in hand to the minister for a titbit when what is needed is an expanded national service, one that gives people a choice not only of not using the car but one where you don't have to get on a plane to get into Europe. Now you can only do that in London and the South-east and once more Thames-link (£5.5 billion upgrade) appears to be putting that region at the front of the queue.

A news station at New Street will be a breath of fresh air (literally) for passengers but it doesn't do much for a clogged up system which doesn't have too much room to manoeuvre. Two tracks between Coventry and Wolverhampton taking high speed intercity, local traffic and freight.

Can we afford a decent transport infrastructure that moves away from dependence on roads. Can we afford not to as we build more and more roads akin to car parks.

Continue reading "Getting about, or not"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:32 AM July 25, 2007 | Comments (0)

Outliving your usefulness

The Independent (21/7/2007) prints an article about a wounded soldier whose life has been blighted by his experience and feeling of abandonment now he has served. He has feelings of guilt because a much valued comrade died beside him.

We are brought up to respect life, by family, school, religion. Entry into the army teaches a different ethos. Clearly that ethos does not last beyond the requirements of the institution which requires such behaviour. Blair had gone but now Gordon Brown is presiding over the same situation without a foreseeable solution. Little pretence is given about the fate of Iraqis, but when British soldiers die crocodile tears are shed as their names are read out in parliament. If you don't die but are just hurt you have years ahead to face. Alone it seems.

Continue reading "Outliving your usefulness"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:04 AM July 21, 2007 | Comments (0)

The injured. The statistics.

Going to war has a price. Added up it must be colossal, but much of the price just isn't counted. Injuries to personnel are expected beforehand, but according to a report in The Independent (15/7/2007) the long term care of those injured physically and mentally is unprepared. In 2007 injuries are increasing. Advances in treatment in the field have improved so more serously injured survive.

The more revelations about what is going on the more revulsion, the more futility is revealed. As combatants reveal their feelings and report on the reality the more the case is made for stopping it Now. In America the surge goes on with Bush increasingly embattled as members of his own party cross the floor with the Democrats. In U.K. the Great and the Good have meet to decide what should be done. It's the "Iraq Commission" No can't cut and run. Can't give a timetable either.

Continue reading "The injured. The statistics."

Posted by John Tyrrell at 12:08 PM July 15, 2007 | Comments (0)

Stop harrassing Pauline and give her support instead!

An article has appeared on the BBC News site: Prisons fail to 'learn lessons'

Pauline Campbell demonstrates every time a woman dies in a British prison. She has been arrested on numerous occasions and is frequently intimidated by either the police or prison van drivers (now usually in private hands with low paid staff) or both. The recent demonstration at Holloway is well recorded where Pauline and another bereaved mother, Gwen Calvert are shown being manhandled by a burly police officer. Pauline is thrown to the ground.

Pauline has spoken to people at high levels in government and is recognised by leading organisations. They recognise her courage and tenacity. Yet the treatment she gets on demonstrations and in court has to be seen to be believed.

Fortunately Pauline is in the habit of documenting not only the deaths, but the subsequent demonstration to draw attention to them and the consequences of doing this.

Continue reading "Stop harrassing Pauline and give her support instead!"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:41 AM July 14, 2007 | Comments (1)

Peaceful demonstration at Holloway and police response

The peaceful protest following the death of yet another woman in prisons in the UK is documented here.It shows a police officer manhandling Pauline Campbell and another protester, Gwen Calvert a pensioner whoseson Paul died in Pentonville . It shows the privatised prison van which was driven in a manner to intimidate those demonstrating about the death.

Further coverage

Continue reading "Peaceful demonstration at Holloway and police response"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:26 AM July 12, 2007 | Comments (0)

Peaceful demonstration marred by allegations of police brutality [HMP Holloway, 9 July 2007]

From Pauline B Campbell
Prison-death demonstration - Monday 9 July 2007
to protest against the death of Marie Cox, aged 34
who died on 30 June 2007 in the 'care' of HMP and YOI Holloway, London
- the 25th demonstration to be held outside women's prisons in England since protests began in 2004

PROTESTERS ANGERED BY:

Alleged police brutality at demonstration An ugly incident took place outside HMP Holloway. Legal advice will be sought following allegations of police brutality. Pauline Campbell, and another woman protester (an OAP), were pulled, pushed, and dragged, by male police officers. At one point, protesters alleged Pauline Campbell was 'thrown to the ground' by a large policeman; protesters reckoned he was about 16 stone.

Prison van driver's aggressive driving (Serco) Earlier in the afternoon, in a separate incident, a Serco prison van arrived at the jail, was signalled to halt, and the vehicle stopped. Protester Pauline Campbell was positioned immediately in front of the vehicle, but several times the driver started moving the vehicle slowly forward, until the van was about two inches away from making bodily contact. The manner of driving was potentially dangerous, and appeared to be designed to intimidate protesters.


REPORT:

* Around 25 protesters held a peaceful demonstration outside Holloway Prison, during the afternoon of Monday 9 July 2007, to protest against the tragic death of Marie Cox, 34, who died in the care of HMP & YOI Holloway on 30 June 2007.
* The four and a half hour demonstration was attended by protesters from Yorkshire, Cheshire, and London, including representatives from FRFI London (Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!); 'No More Prison'; and the Crossroads Women's Centre, London.
* Marie Cox is the sixth woman to die in prison in the first half of this year - double the figure for the whole of last year (three women prisoners died in 2006).
* Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP, Islington North, was sent details of the demonstration, but did not respond to the invitation to attend the protest.
* Local reporters and photographers attended the demonstration.
* At 5.10 pm, Serco prison van BX54 YNC, arrived at the prison entrance. Protesters blocked entry. The driver tried to intimidate protesters by driving his vehicle slowly forward towards Pauline Campbell, stopping about two inches short of making bodily contact. After a few minutes, he gave up, turned the vehicle round, and left the main prison entrance. He then entered the jail via another entrance and, as his vehicle reached the prison building, protesters repositioned and again blocked entry.
* At around 5.20 pm an all-male police contingent arrived: constables 649, 463, 533 and 332. Police action enabled the prison van to enter the building, but the manner in which this was achieved was completely unacceptable. No-one was arrested, and no-one was cautioned, but two policemen used brute force against two female protesters (both grieving mothers, and one an OAP) - Pauline Campbell, and pensioner Mrs Gwen Calvert. Mrs Calvert is the bereaved mother of Paul Calvert who died in the 'care' of HMP Pentonville in 2004.
* An official complaint will be lodged with the Metropolitan Police following this ugly incident. Protesters allege Pauline Campbell was 'thrown to the ground' by PC 649, readily identified by his size (around 16 stone) and bearing a large tattoo on one arm. Mrs Calvert then stepped forward to protest about his treatment of Pauline Campbell. PC 649 then grabbed Mrs Calvert by the arm, pulled her away, and bodily lifted her off the ground, and carried her to the pavement. He then pushed her roughly, which could easily have resulted in a fall. PC 463 then grabbed Pauline Campbell, and dragged her out of the path of the van. All this was captured on moving film and stills (time coded camera), and was witnessed by eight people (a number of protesters had left by this time). Mrs Calvert, from East London, complained to officers about police behaviour and 'bully' tactics.
* At 5.35 pm, shortly before leaving the jail, Pauline Campbell spoke to PCs 649 and 463 and informed them that protesters believed an assault had taken place against two female protesters (Gwen Calvert and Pauline Campbell), and that the matter would be reported.
* Before leaving, protesters left bouquets of flowers and a memorial placard outside the jail in memory of Marie Cox.

