A fortnightly resource for anti-racist and social justice campaigns, highlighting key events in the UK and Europe.

ASYLUM AND MIGRATION

Asylum and migrant rights

22 April: Eight leading law firms join the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants to offer free advice to Windrush scandal victims after the revelation that in two years, fewer than 2,000 of the estimated 12,000 people eligible have claimed compensation. (Guardian, 22 April 2021)

27 April: The UN refugee agency UNHCR and the charity Safe Passage accuse the UK of leaving refugees stranded in Europe as it emerges that post-Brexit the government has created no processes to transfer those eligible to join family members in the UK. (Guardian, 27 April 2021)

29 April: The High Court rules that the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition applied to migrant families of British citizens is unlawful as it fails to safeguard children’s welfare. (Free Movement, 4 May 2021)

30 April: A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report warns that delays in the statelessness determination procedure causes deterioration in the mental health of claimants. Find the report here. (Electronic Immigration Network, 30 April 2021)

30 April: Nearly 200 refugee, migrant rights, legal and faith groups sign a public statement condemning the New Plan for Immigration as vague, cruel, unworkable and potentially unlawful, while 76 charities and community groups across Scotland sign an open letter to Boris Johnson arguing that the proposed changes to the asylum system are contrary to international refugee law. (Guardian, 30 April; The National, 30 April 2021)

NEW: Playing the Refugee Convention

With the public consultation for the government’s New Plan for Immigration closing on 6 May, it's vital to respond and call out the illegality, impracticality & immorality of the asylum proposals, writes @FrancesWebber5https://t.co/urStZXemSD

— Institute of Race Relations (@IRR_News) April 30, 2021

1 May: The Refugee Council reports that private landlords are turning away homeless refugees evicted by the Home Office after the grant of asylum, and call on mayoral candidates to commit to a fund for refugees’ housing deposits in London. Find the report here. (Evening Standard, 1 May 2021)

Borders and internal controls

21 April: In the Netherlands, the body of a man who most likely died of hypothermia is found in the landing gear of a plane after a flight from Nigeria to Amsterdam. (Independent, 21 April 2021)

21 April: The Croatian constitutional court rules admissible a complaint lodged by the Afghan family of Madine Hosseini, who died in 2017 aged 6 falling under a train near the Serbian border. After her death, her family were returned to Serbia, which they say is not a safe country. (N1, 21 April 2021)

23 April: Questions are raised about racial profiling post-Brexit after freedom of information requests show that more immigration checks take place in Belfast than in any other UK city, with Romanians, Nigerians, Chinese and Pakistanis stopped more frequently than others. (Al Jazeera, 23 April 2021)

23 April: Camden Council in London reveals it has withdrawn from the government’s Rough Sleeping Support Service in response to criticism from homelessness groups that data from the scheme is used by the Home Office to deport migrant rough sleepers. (Camden New Journal, 23 April 2021)

26 April: The Legal Centre Lesvos files a case against Greece in the European Court of Human Rights for abandoning around 200 refugees in rafts off Crete and allegedly sending commandos to beat them up in October 2020, as part of an ‘illegal pushback strategy’. (Guardian, 26 April 2021)

https://twitter.com/lesboslegal/status/1386642585352015875?s=20

30 April: Unicef warns that 114 unaccompanied children were pulled from the Mediterranean in one day last week, in a trend seeing more lone children risking their lives to reach Europe and ending up in Libyan detention centres where violence and exploitation are rife. (Guardian, 30 April 2021)

Reception and detention

20 April: The Court of Appeal rules that a lack of procedural safeguards in prisons to identify vulnerable immigration detainees and enable their release is unlawful. (Morning Star, 20 April 2021)

22 April: In Greece, construction begins of a three-metre-high wall around the Nea Kavala camp, turning it into a closed camp with entry and exit monitored with electronic cards. (Are You Syrious, 22 April 2021)

23 April: The Refugee Council reports that asylum seekers accommodated in hotels are left without shoes, given inadequate food and unable to access basic healthcare, including the COVID-19 vaccination. Find the report here. (Independent, 23 April 2021)

23 April: A woman whose baby died in asylum accommodation sues the Home Office for negligence, claiming that staff refused to call an ambulance. Her lawyers claim that her treatment is an outcome of hostile environment policies. (Guardian, 23 April 2021)

27 April: A report by the Irish children’s commissioner warns of child protection issues in the direct provision system, including parents wrongly being told that their children may be removed from their care if they did not supervise them properly amid a broader ‘culture of fear’. (Irish Examiner, 27 April 2021) 

