Britain wants to ban boycotts of Israel. Does that mean they’re working?

The Tories want to stop public bodies engaging in ‘BDS’ campaigns – but that’s unlikely to stop grassroots organisers


Nandini Naira Archer

OPEN DEMOCRACY
21 February 2024

Pro-Palestine activists with banners calling for a boycott of Israeli dates in London 17 February 2024
Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images


When neighbours who had met at pro-Palestine marches learnt that a charity in their east London borough was raising cash for the Israeli military, they organised quickly.

Their goal was to pressure the local Chabad Lubavitch Centre to withdraw its fundraiser for a reserve unit in northern Israel. Horrific details about Israel’s siege of Gaza had by then been emerging for months, with reports of tens of thousands of deaths and scenes of devastation in civilian areas.

“We’re young, old, men, women, Muslim, non-Muslim,” one told us. “We protested outside their offices and wrote to the Charity Commission and our MP en masse. We also climbed ladders to wave our flags in protest… We were disgusted that the genocide had made its way to our doorstep.”

The neighbours’ group was hastily convened in December under the name of the Redbridge Palestine Solidarity Network; today, a spokesperson says the network has more than 350 members. Redbridge is a large, multicultural borough near Greater London’s boundary with Essex that has both Muslim and Jewish populations.

The charity, in the Gants Hill area of Redbridge, never responded to the campaign, and the donation link remains live on its website – though the wording has subtly changed from “donation of equipment needed by soldiers of Israel” to “donation in honour of our soldiers and the safe return of the hostages”. (The Chabad Lubavitch Centre did not respond to our requests for comment.) What’s more, Redbridge Council has spent more than £2,000 removing Palestinian flags from main roads after receiving a letter from the lobby group UK Lawyers for Israel.

But the group still considers its actions a success. Members typically replace the flags within 24 hours in a sort of cat-and-mouse game, and continue to picket the charity, part of a larger network across north-east London that supports local Jewish communities. Sooner or later, the Redbridge Palestine Solidarity Network hopes, the Chabad Lubavitch Centre will reconsider its backing for the Israeli military.

“The support for Palestine in our area is clear,” said the group member, who asked not to be named. “We won’t stand by while councils, companies and charities are complicit in genocide and politicians are failing to speak up or represent us as they should.”

Israel was accused of perpetrating genocide in Gaza last month at the International Court of Justice by South Africa, which Israel denies. The court stopped short of calling for a ceasefire, but ordered Israel to “prevent” acts that could amount to genocide. A ruling on whether Israel has actually been committing genocide could take far longer.

Redbridge Palestine Solidarity Network outside their local town hall

The flags, and the picketing of the charity’s offices, represent just one of many small acts of resistance taking place across the UK and the world under the ‘Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions’ (BDS) umbrella. BDS targets specific public bodies and private companies accused of aiding what it calls ‘Israeli apartheid’.

Since it began in 2005, the BDS campaign has attracted high-profile supporters including archbishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa, US politicians like Ilhan Omar, and authors from Arundhati Roy in India to Benjamin Zephaniah in the UK.

But the movement has also attracted significant pushback from Israel’s supporters, particularly in the UK and US. The ramifications of an ‘anti-boycott’ bill currently making its way through Britain’s House of Lords are likely to ripple beyond the UK’s shores, showing how far Israel’s allies are prepared to go in clamping down on the practice.

“Israel can only maintain military occupation and apartheid because of the complicity of governments and corporations in Britain and around the world,” said Lewis Backon, campaigns officer at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign that co-organises the weekly pro-Palestine demonstrations that have been taking place across the UK since October.

“BDS gives us a strategy to turn our rage into meaningful action. It is a way in which people in Britain and elsewhere can retract our tacit approval of Israel.”

The campaign calls for boycotts of a small number of companies where it believes it can have a maximum impact – and it calls on a larger list of companies to divest from the state of Israel. Since October, leaders of the movement from Palestinian civil society have also endorsed what they call “organic boycott targets” which BDS itself did not initiate – McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Burger King.