Continue reading " Peaceful demonstration marred by allegations of police brutality [HMP Holloway, 9 July 2007]"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:36 PM July 10, 2007 | Comments (1)

Death at Holloway

Pauline Campbell sent me the following. It is about the death of the sixth woman to die in prison during 2007. Pauline also traces the history of Holloway in respect of the death of women prisoners. I think the news got hidden under that of the new leader, weather and attacks on British cities. Seems that the Times on Line just found space to devote a couple of lines, no other trace. No further comment.

DEMONSTRATION

TO PROTEST AGAINST THE DEATH OF ANOTHER WOMAN PRISONER

Marie Cox, aged 34
died on 30 June 2007, while in the 'care' of Holloway Prison, London

Demonstration will take place on Monday 9 July 2007
at 1.00 pm, for the duration of the afternoon,
outside HMP & YOI Holloway, Parkhurst Road, London, N7 0NU

Banners will be displayed, and flowers laid in memory of Marie
Reporters/photographers are welcome to attend

NOTES

*
Already six women have died in prison this year: Marie Cox is the sixth woman to die. (In 2006, three women prisoners died.)
*
The demonstration will be led by Pauline Campbell, mother of Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, 18, who died in the so-called care of HMP & YOI Styal on 18 January 2003.
*
The demonstration on 9 July 2007 will be the 25th demonstration to be held outside women's prisons in England since protests began in 2004.
*
To date, Pauline Campbell has been arrested 14 times, and is currently awaiting criminal trial at North Avon Magistrates' Court following a demonstration outside HMP & YOI Eastwood Park on 24.01.07 to protest against the death of Caroline Powell, 26 (mother of five children), who was on remand, and therefore legally innocent, when she died.
*
Figures refer to apparently self-inflicted deaths, England and Wales.

INFORMATION RE HOLLOWAY PRISON

(1) Times Online (News in Brief), dated 02.07.07 ("Prisoner hanged") states Marie Cox was awaiting sentencing for trespassing with intent.

(2) Previous prison-death demonstrations at HMP Holloway:

(a) 26 April 2004, following the death of Julie Angela Hope, aged 35
(b) 27 May 2004, following the death of Heather Waite, aged 28 -
(c) 9 November 2005, following the death of Karen Ann Fletcher, aged 30

(3) HMP Holloway - "one woman remains in a coma after being cut down from a makeshift noose" (May 2004)

* Waite = correct spelling of surname (Home Office notification of death was incorrect)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

(i) Despite the fact that "crime has fallen by 35% since 1997" (The Observer, 08.04.07), Labour has presided over a shameful increase in the number of women sent to prison. In 1997, when Labour took office, 2,629 women were locked up. There are now 4,390 women and girls in prison (as at 29.06.07). Yet there has been no equivalent increase in the number of women committing offences, or of women committing more serious crimes. The culprit is Labour's get-tough sentencing policy.

(ii) The number of women in prison has increased far more rapidly than the number of men: over the past decade there has been a 126% increase in the number of women in prison, compared with a 46% rise in men in jail." Source: The Guardian, 13.03.07: (Q & A: Women in prison).

Continue reading "Death at Holloway"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:58 AM July 3, 2007 | Comments (0)

£2 billion on external consultants

A report questions the use of £2 billion on external consultancy fees by the British government(BBC News 19/6/2007). It says that in many cases the consultants are called in without investigating whether they will add value.

The matter raises serious questions in view of the expanding privatisation brought in by this government, following American practice shown to be corrupt where contracts are handed out to friends. Large corporations are making massive profits out of government contracts. In security private firms are handling matters which should be under rules and regulations set down for the conduct of governments. Private concerns are not so regulated and they operate deep secrecy.

When in local government I remember an external consultant talking about his recent work. During the session he referred to an earlier report he had written which had recommendations. No one had acted on the recommendations. How often are reports commissioned fro external consultants, who often charge sizeable sums, but are then left to gather dust? Certainly there have innumerable reports on equality matters which make serious recommendations which are not implemented.

Continue reading "£2 billion on external consultants"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 6:23 PM June 19, 2007 | Comments (0)

Styal demonstration 13.6.2007

Report from Pauline Campbell.
Prison-death demonstration - Wednesday 13 June 2007
to protest against the death of Helen Mary Cole, aged 48
who died on 3 June 2007 in the 'care' of HMP & YOI Styal, Cheshire

- the 24th demonstration to be held outside women's prisons in England since protests began in 2004

* A small group of protesters held a peaceful demonstration outside Styal Prison, during the afternoon of Wednesday 13 June 2007, to protest against the tragic death of mother Mrs Helen Mary Cole, 48, who died in the care of HMP & YOI Styal on 3 June 2007.
* The four-hour demonstration was attended by protesters from Shropshire, Cheshire, and Greater Manchester, including representatives from FRFI Manchester (Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!).
* Helen Mary Cole is the fifth woman to die from apparently self-inflicted injuries in women's jails so far this year, a figure that already exceeds the number of women's deaths for the whole of last year.
* Mrs Cole died less than 48 hours after arriving at HMP Styal. She was on remand, located in the 'first night centre', and was not on 'suicide watch'.
* A note was sent into the prison, asking if the Governor (Mr S Hall) would speak to protesters at the prison gates. Governor Steve Hall was on duty, but didn't emerge from the jail. A lower rank governor, Mr C Bailey came out to speak to protesters. He was accompanied by Ms Lucy Merrick, Head of Psychology; both declined to comment on Helen Cole's death.
* George Osborne, Conservative MP, Tatton, was sent details of the demonstration, but didn't respond to the invitation to attend the protest.
* Local reporters and photographers, including BBC Radio Manchester, and Xfm radio, Manchester, attended the demonstration.
* Cheshire Constabulary officers were present at the jail for the duration of the protest. No arrests were made. However, a prison van driver was reported to police following a disturbing incident at the prison entrance [see details below].
* Before leaving, protesters left bouquets of flowers and a memorial placard outside the jail in memory of Mrs Cole.

