Mayor of London Sadiq Khan & Deputy Mayor speak to The Source as well as your weekly recap of stories you shouldn't have missed - curated by Melissa Sigodo
A much-needed weekend of Black British Joy
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Coming to you a day later as I was covering the annual Black on the Square celebration of Black culture held in Trafalgar Square, London. I spoke to the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Deputy Mayor Debbie Weekes-Bernard about the importance of the event in the climate of division and how they feel it is an act of defiance.
You can check out the interview featured in the below coverage by The Source from the day.
A lot happened this week including deputy leader of the Green Party Mothin Ali becoming the first Muslim in England and Wales to hold a leadership role in a mainstream political party. But as well as Ali, David Lammy found himself becoming the new deputy prime minister following former deputy Angela Rayner’s tax scandal. As a result, Lammy is now the first Black person to hold the position.
But as usual, I’ve recapped all the news you shouldn’t have missed. This week, you can all fully access the newsletter regardless of subscription. Without further ado, here it is.
Top story
A teenager Junior Cameron now 18 years old who stabbed a 13-year-old boy in a racially aggravated attack while he was walking through a park after attending a mosque has been jailed for seven years and two months. The child was stabbed, punched and kicked and left needing 12 stitches last March in Glasgow, Scotland. Read the full story by BBC.
Crime
A man has pleaded guilty to attacking worshippers outside a mosque in Portsmouth. 29-year-old Callum Mcinally faced numerous charges including racially aggravated assault and threatening a person with a blade in a public place. Read the full story by Steve Deeks at Portsmouth News.
A resident at a hotel housing asylum seekers was reportedly assaulted and a man remains in custody on suspicion of assault, police say. This comes after officers attended the scene where flares were being thrown outside the Bell Hotel in Essex. Read the full story by Jordan Reynolds at The Independent.
A police officer was punched in the face during an “anti-asylum protest in Canary Wharf, London. Four people were also arrested. Read the full story by BBC.
Two people have been arrested after an NHS nurse was racially abused while walking her dog in the park. Apple who moved from the UK to the Philippines was approached by a couple who she filmed as they asked if she had arrived on a rubber boat, while motioning for their own dog to ‘kill’ the woman. Read the full story by Sarah Hooper at Metro.
A 20-year-old man has been arrested after a taxi driver was spat at and racially abused in Nottingham. The driver who filmed the incident had explained that he could not carry passengers who had not pre-booked before he was challenged to a fight and then allegedly assaulted. Read the report by Nottinghamshire Police.
A 29-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and remains in custody after a memorial for Cherry Groce, an innocent mum who was shot in front of her children by Metropolitan Police and left paralysed sparking the Brixton Uprising in 1985 was vandalised. Full story by Melissa Sigodo for The Source.
Two women were arrested by police investigating after a Sky News interview on asylum seekers was disrupted. The clip saw a local businessman Zahin, 32, racially abused by passersby during an interview with Sky News journalist Shamaan Freeman-Powell in Nuneaton. The women arrested have since been bailed. Read the full story by BBC.
Over 425 people have been arrested at a protest against the government banning and proscribing Palestine Action a terrorist group. Some protesters held signs which read "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action." Supporting the organisation is punishable with up to 14 years in prison. Read the full story by Dominic Casciani and Ian Aikman at BBC.
Good News
Rapper Dave has praised his mum who started the Juliet O Foundation after retiring from the NHS to help discharged vulnerable and elderly patients by giving them essentials including ones to prevent to infection. The Brit Award winner says he is ‘incredibly proud.’ Read the full story by Sinai Fleary at The Voice Online.
A nurse Bemi Orojuogun who has gone viral on social media and is known “Bus Aunty” says she started taking selfies with London’s iconic double decker buses ‘because they are so beautiful and London is so beautiful.’ Her videos have garnered over 48 million views including one with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, fashion brand Burberry and Ikea. Watch the full report by BBC Africa.
Tottenham footballer Djed Spence says he hopes to “inspire future generations” as he could become the first Muslim player in the senior England football team. The player says if he is able to do it then any child of any religion can do it. Read the full story by Tom Mallows and Emma Smith at BBC.
Windrush Scandal
The Windrush commissioner has written to the Home Secretary ‘demanding urgent reform’ of the compensation scheme as victims have told him the Home Office is waiting for them to die but that he ‘doesn’t share this view.’ 66 people have now died waiting for compensation. Read the full story by Chris Osuh at The Guardian.
Alleged Violence Against Women
A man has been charged over the death of a woman named as Ndata Bob who was found injured in a property in Edinburgh, Scotland. Read the full story by Jody Harrison at Herald Scotland.
Far-right
A man who was photographed at the front of a far-right group Britain First’s “March for Remigration” in Manchester has previously served time in prison for attempting to smuggle Vietnamese migrants into the UK. Read the full story by Hope Not Hate.
He is also reported to be behind organising the campaign to placing flags on lampposts across the country. Read the story by Jack Walton at The Mill.
Policing
The chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council has said that the need for police to attend ‘demonstrations’ against asylum seekers means that they have been diverted away from fighting crime. Gavin Stephens says politicians must stop stoking division. Read the full story by Vikram Dodd at The Guardian.
Chris Kaba
A vigil was set to be held this week marking three years since the fatal shooting of Chris Kaba by Metropolitan Police. Firearms officer Martyn Blake who shot him was found not guilty of murder in October 2024. Chris Kaba’s family say they will gather to ‘reflect, remember and in solidarity.’ Read the full story by Sinai Fleary at The Voice Online.
Grenfell
Work to bring down Grenfell Tower which caught fire and saw 72 people killed in 2017 is set to begin this week. Some of the bereaved and survivors say they “hoped it would stay in place” until charges were brought against those responsible for the fire. Read the full story by Rachel Burford at The Standard.
Gaza
A tower block where displaced families had been taking shelter has been blown up with Israel saying they will destroy more structures which they claim are being used by Hamas. Residents were warned before the building was levelled. Video showed people fleeing in horror. Watch the report by Channel 4.
The roundups are absolutely brilliant. The story about Dave's mum, what a legend!