“The strategy of BDS has always been about institutional divestment over consumer boycotts,” said Shabbir Lakha, a campaigner with the anti-war group Stop the War. Personal consumer boycotts in the UK are welcome, he added, but “it’s the wider organised movement around the world that’s important – essentially creating a situation where Israel is a pariah state, as are companies that directly profit from apartheid and occupation”.

Anti-boycott bill

The “draconian” new anti-boycott bill – being considered by the UK’s House of Lords this week – is evidence that the threat of BDS is working, according to Lakha.

First introduced to the British Parliament in the summer by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill was originally promised in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto in a pledge to “ban public bodies from imposing their own direct or indirect boycotts, disinvestment or sanctions campaigns against foreign countries”.

Israel and Palestine are the only states currently explicitly named in the legislation, whose stated aim is to stop public bodies from “pursuing their own foreign policy agenda”.

Opponents argue that, in reality, the bill itself will stop public bodies – including NHS trusts, councils, and even the government itself – achieving their environmental, ethical and international human rights obligations, by forcing them to invest in companies and states whose actions are damaging.

Amnesty International has previously said the bill “effectively grants Israel impunity at a time of flagrant breaches of international law in Gaza and the West Bank”. “Public procurement represents around 14% of the UK economy,” said Kristyan Benedict, the charity’s crisis response manager, “which provides an enormous opportunity to drive the transition to sustainable production and consumption.

“If, however, businesses believe that public bodies are unlikely to exclude them from contracts on human rights grounds, then this creates a form of moral hazard where companies that respect human rights face being undercut by those that don’t.”

The wording of the bill is “deliberately vague”, which will make it difficult to implement, in the opinion of Daan de Grefte – a legal officer at the European Centre for Legal Support, which gives legal help to Palestinian rights activists across Europe.

But the vague wording could also give rise to a wider “chilling effect”, leading people to believe it bans free expression on Palestine altogether. “It’s quite evident that the main intent of this bill is to silence politicians and others from speaking up about Palestinian rights,” said de Grefte.

Locals put Palestine flags up around Redbridge, east London |
Redbridge Palestine Solidarity Network


A wave of similar moves to ban BDS have taken place in states and university campuses across the US. And in Germany, 2019 legislation condemned any sympathy with BDS in official institutions, calling it antisemitic. A new initiative there similarly attempts to ban boycotts of publicly funded institutions such as arts bodies and academic groups.

According to Amnesty’s Benedict, “smear campaigns” by Israel and its allies are behind this proliferation of “anti-BDS” laws. “Such laws violate freedom of expression, help shield the Israeli authorities from accountability for violations of international law, and harm the fight against genuine antisemitism,” she added.

But not all western countries have reacted with hostility. Across the Irish Sea, Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald has announced that her party is working with councils across Northern Ireland to “ban the awarding of contracts to businesses that profit from human rights abuses in Palestine and across the world”.
Victories

It is tough to measure the effect of BDS on company ledgers or Israel’s economy: the movement is largely decentralised, with activities happening locally and nationally run by different groups and individuals.

But companies are cutting ties with Israel – most recently the German sportswear brand Puma, a BDS target since 2018, which announced in December that it would not renew its contract with the Israel Football Association (IFA).

Related story

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14 February 2024 | Nandini Naira Archer , Ethan Shone
Revealed: Fresh wave of public cash handed to Israeli arms maker whose weapons are used for ‘genocide’


Puma has rejected claims that the BDS campaign was behind its decision. But the BDS movement has claimed it as a victory, saying: “Leaked internal messages revealed that Puma was under tremendous pressure to drop the contract… The years of relentless, global BDS pressure on Puma and the damage to its image should be a lesson to all companies supporting Israeli apartheid, that complicity has consequences.”