PRISON VAN DRIVER REPORTED TO POLICE
Incident witnessed by two impartial observers: Dr Helen Jones, and Dr Eileen Berrington, criminologists at Manchester Metropolitan University

Regrettably, police did not witness the incident at the prison entrance at 2.30 pm, as they were elsewhere on the prison site at the time. Prison van MX05 EWE (with no external markings to indicate the name of a private operator) approached the jail entrance, and was signalled to stop. The intention was to give the male driver a demonstration leaflet, and inform him that protesters considered Styal to be unsafe in view of the recent death.

The vehicle stopped, briefly. The driver, who was accompanied by a female in the front cab, declined to open his window, did not speak to protesters, and would not take a leaflet. Three protesters, including Pauline Campbell, positioned themselves immediately in front of the vehicle, and placed a leaflet under the windscreen wiper.

The vehicle then started moving forward, and actually came into contact with the three protesters, who refused to move in response to the aggressive manner of his driving. The vehicle kept moving forward slowly, pushing protesters as it did so. Pauline Campbell's pen dropped to the ground; she bent down to pick it up, and was out of the driver's line of sight for a few seconds. Alarmingly, he continued to move the vehicle forward, in what was becoming an increasingly volatile situation.

Protesters then allowed the vehicle into the prison to avoid any further danger to themselves. Shortly afterwards, the incident was reported to police, who were still on site. Pauline Campbell, and five witnesses, lodged an official complaint with Inspector Luke McDonnell and Sgt Julie Rafferty, who then went into the prison to speak to the governor and the prison van driver. At 3.10 pm, as the same vehicle left the prison, protesters identified the driver to Inspector McDonnell. All witnesses to the incident gave their contact details to police.

When protesters spoke to the police after the incident, Inspector McDonnell was asked to confirm that everything else was in order, and he confirmed that Pauline Campbell was conducting a peaceful protest. The Inspector said he had spoken to the driver, and instructed him that in any similar future incident he must stop the vehicle, and call either security or the police. Protesters had observed a CCTV positioned on the prison perimeter fence, facing the jail entrance, and asked police to check the recording. The Inspector told protesters that prison staff had said the "CCTV does not record", a statement which protesters challenged. Inspector McDonnell promised he would investigate further. [Incident No. 287, 13 June 2007; Cheshire Constabulary]

Continue reading "Styal demonstration 13.6.2007"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:21 AM June 14, 2007 | Comments (0)

Testing, testing, er...testing

What passes for eduction in schools in England and Wales is being challenged by a report from no less a body than the General Teaching Council. Instead of giving children a broad education it says, teachers are having to drill pupils from 7. The result is stress levels rise both in children and teachers. New Labour's inhumanity reaches everywhere it seems. One young teacher, accused of getting children to cheat, killed herself while under investigation.

The general effect is to turn children and young people off education. It might help to explain why we have unprecedented levels of offending with young offenders' institutions bursting at the seams. Many of these are set up and rung by the private sector.

One idea being put forward is a new form of national service for young people. The government would be well advised to steer away from making such a scheme compulsory, bet rather give opportunities for volunteering allowing young people to follow their own motivation and choice.

Continue reading "Testing, testing, er...testing"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 5:11 AM June 10, 2007 | Comments (0)

Service or profit?

As the supermarket chains hold more and more influence over us as consumers, what at the end of the day is the more important, the service they give us or the sustenance of huge profit? A Guardian report (22/5/2007) raised the question. What are the messages their staff are getting if they flout health standards in order to pass on out-of-date products or take short cuts in day to day practice?

Suppliers are also put forward for question with bins of dead maggot-infested carcasses next to live birds. We have already seen something of the Bernard Matthews operation where the practice of rearing live birds intensively is a pandemic waiting to happen. One of our leadership hopefuls, David Milliband, was at pains to blame wild birds and protect suspect business practice. New Labour's priorities in practice.

Continue reading "Service or profit?"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:21 AM May 22, 2007 | Comments (0)

Our children aren't coping

According to an Observer report (20/5/2007) children are needing more and more counselling and medical attention as a result of the exam-ridden culture that is Britain today.

I trained as a teacher in the reviled sixties, when the campaign for comprehensive education was alive and well, and before the onslaught on schools and other public institutions insisting standards had to be driven up. I would never argue that there wasn't room for improvement in education provision, but those who cried "education, education" and "education" have had other agendas. The National Curriculum was a tool to impose a particular view on state schools. The private sector continued to do what it liked. The "nationalist" curriculum was more of a political weapon to fight against the "multiculturalism" that was creeping into the system. While this might have been expected from a Tory government, the take up and intensification of the onslaught by New Labour wasn't.

Continue reading "Our children aren't coping"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:08 AM May 20, 2007 | Comments (0)

Change the bus, not just the driver

Brown is out and about showing his credentials as P.M. in waiting. Already he has shown an ability to turn around New Labour's fortunes. Unfortunately, as a Socialist Labour comrade put it so well, he is driving the same bus.

All the parties are competing to impress the big players, the multinational interests, and believe that by harnessing their benevolence they can turn things around. The evidence is they can't. Big business is in Africa, in the Congo, clearing swathes of the second largest rain forest for African teak to sell to us for flooring and other home comforts. At the same time they will release huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. While the intentions to clear African countries of debt are well-meaning and laudable they do nothing to stop the causes exacerbating the situation. The continued plundering of minerals and other resources including timber and water, essential to the well-being of the people. We know that far from bringing benefits to the populations most of the wealth ends up as profit for the exploiting companies and in the hands of a small elite of selected corrupt politicians who add further misery to the masses.

