Tributes to Wolverhampton ex-mayor who served city for 38 years
"John served the city as a councillor with great distinction for almost 40 years," he added."Our thoughts are with his friends and family at this time."Dudley Council shadow leader councillor Adam Aston called him a "true son of Wolverhampton" and a "legendary campaigner for Labour".He was "always a friend to Dudley" and would be greatly missed, Aston added.
Honorary aldermen are invited to attend full council meetings in a non-participating capacity and invited to various civic functions.Their names are inscribed on a roll of honour board on the ground floor of the Civic Centre.
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Daily Mail
6 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Labour councillor Ricky Jones tells jury he 'wasn't thinking' and was 'upset and overwhelmed' at time he urged crowd to 'cut the throats' of far-right Southport protesters
Labour councillor Ricky Jones told a jury he 'wasn't thinking' when he told the crowd to 'cut [the] throats' of far-right protesters at an anti-racism protest. Jones, 58, who is on trial for encouraging violent disorder, attended a counter-demonstration on Hoe Street, Walthamstow on August 7, 2024, in response to anti-migrant rallies sparked by the murders of three young girls in Southport last year. Ellie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, nine were killed by Axel Rudakubana, who also injured several children and adults at a Taylor Swift themed dance class on July 29, 2024. The incident sparked riots nationwide after misinformation spread online that killer, Rudakubana, was a Muslim asylum seeker who had recently arrived in Britain on a small boat. Last August, a far-right march was scheduled to happen outside Waltham Forest Immigration Bureau, and as a response, a counter demonstration had been organised nearby, Snaresbrook Crown Court was told. No far right demonstrators turned up to the immigration centre, but, the counter demonstration went ahead. That day, wearing a black polo top and surrounded by cheering supporters, the councillor said: 'You've got women and children using these trains during the summer holidays. They don't give a s*** about who they hurt. 'They are disgusting Nazi fascists. We need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all.' He also drew his finger across his throat as he spoke to the crowd. After videos of the alleged incident circulated online, the councillor, who had represented Dartford since 2019, was suspended. He was also arrested and interviewed at Brixton Police Station on August 8. Jones denies the charge of encouraging violence, maintaining he said the remarks in the 'heat of the moment' and that they were not intended to be 'taken literally'. He told the court his comment did not refer to far-right protesters involved in riots at the time, but to those who had reportedly left National Front stickers on a train with razor blades hidden behind them. Jones, who at the time worked as an official for the Transport Salaried Staff's Association (TSSA) union, later sent an edited version of his speech video to union members, the court heard. Asked by his defence barrister, Hossein Zahir KC, why he edited the video, Jones replied: 'When I had time to view the footage after the demonstration, I was shocked at what I had actually said. 'I was horrified. Under no circumstances did I want to portray that to anybody, so I edited that last bit out.' The unedited video was eventually posted on social media platform X, where it attracted millions of views, the trial heard. Jones told jurors he felt 'very emotional and very upset' after receiving pictures, the day before the rally, of National Front stickers that had been left on a train, which had razor blades hidden behind them. He had also received reports from union members that more razor blades had been found stuck between seats, Jones added. 'I was very concerned about what had happened on the train. I was thinking, this [the speech] is a good opportunity to raise what happened.' The father-of-four described the mood in the crowd at the time as 'happy and joyful', adding: 'There clearly wasn't any upset or anger from any people in that scene, because they clearly knew it was about what happened on the train.' Prosecutor Ben Holt, cross-examining, told the defendant: 'Your words about slitting people's throats were not cheerful or happy.' Jones replied: 'I totally agree, I'm ashamed.' The defendant however denied intending to encourage violence towards far-right protesters. 'What violence could have anyone caused to those people in the train?' Jones said. 'It was nonsensical - I didn't believe there was a risk.' Jones, of Dartford, denies one count of encouraging violent disorder.
