He Actually Did The Meme!

You know the joke: what do you call a black man in a suit and tie? The defendant!

A black barrister has said a security guard told him he could not park in a court’s car park in London because “it’s not for defendants”.

Stephen Akinsanya, who in June was awarded an OBE for raising awareness of youth knife crime and its prevention, said the incident, at an east London court about four weeks ago, illustrated the lack of progress on racism within the criminal justice system.

Because of course he did… 

He said: “It was a sort of reflection of what happened when I first qualified back in 1993, going into the same court, being asked by a security guard which case I was on trial in. And as a junior lawyer thinking: well, why does it have to be that I’m the one on trial? Why can it not be that I’m the lawyer? 

I’ve been assumed to be a shop worker many times in a supermarket despite not wearing a uniform, did I complain or be offended? No I just shrugged and got on with life! 

“And then 33 years later, pulling up in my car to park in the same court building, a security guard saying: ‘You can’t park here.’ And when I said why, he said: ‘Defendants can’t park in the car park.’”

When he challenged the guard, “he was completely embarrassed” and raised the barrier to allow him to park, said Akinsanya.

He never seems to think that it’s because the court staff  sees an overwhelmingly black criminal intake  that of course they will assume that he’s another one.

Akinsanya said: “I’m privy to seeing how the bar has changed with a lot more people from diverse backgrounds entering the profession but there is still a perception that, if you’re black, you’re more likely not to be the lawyer, you’re more likely to be a defendant who’s attending court because you’re on trial. “I just think: why are we still in this position in the 21st century? Which makes one think about the wider conversation we were having [on the podcast] about the lack of black judges.”

He believes there should be targets to increase representation and a body that is held accountable if they are missed.

If you want more Professor Ardays, that’s exactly how you should go about it. So tell me, has the case of Professor Arday made things better for educated black people, or worse? 

The 'Guardian' Always Knows Who Is Most Affected

Police are being forced to disclose the ethnicity of suspects in response to a rise in far-right speculation on social media, a former senior officer in the Metropolitan police force has warned.

And it is, of course, the usual suspects. 

Dal Babu, a former chief superintendent (Ed:and inveterate race-baiter) in the UK’s biggest force, said police having to disclose the race of suspects in incidents involving people of colour was an “unintended consequence”. “When the new guidance was issued, I warned that there was a danger that there will be an expectation for police to release information on every single occasion,” he said. “I have sympathy for my former colleagues in the police. They are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. They are under pressure because there is such intense speculation from the far right on social media after every major incident about the background of suspects.

I think the intense speculation comes from everyone, not just the tiny amount of genuinely right wing accounts! 

“You will not find pressure on social media to name the ethnicity of suspects when black players are being racially abused on social media, for example. We are in a position in our country where race is being amplified by far-right racist groups and the police are being forced to respond. It is a worry.”

Strange to put a train rampage by a knife wielding maniac injuring 11 people, some critically, on the same level of public interest as someone making monkey chants at a football game, but you do you, Dal… 

Even after police revealed that the two arrested suspects were British nationals, attempts were made to suggest that information was being withheld.

Gosh, I wonder why people just don’t trust police statements any more? 

Habib compared the statement on Sunday morning by a senior police officer, who had described both suspects as British, to official statements identifying the Southport murderer as a Welshman. It was “possible” that the suspects were British but, he said, adding that the police had not released their names, “I will remain extremely suspicious until we get chapter and verse.”

Oh, right. I remember why, now! 

Your (Much Longer Than) Five Minutes of Fame Are Up

Former Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain has revealed the BBC has cancelled her cooking show after a decade on screen, describing the decision as "really difficult".

The 40-year-old, who won the sixth series of the baking show in 2015, announced the news to her 950,000 Instagram followers in a rambling video discussing changes in her career.

Was The RaceCard pulled? Reader, you knew it would be.... 

Hussain also railed against the "challenges" she faces as a Muslim woman in TV. "Actually, it's really difficult as a Muslim woman.

"I work in an industry that doesn't always support people like me or recognise my talent or my full potential," she said.

Oh, good grief, series are cancelled all the time, especisally cookery shows = Rick Stein hasn't had a new show recently. nor Delia (and neither of those posted rambling 'pity me' videos while taking a political swipe at Israel and the non-existent 'Palestinian genocide')- haven't you made enough money from the run you've had? All those books? 

If not, whose fault is that? Who is ever owed a lifetime contract?