Continue reading "Change the bus, not just the driver"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:26 AM May 13, 2007 | Comments (0)

Prison-death demonstration - Wednesday 9 May 2007

Report by Pauline Campbell

Prison-death demonstration - Wednesday 9 May 2007
to protest against the death of Emma Kelly, aged 31
who died on 19 April 2007 while in the 'care' of HMP Send, Surrey

* A small group of protesters held a demonstration outside Send Prison, during the afternoon of Wednesday 9 May 2007, to protest against the tragic death of a young mother - Emma Kelly, 31 - who died in the 'care' of HMP Send on 19 April 2007.
* The three-hour demonstration, attended by protesters from London, Shropshire, and Cheshire, was the 23rd demonstration to be held outside women's prisons in England since protests began in 2004 [there are no women's prisons in Wales].
* Emma Kelly is the fourth woman to die from apparently self-inflicted injuries in women's jails in the first four months of this year, a figure that already exceeds the number of women's deaths for the whole of last year.
* Ms Kelly was on 'suicide watch' when she died in the care of Send Prison on 19 April 2007, which means that a warning form (F2052SH/ACCT) had been opened, indicating she was considered to be at risk of taking her own life/self-harm. Another young mother - Kerry Devereux, 32 - who died at HMP Foston Hall on 18 April 2007, was also on 'suicide watch', as was Sarah Campbell who died in 2003, raising serious questions about the level of care given to vulnerable women who have already been identified as being at risk of self-harm.
* Paul Beresford, Conservative MP, Mole Valley, was sent details of the demonstration, but did not respond to the invitation to attend the protest.
* Local reporters and photographers, including BBC Radio Southern Counties, attended the demonstration. BBC 104.6 FM, main news items (5 pm onwards) included a report on the protest, plus interview with Pauline Campbell.
* Police did not attend the demonstration and, therefore, no officers of the law witnessed the erratic driving of the one prison van to enter the jail during the afternoon. See: Reactions to the demonstration/prison van driver (below).
* Before leaving, protesters left bouquets of flowers outside the jail in memory of Emma Kelly.

FURTHER INFORMATION

(1) BBC Southern Counties Online News - "Protest after woman's jail death" - published 9 May 2007 (including photo).

(2) Emma Kelly was imprisoned in 2006. BBC Online News report (published 17 August 2006) noted that her "descent into drug abuse was triggered by the death of her partner in 1996", according to Ms Kelly's defence lawyer.

REACTIONS TO THE DEMONSTRATION FROM PRISONERS AND PRISON STAFF

Two women prisoners, due for release soon, stopped to speak to Pauline Campbell as they returned to the jail after work experience. They took 'demonstration leaflets' into the prison, and agreed to pass on word about Baroness Corston's report.

Duty Governor Mr Andy Peacock (Head of Reducing Reoffending) emerged from the prison at 1.50 pm to speak to protesters. Pauline Campbell handed a demonstration leaflet to the Governor, and asked if he was willing to make a comment about Ms Kelly's death in relation to her right to life under Article 2. A newspaper reporter asked about the morale of prisoners following the death. Mr Peacock said he was unable to comment on Emma's death but, in response to Pauline Campbell's question, acknowledged that she was owed a legal duty of care. The Governor accepted "INQUEST" leaflets from Pauline Campbell, and was asked to ensure the details were passed to Emma Kelly's next-of-kin.

Prison van driver - prison van MV55 EKU (with no external markings to indicate the name of a private operator) approached the jail entrance at 2.15 pm. Pauline Campbell stood in the middle of the roadway, holding a large placard, and clearly signalled that the vehicle should stop, with the intention of giving a demonstration leaflet to the driver. The response of the man driving the vehicle was to accelerate, rather than slow down, as he drove towards Pauline Campbell and, at close range, the vehicle (with prisoners on board) suddenly swerved to one side in the wide roadway, before straightening up as it approached the prison gates. Protesters were alarmed by the incident, which was also witnessed by a newspaper reporter. Later, as the vehicle left the prison, the driver stopped, took a leaflet, and said he had no intention of stopping the prison van when signalled to do so earlier. The driver's name is known to the protesters, and a letter of complaint will be sent to the Governor. This was a peaceful protest, marred only by the prison van driver's erratic driving.

Governor Peacock was back inside the jail when the incident occurred. He reappeared as the van was waiting to go through the gates, enabling Pauline Campbell to have a further exchange of conversation with him.

Continue reading "Prison-death demonstration - Wednesday 9 May 2007"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:53 AM May 10, 2007 | Comments (0)

80,000 of us banged up

While John Reid continues to contemplate early release, elsewhere it is acknowledged there is no alternative. Jails are full and include many with mental health and social problems which urgently require other measures. Like building new roads, more jails will fill as soon as they open. Our "tough" home secretary prefers to continue the political agenda adopted by the Tories in the Thatcher years.

" 'The continuing overcrowding crisis means the government faces a real choice,' said Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust. 'They can either use early release as a pressure valve, buying time to build a few more prisons, crowded as soon as built, or they can get to grips with the root causes of needless overcrowding and stop sending mentally ill people, petty offenders, addicts in need of treatment to prison.' " Source: Observer 6/5/2007

Continue reading "80,000 of us banged up"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:57 AM May 6, 2007 | Comments (0)

Prison-death demonstration - Tuesday 1 May 2007

Report by Pauline Campbell

Prison-death demonstration - Tuesday 1 May 2007
to protest against the death of Kerry Kindra Louise Devereux, aged 32
who died on 18 April 2007 while in the care of HMP Foston Hall

*
A small group of protesters held a three and a half hour demonstration outside Foston Hall Prison to protest against the tragic death of mother-of-two Kerry Devereux, aged 32, the third woman prisoner to die this year.
*
Protesters, including a representative from 'No More Prison' campaign group, travelled from Yorkshire, Shropshire, and Cheshire, to attend the demonstration - the 22nd to be held since protests began in 2004.
*
Ms Devereux was on 'suicide watch', and located on the segregation (punishment) block when she died.
*
No prison vans entered or left the jail during the demonstration.
*
Police officers attended the prison during the afternoon. No arrests were made.
*
Head of Operations, Ms Jo Broadbent, emerged from the prison and spoke briefly to Pauline Campbell, but refused to take a letter for the Governor. The letter will, therefore, be mailed to HMP Foston Hall; it merely asked if the Governor would speak to protesters, and enclosed an INQUEST leaflet with a request that it be passed to Ms Devereux's next-of-kin.
*
Details of the demonstration were sent to Mark Todd, Labour MP for South Derbyshire, but he didn't attend the protest.
*
A male prison officer, who was leaving the jail by car, stopped and spoke to Pauline Campbell, and said he had just been suspended for "making racist comments".
*
Local reporters and photographers attended the demonstration, which was also covered by local radio (RAM Derby 102.8 FM).
*
Before leaving, protesters left bouquets of flowers outside the jail in memory of Kerry Devereux.

