Officers keep jobs despite gross misconduct, Black women named most powerful and other stories from Black, Asian & Arab communities in the UK, you shouldn't have missed - curated by Melissa Sigodo
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Oct 26, 2025
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Thank you for subscribing to The Source and supporting independent, Black-led journalism.
This week, I was incredibly ill with the flu. You might not have realised that I was coughing during The Source’s first-ever live on Monday as I tried to push through. But we are back again with another Unfiltered Conversations Between Black Women tomorrow - Monday October 27 at 8pm.
I will be joined by journalist Serena Richards who covers social issues and politics, and is also here on Substack. She has written for The Guardian, The Metro and others. You’ll find Serena on YouTube - Serenathejournalist, breaking down current affairs and tomorrow, we’ll be breaking down some of the leading stories this month including:
The strip-search of a 15-year-old boy without an adult present which saw officers keep their jobs despite it being found to have been gross misconduct.
The ongoing Windrush scandal and the stories of how victims continue to suffer.
A robot that braids hair and other interesting and important stories.
You’ll be sent a reminder and a link to the Live tomorrow when it begins so make sure you have the Substack app to join us. I know from the last one, a lot of you enjoyed the conversation so I look forward to seeing you all back again.
Black History Month isn’t over yet and this week, The Source is highlighting Black-owned brands you can find online and at Tesco. I want to say thank you to Josh Burrell over at the supermarket chain who kindly sent over this list of Black-owned brands you can support and enjoy. Also, this is not a sponsored post by the way, but if you would like to sponsor The Source, click below and send a message:
Black-owned UK brands
Flora & Curl
Flora & Curl is a Birmingham-based premium plant-based haircare brand made for those with textured and curly, coily and wavy hair. Founded in 2017 by Rose Ovensehi, Flora & Curl started on her kitchen table after she decided to embrace her natural hair texture. Shop here.
March Muses
Based in Croydon, London, March Muses is a decorations business selling Black ornaments which was founded after co-founder Natalie’s daughter asked her, ‘can fairies be Black?’. For the Christmas season they will be offering kids pyjamas featuring Black Santa, nutcrackers and ballerina decorations, cards and wrap. Founded by Natalie Duvall, Alison Burton and Candice Stewart, the women say their aim is to create timeless designs that hold meaning. Shop here.
Blue Turaco
Coffee brand Blue Turaco was founded by Ugandan farmer Wycliffe Sande who got into coffee at a young age after the passing of his father. His brand brings speciality robusta coffee to the UK, while also supporting smallholder farmers in Uganda. Shop here.
The Gym Kitchen
Founder of The Gym Kitchen Segun Akinwoleola grew up in East London where he says the gym was the one place he and his friends could have fun. He then went on to build the Gym Kitchen brand which provides protein-rich meal-prep options after being disappointed by the lack of healthy options available. Shop here.
Varofoods
British-Nigerian husband and wife duo, Omamo and Elizabeth Binitie, who founded the Jollof rice and sauces company Varofoods in 2011 say that each product they develop builds on their legacy of combining tradition with innovation. Shop here.
Before we get into the news you shouldn’t have missed, I wanted to highlight Hurricane Melissa which Jamaica is currently bracing itself for. There are likely to be powercuts and severe damage to infrastructure in the coming days and the devastating storm has tragically already left three people dead in Haiti.
There is currently a petition calling on the British government to send emergency aid to Jamaica stating that “the West’s carbon pollution” has “turned the Caribbean into a climate warzone.”
You can sign the petition here which has been organised by racial justice campaigner Mr Lee Jasper Snr and I will signpost any information about where donations can be made as soon as I can. Follow me on socials @melissasigodo on Twitter and @melissasigodo on Instagram for any updates.
Now, here’s the news you shouldn’t have missed this week.
News
Three Metropolitan Police officers committed gross misconduct when they strip-searched a 15-year-old boy exposing his intimate parts without an appropriate adult present, a panel has found. Acting Sergeant Jake Simpson, PC Jordan McGovern and PC Kieron Grant did not make any record of the search and did not tell the boy’s mum, the panel heard. They have been given final written warnings. Read the full story by Tony Grew at BBC.
Three Metropolitan Police officers have been fired for gross misconduct after a BBC Panorama documentary showed them making various racist and misogynistic remarks including dismissing a woman’s allegations of rape and saying a detainee should have a ‘bullet through his head.’ Read the full story by Bruce Thain, Kathryn Armstrong and Amy Walker at BBC.
The only Black branch chair of Reform UK Neville Watson has left the party which he says has “good people” but that some members were “sympathetic” to the far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Neville played a “key role” in “welcoming” people from into the party as well as attracting new members from Nigeria. Read the full story by Chris Osuh at The Guardian.
Media
Talk TV host Mike Graham has reportedly been suspended from his show after he allegedly posted a racist message on social media which read, “Tell me we’re not f***ed by multicultural b***cks. Why are we surrounded by non-white people? Just f*** off…” He has since denied posting the message stating he was hacked. Read the full story by Charlie Herbert at The London Economic.
Windrush scandal
For the first time in eight years since the Windrush scandal was exposed, people will receive compensation for pension losses. However, campaigners say you need legal representation to even make a successful claim and victims don’t get that assistance. Read the full story by Jessica Murray at The Guardian.
Housing
A manager at Clarion Housing Association, the largest housing association in the UK, was recorded telling a staff member how to fake a fire safety notice which was created to advise residents with disabilities to contact them. A survivor of the Grenfell Tower fire which killed 72 people said that “complacency about fire safety” was a “widespread problem that still prevails”. Read the full story by Becky Johnson and Emily Jennings at Sky News.
Alleged Male Violence Against Women and Girls
A man has been charged with murdering a mother in west London who died from compression to the neck. Alvin Githai, 43, was charged with the murder of Vivienne Baraka whose family described her as a “bubbly person who was full of life.” Read the full story by Ben Gardener at the East London Advertiser.
Children were sexually abused by ‘rich older men’ and taken to hotels where they were preyed upon in an “exploitation ring”, a former children’s home worker has claimed. Key worker Warda Mohamed claims that when she raised concerns with authorities, “nothing was really done.” Read the full story by Callum Cuddeford at MyLondon.
Community
A community festival has been axed after a school demanded that organisers foot the nearly £3,000 bill to cut the ‘4ft-long overgrown grass’ in its field in order to use it. Chalkhill festival organisers say they’ve been left ‘devastated.’ Read the full story by Melissa Sigodo for The Source.
Finance chief for the Bank of England Afua Kyei has been named this year’s most influential person of African, African Caribbean, and African American heritage in the UK. She described receiving the title as “incredibly humbling.” Watch the full report by Sky News.
Healthcare
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