Police

All cops are racist? The Macpherson report 22 years on - Counterblast

Over 20 years after the Macpherson report was originally published, racism remains endemic in British police forces, argues Terina Hine
The movement turns out to defend GRT communities from Police and Crime Bill

Protesters gathered in Parliament Square to oppose the Police and Crime Bill that is set to criminalise GRT way of life, reports Lucy Nichols
The Truth About Police Stop & Search

Channel 4’s new documentary paints a vivid picture of the police’s systemic mistreatment of black people, argues Jamal Elaheebocus
The Police Bill has got to go: protesters take to the streets to #KillTheBill

Kill the Bill protests hit the street around the country again, Yonas Makoni and Jan Culley report from protests in London and Ceredigion
The battle of Kenmure Street: the new Tory assault and the growing resistance

The community resistance to the Tories in Glasgow is the beginning of what could prove to be an explosive few years, argues David Jamieson
Round 3: Kill the Bill protesters take to the streets across the country

On International Workers' Day, protesters marched for a third national day of action against the impending expansion of police powers. Counterfire reports from around the country
We will not be silenced: list of #KillTheBill protests around the country this weekend

On International Workers' Day, protesters around the country are preparing to take to the streets for a third nationwide day of action against the Police and Crime Bill, and in Scotland for independence
J’accuse! Spycops witness speaks out

In this compelling testimony to the Spycops Inquiry, a woman using the pseudonym Madeleine tells her story of how she became part of the revolutionary left and how her trust was betrayed by the undercover police
Opposition to the Tories is only growing - Kill the Bill protesters hit the streets nationwide

For a second national day of action, protesters marched in towns and cities across the country to oppose the Tory crackdown on protest and police violence; Counterfire members report
Take it to the streets: Get ready for 26 June

Lucy Nichols on why we need to bring together all the strands of opposition to the Tories onto the streets at the People’s Assembly national demonstration on 26 June
Stop the Tory attack: Kill the bill - Counterfire freesheet April 2021

Democratic rights and the class struggle, the new normal to be won, resisting Myanmar's military, the latest on workplace struggles across Britain and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet
The Guardian and protest – 200 years of liberal anxiety

As the bicentenary of The Guardian approaches, Des Freedman examines its contradictory attitude towards social change
Aberystwyth Kill the Bill protest taps into the history of Welsh resistance

The protest against the Police and Crime bill in Aberystwyth drew on the history of resistance in the area and what protest has achieved, writes Jan Culley
'This is what democracy looks like': #KillTheBill protesters take to the streets nationwide

Thousands marched in towns and cities across the country on Saturday in opposition to the Police and Crime bill. Counterfire reports from a number of the protests
Berkeley: The Student Revolt - book review

Hal Draper’s classic account of the 1960s Berkeley student free-speech movement reveals enduring patterns that remain important for all activists, argues Joshua Newman
Defend the right to protest: Kingston turns out to Kill the Bill

Protesters in Kingston turned out to oppose the Police Bill as part of a number of demonstrations that took place around the country over the weekend, reports Sandra Keen
Social movements can beat attacks on the right to protest - podcast

Chris Nineham speaks to David Jamieson about the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill, and the ways social movements can resist attacks on the right to protest
Uber caves in over workers’ rights - News from the Frontline

Counterfire's weekly digest rounding up the stories of working people getting organised and fighting back
Keep protesting: third day of protests rage against Tory plans to criminalise protest

On Tuesday evening, thousands protested for a third day against the government’s plans to expand police powers against the protesters, reports Yonas Makoni
Reclaim these streets: thousands attend vigils to demand end to violence against women

Vigils took place all around the country on Saturday evening despite attempts to cancel them, to honour Sarah Everard and to demand an end to violence against women
Clampdown in Clapham Common: women stand defiant against police violence

Defiant against the police, a vigil in Clapham Common honoured Sarah Everard and demanded no more violence against women, writes Steph Pike
Sarah Everard: Banning vigils is an assault on our rights – CounterBlast