By contrast, McDonald’s and Starbucks have openly admitted that anti-Israel boycotts hurt their sales in the last quarter of 2023. Both claim they have been misrepresented, with McDonald’s distancing itself on a corporate level from the actions of its franchisees seen on social media offering free meals to the IDF. The fast food giant is now seeking $1.3m in damages from the BDS movement alleging defamation.

A current target for the movement in the UK is Barclays Bank. Stella Swain, youth and student campaigner at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said Barclays held over £1bn of shares in firms whose “weapons, components, and military technology” were being used by Israel in its attacks on Palestinians, and had provided those firms with more than £3bn in loans.

“You and I aren’t in the market of buying weapons,” she said, “so what we aim to do is target places like Barclays that have shares in these kinds of companies, because that’s what makes them complicit.”

She claims 1,500 people have agreed to close their accounts, and that another larger group of people who currently bank elsewhere have vowed to keep steering clear of Barclays. Swain points out that the bank was also a major target of the South African anti-apartheid movement in the 1980s. (Backers of BDS often draw this comparison; Labour peer Peter Hain told the House of Lords on Tuesday that an anti-BDS bill would have prevented UK councils from boycotting apartheid South Africa at the time.)

“There isn’t any one target that would win this – it has to be more of a gradual approach,” said de Grefte. However, he points to online tourism operators like Trip Advisor, Expedia and Booking.com that continue to profit from Israeli settlers in the occupied territories who rent out their accommodation. “Getting them to change their position on this would be a huge blow to Israel’s ability to say this is business as usual,” he said.

Back in Gants Hill, the campaigners take over a branch of McDonald’s every Thursday to “peacefully chant, sit in and educate customers and staff on why McDonalds is complicit in genocide”.

And as Ramadan approaches, they stand outside the town hall and tell passers-by about which brands of dates – a Palestinian staple – are grown in Israeli settlements, in the hope that people will choose to boycott these, too.

“We basically try every angle,” they say. “We will be relentless. We won’t stop until our voices are heard.”

UK 

Social worker changes undermined engagement with children later convicted of violent crimes – review

Inquiry into cases of seven young people charged in relation with deaths of three others finds six had history of involvement with social care marked by significant practitioner turnover

by Mithran Samuel on February 21, 2024 

Image: Anson/Adobe Stock

High levels of social worker turnover undermined engagement with six young people with histories of social care involvement who were later convicted of violent offences, a review has found.

The inquiry into seven children and young people charged in relation to the deaths of three others in 2021 concluded that “consistent and trustworthy relationships” with practitioners were critical to preventing needs escalating.

However, the six who had a history of involvement with children’s social care experienced “significant flux” in their allocated social worker, which meant that “new relationships had to be formed with the child and the family; and trust re-established”, said the review report.

Understanding how to prevent serious violence

Croydon Safeguarding Children Partnership (CSCP) commissioned the thematic child safeguarding practice review (CSPR) into safeguarding children from serious youth violence in response to the unrelated deaths of the three children in 2021 and previous reviews into the lives of victims.

Based on these and feedback from family members of victims, it concluded that examining services’ involvement with those found responsible for serious violence would improve understanding of what could be done to prevent it.

The review, led by safeguarding consultant Bridget Griffin, was based on conversations with one of the seven young people and three of their families and the involvement of over 100 practitioners, through a survey, workshops, case discussions and a webinar.

The seven young people were aged 15-20 at the time of the 2021 deaths. Three (Ade, Gabe and Flynn) were convicted of murder, two (Blake and Cole) of manslaughter and the others (Ethan and Dane) of robbery.

All are black British and male and had lived in areas of very high deprivation within Croydon.

History of involvement with children’s social care

Six (all excluding Ethan) had a history of involvement with children’s social care and other services in Croydon that started before they were aged nine, for reasons including domestic abuse and parental mental illness. There were also early concerns about the mental ill-health of some of the children.