27 April: The Home Office resumes evictions of some refused asylum seekers from their accommodation. They will be given 21 days’ notice of eviction and those who agree can remain in accommodation until a removal flight is arranged. (Guardian, 27 April 2021)

27 April: A report by the British Red Cross says unsuitable accommodation for asylum seekers is exacerbating existing mental health problems and creating new ones. Find the report here. (Morning Star, 27 April 2021) 

28 April:  The House of Commons approves legislation to make release from detention more difficult for suspected trafficking victims, by requiring them to provide medical evidence that continued detention would harm them. (Independent, 28 April 2021)

29 April: The Home Office withdraws plans to build a temporary holding facility housing 500 asylum seekers on Ministry of Defence land in Barton Stacey, Hampshire, after scores of objections from politicians, human rights groups and residents. (Basingstoke Gazette, 29 April 2021)

3 May: HM Chief Inspector of Prisons report on Harmondsworth IRC finds failure to achieve acceptable standards in relation to detainees’ free movement, treatment of vulnerable detainees, living conditions in units and failure to assess detainees’ language and learning needs. Find the report here. (Electronic Immigration Network, 3 May 2021)

4 May: The San Marino government approves a bill allowing citizens and residents over the age of 25 to become foster parents and host unaccompanied minors currently living in migrant centres and other hosting facilities. (InfoMigrants, 4 May 2021) 

Criminalising solidarity

26 April: In Bavaria, Germany, a district court acquits a Benedictine monk of aiding illegal immigration for giving church sanctuary to an asylum seeker from Gaza, accepting that he acted out of conscience. (Der Spiegel, 26 April 2021)

Citizenship

23 April: The High Court rules that the Home Office’s application of the ‘good character’ requirement to victims of the Windrush scandal applying for British citizenship is irrational, enabling anyone refused on this ground to reapply. The Home Office appeals the judgment. (DPG Law; Guardian, 23 April 2021)

30 April: A report by Reprieve reveals that over half the British women and girls detained in  north-east Syrian camps meet the legal definition of trafficking victims, as they were subjected to sexual and other forms of exploitation, yet the government has stripped them of citizenship and abandoned them. (Morning Star, 30 April 2021)

Deportation

21 April: In Denmark, eleven out of twelve Syria country experts who advise the immigration service condemn the policy of returns to Damascus. General Numeir, head of Syria’s immigration authority, is the only dissenting voice. (BT, 21 April 2021)

22 April: A government lawyer reveals that of 14 Vietnamese nationals forcibly removed from the UK on a deportation charter flight the day before, six had restricted opportunities to access legal advice before the flight, in breach of Home Office rules. (Guardian, 22 April 2021)

26 April: In Germany, the city authorities in Ludwigshafen agree to investigate the deportation of an Armenian family, one of whose children was separated from his family during the deportation and has since gone missing in Germany. (Migazin, 26 April 2021)

25 April: EU countries rule out bilateral return agreements with Britain to help the deportation of refugees to Europe, thwarting Home Office plans to replace the Dublin Regulation, which allowed it pre-Brexit to return asylum seekers to EU member states. (Independent, 25 April 2021)

POLICING, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND MILITARY

21 April: A Devon and Cornwall police sergeant who sent fellow police officers in a WhatsApp group an encrypted image of George Floyd and a porn star superimposed on the police officer who killed him, is found not guilty of offences under the Communications Act. (Devon Live, 21 April 2021)

21 April: The French interior minister announces the creation of new high-ranking post in the police dedicated to curbing ‘irregular immigration’ in the Greater Paris area. (Le Monde, 21 April 2021)

21 April: Belgian broadcaster RTBF reveals that the police officer sentenced to a year in jail for assaulting a Sudanese migrant in Brussels has suffered no disciplinary action and is still working at his job. (rtbf, 21 April 2021) 

22 April: A media investigation into the ‘unacceptable’ police response to a peaceful march against police violence in Brussels, Belgium, in January 2021, now subject to a judicial investigation, documents a pattern of arbitrary arrest, beatings in the cells of the Etterbeek barracks, racist and sexist insults, and non-compliance with coronavirus health regulations. (Paris Match, 22 April 2021)

22 April: In France, the Bordeaux public prosecutor opens an investigation into racist inscriptions written by students of the National Judicial School, the college for future judges.  (Mediapart, 22 April 2021)