The authorities are wrong to clamp down on public expressions of defiance following the killing of Sarah Everard, argues Alex Snowdon
Shrewsbury 24: Pickets shine a light on the dark state

John Westmoreland reports on a court case that has exposed the state’s use of violence and intimidation against workers in the 1970s
Justifying institutional racism: Met Police defends targeting black people

The Metropolitan Police is now openly admitting its disproportionate use of stop and search against black people and that it has no intention to stop, writes Yonas Makoni
'The police have beat the shit out of me': justice for Mohamud Mohammed Hassan

The death of a 24 year old black man after being in South Wales Police custody and their refusal to release bodycam footage has caused outrage, reports Yonas Makoni
‘Islamo-leftism’: Macron ramps up attacks on Muslims and the left in France

In France, ‘Islamo-gauchisme’ is the watchword of a widening attack on basic freedoms, targeting anti-racists and the left writes Susan Ram
French activists and journalists say ‘no’ to Macron’s ‘gag law’

In Paris, thousands take to the streets to protest against Macron’s new “comprehensive security” law, reports Susan Ram
Spycops: the rottenness at the heart of the British State

As the history of state infiltration of the left is exposed, it is no wonder the government is hurrying through its new SpyCops Bill, argues Terina Hine
The SpyCops bill is an attack on us all: it must be resisted

We shouldn’t imagine that we are powerless and have to accept this assault on our civil liberties lying down, argues Shabbir Lakha
Spy cops bill: Starmer helping the Tory assault on civil liberties

Starmer's tacit support for government legislation that will allow undercover police to commit crimes is a dangerous new low, argues Lucy Nichols
'It isn’t only guns that kill': racism in Britain’s criminal justice system

Attempts to minimise racism in the UK because British police aren’t armed like their US counterparts don’t stack up, argues Luna Williams
Business as usual for police brutality

Black Lives Matter has put racist police brutality in the spotlight, but the police continue to operate with impunity, writes John Clarke
Why we need to defund the police and disarm the state

As part of a series on what next for Black Lives Matter, we repost this article exploring the demand to defund the police
The Met Police is using software that racially profiles ethnic groups

The new 'Origins' programme being implemented by the Met takes their policy of racial profiling and abuse one step further, reports Shabbir Lakha
UK police: racist to the core - CounterBlast

Institutional racism is not just a concept that applies to the US but a very real fact for people of colour in the UK, argues Shabbir Lakha
London marches for Shukri Abdi

A march for justice for Shukri Abdi advances another important campaign in the battle against systemic racism, reports Lucy Nichols
Fascist thugs attack anti-racist protesters in London

The police failed Black Lives Matter protesters who were attacked by fascists in Trafalgar Square, reports Steph Pike
London: BLM protesters keep up the pressure

Protesters march to Trafalgar Square after inspiring rally in Hyde Park to continue the renewed fight against systemic racism, reports Harry Welch
Boris Johnson, statues and staying in the streets

As Johnson launches lazy attacks on the movement, now is no time to retreat, argues Lindsey German
The uprising on Trump's doorstep: Black Lives Matter in DC

The Black Lives Matter protests in Washington DC are taking the fight straight to Trump, reports Shabbir Lakha based on an interview with Sarah Govan
Black people protesting racism are not thugs - CounterBlast 8 June

Johnson’s attempt to demonise protesters in Bristol reveals his true colours, argues Lucy Nichols
#BLM: reports from a day of protest

Thousands take to streets across the country in uncompromising stand against systemic racism
The message from London is clear: Black Lives Matter

For the third time this week, tens of thousands of people gathered in London to demand an end to police racism, reports Lucy Nichols
Justice for George Floyd: model resolution and window poster

Counterfire has produced a model resolution you can pass in your organisation and a poster you can download to put on your window or in your area
The Battle of the Beanfield: an important anniversary in the history of state brutality

Cathy Augustine, Co-vice Chair of the Labour Representation Committee, remembers the Battle of the Beanfield, 35 years after the largest mass arrest of civilians in English legal history
Black lives matter: Brixton takes to the streets