By aged 10-12, three were already misusing substances and, by 13-14, extra-familial harm, including missing episodes, county lines and gang membership had become a significant issue, manifesting in both offending behaviour and being the victims of violence.

At 15-16, the young people were given custodial or community sentences in relation to offences, but four were also referred to the national referral mechanism for being potential victims of modern slavery. All six of those involved with children’s services were either excluded from school or the subject of a managed move from one school to another.

The review found that, with the benefit of hindsight, there had been “missed opportunities to make a difference to these children earlier in their lives”, despite them receiving wide-ranging services designed to prevent serious harm to themselves or others.

‘Revolving door’ of service provision

A key issue identified by services was a “revolving door” of provision, which started and stopped based on the young person giving and withdrawing consent or engaging and disengaging.

A key finding from the review was the importance of practitioners building trusted relationships with young people and their families to promote engagement, which echoes a 2020 report on protecting children from exploitation by the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.

It found evidence that many of the practitioners working with the children, including allocated social workers, had achieved this, through “exemplary” commitment, with many examples of staff “going above and beyond what [was] required of them in their respective roles”, and some successful interventions.

The review particularly highlighted the work of the Croydon adolescent team, a dedicated social work resource for young people at risk of serious violence.

‘Loss of experienced practitioners’

However, the team was reduced from 15 to five social workers in 2020 as a result of Croydon council having to issue a section 114 notice declaring that it was unable to balance its budget.

Staff told the review panel that this represented “a loss of very experienced contextual safeguarding practitioners who were passionate about working with children at risk of serious youth violence/extra-familial harm and the continuity of relationships with children was lost”.

What is contextual safeguarding?

Contextual safeguarding, a term coined in 2015 by social work academic Carlene Firmin, is an approach to protecting children from extra-familial harm that addresses the contexts in which those harms occur, such as neighbourhoods, schools, peer relationships and online spaces.

Find out more from the contextual safeguarding team based at Durham University, headed by Firmin.

More broadly, the review found that there was “a significant flux in the social workers allocated to the children”, which meant new practitioners had to forge relationships with the child and family and re-establish trust.

“This undoubtedly impacted on the continuity of the relationship, on the direct work that was completed, and on the engagement of children and families.

Importance of trusted relationships

“Social workers and managers are clear that trusted relationships are at the very heart of achieving good outcomes for children.”

The review found that Croydon’s children’s social care service was currently using a contextual safeguarding approach aimed at strengthening the emotional wellbeing of children at risk of serious violence.

While practitioners more experienced in contextual safeguarding were better able to form relationships with these children, frequent changes of social worker remained the biggest barrier to engagement.

“The retention of social workers was felt to be critical in building trusted relationships and thereby promoting positive engagement,” said the review report.

Practitioners told the review panel that a recent restructure had resulted in practitioners receiving more management support within Croydon children’s services, which they hoped would improve recruitment and retention.

Concerns over adultification

The review also stressed the importance of practitioners understanding and respectfully exploring children and families’ cultural origins, faith and experiences of intergenerational poverty, discrimination and state intervention in order to build trust.

Practitioners who contributed to the review highlighted in particular the importance of understanding black families’ experiences with mental health services and the police, including through the use of stop and search.

Case records also identified instances of ‘adultification’, when certain children – often those who are black – are seen as having more agency and less vulnerability than others. For example, Dane, Fynn, Cole and Gabe were variably described as ‘aggressive’, ‘manipulative’ and ‘angry’.

“Systems and professionals must be vigilant to the risks of adultification and question whether an unconscious bias may be influencing the way services respond to children by regarding, and treating, children as adults.”

