Bob Blackman MP invites Suella Braverman to his Edgware fundraiser dinner and gets a noisy surprise

 

Bob Blackman, Conservative M for Harrow East and Monday Club  Joint Executive Secretary, held a fundraising dinner last night in Edgware.

His special guest was none other than ex-Home Secretary and joint-founder of Wembley's Michaela School, Suella Braverman. Both have strong Brent connections with Blackman an ex-leader of Brent Council (and deputy leader in the Lib-Dem coalition) and Braverman (actual name Sue-Ellen) was born in Harrow and brought up in Wembley. Her mother was a Brent Conservative councillor.

Last night's dinner I understand was held to raise funds for Blackman's General Election campaign but amidst Sunak's problems and Braverman's undisguised leadership ambitions, of wider political significance.

The local community, having got wind of the dinner, marshalled at short notice a mass picket outside the restaurant. It was peaceful but noisy.  Some guests entered through the front door on Mollison Way, others came via an alternative entrance as far as could be ascertained. There was no attempt to stop them entering.

Chants and individual speakers objected to Bob Blackman's stance against a Gaza ceasefire, his admiration for Mahendra Modi and support for the exclusion of caste from equality laws.  Suella Braverman's support for Israel and antipathy to pro-Palestine demonstrations and her 'dream' of deporting refugees to  Rwanda deportations enraged the demonstrators who charged them  both with complicity in alleged genocide. 

The crowd chanted, 'While you dine, babies die.'

Those present at the right-wing Fest must have been able to hear the demonstrators and after two and a half hours of chants and speeches a metal grill was lowered over the restaurant windows and entrance.

Despite the noise and anger the protest was disciplined and when a minute's silence was requested for the victims of the Middle East conflict a total silence fell over the suburban street and the demonstrators dispersed without incident.

 

 

WEMBLEY PRIMARY SCHOOL TO CLOSE FOR 6 DAYS OF STRIKE ACTION OVER FORCED TAKEOVER BY LORD HARRIS

 From Brent National Education Union

MEMBERS OF NATIONAL EDUCATION UNION STRIKING TO SAVE THEIR LOCAL SCHOOL

 

NEU members at Byron Court Primary School are to strike in a fight to save their local community school which is threatened with a forced privatisation by the huge Harris Federation chain of academies. PICKET LINE OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL FRIDAY 17^TH MAY 7.30-9.30am!

 

Staff at Byron Court Primary School in Wembley will be on strike to save their local community school from a forced “academy order” following an intimidating Ofsted inspection which has left some staff fearing for their mental health and their futures. Many of these long-serving staff served the school’s community throughout the pandemic and face uncertainty in their jobs, pay and conditions as they face a takeover by the hostile Harris multi-academy trust. 

 

NEU MEMBERS VOTED IN HUGE NUMBERS TO TAKE STRIKE ACTION OVER MULTIPLE DATES FOLLOWING A HIGH PROFILE PARENT CAMPAIGN which is supported by many in the local community including Councillors and MP.

 

Staff and parent supporters will protest at a picket line outside the school from 7.30am Tuesday and will continue to lobby the Secretary of State to get their academy order revoked. Staff are asking for a reinspection, handled fairly and proportionately, while a live complaint lodged with Ofsted is being looked at externally after reports that Ofsted lied during the complaints process.

 

Jenny Cooper of the NEU national executive has stated:

 

These striking members undertake difficult jobs every day and have the expertise and knowledge that should be valued in our schools. There has been no consultation whatsoever with any stakeholder and we do not believe it is the right decision to hand this school to a glorified carpet salesman who is paid half a million a year for the privilege. The NEU will NOT accept privatisation of our schools through a politicised Ofsted process which is what we are seeing.

Cllr Jake Rubin to take on Brent Cabinet Climate Action role with Cllr Mary Mitchell Cabinet Climate Action Champion. New chief whip replaces Stephen Crabb

 

News from the Brent Labour Group AGM, held on Saturday, is gradually coming in.