A young angry crowd marched to oppose the murder of George Floyd and highlight racism and police brutality in the UK, reports Dave Randall
Minneapolis: a popular revolt against racism

The current unrest in Minneapolis is an explosive response to endemic police racism, writes Sean Ledwith
London demands justice for George Floyd

"No justice, no peace" rang out on the streets of London as protesters marched in solidarity with Minneapolis, reports Lucy Nichols
It’s a big deal that the outrage expressed over George Floyd’s death was massive and multiracial

Class struggle doesn’t go away in a pandemic, writes August Nimtz
Justice for George Floyd: Minneapolis rebels against racist police

Mass protests in Minneapolis continue for a third day in active defiance to the police after the racist murder of George Floyd, writes Shabbir Lakha
Why are the police racist?

Racism is an indispensable tool in the police’s mission to protect a deliberately exploitative system, argues Lucy Nichols
The Jackson State massacre: the savagery of state-led racist violence

50 years on from the massacre of black students at Jackson State College, systemic racism and police brutality remain prevalent in the United States, writes Alyssa Cassata
Covid-19, lockdown, and civil liberties

As the crisis continues, we need to make sure that our rights are not permanently eroded, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh
Covid-19, the state and civil liberties: the case of France

In France Macron is rushing through legislation to give enforcement squads enhanced powers to control individual behaviour, reports Susan Ram
Victoria Park is the People’s Park: reopen it now

Closing parks is a counterproductive act of petty authoritarianism, argue Alistair Cartwright and Chris Nineham
Dear Extinction Rebellion, the police are not your friends

The police are an institutionally racist, anti-working class organisation and no amount of love-bombing will change that, argues Shabbir Lakha
Toby Young is wrong again: the threat to free speech comes from the right

Right wingers like Toby Young are no friends of free speech and the left must fight back, argues Chris Nineham
The government's attacks on Gypsies, Roma and Travellers are an attack on us all

The government consultation aiming to criminalise the lives of some of Britain's most vulnerable and persecuted groups is disgraceful and must be resisted by us all, writes Norbert Lawrie
Cyprus: an attack on women everywhere

We must all do our part to fight systematic rape culture, writes Elly Badcock
Hillsborough: ‘the greatest miscarriage of justice of our times’

Dragan Plavšić looks at the struggle to get to the truth behind the Hillsborough tragedy
Londoners defy the XR ban to defend the right to protest

In defiance of the police ban on Extinction Rebellion protests in London, thousands protested in Trafalgar Square on Wednesday, reports Chris Nineham
Police ban on Extinction Rebellion is an attack on our civil liberties

The threat to our civil liberties from the police banning Extinction Rebellion protests is dangerous and we must resist, argues Sweta Choudhury
Boris Johnson’s law and order proposals are a scam

As ever, Boris Johnson's gung-ho attitude is designed to distract, writes Eleftheria Kousta
Stonewall 50

Marking the half-centenary of the Stonewall riots, Morgan Daniels looks at the history of the Stonewall Inn and what it means for radical queer politics everywhere
No to extraditing Assange, no to war

British judges must not collaborate in America's war crimes, argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg
What's to blame for knife crime?

As more young lives are being tragically lost to knife crime, we must demand an end to austerity and investment in our communities, the very opposite of the Tories response of racism and repression, argues Julie Al-Hinai
Knife crime and youth violence: poverty, powerlessness and a way ahead

A commission has found that austerity has played a central role in creating the conditions for the spike in knife crime around the country, reports Kiri Tunks
The End of Policing - book review

The End of Policing exposes the political purposes behind the police, and the damage caused by the modern increase in their coercive power, argues Peter Stäuber
From stop and search to 'hands up, don't shoot'

Stop and search powers continue to be used disproportionately against black and minority ethnic people. Floyd Codlin investigates this ongoing problem
Stop Tommy Robinson, All out for 17 November - Counterfire Freesheet November 2018

Opposing the far right, people's vote, police racism, precarious workers, climate chaos, universal credit and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet
North West London come out in voice against police violence in Harlesden and racism in wider society