Continue reading "Prison-death demonstration - Tuesday 1 May 2007"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:41 AM May 2, 2007 | Comments (1)

Portrait of our prisons

The Guardian reports the state of one of our privatised prisons in Warwickshire (16/4/2007) where an undercover reporter catalogues a series of scandals. The list of concerns extends from bribery from inmates to get drugs and mobile phones to self harm and suicide. A murder was committed at this institution.

The picture is of a society which throws people away. They include the most vulnerable: those with mental health problems, victims of drug pushers, young people who have depended on the "care" system and so on. Although government legislation is shown to be flawed, the climate of fear engendered by political debate on crime and terrorism has led to a society tolerant of injustice and inhumanity.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:01 AM April 16, 2007 | Comments (0)

Mental Health Bill

The Independent (15/4/2007) is pleading with MPs and others to look at the case of a 16 year old who needed treatment for mental illness before the Mental Health Bill is debated tomorrow.

The inhumanity exhibited by New Labour is a major factor in my decision to get out. Time after time draconian measures are put into force which rather than remedying a bad situation frequently make it worse. Reactions to "terrorism", drugs, asylum seekers criminalises the vulnerable, likely to be victims themselves of criminal gangs. The Observer leads with the futile attempts to stem an endemic drug taking culture. This is the subject of a report due out this week.

We know that prisons are overcrowded, filled with people who self-harm and are suicidal. The Unicef report tells us that the young are failed badly in the U.K., more than any industrialised country.

While all this is happening the Observer is reporting on Tesco's £5,000 a minute profits about to break all records. I noted earlier that Philip Gould, one time ally of Blair, together with others close to government, had decamped to advise Tesco on their voracious appetite for land - either to use themselves or prevent competitors moving in. Generally speaking those at the top are looking after themselves and their friends very nicely.

Continue reading "Mental Health Bill"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:16 AM April 15, 2007 | Comments (0)

New Labour at the trough

Today we learn that Blunkett, New Labour, has joined a firm tendering for an ID card contract. Not only do New Labour adherents trash the idea of socialism, they live it out their elitist philosophies in spades. Do you remember Philip Gould, another Blair acolyte who seemed to have dissolved away? Well he has been busy, very busy, helping Tesco to get planning applications over the whole of Britain, if not actually for it, in their back pocket.

Major's government became notorious for its links with big business, but Blair's circle is quite capable of matching this big time. I remember Lord Tom Sawyer, outspoken on NHS issues (and Blair incidentally), joined Reed Health who make a killing on supplying agency staff to the cash strapped NHS. These were not just nurses, but staff at all levels.

Continue reading "New Labour at the trough"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 1:33 PM March 25, 2007 | Comments (0)

New Labour sold its soul.

All the serious Sunday papers today (11/3/2007) lead with the scandal of medical care for troops wounded in one of Blair's wars. Although we're spending millions this clearly isn't enough to do one, let alone two jobs properly. I'm not saying I think the troops should be there in the first place. They ain't there in my name! But expecting them to be effective without sufficient or effective equipment - lack of protective clothing for example is - can't think of an appropriate word - disastrous?

Now we hear that seriously wounded soldiers in Birmingham's Selly Oak Hospital lack proper care. Indeed relatives have been telling the Observer about unbelievable incidents that have occurred. It appears that care is only part time. The Independent talks about those traumatised by their unimaginable experiences but it is left to families to care for depression and nightmares.

New Labour. Not what I joined. Record numbers in prison including vulnerable women and children, some committing self harm daily and a large number dying as a result. Some of these institutions are privatised. So our taxes are going into providing profits for businesses. Staff are probably on low pay and inexperienced in caring for people with multiple problems.

Ditto health and education.Blair doesn't want to go without a legacy, and that won't be socialism. More Academies funded by businesses, more companies making a profit on people's misfortunes. Just don't be ill.

Then there's gambling. Suddenly as a new super casino is announced someone pipes up about the damage of people - those least able to afford it - getting hooked.

We now see destitute people on the streets. The presumption is that they don't deserve help, that they are there to get hand outs from a generous state. This week a young child knocked at my door asking for money. The little girl didn't speak any English so I couldn't ask her about herself or her family.

There is apparently unlimited funding for the armaments in the U.K. and U.S.A. And they want to commit billions on a Trident replacement.

Continue reading "New Labour sold its soul."

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:17 PM March 11, 2007 | Comments (0)

Why have we lost it with our children?

The Unicef Report on the state of the world's children is scathing on Britain. It has made us all catch our breath. The feeling I get working with children in care (recently subject to a fairly damning report) is that as collective parents a poor example is shown. The information about Britain is only a part of this report which emphasises that where gender equality is practised it is the child who benefits.

As far as the situation in Britain goes it is interesting to hear views expressed by our continental neighbours. When we say proudly that our 4 years are reading they respond with "why aren't they out playing?". The hot house of examinations, bad enough at 16+, is replicated at 7, 11 and 14 with SATs. Why? It clearly isn't helping our young, quite the reverse.

Regrettably the situation is a reflection of the society where a number of issues preoccupy us taking our eye off focussing what is important. Headlines are filled with alerts on crime, terrorism, gambling and other ideas which are doing great harm to us as a nation. Our responses to them have all received considerable criticism: prisons are stuffed full and are in inhuman; dealing with terrorism has lead to the stigmatisation of sections of the community and grave injustice and casinos are being promoted at every turn.

Continue reading "Why have we lost it with our children?"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:59 AM February 14, 2007 | Comments (0)

Backing away from sustainability

As Cabinet Member for Transportation in Birmingham from 2003-4 I was challenged to introduce charging for entering the city centre. I resisted because of the poor provision of public transport in Birmingham and the region, not because I am opposed to doing something drastic to combat congestion and pollution. I did support the development of the Midlands Metro, bus lanes, park and ride, cycling routes and any way to improve the quality of transport and the environment. Clearly though a sustainable future requires something much more fundamental than tinkering at the edges. Even so I was branded by the motoring lobby as anti-car. Some of these people are fanatical in their insistence on living for the present, damn the consequences of continued gridlock now and much worse for our children in the future. Anyone who dare support improvement for the public transport system can depend on them for venting their wrath. They must be pleased with the current post holder who succeeded me, "Gridlock" Gregory, who has done is best to put to reverse what was done by the Labour Council and the Passenger Transport Authority. Bus usage continues to decline apace and there are no alternatives while Metro developments are in limbo.

The strong lobby of motorists opposing road charges threatens the agenda to seriously combat the effects of pollution on the climate, which we're are continually told are potentially catastrophic.

