Women tell the Met 'Enough is Enough' as they march for justice for Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry

 Bearing the slogan, 'Enough is Enough', a group of mainly women set off at 1pm from Barn Hill, Wembley today, to march the 10 miles to New Scotland Yard, to demand an end to the police racism and misogyny that so impacted on family and friends of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman.

Mina Smallman, the women's mother, was unable to  take part but sent a message of support.

Marchers were asked to set their mobile phone timers for 16 hours so that their alarms would go off after the march was over, demonstrating how long it took the police to act on reports of the women's disappearance.

The Raised Voices choir sang as people assembled on Barn Hill and the music loved by Nicole and Bibaa  accompanied the marchers.

The Women's Equality Party who organised the march said that this was just the beginning of the campaign for justice.

Joint Statement by Mina Smallman and Dawn Butler on the second anniversary of the murder of sisters Bibaa and Nicole

Today marks two years since two beautiful sisters, Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, were brutally murdered in a park in Brent. They must never be forgotten along with the countless other women whose lives have been taken too soon at the hands of men.

Violence against women and girls has reached endemic proportions. It is a stain on society and our duty is to keep campaigning for change that is so desperately needed. We want to provide a platform and a force for change.

We call for long overdue action at the heart of our institutions to ensure the safety of women and girls, so that tragedies like this will never happen again. Continuing as we are will not solve it – we need systemic, institutional reforms.

The Government and Metropolitan Police must undertake coordinated sustainable action to tackle violence against women and girls – on the streets, in the home, in the workplace, online and wherever else it may take place. Because enough is enough.

Action must also be taken to address the repeated instances of misconduct by some officers within the Met Police. The repeated incidents of unacceptable and at times criminal behaviour, as well as the large number of allegations of sexual misconduct, is extremely concerning. The Met have a well-developed actionplan to rebuild faith in their police service. This must include the dismissal of ‘bad apple’ police officers.

Finally, we believe that the new Metropolitan Police Commissioner must acknowledge the institutional racism and misogyny that still exists within the service. If we cannot admit these problems exist, how can we possibly hope to solve them. The new commissioner must be committed to institutional reforms, to working with the public to resolve problems and to ensuring that the service is as diverse as the public it seeks to serve. This is necessary in order to build trust in the Met among all of London’s people and communities.

While we recognise that the process is well under way to appoint the new Commissioner, we are clear that in future this new position cannot be chosen solely by the Home Secretary or Prime Minister. In future, the Commissioner must be chosen by Londoners as a whole – either directly or via their elected representatives. It is only fair and correct that Londoners have a say in who leads the service which seeks to protect and serve the people.

I look forward to working collaboratively with the next Met Police Commissioner, the many good officers in the police service and the many important stakeholders. We would welcome a meeting with the Home Secretary to discuss the above in further detail.

Dawn Butler MP and Mina Smallman

Reminder: The Women's Equality Party has organised a march from Fryent Country Park (Barn Hill pond, Wembley) to New Scotland Yard to lay the responsibility for racist, misogynist policing firmly at the Metropolitan Police doors. 

Starts at 12.30pm at the pond.  DETAILS

 

In the wake of the IOPC report on Fryent murders Brent Council urges women not to be discouraged from reporting sexual crimes and unsafe places

 Brent Council Press Release

Statement from Cllr Promise Knight, Lead Member for Community Safety & Engagement at Brent Council

We offer our condolences to Mina Smallman and her family following the findings of the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s report. An apology from the Police is due, but it is no substitute for action.

As a Council, we are committed to highlighting the experience of women and girls in conversations with partners, and to do our part to make addressing the underlying problems in the system a priority.

One issue we want to highlight, in the wake of this news, is reporting. Clearly, recent events are unlikely to inspire confidence in the women and girls of this borough who may be considering coming forward, and especially Black and Asian women. But I urge you not to be discouraged.

We know that sexual crimes, from cat-calling and unwanted touching, to rape, are vastly under-reported. And yet it is so important if we are to build a clearer picture of perpetrators. Those reports also help us make the argument for investing in the public services needed to address these issues in a meaningful way. In an emergency, always dial 999, or you can get in touch with the Police’s non-emergency service by calling 101 or reporting online.