Protestors came out in support of a man who was violently attacked by police in Harlesden, and called for a fightback against racism in society
Orange is the new black - analysis

Beyond the sly humour and emotive character interactions lies a story of deep institutional repression and desire for radical new approaches to justice, argues Jago Corry
Cricklewood attack: it’s not terrorism if it’s Islamophobic

Media reports and the police response to the Islamophobic attack in Cricklewood shows that it's only terrorism if the perpetrators are Muslim argues Shabbir Lakha
Taking back the city: direct action amid the Dublin housing emergency

Homelessness is on the rise and the state is siding with the landlords. Josh Newman reports from Dublin
Turkey police attack Saturday Mothers vigil

A statement from Solidarity with the People of Turkey on the recent attack against the Saturday Mothers
Spy Kids: children being used for covert ops

New revelations of police and intelligence agencies using children as spies is a chilling practice of child exploitation argues Jamie Wright
Spanish women take to the streets to demand justice for women and an end to male violence

The acquittal in Pamplona is not an isolated case. Women are taking to the streets and demanding justice, reports Steph Pike
Catalan Spring? Resistance fills the streets as ex-President arrested in Germany

Marching on the motorways and confronting police violence, the mass movement has returned with a new defiance, reports Jack Sherwood
Not One Step Back: Catalonia rises in protest as 5 ex-ministers imprisoned

Escalating repression by the Spanish state has sparked huge anger and an appetite for militant action, reports Mathew Barton from Tarragona
What's happening in Catalonia is an assault on democracy

As the wave of repression from the Spanish state continues, Catalonia needs our solidarity now more than ever, argues Chris Bambery
Institutional racism encouraged the murder of Bijan Ebrahimi

The actions of the authorities showed not only gross neglect, discrimination and injustice but in fact exacerbated hostility towards Ebrahimi, writes Naz Massoumi
Terrell Decosta: police under scrutiny

The problems with policing are not unique to the US as Terrell Decosta Jones-Burton becomes the latest victim in the UK
Rashan Charles: police racism hasn't gone away

Young black men have every right to fear the police, argues Daniel Kebede
No cover up: Justice4Rash

The death of Rashan Charles raises serious questions about institutional racism in the police force
Rotherham 12: victory against injustice

Landmark victory as 'Rotherham 12' found not guilty, but questions need to be answered about South Yorkshire Police's failings, argues Maz Saleem
18 June 1984: remembering Orgreave

As the government announces that there will be no inquiry in to the tragic events at Orgreave, Sheena Moore takes a look back at what happened
Hillsborough: Football’s greatest hurt

Mark Perryman argues that Hillsborough needs to be understood not just as a human tragedy but a consequence of how football was changing in the 1980s
Did you hear? Another Muslim murdered in the USA

With Islamophobia rising across the world, why do the media continue to ignore the fact that #MuslimLivesMatter asks Maz Saleem?
The Met documentary - an exercise in mass deception

Lee Jasper takes issue with the BBC's new 'fly on the wall' documentary about the Metropolitan Police
3 police officers forcibly strip a vulnerable child without calling her mum. Is that acceptable?

A 14-year-old girl, who had been a victim of sexual abuse was arrested and forcibly stripped of all her clothes by police officers - It's not an isolated case write Shauneen Lambe and Paola Uccellari
Free to protest: police back down over planned charges after movement defiance

After insisting that protestors pay for closing the roads the Metropolitan Police have now backed down in the face of defiance. We are stronger than we think writes Chris Nineham

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Police

Police

Over 20 years after the Macpherson report was originally published, racism remains endemic in British police forces, argues Terina Hine

Protesters gathered in Parliament Square to oppose the Police and Crime Bill that is set to criminalise GRT way of life, reports Lucy Nichols

Channel 4’s new documentary paints a vivid picture of the police’s systemic mistreatment of black people, argues Jamal Elaheebocus

Kill the Bill protests hit the street around the country again, Yonas Makoni and Jan Culley report from protests in London and Ceredigion