Continue reading "Backing away from sustainability"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:48 AM February 13, 2007 | Comments (0)

The politics of fear

Whether or not those nine arrested as terrorist suspects are found to be justified, the continuing damage to community relations is deeply serious. Fear is being engendered as no one, particularly Muslims, can go about their lives free from worry. After the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes (not a Muslim, but first taken for Asian although he turned out to be South American) and the failure to find evidence in Walthamstow has made many sceptical. It has strengthened belief that the Muslim community, in particular, and black people in general are fair targets.

That the rot has set in is shown by the way that Muslim officers in the army and in the police force believe themselves to be at risk. Fear is being fuelled. Whether this is deliberate or not, it needs to be addressed urgently. The police have been handing out leaflets to try to reassure. Is there evidence that it does? President Bush has clearly used the politics of fear to gain advantage and Blair uses similar tactics whether its the fear of terrorism in foreign policy or criminal gangs at home. Fear is a well tried and effective political tool: that this has been written about and exposed seems to make little difference.

Continue reading "The politics of fear"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:07 AM February 2, 2007 | Comments (0)

Dumping our Values

Don't get me wrong, I'm British, English with a touch of Irish here and there. While I didn't have any choice in the matter there are many things I enjoy about it. Once again the Government instructs us that we are supposed to feel good about it and need to teach children it's a good thing, never mind where their origins. Jack Straw adds to his (usually bad) ideas having already made it clear what he tnings about Islamic practices. Alan Johnson has now joined the fray. (I had hoped better after he, alone amongst the New Labour bunch, seemed to have been saying something sensible about children in care).

What I didn't enjoy was reading about what happens to the waste we make. There has been news about the power of supermarkets who seem to have a lot of power: over their suppliers, over the high street, over us. What we don't see or know about, one aspect at least is the subject of today's Independent (26.1.2007). Dumping our waste in China.

"Lianjiao, a remote Chinese village in the booming southern province of Guangdong, is a long way for a plastic bag to travel; but it is where almost all British supermarket carrier bags end up. And the foil-lined crisp packets. And the triangular hard plastic packaging for your bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches from a top high-street chain. Because China is rapidly becoming Britain's biggest rubbish dump." (Source Independent 26.1.2007).

Continue reading "Dumping our Values"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:37 AM January 26, 2007 | Comments (0)

Mother-of-five, Caroline Powell, died on 5 January 2007

From Pauline Campbell

Mother-of-five, Caroline Powell, died on 5 January 2007
while on remand at HMP & YOI Eastwood Park, Gloucestershire
Demonstration held on: Wednesday 24 January 2007
Pauline Campbell arrested (14th arrest), and charged (for the fourth time)
20th demonstration to be held since 2004

Following the tragic death of Caroline Powell on 5 January 2007, a demonstration was held outside the prison on the afternoon of Wednesday 24 January 2007. Around 10-15 people attended the protest, including reporters and photographers. Protesters had travelled from London, Shropshire, and Cheshire, to protest against the death of this vulnerable young woman, aged 26, who died in the 'care' of Her Majesty's Prison Eastwood Park. Caroline leaves behind five motherless children, the youngest aged 18 months. Ms Powell was on remand, and legally innocent, when she died.

Report by Pauline Campbell
*
At 2.55 pm, Reliance prison van FX04 BUP, was stopped as it attempted to take prisoners into the jail. The driver was informed that (a) protesters regarded the jail as unsafe in view of the recent death; (b) the vehicle would not be allowed into the prison; and (c) he should take the women to a place of safety.
*
Officers from Avon & Somerset Constabulary were called to the prison. Six officers arrived, and one began filming the demonstration. The sergeant read aloud a printed notice, then handed the copy to me. Dated 24.01.07, it reads: "To whom it may concern: I am the senior police officer here. I believe that you are committing, have committed, or intend to commit an offence of trespassing with the common purpose of deterring, obstructing or disrupting lawful activity and I require you to leave immediately. Failure to obey my direction may render you liable to arrest. If you return to the land as a trespasser within 3 months you will also commit an offence for which you may be arrested. Sergeant 1958 Ogborne."
*
At 4.20 pm I was arrested for "aggravated trespass and obstruction of the highway", and taken to Staple Hill Police Station, South Gloucestershire. Handcuffs were not used.
*
We arrived at the police station at 5 pm; detention was authorised at 5.30 pm.
*
Photographs, fingerprints, and DNA were taken. I objected (as I have done on a previous occasion) to mouth swabs being taken by a police officer, and expressed the view that taking body samples from any orifice should be done by a nurse or doctor, not a police officer.
*
I refused to sign the form which acknowledged that my prints had been taken and that the officer had informed me the prints would be kept on file for I.D. and crime investigation purposes. It was explained to me that it was within my rights not to sign.
*
I was locked in a cell; allowed to contact the duty solicitor while detained; then subsequently charged ("aggravated trespass - fail to leave land").
*
My reply to the charge, logged in police records, was: "Caroline Powell died on 5 January 2007 at Eastwood Park Prison; she has left behind five motherless children, and that explains the demonstration and my arrest today."
*
Reporters and photographers from local newspapers attended the protest, which was also covered by local radio. BBC Points West attended the demonstration, and a news report was included on regional television at 6.30 pm. The news item, broadcast into about five counties, included footage showing the arrest.
*
I have been granted unconditional bail to appear in North Avon Magistrates' Court, Kennedy Way, Yate, Bristol, BS27 4PY, on Thursday 1 February 2007 at 9.45 a.m.
*
At 7.45 pm, I was released from custody. A police car returned me to Falfield, to enable me to collect my car.

Additional information

(1) Caroline Powell's grieving family are receiving support and advice from INQUEST, London: Caroline's father asked to be put in touch with me, and we spoke on the telephone on 23 January 2007, the day before the demonstration. He expressed wholehearted support for the protest, and said he was "100% behind the demonstration". Family members are grieving deeply, and preparing for the funeral, and therefore were unable to join us outside the prison.

(2) An invitation was sent to Steve Webb, MP for Northavon (Lib Dem), inviting him to attend the demonstration. In his e-mail reply to me, dated 22.01.07, he said: "Thank you for letting me know of your forthcoming demonstration. I will be at Westminster on Wednesday and will be unable to attend, but I am grateful to you for letting me know of the demonstration and certainly agree that the issue which you are highlighting is an important one."

(3) On the afternoon of the demonstration, a letter was sent into the prison (via a visitor), addressed to Governor Tim Beeston, asking if he would meet protesters at the prison gates. The letter was returned to me, unopened, at the end of visiting. The prison had apparently refused to accept the letter as it did not quote the prison's full postal address.

