Showing posts with label justice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label justice. Show all posts

Thursday 19 March 2020

Ketan Sheth: Brent needs to establish an effective 'Access to Justice' service following the Law Centre closure

This Opinion piece by Cllr Ketam Sheth, chair of Brent Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee first appeared in Asian Voice LINK Reproduced by permission of the author


After half a century of community service, Brent residents now have no access to free legal advice, severely curtailed access to legal aid for housing, no access to advice on employment law and no advice to assist challenges to PIP, UC and welfare benefit assessments.

We know English justice system is complex, slow and expensive: all of which impacts on poor people’s accessing legal representation. Our justice system is too often incapable of producing just outcomes that are proportionate to the problems brought to it or reflective of the needs of Brent people it is meant to serve.

Brent is generally a poor area, with 33% of households living in poverty, and 31% of employees earning less than the London Living Wage – a higher rate than any other borough except Newham. Private rent is very expensive relatively to local low earnings as a result low earners spend a disproportionate percentage of earnings on housing, it is not surprising that people are evicted in Brent at a higher rate.

With such stark statistics, it is evident that the Borough needs access to justice services. Yet those who could have done something about accessing justice for those in the Borough allowed free legal advice be dismantled brick by brick.

For Brent Community Law Centre access to justice meant enabling people to avoid eviction, resolve employment, welfare and employment issues, address problems and disputes regarding immigration and citizenship, all of which meant people could live hassle free and confident lives. Intellectual capital in the Borough is now weakened, and the people of Brent are left without independent advice and representation.

Access to justice includes providing people with the information they need to understand the law or supporting them to resolve their own disputes without having to go to court. Brent Community Law Centre took an expansive view of the civil justice system to include not just courts, but all services, institutions and organizations that support people in getting the skills, knowledge, resources and services they need to manage their legal problems.

In these challenging times, people need an effective locally based professional service which is collaborative, not combative; people-centred, not number focused; experimental and evidence-informed; not one that is stifled by unnecessary bureaucracy.

The Law Centre looked at the justice system from the user’s point of view and included users of the system as partners in improving it. Fulfilling this perspective led to a multi-disciplinary approach because, from the point of view of the user, legal problems are usually only one aspect of a larger problem that has economic, social, psychological and other aspects.

So, going forward, the Borough needs to work arduously in establishing an Access to Justice Service based on working with local legal services: big and small, to deliver an effective Brent pro bono legal service with the one aim which balances three elements: improved population access to justice, improved user experience of access to justice and improved costs.

Tuesday 21 May 2019

Justice4Grenfell campaign will speak at Brent Trades Hall tomorrow May 22nd


On Wednesday 22nd May, Moira Samuels will be speaking at 7.30pm at Brent Trades Council's meeting.
 
Moira Samuels is from the Justice4Grenfell campaign whose goal is to obtain justice for the families, survivors and the local community. 
 
On 14 June 2017 Grenfell went up in flames and on 14th June 2019 local residents and supporters are still marching in silence to remember this horrendous tragedy.

Willesden Trades and Labour Hall, 375 High Road, London NW10 2JR.

Wednesday 1 January 2014

Wembley Matters wishes you a successful New Year of struggle

Page views May 2007 to Jan 1st2014

I would like to thank all my readers for their support this year which has seen the Wembley Matters readership continue to grow.   In particular I am grateful to guest bloggers and those who have contributed information for my stories.

Later this month Wembley Matters should hit half a million 'all time' page views.

I wish everyone a successful New Year of struggle for environmental and social justice..

Wednesday 31 July 2013

Peter Tatchell: 'Bradley Manning an honourable whistle-blower - not a thief or spy'

“Bradley Manning has been found guilty of theft and espionage after a biased, unfair trial in which he was not allowed to provide evidence of his motives and intentions when he released secret US files. These files included evidence of US war crimes, lies and cover-ups. Although he was found not guilty of aiding the enemy, the verdict is a travesty of justice. It mocks the honesty and idealism of a good soldier who sought to expose human rights abuses and defend international humanitarian law,” said Peter Tatchell, Director of the human rights organisation, the Peter Tatchell Foundation, which has campaigned in support of Manning’s right to expose wrong-doing.

Gay actor Kieron Richardson, from the TV soap opera Hollyoaks, has joined with Peter Tatchell to support Bradley Manning. PHOTO: http://bit.ly/13Wxy4C
For a print quality version, click here:
http://bit.ly/1aUH4qZ

“Manning is a LGBT equality supporter and has attended LGBT protests. He was subjected to homophobic abuse while in military detention awaiting trial. Some of his critics have tried to discredit him by falsely insinuating that anger and confusion over his sexuality and gender identity was a factor that led him to make his revelations. There has been an anti-gay sub-text to the way Manning has sometimes been portrayed by the media and his critics. 

“Bradley Manning is an honourable whistle-blower - not a thief or spy. He exposed the truth about US war crimes in Iraq.

“Manning is a true patriot, not a traitor. He reveres the founding ideals of the US: the notion of an open, honest government that is accountable to the people and that pursues its policies by lawful means with respect for human rights. At great personal sacrifice, he exposed grave crimes that were perpetrated and then hidden by the US government and military. These are the characteristics of a man of conscience, motivated by altruism. Thanks to Manning, the US people now know the truth.

“One of the war crimes he exposed was a US Apache helicopter attack that gunned down 11 Iraqi civilians in 2007, including two Reuters journalists and men who had gone to the aid of the wounded. Two children were also gravely injured when the US helicopter opened fire on their van. The video records US soldiers laughing and joking at the killings, and also insulting the victims.

“The video of the massacre can be seen at: www.collateralmurder.com

“This slaughter had previously been the subject of a cover-up by the US armed forces, which claimed dishonestly that the helicopter had been engaged in combat operations against armed enemy forces.

“It is only thanks to Bradley Manning that we now know the truth about this massacre of innocent civilians – and about the killings of hundreds of other civilians in unreported and undocumented incidents.

“The trial judge’s ruling that Manning was not allowed to use a ‘public interest’ defence during his trial was outrageous. Knowing that his motives were to tell the American people the truth and spark a public debate is an essential element to determine his guilt or innocence,” said Mr Tatchell.

Anne FitzGerald, Director of Research and Crisis Response at Amnesty International, agrees. She believes it was unfair that Bradley was unable to use a public interest defence, as "he reasonably believed he was exposing human rights and humanitarian law violations."

READ more on why Amnesty believe Bradley is entitled to use the ‘public interest’ defence: http://bit.ly/12muiRG

There is no evidence that Manning aided any enemy of the US, caused harm to US personnel or that he had any intention to do so. This view is shared by Amnesty International: http://bit.ly/12mv4hM

Amnesty said the “aiding the enemy” charge was a “travesty of justice”:
http://bit.ly/1bm251l

WATCH Peter Tatchell speak at Bradley Manning’s defence rally in London: http://bit.ly/12dzrup

READ Bradley Manning’s opening defence statement to the court in full:
http://bit.ly/XQUgoP