The community resistance to the Tories in Glasgow is the beginning of what could prove to be an explosive few years, argues David Jamieson

On International Workers' Day, protesters marched for a third national day of action against the impending expansion of police powers. Counterfire reports from around the country

On International Workers' Day, protesters around the country are preparing to take to the streets for a third nationwide day of action against the Police and Crime Bill, and in Scotland for independence

In this compelling testimony to the Spycops Inquiry, a woman using the pseudonym Madeleine tells her story of how she became part of the revolutionary left and how her trust was betrayed by the undercover police

For a second national day of action, protesters marched in towns and cities across the country to oppose the Tory crackdown on protest and police violence; Counterfire members report

Lucy Nichols on why we need to bring together all the strands of opposition to the Tories onto the streets at the People’s Assembly national demonstration on 26 June

Democratic rights and the class struggle, the new normal to be won, resisting Myanmar's military, the latest on workplace struggles across Britain and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

As the bicentenary of The Guardian approaches, Des Freedman examines its contradictory attitude towards social change

The protest against the Police and Crime bill in Aberystwyth drew on the history of resistance in the area and what protest has achieved, writes Jan Culley

Thousands marched in towns and cities across the country on Saturday in opposition to the Police and Crime bill. Counterfire reports from a number of the protests

Hal Draper’s classic account of the 1960s Berkeley student free-speech movement reveals enduring patterns that remain important for all activists, argues Joshua Newman

Protesters in Kingston turned out to oppose the Police Bill as part of a number of demonstrations that took place around the country over the weekend, reports Sandra Keen

Chris Nineham speaks to David Jamieson about the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill, and the ways social movements can resist attacks on the right to protest

Counterfire's weekly digest rounding up the stories of working people getting organised and fighting back

On Tuesday evening, thousands protested for a third day against the government’s plans to expand police powers against the protesters, reports Yonas Makoni

Vigils took place all around the country on Saturday evening despite attempts to cancel them, to honour Sarah Everard and to demand an end to violence against women

Defiant against the police, a vigil in Clapham Common honoured Sarah Everard and demanded no more violence against women, writes Steph Pike

The authorities are wrong to clamp down on public expressions of defiance following the killing of Sarah Everard, argues Alex Snowdon

John Westmoreland reports on a court case that has exposed the state’s use of violence and intimidation against workers in the 1970s

The Metropolitan Police is now openly admitting its disproportionate use of stop and search against black people and that it has no intention to stop, writes Yonas Makoni

The death of a 24 year old black man after being in South Wales Police custody and their refusal to release bodycam footage has caused outrage, reports Yonas Makoni

In France, ‘Islamo-gauchisme’ is the watchword of a widening attack on basic freedoms, targeting anti-racists and the left writes Susan Ram

In Paris, thousands take to the streets to protest against Macron’s new “comprehensive security” law, reports Susan Ram

As the history of state infiltration of the left is exposed, it is no wonder the government is hurrying through its new SpyCops Bill, argues Terina Hine

We shouldn’t imagine that we are powerless and have to accept this assault on our civil liberties lying down, argues Shabbir Lakha

Starmer's tacit support for government legislation that will allow undercover police to commit crimes is a dangerous new low, argues Lucy Nichols

Attempts to minimise racism in the UK because British police aren’t armed like their US counterparts don’t stack up, argues Luna Williams

Black Lives Matter has put racist police brutality in the spotlight, but the police continue to operate with impunity, writes John Clarke

As part of a series on what next for Black Lives Matter, we repost this article exploring the demand to defund the police

The new 'Origins' programme being implemented by the Met takes their policy of racial profiling and abuse one step further, reports Shabbir Lakha

Institutional racism is not just a concept that applies to the US but a very real fact for people of colour in the UK, argues Shabbir Lakha

A march for justice for Shukri Abdi advances another important campaign in the battle against systemic racism, reports Lucy Nichols

The police failed Black Lives Matter protesters who were attacked by fascists in Trafalgar Square, reports Steph Pike

Protesters march to Trafalgar Square after inspiring rally in Hyde Park to continue the renewed fight against systemic racism, reports Harry Welch