Continue reading "Mother-of-five, Caroline Powell, died on 5 January 2007"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:55 AM January 25, 2007 | Comments (0)

Mayor Livingstone's Conference on Civilisation.

Yesterday I attended the Mayor of London's conference "A World Civilisation or a Clash of Civilisations" in London's Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (20/1/2007). Clearly the vast majority of the audience, which must have been at least 3 - 4,000, lived in London, although it would be difficult to imagine a place on earth not represented. I arrived a bit late.

I managed to get a fairly early train direct to Marylebone on the Chiltern line. It was, as is usual, exceptionally clean and very quiet. Takes a bit longer than London-Euston on Virgin, but you don't get the claustrophobic feeling that you're sitting in one of Branson's airliners. The seats are more comfortable and spacious. There was a bit of panic on the tube. A large red suitcase was wobbling about by the door apparently unattended. A lady opposite with a walking stick attracted my attention by waving it at me and saying the luggage had been left. I leapt into action and was about to push the offending item onto the platform. Luckily I didn't since its owner appeared from down the compartment to take charge and I was saved a deal of embarrassment.

At the conference centre I entered the room to find a large screen where Ken Livingstone was giving an introduction to the conference. There was no one at the microphone however. It turned out to be one of the two overflow halls. Livingstone, together with Councillor Salma Yaqoob, also from Birmingham, were speaking for the proposal with Daniel Pipes, Director of the Middle East Forum and advisor to the Washington government on MIddle East Policy and Douglas Murray of the Social Affairs Unit, speaking against.

Pipes argued that "Islamists", who were inherently right wing, were being supported by the left who were not recognising the danger they posed. He made a distinction between "Islamists" and Islam as those who held views that they wanted to see states with Sharia law opposing more "moderate" Islamic opinion. Quite where he drew the line was not clear however since he attacked Councillor Yaqoob's position. I suppose he defined his outlook by citing an axis of opposition from Washington, London and Jerusalem. As I pointed out a short while ago, it appears Israel has an identity crisis concerning its geographical location, seeing itself as part of Europe rather than Asia where it actually is. There are clear racist undertones to this.

Yaqoob clearly articulated the difficulties Muslims faced given he way they were characterised. no one raised the issue of Christian fundamentalism and the idea of Armageddon which seeks to justify believers sacrificing their lives and taking others.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:42 AM January 21, 2007 | Comments (0)

Strangers in Paradise Circus

I managed to get to a preview of Banner Theatre's latest production entitled "Strangers in Paradise Circus". (19/1/2007). Although it's about groups like the Kurdish people rather than for them, there were a number in the audience. The presentation involved a projection with comments responded to by the performers who were themselves from a number of different backgrounds. The material drew attention to the hardships imposed on people seeking asylum etc. It showed clearly the effects of homelessness and being without a job. One poignant moment was when a little girl spoke to her former classmates from Yarlswood Detention Centre. "No it wasn't like detention at school" she said in answer to one of their questions. Go to see it of you can!

As with the Banner Theatre tradition hard social issues are confronted head on. It will be touring the country and their are two performances in Kings Norton in Birmingham, an area where there is currently a programme on dealing with racial harassment. The BNP have been active over recent years. A number of former Labour supporters moved in that direction I found when I interviewed them on the doorstep.

Continue reading "Strangers in Paradise Circus"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:54 PM January 20, 2007 | Comments (0)

Arms dealing at all costs

BAE is once again in the headline news. Following the report on the deal to Tanzania which was both costly and unnecessary, there is now great concern over the stopping of an enquiry into a deal with Saudi Arabia. Blair once again comes off very badly confirming him to be a war monger.

One aspect of the war in Iraq wa that it would bring huge business opportunities for U.S. companies. It was the U.S. that supplied the deadly cluster bombs used by Israel in the Lebanon. It was remarked that if the Israelis had used their own they would have been more reliable in detonating on contact rather than lie around killing and maiming civilians. It seems that BAE leaned on Blair with the argument that an enquiry would jeopardise important contracts. The argument used was that British national security would be put at risk. This was supported by Lord Goldsmith, but the Head of MI6 is now refusing to endorse this view.

Continue reading "Arms dealing at all costs"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 8:25 AM January 16, 2007 | Comments (0)

Time to Go Demonstration, Manchester

Saturday, 23rd September and an estimated 30,000, probably more on the day, assembled in Manchester ahead of the Labour Party Conference to express frustration, anger at continued violence and deaths from foreign policy. Old friends assembled for the coach from Soho Road in Handsworth, Birmingham, comrades on the left split between a variety of organisations as New Labour took on the left and pursued its Thatcherite policies. Some had been memebers of the Socialist Alliance, others had joined Respect while some of us cling to our Labour membership. At one of the service stations we met up with our friends from the Indian Workers Association, many of whom supported Arthur Scargill's Socialist Labour. New Labour were well satisfied when comrades were forced out, as was Raghib Ahsan, while interminable killings and violence were too much for others. Gurdev Manku and I were among the remnants inside Labour, still a thorn in the flesh to the increasingly discredited and beleaguered Blairites.

Albert Square by Manchester Town Hall basked in warm sunshine. Placards familar and unfamilar were held aloft as we assembled for a march around the G-mex complex where the Conference was to start the following day. Soni, Gurdev's daughter, joined us having started her university course in Manchester a week earlier. She chose a blood spattered "Time to GO" banner and took a liking to a picture of Bush with the caption "The World's Greatest Terrorist". Quite so.

At one point on the march people lay down in the road with blood-stained sheets, symbolic of lives lost by ordinary woemn, children and men in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in the Lebanon and elsewhere the U.S., British-backed war machine ploughed its way.

Continue reading "Time to Go Demonstration, Manchester"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:24 AM September 24, 2006 | Comments (0)

Invisible women in World War 1

The Channel 4 series "Not Forgotten" reminded us of the integral part women played in the First World War. At the same time it is unusual for their names to appear on memorials. A notable exception is a chapel at York Minster which records over 1,000 women who undertook varied roles and contributed to victory.

In Britain women assembled the shells needed on the front. At one factory at Barnbow in Leeds there was a catastrophic explosion in 1916 which killed 35 women and injured many more. The story has not been told because the munitions factory's existence was classified as an offical secret. Now a memorial has been erected in Leeds.