Principles for reducing risk of violence

The report set out 10 principles for reducing the risk of serious youth violence, which it urged agencies in Croydon to adopt. These include:

• Identifying children who require early help and providing timely support particularly in relation to emotional wellbeing, speech and language therapy and learning.
• Applying tenacity when working with children, young people and families and asking why if people do not engage.
• Identifying and eliminating unnecessary overlaps and duplication in services for children and families.
• Responding to the feedback of families and practitioners on what is needed to reduce levels of serious youth violence.
• Drawing on local and national good practice, for example, in relation to adultification.
• Finding creative ways to work with communities and families in equal partnership.

The report also called on the Croydon Safeguarding Children Partnership (CSCP) to highlight the national issues raised in the review, including with the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.

Response from Croydon partnership

In response to the report, the chair of the CSCP executive, Debbie Jones, said: “On behalf of the Croydon Safeguarding Children Partnership, my condolences to the families of the three young people who lost their lives, and all those who were impacted by these tragic events.

“Most of the children in this review were provided with extensive support from a young age, delivered over many years by a wide range of professionals. The review highlights many examples of caring, compassionate support from committed individuals. Yet the help that was provided did not alter their outcomes.

“Much has changed since these children first came to the notice of statutory services 10 years ago – but there is still a lot we can learn from these tragedies, not only in Croydon but across the country. We are sharing this review and its 10 key principles for reducing violence nationally. In Croydon, we will be working with the community to put in place an action plan and take this important learning forward.”

NORTHERN IRELAND

Unions notify Translink of further planned strike action


Public transport workers have staged a number of strikes in the region in recent months (Liam McBurney/PA)

Eimear McGovern

Wed 21 Feb 2024 

Transport staff have warned Translink they will strike for another three days next week unless a deal is struck on pay.

The Unite, GMB and Siptu unions said Translink had been notified of 72-hour strike action.

In a statement, a Translink spokesperson said: “While we have received formal notification of industrial action next week on 27th, 28th and 29th February, we continue to engage with our Trade Union colleagues regarding this proposed action.

“Services are scheduled to operate as normal at present.

“Any updates will be added to our website: www.translink.co.uk/industrialaction ”

It's after unions said no pay offers have so far been made. They said the strike would go ahead unless an acceptable offer was made.

Speaking to the BBC, hospitality chief Colin Neill appealed to workers to remain around the table.

"We think Translink people are entitled to a pay rise but that has to be through a negotiated process," he said.

"The damage to other industries will be severe. People can't get to us. It will be another body blow, our industry is strained to the hilt," he said. "Please think beyond the damage you will do if you pull strikes like this before proper negotiations have taken place."

Meanwhile, the GMB union said school staff are also likely to strike.

They met Education Minister Paul Givan on Tuesday - who previously said the public sector budget was not sufficient to make a pay offer.

Further strike action which was originally scheduled by February had been suspended to give the Executive time to "make an improved pay offer".

It's after they walked out over a number of days in December and January.

Meanwhile, earlier this week junior doctors in Northern Ireland confirmed they would strike for the first time when they take part in a 24-hour walkout on March 6-7.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said they had no other choice after 97.6% of junior doctors backed the strike action.

Dr Fiona Griffin, chair of BMA’s Northern Ireland junior doctors committee, said they owe it to themselves to act. She said: "We have had 16 years of pay erosion which now amounts to over 30% loss of pay, yet in this time our workload and burnout levels have risen.”

It comes just weeks after a massive strike in Northern Ireland, which saw 16 trade unions and tens of thousands of public sector workers take part.

A £3.3bn package is due to be released by the Government now that Stormont has been restored. About £580m of that is to settle public-sector pay claims.

How many investigations have been opened against GB News

All the open Ofcom investigations facing GB News

On Monday, the media regulator Ofcom opened its most recent investigation into GB News related to its ‘People’s Forum’ live Q&A with Rishi Sunak.

It came after 500 complaints were made about the coverage by the right-wing news channel which has now been found in breach of Ofcom rules five times, breaking rules on protecting audiences from harm twice and due impartiality rules on three occasions.