Cllr Jake Rubin (Roundwood ward) announced his appointment as Cabinet Lead Member for Employment, Innovation and Climate Action on Twitter this afternoon

He takes over climate action from Cllr Krupa Sheth (Tokyngton) whose brief  was Lead Member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Action.

Cllr Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam (Wembley Park) has the interesting and potentially difficult role of Labour Chief Whip.

He takes over from Cllr Stephen Crabb  (Queens Park)who had his own difficulties in the role when he had to deal with a potentially controversial Labour motion for Full Council.

After his intervention, when he sought advice from a senior Labour Party body, the motion was not placed on the agenda.

 

The Climate Action brief has been additionally strengthened by the appointment of Cllr Mary Mitchell (Welsh Harp) as 'Climate Action Cabinet Champion.'

Hopefully this will mean a more concerted and coordinated tackling of climate emergency action across council departments. Something local environmental groups have been pressing for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I understand  that Cllr Rita Begum (Kilburn) failed in her attempt to become Deputy Leader of the Labour Group. Cllr Rita Conneely (Kilburn) retains her chair of the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee. Cabinet and  Committee posts go the the Full Council AGM for approval but the Chief Whip post is internal.

The Council AGM takes place on May 22nd, when other positions will be announced, and the first Cabinet of the new municipal year is on May 28th.

Striking Byron Court staff call for community support on their picket line on Friday May 17th. They are striking against forced academisation & the resulting worsening of teachers' pay and conditions and children's education

 

Staff of Byron Court Primary School in Brent will be striking against forced academisation on Friday May 17th. This is the first of a series of strikes that will take place in May and June against the takeover of this community school by the Harris Federation.

The National Education Union  have asked for support on their picket line protest from 7.30am to 9am at the school in Spencer Road near South Kenton station.

Positive response to TfL's cycling plans for Harlesden-Wembley Central route: 'Now let's build it - no time to lose!'

From Transport for London

Between 10 November and 21 December 2023 we consulted on walking and cycling improvements between Wembley Central and Harlesden stations.

 

The proposals include a protected two-way cycle lane on the A404 Harrow Road and Brentfield, new and improved cycle and pedestrian crossings over Harrow Road, better street lighting and more trees and plants to help make the area feel safer and more welcoming. 

 

We received 313 responses in total, including ten from stakeholders. 

 

Some key findings include:

• 83 per cent (233 respondents) think the scheme will encourage more people to walk

• 87 per cent (243 respondents) think the scheme will encourage more people to cycle2

• 69 per cent3 (190 respondents) think the scheme will encourage more people to use public transport

• 60 per cent (163 respondents) think the scheme will mean fewer people will choose to travel by motor vehicle for personal journeys and 46% (125 respondents) think it will have no impact on business journeys

 

Next steps

TfL will continue to work closely with LB Brent officers to develop these proposals for walking and cycling improvements between Wembley and Harlesden over the coming months. The feedback we heard from local people and other stakeholders during our consultation will inform this work, along with further surveys and assessments.

 

An updated set of designs for these improvements will then be shared with Brent Councillors, who will then make a decision on whether to progress the proposed design solution to construction.

 

We will continue to liaise with community stakeholder groups to provide updates on our progress.

 

These are the indicative timescales we will work to, going forward:

• Spring 2024 – further design work, including surveys and assessments
• Summer 2024 – continue to engage with stakeholders
• Late 2024 – decision point (with Brent Council) to commit to constructing the scheme, subject to acceptance and further refinement of proposals following the consultation, The contract for the detailed design work would then be issued
• 2026 – anticipated start of construction, subject to approvals and programme
  

 

On Twitter Brent Cycling Campaign said:

The report into the consultation on the proposed walking and cycling improvements to the Wembley-Harlesden route has been published. Disappointing response rate but largely supportive. Let's build this now pleaseTfL and Brent Council. No time to lose.