22 April: The four people arrested while staging demonstrations against the prosecution of the ’Colston 4’ in Bristol are to receive apologies and substantial damages from Avon and Somerset police after the force admits that its declaration of a blanket ban on protest was unlawful. (Guardian, 22 April 2021)

21 April: In France, a TV investigation, ‘Special Envoy’, reveals that Amar Benmohamed, a whistleblower on racism in the Paris police, has been victimised by the authorities and that one of the police officers under investigation for the assault on black music producer  Michel Zecler in November 2020, had sent texts mocking the murder of George Floyd. (Franceinfo, 21 April; Franceinfo, 22 April 2021)

25 April: In France, Israel and the US, demonstrators protest the decision by the appeal court that the killer of Sarah Halimi cannot be tried because of a cannabis-induced psychotic episode, with the family planning to bring a separate case in Israel. New legislation allowing courts to try those who ‘voluntarily’ take toxic substances that diminish their responsibility, will be fast-tracked, the government says. (Guardian, 25 April 2021)

26 April: The police watchdog is to investigate whether racism played a role in the way the Metropolitan Police handled the disappearance of Richard Okorogheye, a black 19-year-old who went missing on March 22 and whose body was found on April 5. (Guardian, 26 April 2021)

27 April: A Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) report calls for all 85,000-plus Covid fixed penalty notices issued in England to be reviewed, saying enforcement is muddled, discriminatory and unfair, with ‘clear evidence that young people, those from certain ethnic minority backgrounds, men and the most socially deprived are most at risk’. (Guardian, 27 April 2021)

27 April: Twenty retired French generals and 1,200 retired soldiers, many with links to the far-right National Rally, sign an open letter in Valeurs Actuelles calling for a coup against President Macron if he fails to defend civilisation and stop the ‘disintegration’ of France from Islamist ‘hordes from the suburbs’. Eighteen serving soldiers who sign the letter face a military tribunal. (Inews, 27 April; The New Arab, 27 April; Guardian, 29 April 2021)

28 April: Two Met police officers are charged with misconduct in public office in relation to inappropriate photos of two murdered sisters, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, in June 2020. (Guardian, 28 April 2021) 

30 April: Metropolitan police officer Benjamin Kemp is dismissed for hitting a 17-year-old black girl with learning disabilities with a baton ‘more than 30 times’ and using CS spray on her. (Guardian, 30 April 2021)

30 April: The United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) publishes its concerns about persistent racial profiling and violence in the Belgian police, noting that currently there are no laws to prohibit racial profiling. Read the report here. (Brussels Times, 2 May 2021)

1 May: Thousands of people march through central London and cities across the UK in protest against the government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which critics say will limit freedom of speech and rights to protest, as well as further criminalising Gypsy and Traveller communities. (Guardian, 1 May 2021)

4 May: The trial begins at Birmingham crown court of PC Benjamin Monk for killing former Aston Villa striker Dalian Atkinson in Telford, Shropshire in 2016, allegedly tasering him for 33 seconds, then kicking him in the head ‘like a football’. PC Mary Ellen Bettley-Smith is charged with actual bodily harm for allegedly striking Atkinson on the ground with a baton. (Guardian, 4 May 2021) 

NATIONAL SECURITY

23 April: French anti-terrorism officers investigate after a Tunisian national kills a woman police administrative employee in an attack at a Rambouillet police station, and is shot dead. Three people are detained. (Al Jazeera, 23 April 2021)

29 April: Human rights groups cite free speech concerns after the European Parliament approved a regulation that, with some exemptions, compels online platforms to remove or block access to online content deemed ‘terrorist’ within an hour, or risk a fine of up to 4 percent of its global turnover. (Deutsche Welle, 29 April 2021)

ELECTORAL AND PARTY POLITICS

20 April: In Madrid, Spain, the public prosecutor opens an investigation into whether Vox party regional election billboards broke hate crime laws. Utilising the acronym ‘mena’ for unaccompanied migrant children, it read ‘€4,700 a month for a mena. €426 a month for your grandmother’s pension’. (El Mundo, 21 April 2021)

23 April: In Spain, Pablo Iglesias, leader of Unidas Podemos walks out of a Madrid radio election debate, after the Vox party candidate casts doubt on a death threat sent to his family along with four bullets. Similar threats were sent to interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and to María Gámez, the head of the Guardia Civil police force. (Guardian, 23 April 2021)