As Johnson launches lazy attacks on the movement, now is no time to retreat, argues Lindsey German

The Black Lives Matter protests in Washington DC are taking the fight straight to Trump, reports Shabbir Lakha based on an interview with Sarah Govan

Johnson’s attempt to demonise protesters in Bristol reveals his true colours, argues Lucy Nichols

Thousands take to streets across the country in uncompromising stand against systemic racism

For the third time this week, tens of thousands of people gathered in London to demand an end to police racism, reports Lucy Nichols

Counterfire has produced a model resolution you can pass in your organisation and a poster you can download to put on your window or in your area

Cathy Augustine, Co-vice Chair of the Labour Representation Committee, remembers the Battle of the Beanfield, 35 years after the largest mass arrest of civilians in English legal history

A young angry crowd marched to oppose the murder of George Floyd and highlight racism and police brutality in the UK, reports Dave Randall

The current unrest in Minneapolis is an explosive response to endemic police racism, writes Sean Ledwith

"No justice, no peace" rang out on the streets of London as protesters marched in solidarity with Minneapolis, reports Lucy Nichols

Class struggle doesn’t go away in a pandemic, writes August Nimtz

Mass protests in Minneapolis continue for a third day in active defiance to the police after the racist murder of George Floyd, writes Shabbir Lakha

Racism is an indispensable tool in the police’s mission to protect a deliberately exploitative system, argues Lucy Nichols

50 years on from the massacre of black students at Jackson State College, systemic racism and police brutality remain prevalent in the United States, writes Alyssa Cassata

As the crisis continues, we need to make sure that our rights are not permanently eroded, argues Elaine Graham-Leigh

In France Macron is rushing through legislation to give enforcement squads enhanced powers to control individual behaviour, reports Susan Ram

Closing parks is a counterproductive act of petty authoritarianism, argue Alistair Cartwright and Chris Nineham

The police are an institutionally racist, anti-working class organisation and no amount of love-bombing will change that, argues Shabbir Lakha

Right wingers like Toby Young are no friends of free speech and the left must fight back, argues Chris Nineham

The government consultation aiming to criminalise the lives of some of Britain's most vulnerable and persecuted groups is disgraceful and must be resisted by us all, writes Norbert Lawrie

We must all do our part to fight systematic rape culture, writes Elly Badcock

Dragan Plavšić looks at the struggle to get to the truth behind the Hillsborough tragedy

In defiance of the police ban on Extinction Rebellion protests in London, thousands protested in Trafalgar Square on Wednesday, reports Chris Nineham

The threat to our civil liberties from the police banning Extinction Rebellion protests is dangerous and we must resist, argues Sweta Choudhury

As ever, Boris Johnson's gung-ho attitude is designed to distract, writes Eleftheria Kousta

Marking the half-centenary of the Stonewall riots, Morgan Daniels looks at the history of the Stonewall Inn and what it means for radical queer politics everywhere

British judges must not collaborate in America's war crimes, argues Reuben Bard-Rosenberg

As more young lives are being tragically lost to knife crime, we must demand an end to austerity and investment in our communities, the very opposite of the Tories response of racism and repression, argues Julie Al-Hinai

A commission has found that austerity has played a central role in creating the conditions for the spike in knife crime around the country, reports Kiri Tunks

The End of Policing exposes the political purposes behind the police, and the damage caused by the modern increase in their coercive power, argues Peter Stäuber

Stop and search powers continue to be used disproportionately against black and minority ethnic people. Floyd Codlin investigates this ongoing problem

Opposing the far right, people's vote, police racism, precarious workers, climate chaos, universal credit and more in this month's Counterfire freesheet

Protestors came out in support of a man who was violently attacked by police in Harlesden, and called for a fightback against racism in society

Beyond the sly humour and emotive character interactions lies a story of deep institutional repression and desire for radical new approaches to justice, argues Jago Corry

Media reports and the police response to the Islamophobic attack in Cricklewood shows that it's only terrorism if the perpetrators are Muslim argues Shabbir Lakha