This latest impartiality investigation will join 12 other open investigations launched in 2023 into GB News, which remain ongoing. Here is a full list of them.
Dan Wootton Tonight, 26 September

Coming in first place in Ofcoms most-complained about programmes of 2023, with over 8,800 complaints received, after misogynistic comments were made by Laurence Fox about PoliticsJOE journalist Ava Evans on the Dan Wootton Tonight show.

The Reclaim Party founder was suspended from GB News following his nasty rant as the investigation under ‘rules of offence’ remains ongoing.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, State of the Nation, 9 May

The Tory MP’s programme is under investigation more than once, on this occasion under broadcaster views / opinions and due impartiality. Under contention is his coverage of breaking news about a jury verdict in Donald Trump’s abuse and defamation trial by writer E Jean Carroll.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, State of the Nation, 13 June

The second case currently under scrutiny is for potential breach of the ‘politicians as presenters’ rule related to Rees-Mogg’s coverage of a stabbing in Nottingham.
Friday Morning with Esther and Philip, 12 May

Another potential breach of due impartiality rules, specifically around politicians acting as newsreaders, over this shows coverage of a teenager being sentenced for terrorism offences.
Saturday Morning with Esther and Philip, 13 May

Only the next day was the Tory MP husband and wife duo’s show picked out again for investigation under due impartiality and ‘politicians as presenters’ over an interview with Reform UK London mayoral candidate Howard Cox, speaking live from an anti-Ultra Low Emission Zone demonstration.
Friday Morning with Esther and Philip, 23 June

Yet again the show faces a potential breach of impartiality after featuring a discussion about the seventh anniversary of the Brexit vote with fellow Tory MP and leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg.
‘Don’t Kill Cash’ Campaign, July 7

Six investigations were opened into various programmes on GB News related to its “Don’t Kill Cash” campaign. One so far has been concluding over The Live Desk coverage of the campaign which was found in breach of impartiality rules.

The related rules into the investigations centre around the requirement of all broadcasters to “ensure that their programmes exclude all expressions of the views and opinions of the person providing the service on matters of political and industrial controversy or current public policy.”

Five remain ongoing including programmes on Breakfast with Eamonn and Isabel, Patrick Christys and Britain’s Newsroom in relation to the campaign coverage.
Privacy and fairness

A Dan Wootton Tonight programme is also apparently under investigation for ‘fairness and privacy’ rules, which Ofcom do not publish details on, but the Indy100 reported regards a discussion about reports the Duchess of Sussex had concerns about the Duke of Sussex’s memoir Spare.

Investigations that Ofcom have found not in breach or were discontinued include on; Lee Anderson’s Real World, Neil Oliver, Breakfast with Stephen and Ellie and Nana Akua, To The Point and Nigel Farage’s interview with a darts legend on Talking Points.

Ofcom has said it is working to conclude the open investigations ‘as quickly as possible’.

Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward, focusing on trade unions and environmental issues

Duck-billed dinosaur from 100 million years ago ‘swam from Eurasia to Africa’

Duck-billed dinosaur fossil was found in Morocco, leading experts to think it could have swam there from Eurasia

Alexander Butler

The fossilised remains of a duck-billed dinosaur was discovered in Morocco
(University of Bath/PA)

A land-based dinosaur may have swam hundreds of miles from Eurasia to Africa, according to a “perplexing” discovery made by scientists.

Researchers found the fossilised remains of a duck-billed dinosaur in Morocco, weighing about 250kg and measuring between three and four metres.

The creature, also known as a hadrosaurid, emerged in North America between 100 million and 66 million years ago and migrated into Europe and Asia when the continents were connected.

But the species should not have been able to reach Africa, as the region was left “floating alone in the ocean, an island continent like modern-day Australia” following the break up of supercontinent Pangea.

This shows that “duckbill dinosaurs, evolving long after the land connections had been broken, somehow managed to get to Africa”, perhaps by swimming, according to the study.