The Guardian
6 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Yvette Cooper solves one headache for justice system but may have caused another
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Fast-forward 12 years to Southport, and Merseyside police were left making decisions on whether to release information on the ethnicity and nationality of the killer of three young girls in order to dispel public anger that had spilled on to the streets. Senior officers had to deal with major criminal incidents and took days to dispel social media untruths. Such disinformation was at least partly responsible for last summer's riots. At the time, Merseyside police said they were not giving out more information because of the contempt of court rules. It is hoped that the new guidance will mean police will no longer be left flat-footed when responding to viral social media posts by extremists. Decisions on releasing such information will remain with police forces, with wider legal and ethical considerations also taken into account, the National Police Chiefs' Council said, but verifying a suspect's immigration status is up to the Home Office. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion There is concern among some former police and race campaigners that Cooper's change will undo the restrictions imposed after Leveson and fuel racist sentiments. The former Met chief superintendent Dal Babu has warned of the 'unintended consequences' of the new guidance, which he said could lead to more online speculation in cases where these details are not released. 'The danger is there will be an expectation for police to release information on every single occasion,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. The Home Office insists that it will not be encouraging the release of ethnicity and immigration status in all cases, and there are notable occasions when it has not. But a former race adviser to No 10 told the Guardian: 'Yvette has unwittingly opened a Pandora's box. After every charge, everyone with a union jack on their X bio will demand from the police the ethnicity of the suspect. 'The Home Office is going to to get even more demands for the asylum status of every black or brown suspect. It is going to be chaos, and has handed Nigel Farage another stick to beat Labour with.' There could well be a knock-on effect on mainstream reporting and community relations, campaigners believe. Enny Choudhury, from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said: 'Releasing the ethnicity of everyone suspected of serious crimes will do nothing to help victims or secure justice – it will simply fuel mistrust, deepen divisions, and make Black and brown communities more vulnerable to prejudice and harm.'
The Guardian
6 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Plans for UK police to reveal suspects' ethnicity a recipe for ‘dog-whistle politics', say campaigners
Plans to disclose the ethnicity and immigration status of criminal suspects in the UK have been condemned by race campaigners for setting a dangerous precedent for 'dog-whistle politics', which will make 'Black and brown communities more vulnerable'. The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has welcomed new police guidelines released on Wednesday which encourage forces to release the race and nationality of those charged in high-profile cases. It is meant to combat misinformation on social media, which spread last summer after the murder of three schoolgirls in Southport. False information about the killer's nationality, religion and asylum status fuelled widespread unrest throughout the country. But race campaigners believe the move may encourage focus on the racial background of suspects, and will lead to further rightwing conspiracy theories when information is not released to the public. Enny Choudhury, the co-head of legal at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said: 'Releasing the ethnicity of everyone suspected of serious crimes will … simply fuel mistrust, deepen divisions, and make Black and brown communities more vulnerable to prejudice and harm. 'Some point to cases like Southport, where rumours were quashed by releasing specific information. But building a blanket policy around this is dangerous. It turns race into a variable in policing and public debate– when we know the vast majority of serious crimes, including sexual offences, are committed by white men. 'The role of the justice system should be to unite communities in pursuit of justice, not to single people out because of their ethnicity.' Peter Herbert, from the Society of Black Lawyers, questioned the role of the police around issues of ethnicity and nationality when forces still face allegations of institutional racism. He said: 'The disclosure of ethnicity in particular is especially sensitive. People have never committed crimes on the basis of their ethnicity or nationality, and therefore the whole premise about releasing this information in certain cases sets a dangerous precedent. 'One only has to remember the misinformation the surrounded the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes to understand the police themselves are often guilty of putting out misinformation which exacerbates public concern and fear. 'Conspiracy theorists are rarely satisfied by official announcements and therefore tagging ethnicity and nationality, even in a limited amount of cases, opens a dangerous door to widespread xenophobia and racism, enabling the criminal justice system to be used for dog-whistle politics.' The guidance, which comes into immediate effect, was developed by the National Police Chiefs' Council in recognition of 'public concerns', and to ensure police processes were 'fit for purpose in an age of rapid information spread'. It comes after authorities were accused by Reform UK of hiding the identities and immigration status of two men, reported to be Afghan asylum seekers, charged over the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Warwickshire. In May, when a car ploughed into crowds celebrating Liverpool FC's winning of the Premier League title, Merseyside police disclosed that the man arrested was white and British, in order to quash rumours of a terrorist attack in the public interest. Decisions on releasing such information will remain with police forces, with wider legal and ethical considerations also taken into account, the NPCC said. Verifying a suspect's immigration status will be up to the Home Office, not the police. Diana Johnson, the policing minister, said the government will want police to release these details in 'most cases'. She told the BBC that disinformation was a 'bigger problem for society' and said that the government was working with social media providers to tackle the issue. The former Metropolitan police chief superintendent Dal Babu has warned of the 'unintended consequences' of the new guidance, which he said could lead to more online speculation in cases where these details are not released. 'The danger is there will be an expectation for police to release information on every single occasion,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
