(Non-Afl): My
Lords, I thank the noble Lord, , for securing this important
debate. He commented on the fact that the former Home Secretary
received a standing ovation for announcing that the police would
in future visit every home that had been burgled. It was amazing
that she thought it was something to boast about or something
that should be applauded. It is a complete disgrace that the
police have not had the resources to visit homes that have been
burgled. In the majority of cases, people who have been burgled
have not even had the police visit them at all. It amazes me that
you expect to be applauded for presiding over a situation such as
that and announcing that it is going to be changed.
I want to raise two issues, both shocking instances of gang
violence. The victims in both cases were children. I draw your
Lordships’ and the Government’s attention to the shocking murder
of Dea-John Reid. He was a 14-year-old black lad from Birmingham,
killed by a gang in the city last year. What more can the
Government do to secure justice for him and for his family? I
have spoken about this case in the House before and I shall do so
again and again until justice is secured for his family.
One evening in May last year, after an altercation between two
groups of teenagers—the sort of thing that happens
routinely—Dea-John was chased down a busy street by a group of
five males, including two grown men, shouting racist abuse. One
of them, who was 14 years old at the time, killed him with a
knife. A 14-year-old black boy was chased by a gang and stabbed
to death. His mum, Joan Reid, said he was
“hunted by a lynch mob reminiscent of ‘Mississippi Burning’”.
Following an earlier altercation, the boy who killed Dea-John had
phoned George Khan, aged 38, who was drinking in a pub with his
friend, 35-year-old Michael Shields. They collected the three
boys in Khan’s car and, the court was told,
“set off to hunt down the Dea-John group”.
According to the prosecuting barrister:
“Khan carried the plan to seek retribution forwards and actively
encouraged the attack.”
A witness said that Khan pointed and shouted, “Oi, you …”, using
the N-word. Dea-John and his friends ran but he went in a
different direction from the group to get away. Khan and the
other defendants ran after him. A witness said that the men had
their tops off, using them to cover their faces. They were
carrying weapons. Khan allegedly shouted “Bang him out” and “Eff
him up” to one of the teenagers. These were grown men. If that is
not incitement, tell me what is.
The 14-year-old lad had asthma, ran out of breath, was caught,
stabbed and killed. Imagine it: on the streets of Birmingham last
year, a boy chased by a racist mob, cornered, stabbed and killed.
This is incredible. No one doubts that those five people were
responsible, but four of the five defendants who chased him,
including the two adults, were found not guilty by an all-white
jury. The fifth, aged 15, was convicted of just manslaughter. He
will be free in less than three years. Someone in Birmingham
asked me what lessons have been learned from this—a gang shouting
racist abuse and the stabbing of a black boy?
The noble Lord, , will remember Birmingham in the
1980s, as I do. Failings of the police and the criminal justice
system resulted in riots on the streets. Handsworth, Lozells—on
fire. There is never any justification for such behaviour.
Dea-John Reid’s mum called for calm in the black community. It
listened, because it trusted the authorities, but it has clearly
been let down. Why are those men walking free? Was there a
problem with the evidence? Did the CPS not prosecute it properly?
Did someone get to the jury? What happened? Why has there not
been an immediate public outcry about this?
If this had been in London, it would have been a national
scandal. It was a racist attack—an issue about knife crime,
community safety, policing and the failure of the criminal
justice system. The Opposition should be all over this, holding
the Government to account. Why am I the only person who has
raised this in a detailed way in either Chamber of Parliament? I
want Ministers to look at it. I think the Attorney-General should
refer it to the Court of Appeal. I know that we cannot have
political direction of the police and the courts, but this cannot
be allowed to stand. Will Ministers call in the chief constable
and the CPS of the West Midlands to find out what has gone on.
Could other charges be brought, such as affray or racially
motivated assault? Something has to be done to secure justice for
this family and for the black community in Birmingham.
The second case I want to raise is the racist attack on a group
of Jewish children celebrating Hanukkah in
Oxford Street last December. They were attacked by a mob of
anti-Semites who made Nazi salutes, yelled, “Eff Jews;
eff Israel”, spat at the children and threatened to
smash the windows of their bus. The whole terrifying incident was
caught on camera yet, despite clear CCTV evidence, mobile phone
footage and multiple witnesses, investigators concluded their
investigation, and the attackers remain at large.
The noble Lord, Lord Carlile, who is a former government reviewer
of anti-terror legislation, said:
“The police must start to prioritise violent and explicitly
racist attacks, especially where there is photographic evidence
of a kind which would enable the perpetrator to be
identified.”
Referring to this, and to another attack in London last year, he
said:
“Both of these cases are examples of institutional failure to
prioritise significant cases involving serious danger to members
of the public. Letting this slide makes other incidents and even
possible terrorist incidents more likely.”
The Board of Deputies has demanded an urgent meeting with the
Home Secretary. Dave Rich, the director of policy at
the Community Security
Trust said:
“This comes in the same week that the Home Office revealed only
eight % of all racist and religious hate crime lead to a charge
or summons.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism said:
“If even high-profile hate crimes such as this are not solved and
the perpetrators brought to justice, what hope do the many other
crimes against Jewish people have of being
satisfactorily investigated?”
That campaign, the Jewish News and the
Jewish Chronicle have jointly offered a reward
of £30,000 leading to the conviction of any of the perpetrators.
I draw attention to my declaration in the register as a columnist
for the Jewish Chronicle. Will the Minister or
his colleagues speak to the Met and find out what else can be
done to bring those responsible to justice?