.

If you care about our health services Sunday's meeting at Unity Centre is a must!

 

Nothing in the London Road development for Brent people says Cllr Saqib Butt - then votes for it

 

Slide shown at Planning Committee showing the site of the 8 shops on London Road in the foreground and Wembley Central flats behind them.

The two new blocks

Wednesday's Planning Committee was a curious affair with at one time, despite the developer and officers explaining several times why the two proposed mid-rise blocks (6 and 7-storey) on London Road should not be higher (overbearing, over-shadowing, reduced daylight and sunlight,) Cllr Liz Dixon  insisting that they should be higher.  Her idea was that if they were higher the developer would be able to provide some affordable housing (there is none in the development) - an argument she has used before without quoting evidence in terms of financial viability.

The case of Cllr Saqib Butt, vice chair of the Planning Commitete and brother of Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council was interesting. He had obviously read the documentation thoroughly and as you can see from the footage below found much wrong with the planning application:

 

 He finishes by saying:

There is nothing here for our Brent residents that is a positive I can find, apart from market rents which our residents will not be able to afford.

As on other occasions his contribution contains a careful assessment that would lead you to think he would vote against a proposal. However, as has also happened before, he voted in SUPPORT of the application.

It may be a good idea for those supporting an application to have to give their reasons. At present the default rule is that this only has to be done by those abstaining or voting against.

There was an interesting intervention by Cllr Ajmal Akram who had also done his homework. He asked who was the true land-owner behind the development. The papers said Freshwater but his search of the Land Registry found that it was Daejan Investments (/Holdings) a company that there were concerns about.

He was told that this was not an issue for the Planning Committee and anyway the ultimate developer may be another company.  The Freshwater family own Daejan Investments. There has been controversy because they have no women on their board as this would offend their Orthdox Jewish Charedi values. LINK

The company also launched a very expensive battle with mansion block leaseholders as the freeholder that went to the Supreme Court. Daejan won.  LINK

Maybe that made Cllr Butt pause for thought.

The Committee voted 4-3 in favour of the application. Councillors Akram, Dixon and Maurice all voted against on the ground of non-compliance with various planning guidelines including the loss of commercial space on London Road.

Cllr Rita Begum, as far as I could see took no part in the proceedings. I understand that she has thrown her hat in the ring to become Deputy Leader of the Labour Group at the upcoming AGM,  a post currently held by Milli Patel. Apparently in her pitch for the job she emphasised effective communication with stakeholders including Labour Party branches.  As a Kilburn councillor she is not known for regular attendance at the Kilburn branch.

There will be a later viability review when the site has been developed and tru costs are known but as it stand there is not affordable housing on the site and no contribution towards affordable housing elsewhere in the borough.

 

Police use of facial recognition technology is coming to Brent. Undermining human rights or helpful in fighting crime?

 

Cllr Tariq Dar, the next Mayor of Brent, has hailed the news that facial recognition is coming to Brent on Twitter saying, 'Great news, this will help reduce the crime rate in Brent.'

The zoom meeting on May 21st (email Brentiag.community@gmail.com to attend) will be an important opportunity to debate the drawbacks and merits of the technology and its uses.

Note that the meeting is not asking Brent citizens if they want facial recognition used in the borough, that is stated as a fact: 'Facial recognition technology is coming to Brent!'

It is particularly important in Brent as police are said to favour its use for the scanning of large crowds such as those at Wembley Stadium and the Arena. Another Brent factor is the doubts raised over its accuracy when surveying people of colour and discriminatory use by the police. An additional concern is its use on private developments and private 'public spaces' such as Olympic Way where safeguards may not be strong..

The civil rights organisation Liberty devotes several pages to the issue on its website LINK. Extract below:

What is facial recognition?