25 April: After the fatal stabbing of a police administrative assistant in Rambouillet (see above), French president Macron denounces Islamist terrorism, while far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen tells the BFM-TV network that France needs ‘to expel hundreds of thousands of illegals … Support our police, expel the illegals, eradicate Islamism.’ (Al Jazeera, 23 April; New York Times $, 25 April 2021)

25 April: In a first in Portugal, the president acknowledges that the country must move beyond glorification of its past, and acknowledge its colonial legacy and contemporary racism. (RTP, 25 April 2021)

29 April: In the run-up to the Madrid regional elections in Spain, the far-right Vox party aligns itself with the programme of the ultra-conservative Catholic group Hazte Oír (Make Yourself Heard), which includes repeal of all laws protecting LGBTQ+ rights. (El Pais, 29 April 2021)

1 May: In southern Thuringia, Germany, a former head of the federal intelligence services, Hans-Georg Maassen who resigned amidst controversy over his alleged sympathies with the far Right and anti-immigration views, is nominated as a candidate for the Christian Democrats in the forthcoming general election. (Deutsche Welle, 1 May 2021)

4 May: In France, National Rally leader Marine Le Pen is acquitted of circulating ‘violent messages that incite terrorism or pornography or seriously harm human dignity’ for sharing images in 2015 of the beheading of American journalist James Foley with the caption ‘Daesh is this!’ (The Local, 4 May 2021)  

4 May: The conservative People’s Party, led by incumbent regional president, populist lockdown sceptic Isabel Díaz Ayuso, wins the Madrid regional election in Spain, but fails to gain an absolute majority, meaning it must rely on the far-right Vox party, which won 13 seats in the regional assembly, to govern. (Guardian, 4 May 2021)

ANTI-FASCISM AND FAR RIGHT

20 April: In Serbia, the Committee to Protect Journalists demands an investigation into an assault on radio host Daško Milinović, a critic of the extreme Right, who was pepper-sprayed and beaten with metal rods on 16 April in the northern city of Novi Sad. One man is arrested. (CPJ, 20 April 2021)

21 April:  The government lists the mostly US neo-nazi Atomwaffen Division and its successor organisation, National Socialist Order (NSO) as criminal terrorist groups. (Vice, 21 April 2021)

21 April: On the first day of the libel trial against English Defence League founder Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson, the High Court hears that ‘false anti-Muslim claims’ about Syrian teenager Jamal Hijazi after an attack on him in a Huddersfield playground forced the family to flee the town. (Guardian, 21 April 2021)

23 April: At Manchester crown court, Cambridge graduate Oliver Bel, who called for extermination of Jews, is convicted of possessing a document likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, after a trial which revealed failures by Cambridge University and Prevent. (Daily Mail, 23 April 2021)

26 April: Ghent council chamber indefinitely postpones the case against Schild & Vrienden, the far-right group led by Belgian MP Dries Van Langenhove, despite strong evidence of racist and antisemitic messages exchanged by members, after Van Langenhove challenges investigating judge Annemie Serlippens and she steps down. (Le Soir, 26 April 2021) 

27 April: The European Parliament finally lifts immunity from Golden Dawn’s MEP Ioannis Lagos, who is immediately arrested to face extradition to Greece. (Al Jazeera,  27 April 2021)

30 April: Benjamin Hannam, the first serving British police officer to be convicted of a terrorism offence for belonging to neo-Nazi group National Action, is jailed for four years and four months. (Guardian, 30 April 2021)

1 May: As part of an investigation into far-right terrorism counter-terrorist police arrest five people in raids across West Yorkshire, Wiltshire and north Wales. (Guardian, 1 May 2021)

1 May: In Liège, Belgium, 100 supporters of far-right group Nation defy a ban on demonstrations and take to the streets to protest against ‘insecurity’ following a recent shooting. (Brussels Times, 1 May 2021)

4 May: The German interior minister says 24,000 offences were committed by far-right supporters last year, up 6 percent from the previous year and the highest level since police started collecting such data in 2001, demonstrating a ‘brutalisation’ of society and the biggest threat to the country’s stability. (Guardian, 4 May 2021) 

HUMAN RIGHTS AND DISCRIMINATION

21 April: A report commissioned by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission reveals that hundreds of thousands of black and Asian soldiers who died fighting for Britain in the First World War were only commemorated in lists, not graves, or not commemorated at all, owing to ‘pervasive racism’, prompting expressions of regret from the defence secretary and the prime minister. (Guardian, 21 April; Guardian, 22 April 2021)