Fossils of the duck-billed dinosaur were found in Morocco
(University of Bath/PA)

Dr Nicholas Longrich, from the University of Bath and one of the report’s authors, told The Times: “The anatomy of the new duckbill closely resembles that of European species, suggesting that the duckbills swam or floated across several hundred kilometres of open water to colonise North Africa.

“It’s extremely improbable that dinosaurs could cross water to get to Africa, but improbable isn’t the same as impossible. And given enough time, improbable things become probable.”

He added that duckbills might be the most surprising discovery of his career. “If you asked me what kind of dinosaurs we’d find in Africa, then a duckbill is the last thing I would have imagined, let alone three species.”

It comes after the distant cousin of theTyrannosaurus rex was discovered hiding in plain sight after being displayed inside a museum for years.

The creature, known as Tyrannosaurus mcraeensis, was mistakenly displayed as a T rex inside a museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before scientists reassessed the fossils.

It is thought to have come from southern America and migrated to what is now Montana, Wyoming and Canada around 67m years ago.

Here, the Tyrannosaurus developed to its terrifying 40 foot size, or the equivalent of a double decker bus, according to University of Bath researchers.

THE HADROSAUR IS THE PROVINCIAL DINOSAUR OF ALBERTA

Slow crawl’ of workers back in offices on Fridays as firms move away from working from home

Research finds the number of UK postings advertising that Fridays can be worked from home has fallen

JOB SEARCH ENGINE ADZUNA FOUND NUMBER OF UK POSTINGS ADVERTISING THAT FRIDAYS CAN BE WORKED FROM HOME FELL LAST MONTH

PEXELS / VLADA KARPOVICH

JOANNA HODGSON1 DAY AGO

London workers are starting to attend their offices on Fridays, new figures suggest, but the return is a “slow crawl back rather than a rush” to pre-pandemic levels.

The hybrid working revolution that followed Covid lockdowns has resulted in London looking most busy from Tuesday to Thursdays but with the last day of the working week often very quiet. However, data compiled for the Standard suggests that employers are now looking for more staff to come in on Fridays.

Job search engine Adzuna found the number of UK postings advertising that Fridays can be worked from home fell to 123 last month.

That was a dip on 135 recorded in January 2023. During the same period the number of recruitment adverts offering “early finish Fridays” dropped to 396 from 429.

Adzuna co-founder Andrew Hunter says: “Fewer companies are advertising that employees can work from home on Fridays or clock off early for the weekend, but we’re seeing a slow crawl back to Fridays in the office, rather than a rush.”

Property giant Landsec, which owns just over six million sq ft of office space of which around 95 per cent is in London, revealed in January that the numbers coming into the office across its portfolio on a Friday were rising.

A spokesman for the developer said: “Whilst midweek is undoubtedly the most popular time for people to come together... the amount of unique daily turnstile tap-ins at our workspaces continues to grow across the week.”

Last week City employer Deutsche Bank banned staff from working at home on Friday and the following Monday. L’Oreal, which has a major UK headquarters in west London, said this month that staff would have to come in at least twice a week.

Last month Mayor Sadiq Khan announced he is to scrap peak fares on the Tube on Fridays for three months from March to boost passenger numbers. Many companies only have a core team in the office on Fridays. However, the Standard highlighted that multiple issues would have to be resolved before cheaper Friday fares can be introduced.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

SFO raids kick off probe into collapsed Signature Group

By Kyle Brasseur

Wed, Feb 21, 2024 


The U.K. Serious Fraud Office (SFO) carried out several residential raids Wednesday as it announced the launch of a criminal investigation into collapsed property investment firm Signature Group.

The SFO coordinated with the National Crime Agency in arresting four unnamed individuals in connection with the probe, which seeks to determine how Signature Group entered administration with losses of up to 140 million pounds (U.S. $177 million) impacting approximately 1,000 investors across the globe.