Put simply, facial recognition is a form of technology that attempts to match a person’s face from a picture, video footage or live camera feed to a database of facial images.

Do the police use facial recognition?

Yes. Several UK police forces have used facial recognition technology since Leicestershire Police scanned thousands of people’s faces with it at Download Festival in 2015.

Police use has been spearheaded by the Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police. The forces have used the surveillance tech to scan hundreds of thousands of faces at protests, sporting events, concerts, Notting Hill Carnival, Remembrance Sunday, train stations, busy shopping streets, and even the seaside.

In 2022, it’s clear that the Met Police is ramping up its use of the tech.

How does police facial recognition work?

Police facial recognition works by measuring and ‘mapping’ a person’s unique facial features. These ‘maps’ are then converted into a numerical code to be matched against the codes of faces on secretive watch lists.

Up until now, the police have used what is known as ‘live’ facial recognition. This means that the act of scanning a person’s face and comparing to the watch list happens in real time.

It usually involves facial recognition cameras mounted on top of police vehicles stationed in crowded areas. The cameras scan the faces of everyone in range, and the software instantly compares them to the database.

Recently, South Wales Police announced that it was testing facial recognition on officers’ phones, so they could more easily scan people’s faces in the street.

As well as ‘live’ facial recognition, the Met has purchased software that allows it to carry out what is called ‘retroactive’ facial recognition. This is when faces in still images or previously captured video footage are scanned and compared to the watch list.

Who is on the watch list?

The police say the watch lists are made up of dangerous criminals and people wanted by the courts. There are usually thousands of people on a watch list each time a force uses facial recognition.

In 2020, we represented Ed Bridges against South Wales Police (SWP) in the world’s first legal challenge to the use of live facial recognition – more on this below (spoiler, we won).

During the case, we were able to see SWP documents that revealed that anyone could be on the watch list, whether they were wanted in connection with a crime or not. It also became clear that the images on the watch list could come from anywhere. The police could even take them from our social media accounts.

What’s the problem with police facial recognition?

The ‘maps’ that facial recognition makes of your face is unique to you. Much like a fingerprint, it is identifiable biometric data.

With ‘live’ police facial recognition, cameras scan everyone in sight, so this data is likely being snatched from you without your knowledge or consent. And this is certainly the case with ‘retroactive’ police use.

This is gross violation of your human rights.

Police officers have previously admitted to us that they just deploy live facial recognition in crowded areas to scan as many people as possible.

Retroactive facial recognition also turns every photo or video available to the police – including any you upload to social media – into a possible surveillance tool.

Does it work?

Lots has been said about the inaccuracies of the tech and how incorrect matches with the watch list have led to harmful police interactions.

Studies show that it particularly struggles to tell Black people apart, and has difficulty with women of any ethnicity.

But the idea that more accurate tech would lessen the problems with facial recognition is false. History shows that surveillance technology will always be used to monitor and harass people of colour. More accurate tech would only make this easier and discriminatory policing worse.

Is it lawful?

No.

When Liberty and campaigner Ed Bridges took South Wales Police to court for its use of live facial recognition, the Court said the force’s use of the tech was unlawful because it violated everyone’s human rights.

The Court also said that SWP hadn’t adequately taken account of the discriminatory impact of the tech – failing to meet its obligations under equality laws.

And by processing people’s unique biometric data, SWP also breached data protection laws.

You can read more about our legal victory here.

The Met Police has pushed ahead and continues to use live facial recognition after our win against SWP, but the Met’s use must also violate human rights, equality and data protection laws – and is therefore unlawful.

We also believe that retroactive facial recognition is similarly unlawful.

What should happen?

Especially after our court victory, there have been calls for Parliament to create laws governing police use of facial recognition.

However, there is no way of creating a law that solves the human rights or data protection issues, let alone discriminatory policing.

The safest thing to do is ban police from using dangerous facial recognition surveillance technology. More than 80,000 people have signed our petition. Add your name today.