Weekly Update – Friday 12 June 2020

Dear Constituent,

Yesterday marked 33 years since Bernie Grant, Diane Abbott and Paul Boateng were elected as the first black MPs. Since then progress has been made. But that anniversary comes as the Black Lives Matter movement sweeps across the globe, exposing the systemic racism and police brutality that still exists in our society 3 decades later. We have a lot of work to do, but I’m hopeful that we are now experiencing a monumental moment of change.

COVID-19 BAME Deaths

This week we learnt that the Government covered up a second report into BAME deaths, which included recommendations which could have saved lives. This follows on from the Governments original decision to delay publishing a Public Health England report into BAME deaths. Although the Government then reversed that decision, they are yet to act in response to any of these reports.

The Government’s inaction is costing lives. Just as Boris Johnson’s decision to delay the UK’s move into Lockdown is estimated to have cost upwards of 30,000 lives. There is now no time to waste. The Government must publish all reports and recommendations in full. It must act on those recommendations as quickly as possible and it must launch a full independent public inquiry into its handling of BAME COVID-19 deaths.

Justice for Shukri

I’ve received hundreds of emails from constituents about the tragic death of Shukri Yahya Abdi in 2019. Shukri was just 12 years old when she drowned in Manchester after being subjected to racist bullying. The police were quick to determine that the death was an accident, however, the circumstances around the death and the police investigation have led to widespread mistrust of that conclusion.

What we do know is that Shukri was let down by her school, the police, and all the institutions which should have protected her from the awful racism she had to endure. I know, reading the emails I’ve received, that this has struck a nerve in Edmonton’s Somali community. We all know this isn’t a one-off and speaks to wider issues we need to address.

Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Manchester has called for a further investigation in Shukri’s death. I fully support that and I will also be reaching out to police and schools in Edmonton to discuss the safeguarding practices around racism and bullying.

Courier Strike

On Wednesday I joined the first-ever virtual strike, supporting COVID carrying couriers who had been sacked by The Doctors Laboratory (TDL) in the midst of this pandemic. Sonic Health Care, the parent company of TDL have behaved terribly during the current crisis and put their workers into a position where they had no other options but to strike.

They have unlawfully deducted wages, made 10 of their couriers redundant and taken part in disability discrimination. Any company that behaviours like that must be held to account. Now they should listen to their workers and act to reverse the damage that they have done.

Domestic Abuse Bill – All women should be protected

On Thursday I chaired an event hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on No Recourse to Public Funds in which we discussed how the Domestic Abuse Bill can ensure all women are protected from Domestic Violence, regardless of their immigration status.

Thousands of women in the UK are not entitled to claim public funds, including Universal Credit and this makes them particularly vulnerable to domestic abuse. The Government’s Domestic Abuse Bill currently doesn’t protect those without recourse to public funds, but that must change. COVID-19 has made more people than ever aware of the terrible NRPF regime. I’m hoping that will allow us the opportunity to end that regime once and for all.

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Thank you for taking the time to read my latest update, if you have any issues that you would like to raise directly with me then please do email edmontonconstituent@parliament.uk. I’m always happy to help whenever possible.

Kind regards,

Kate