For our part, we would like to develop better ways for the community to anonymously report places where they feel unsafe in the borough to the council. We are currently consulting with partners about the best way of doing this, so that we can understand and address high risk areas.   

We are also planning a community forum to coincide with the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence in November, giving local women and girls a chance to share their views and experiences. There will be other activities during the 16 Days and more information will be published on our website shortly.

You can view our latest Community Safety Strategy, which has more detail on how we are working to address Violence Against Women and Girls in Brent, here: www.brent.gov.uk/your-council/about-brent-council/council-structure-and-how-we-work/strategies-and-plans/community-safety-strategy

Black Women's Lives Matter - Mina Smallman speaks out at Fryent vigil

 

 

Mina Smallman, mother of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman,  herself a former priest and teacher, spoke truth to power as an activist at yesterday's vigil atop Barn Hill in Wembley. The vigil was organised by Reclaim These Streets.

In a section of her speech she castigated the media for their lack of coverage of the murders at the beginning and went on to say how the interviews she gave subsequently were reduced to a minute or two or just a paragraph.

In the light of this I have published a video of her full speech above. The sound quality is not good as I was at the back of the 600 strong crowd but please perservere - it is an electrifying speech.

 

Barry Gardiner MP (who led the crowd in the singing of Amazing Grace), Cllr Shafique Choudhary; Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan,  David Lammy MP and Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council. Dawn Butler MP made a heartfelt speech. Other councillors were in the crowd.

Much of the focus was on  future generations - a child in the audience clutches an electronic candle

Following the controversial tactics at Clapham, a vigil also organised by Reclaim These Streets, police tactics were low key and officers told me they had been instructed to keep well away from the crowd. They mainly assisted people in getting safely out of the park after the event.

Mina Smallman reflects on her daughters' murders in Fryent Country Park in the light of the reaction to Sarah Everard's murder

 

BBC Radio 4 Today interviews Mina Smallman, mother of  Noicole and Bibaa (apologies for those who tried to view the earlier video I embedded - access was blocked)  https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09bxm41

 

I am so glad the BBC carried this interview this morning - it needed saying.  The discrepancy has been in many of our minds locally and caused local residents to erect a memorial banner last week. 

 

 Banner at one of the entrances to Fryent Country Park last week

 

From the BBC website LINK

Mina Smallman, the mother of two women found dead in north London, has expressed her sympathy for the family of Sarah Everard – and questioned why the deaths of her daughters received comparatively little attention at the time.

Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry were killed in a park in Wembley last June. Two officers have been arrested and suspended after allegations they took selfies with the bodies.

Asked why her case had not received the level of outrage as Sarah Everard, she said: “Other people have more kudos in this world than people of colour.”

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “Our thoughts remain with the families of Bibaa and Nicole following their unspeakable loss."

"As part of a wider investigation into various matters, the Independent Office for Police Conduct is considering the actions of police when Bibaa and Nicole were reported missing. This follows a referral from the MPS’s Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS). “

A man has been charged with the murders of Nicole and Bibaa.

Producer: Harry Farley

Video Journalist: Lorna Acquah

Fryent murders, Mina Smallman speaks out: 'Those police officers dehumanised our children'

The PM news programme on BBC Radio 4 this afternoon stopped me in my tracks when Mina Smallman, the mother of sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibba Henry, spoke powerfully to Martin Bashir about the allegation that two police officers took selfies with the women's bodies when they were supposed to be protecting the crime scene in Fryent Country Park.  She also questioned the 36 hour delay in the police launching a hunt for the two women when they were reported missing.

She said:

Those police officers dehumanised our children. They were nothing to them and what's worse they sent [the photographs] on to members of the public.

This has taken our grief to another level.  If ever we needed to understand that institutional racism within the police force, and other institutions, the Church of England, education..If ever we need an example of how toxic it has become: the police officers felt so safe, so untouchable, that they felt they could take photographs of dead black girls and send them on.

The full 8 minute interview is on BBC Sounds here: 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08j49rb

Channel 4 Report  including Dawn Butler MP (Labour, Brent Central) Interview