22 April: A 64-page dossier submitted by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) in November 2020 is released, revealing the EHRC’s concerns that CRED had apparently been tasked with explaining away or denying structural or systemic racism in areas including health, employment and justice. The EHRC welcomed CRED’s report when it was published in March. (Guardian, 22 April 2021)

23 April: A survey by lawyer William Acker finds that half of the French hosting sites for Travellers are located close to significant sources of noise and toxic pollution like dumps and highways, a situation he describes as environmental racism. (Bastamag, 23 April 2021) 

28-30 April: Further cuts in the UK’s overseas aid budget are revealed, with funding slashed by up to 85 percent in water, sanitation and hygiene projects, drug treatments for malaria and HIV/AIDS, family planning, and coronavirus research including a project tracking virus variants in India. (Guardian, 28 April; Guardian, 29 April; Guardian; Guardian, 30 April 2021)

30 April: Three students take the government to court over the failure to tackle the climate crisis, arguing that it disproportionately affects the human rights of black, brown and indigenous communities, forces migration and exacerbates global inequality. (Guardian, 30 April 2021)

30 April: The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities amends a line in its report suggesting that slavery was not just about ‘profit and suffering’, after widespread criticism.(Guardian, 30 April 2021)

HOUSING

21 April: The Grenfell inquiry hears how residents expressing concerns about fire safety were stigmatised as troublemakers, while the landlord tenants management organisation (TMO) left a smoke ventilation system unrepaired for 5 years after a fire in 2010. (Guardian, 21 April; Guardian, 22 April 2021)

HEALTH

22 April: New figures show that rates of Covid-19 infection are ‘very much higher’ among BME communities in Newcastle, where in April, 55 percent of positive cases are from BME communities. (Chronicle Live, 22 April 2021)

28 April: France’s office for national statistics (Insee) publishes data showing that people born outside France were 2.1 times more likely to die during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic than those born in the country. (InfoMigrants, 28 April 2021) 

30 April: A Lancet study finds that south Asians are more likely to test positive for Covid-19, become severely ill and die than any other minority ethnic group during the second wave of the pandemic, for reasons including larger households, underlying health conditions and disproportionate deprivation. (Guardian, 30 April 2021) 

30 April: In Spain, 40 NGOs condemn the lack of certainty for the undocumented in the regionally-run Covid vaccination programme, and call on central government to issue ‘binding directives’ to guarantee that no one without a healthcare card is left out. (El Pais, 30 April 2021) 

EDUCATION

28 April: Professor David Richardson, chair of Universities UK’s advisory group on stamping out racial harassment on campuses, says that UK universities are perpetuating systemic racism and more must be done to support students from BME backgrounds. (Guardian, 28 April 2021)

29 April: A new report by Race Alliance Wales on racism in the Welsh education system highlights high levels of abuse faced by BME students, who allege failure by schools to deal effectively with abuse including the n-word and having headscarves pulled off, which along with a monocultural curriculum, affects attainment, self-esteem and future career/study choices. (Wales Online, 29 April 2021) 

30 April: A petition started by a suspended teacher, subsequently dismissed, accusing the leadership team at the Harris Academy, Tottenham of discrimination against black students in ‘zero-tolerance’ discipline policies, gains 6,000 signatures. Police investigate alleged death threats sent to the head, as well as threats to stab teachers, and introduce ‘reassurance patrols’ in the area. (Guardian, 30 April 2021) 

1 May: A special report by ITV News criticises excessive discipline policies at Hackney New School, managed by the Community Schools Trust.  It reveals that 7,500 detentions have been issued since the start of the year, averaging at around 80 per day, with pupils given detention described as ‘detainees’. (ITV News, 1 May 2021)

3 May: After dozens of MPs write to the leadership of London’s Pimlico academy, at the centre of protests over allegations of racial discrimination, to express concern over plans to discipline protesting students, the Future Trust, which manages the school, drafts in former Ofsted chief Michael Wilshaw to mentor the new head. (Guardian, 23 April; Guardian, 3 May 2021)

MEDIA, CULTURE, SPORT

While we cannot cover all incidents of racist abuse on sportspersons or their responses, we provide a summary of the most important incidents. For more information follow Kick it Out.