Continue reading "Invisible women in World War 1"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 9:23 PM December 4, 2005 | Comments (0)

Being British

I was born in Enfield, Middlesex on 22nd November (St Cecilia's Day), 1941. I doubt whether I could answer questions being asked of would be British citizens in the now compulsory test that has to be taken. The government worries that people living in Britain are "not integrated". (The Government "Fact" booklet includes where Father Christmas is supposed to come from!)

What knowing answers to the arcane questions has to do with integration is hard to tell. Certainly in this version integration is a one-way traffic. The rest of the nation can continue quite happily without knowing why others are here. When this was put to those from Britain's former colonies a response was "we are here because you were there".

Continue reading "Being British"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 10:04 AM November 2, 2005 | Comments (2)

A Break on the Jurassic Coast

In September I took the opportunity of visiting the Dorset Coast, also known as the "Jurassic Coast" because of the abundance of fossils to be found in the rocks. A few years ago a friend of mine spent a holiday in Portland a carved a figure emerging from a huge piece of Portland stone. Evident in the rock were the shapes of little creatures which lived hundreds of millions of years ago. We managed to get the results of the week's intensive work back to Birmingham. Driving out from Weymouth west wards a spectacular view of Chesil Beach emerges. The lagoon behind the bank contains fresh water and so provides a rich environment for a variety of wild life. Swans are one species which are attracted, which is unusual. They are territorial creatures which do not take kindly to others invading their space. Here the conditions seem to override that tendency as is apparent by the huge number of them living in the ancient sanctuary at Abbotsbury.

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:14 AM August 29, 2005 | Comments (0)

Demand Justice. The Execution of Jean Charles de Menezes

Now we know that what we were told about Jean Charles De Menezes was untrue: he didn't leap over a barrier at Stockwell underground station. He even picked up a newspaper and walked calmly down the escalators not knowing he was being followed. He wasn't wearing a padded jacket, just an ordinary denim top. He wasn't warned before 10 shots were fired, 7 into his head. The "shoot to kill" policy has not been debated in Parliament. Has the Home Secretary used his "personal power" on this occasion as he did to deport people he considers undesirable, but who have not faced trial.

The other fiction put about was that the CCTV cameras weren't working at the station. They were, and they showed Jean Charles.

We need to demand justice. Please sign this petition and let others know about it. Campaigns can be effective. For example the Washington Post has been persuaded to drop its sponsorship for a pro-government, pro-war march.

Continue reading "Demand Justice. The Execution of Jean Charles de Menezes"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:04 PM August 16, 2005 | Comments (1)

Shoot first, ask questions later

Today (22/05/2005) has been a follow up of the second terrorist attack on the London transport system. Police have been active and are showing CCTV shots of suspects. Evidently the public like to see the authorities get tough in response to events such as those we have experienced recently.

News reports that a man was shot at Stockwell Underground Station are coming in. Passengers were sitting in the tube when a man fell into one of the carriages. The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, said at a press briefing that "it was connected with the response to the terrorist attacks", at least that was the way he put it. An eye witness spoke of the man stumbling into the carriage pushed by the armed police officers in pursuit. At this moment the witness says that 5 shots were fired at close range. The police commissioner went on to say "any deaths are regrettable". At this moment we do not know who this person was. He has been described as of Asian appearance, and we are told he didn't respond when challenged. Instead he lept over the barrier into the underground system.

Now he's dead with 5 bullets in his head. No one can now ask him any questions. I can understand if the man posed a threat to the police, but since he was held on the ground the act of killing him appears unnecessary at the very least. This was done in full view of passengers which was traumatic in itself.
It is good to be reassured, but this act of violence seems to me to be wanton and could well inflame the situation. What now if there has been some sort of mistake? Too late to ask questions, shoot first.

Continue reading "Shoot first, ask questions later"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 4:41 PM July 22, 2005 | Comments (0)

Vital Link Educational Limited

Vital Link Educational Limited was set up in 1993 by five people: Gilroy Brown, Head Teacher of Foundry Primary School, Eileen Daley, Manager of a Community Enterprise, John Cockcroft, teacher and librarian at the Martineau Teachers' Centre in Birmingham, Sitinder Bahia, a teacher and myself who had run the Multicultural Resource Unit for nearly 15 years. Three of us had been involved in All Faiths For One Race (AFFOR) which had been based on the Lozells Road for many years, and was known for its hard-hitting publications, including "Talking Blues" and "Talking Chalk". These were about black peoples' experience with the police and education services respectively. AFFOR had been set up in 1971 to protest against a South African cricket tour. Clare Short was one its early directors.

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Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:34 PM October 9, 2004 | Comments (2)

Sheena Kotecha, 1982-2004

The following is something I wrote following a visit to the grieving parents of Sheena Kotecha who hanged herself in prison at the age of 22. She is now a statistic with self-harm and suicide rising at an alarming rate. Politicians are continuing to tell us that "prison works". Where is the evidence that it does? Another record has been broken now with the news that the youngest prisoner has killed himself. The rate among women is scandalous. Pauline Campbell has been campaigning by demonstrating at the scene of each incident as it occurs. She is now attracting coverage in the press. However she continues to be arrested for her efforts. She has lost her daughter through the failure of the prison system to protect her.

Dear MOJUK,

I visited the family of Sheena Kotecha this morning Sunday 4th April together with Jamnadas Vadhia and his wife. Mr Vadhia is a prison visitor and he met with Sheena only last Monday. She, as the report says, was very depressed and vulnerable. She was a vegetarian and I understand the prison was not providing her with adequate food.

On Friday she was taken in a prison van from her prison near Redditch to Leicester. I hear that she had to stand shackled to a high point. Since she was only around 5 feet high and weighed only 5 stone I would like to know how she stood the ordeal. Presumably the journey was not direct as other prisoners were collected from different points. Her parents, family and friends were in court yet they were not allowed to speak with her. The next thing they knew is that she was dead. They are saying she committed suicide, but I suggested that they should wait for proof that this was the case. The scene at the house was heart rending with mother and grandmother, holding her granddaughter's picture to her, inconsolable.

Sheena I understand, had no previous record of trouble. She was reported to have been a well behaved child and young person at home and at school. I fail to understand why she should have had a 9 year sentence given to her. My first impression was that she was unaware of what her acquaintance was planning to do. I would like proof that this was not the case. The local press had a front page headline "Bonny and Clyde" theft.

As a Councillor this is not the first case I have had to deal with of an inappropriately sentenced vulnerable young woman.

Cllr John Tyrrell,

Continue reading "Sheena Kotecha, 1982-2004"

Posted by John Tyrrell at 11:31 PM October 8, 2004 | Comments (0)