March 2003
Some stories
Summary - the EU's new Border Control Programme
Under plans to be presented tomorrow by the home secretary, David Blunkett, to the European Union summit in Brussels, asylum seekers will be held in 'temporary processing centres' outside the EU - possibly in Ukraine, Russia, Turkey or North Africa. A report by the Institute of Race Relations, published today, shows how this proposal is part of an ongoing attempt to create a militarised migration bulwark around the EU.
27 March 2003 (367 words)
Stop and search: police step up targetting of Blacks and Asians
An analysis by the Institute of Race Relations has revealed that the number of stops and searches conducted by the police in England and Wales has gone up for the first time since the publication of the Macpherson report, with Blacks and Asians bearing the brunt of the increase.*
26 March 2003 (836 words)
Libraries rebuff police surveillance of asylum seekers
Police in Plymouth have asked local libraries to log internet activity by asylum seekers in the city, following an unfounded terrorism scare. But library bosses have told police that they are unwilling to violate the public's right to privacy.
24 March 2003 (142 words)
Rural campaign against the BNP launched in South West
A broad coalition of local campaigners in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset have launched a major drive to stop the British National Party from making gains in the forthcoming council elections.
20 March 2003 (1059 words)
Inquiry into the death of David 'Rocky' Bennett begins
The public part of the inquiry into the death of David 'Rocky' Bennett began this week. Rocky Bennett, a 38-year-old Black man, was certified dead in the early hours of Saturday 31 October 1998. He had been a detained patient in the Norvic Clinic, an NHS medium secure unit in Norwich, for three years.
20 March 2003 (617 words)
Blunkett loses appeal over asylum support
The appeal court has upheld Justice Collin's high court ruling that the Home Secretary was in breach of the human rights convention by denying support to destitute asylum seekers.
20 March 2003 (837 words)
'Accidental death' during immigration raid, says inquest jury
On Friday 7 March, the inquest into the death of 39-year-old Ghanaian Joseph Crentsil recorded a verdict of accidental death. The verdict meant that the jury decided Joseph came by his death 'unintentionally or unexpectedly'.
11 March 2003 (1629 words)
Kurdish journalist victim of mob attack in Islington
A prominent Kurdish journalist has been the victim of a racist attack in London, while covering a story for his newspaper.
10 March 2003 (168 words)
Black Caribbean pupils at the bottom in GCSE league
New official figures reveal a disturbing gap between the performance of black Caribbean pupils in GCSE exams and pupils of other ethnic backgrounds.
9 March 2003 (558 words)
Terror policing brings many arrests but few charges
British police have made 304 arrests under anti-terrorist legislation since 11 September 2001. But only forty of those arrests have led to charges being brought. And only three have so far resulted in convictions, none for involvement in Islamic terror groups.
5 March 2003 (511 words)