22 April: An anti-racism taskforce in the Church of England reviews 25 C of E reports on race from the mid-1980s onwards, most of whose findings were ignored, and calls for 47 actions to combat ‘racial sin’, with dates for their implementation. (Guardian, 22 April 2021)

22 April: A Commission on Racial Inclusivity in the Jewish Community reveals racial profiling by security guards in synagogues and makes over 100 recommendations to address racism against Jews of colour, including the teaching of black history, slavery and colonialism. (Guardian, 22 April 2021)

23 April: Responding to ‘a long, problematic history of Equity members receiving criticism involving their race, ethnicity or skin colour with no objective, evidential reason’, the actors’ union publishes new guidelines for theatre critics, urging them to guard against unconscious bias and consider the relevance of race or ethnicity in their reviews. (Guardian, 23 April 2021)

29 April: The Premier League, several UK sporting bodies and media organisations including Guardian Sport and Sky Sports begin an 81-hour social media boycott to demand companies such as Facebook and Twitter to do more to stop online racist abuse of players being sent or seen. (Guardian, 29 April 2021) 

30 April: In an unprecedented move, the German culture minister announces that the country will face up to its ‘historic and moral responsibility’ by returning to Nigeria by 2022 Benin bronzes looted by the British in 1897 and subsequently sold to museums in Europe and North America. (Guardian, 30 April 2021)

30 April: In Poland, relatives of former Polish Auschwitz prisoners protest the appointment of former prime minister Beata Szydlo to the advisory council of the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum, citing her toleration of ‘openly fascist’ groups and attempts to stifle research on the Holocaust. (Associated Press, 30 April 2021)

1 May: Sir Charles Dunstone resigns as chair of the Royal Museums Greenwich board after culture secretary Oliver Dowden vetoed the reappointment of Dr Aminul Huque as a trustee, allegedly due to his support for ‘decolonising’ the curriculum. (Guardian, 1 May 2021)

3 May: Rapper Fedez accuses Italian state broadcaster RAI of trying to censor his remarks condemning the far-right League party’s homophobia in a televised concert.  (Guardian, 3 May 2021)

3 May: Wigan Warriors player Tony Clubb is suspended by the club and charged with using racist language by the Rugby Football League (RFL) after allegedly racially abusing Andre Savelio during a match with Hull FC on 29 April. (Guardian, 3 May 2021) 

RACIAL VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT

20 April: In Torquay, Devon, a man allegedly racially abuses and assaults a taxi driver who asks him to wear a facemask. (Devon Live, 22 April 2021)

22 April: Two pupils who assaulted four Muslim schoolgirls last month in an alleged racially aggravated attack which left one victim unconscious, are permanently excluded from a secondary school in Camden, London. (Camden New Journal, 22 April 2021)

22 April: Two men assault a security guard in an apparently racially motivated attack in Harrogate, north Yorkshire. (North Yorkshire Police, 26 April 2021)

22 April: The Association of Muslims of Talence, in Gironde, France, files a complaint after finding racist and Islamophobic graffiti on the building site where a mosque is under construction. (Franceinfo, 22 April 2021) 

24 April: In Bournemouth, a group of teenagers apparently aged between 13-16, racially abuse a family and punch one of the children, a nine-year-old boy, in the face causing bruising and a cut to his lip. (BBC News, 26 April 2021) 

23 April: In Bordeaux, France, a mosque construction site is defaced with ‘stop your mosques’. A mosque in Avicenna and an Islamic cultural centre in Rennes were defaced earlier in April with ‘Long Live France’ and ‘immigration kills’ written on the walls. (TRT World, 23 April 2021)

29 April: Staff at the Runnymede Trust receive threatening phone calls and letters after the Common Sense Group of Tory MPs attack the racial equality organisation in parliament over its criticisms of the CRED report. (Guardian, 29 April 2021)

30 April: In Edinburgh, a 26-year-old East Asian woman is taken to hospital for treatment after a group repeatedly assaulted her in what police describe as an ‘unprovoked racist attack’. (Edinburgh Evening News, 4 May 2021)

4 May: Two women aged 24 and 32 are arrested after they allegedly racially abused and attacked a male doorman, who was kicked in the stomach and face outside a bar in Liverpool on 2 May. (Liverpool Echo, 4 May 2021) 

4 May: A 54-year-old woman from Blackburn is given a 24 week suspended sentence, 30 days of rehabilitation activity and must pay compensation to one of her victims after pleading guilty to three racially aggravated incidents in January, including racially abusing and assaulting her landlord after damaging his property, threatening her neighbour and damaging their car. (Lancashire Telegraph, 4 May 2021) 

The calendar was compiled with the help of Tania Bedi, Graeme Atkinson, Lou Khalfaoui, Jess Pandian, Inês Silva, Yewande Oyekan and Joseph Maggs.