“We have people up and down the country left out of pocket and buildings left derelict at the center of our cities,” said SFO Director Nick Ephgrave in an agency press release. “Today’s arrests and searches will help us reconstruct exactly what happened. This is now an active criminal investigation.”

Signature Group operated for more than seven years and bought historic U.K. buildings for redevelopment into luxury hotels, residential apartments, and office spaces. Investors were promised returns on their investment of between 8 and 15 percent, the SFO noted.

The company entered administration in 2020.

The investigation is the fourth launched by the SFO since Ephgrave took over as director at the end of September. In a speech earlier this month, he promised the agency would lean heavier on dawn raids to open cases.

“This provides momentum to the investigation: it gets people in an interview room, you look them in the eye and start asking questions, put them under some pressure, search the house, [and] crack the evidence. Why wait?” he said.

 Gwent research “stepping-stone” to tackling racism in Wales

News | 21 February 2024

A powerful report into racism in schools which will change the way local authorities tackle anti-racism has been released following research by Cardiff Metropolitan University.

South East Wales Children’s (SEWC) Safeguarding Board’s education race subgroup commissioned Cardiff Met’s School of Education and Social Policy to undertake a small but significant study in Gwent schools.

Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen were compliant with policies and best practice guidelines in relation to the reporting of racist incidents in schools. However, it was felt that it was unlikely that the number of reports reflected the actual numbers that occurred and gave a true picture of what was being experienced by children and young people.

The education race subgroup, established by the Gwent Safeguarding Board in 2022, wanted to find out why pupils may “under report” racist incidents.

Principal lecturers Chantelle Haughton and Dr Susan Davis, from Cardiff Metropolitan University, led the research.

Drawing on a range of lived and professional experience throughout, the diverse research team also involved teachers Leon Andrews, Batool Akmal, Gemma Maiorano and Dr John Fernandes.

Gareth Jenkins, co-chair of Gwent Safeguarding Board, said: “The Board and the five councils are extremely grateful to Mrs Haughton, Dr Davis and the team for their thought-provoking and revealing report.

“It confirmed our concerns that incidents are under-reported and, more importantly, uncovered some of the reasons that might happen. The views expressed by the children and young people, and staff, were sometimes extremely upsetting and always sobering. This is not about pointing fingers but about learning how things can be improved to ensure our schools are safe and inclusive for everyone.

“All five councils have welcomed the report and are united in that ambition and this report will help them to ensure anti-racism is embedded in the ethos of schools and everything they do.”

Chantelle Haughton said: “The Gwent Safeguarding Board taking this positive, determined step to commission an area specific piece of research intent on hearing and action, is a vital stepping-stone to be spotlighted for lessons relevant pan-Wales.

“Our research findings are heart wrenching to hear and feel and sadly no surprise. There needs to be stronger pro-action to racism and racist incidents in local authorities and schools across Wales, deep sustained professional learning through engagement with Diversity and Anti Racism Professional Learning (DARPL) support, new guidance, explicit data work and ongoing research.

“The research spotlights critical issues also prevalent in other areas across our country. Our future generations spoke courageously to our research team, they want educators and policy makers to take them seriously, to hear their experiences of racism, they want improvement in support, knowledge, communication and sanction.

“The brave participants in the research want their honesty, experience, ideas and voices to play a leading light in the step-change. They want to start to feel that something is being done. Let’s really hear, truly care and build a new legacy together.”

Findings in the report included:

• Racism is prevalent in the lives of those who participated in the research both in their schools and their communities.
• Issues around the use of “banter” need to be addressed.
• There are pockets of good and positive anti-racist practice and thinking in the area.
• Schools must talk to learners about their experiences and put systems in place to support them.
• A standardised consistency of approach for both reporting and dealing with incidents must be put in place as well as an independent process for dealing with reported incidents so those making the claim have confidence it will be dealt with confidentially, impartially and there will be a resolution.

One of the recommendations made by the team has already been progressed, A regional DARPL steering group will be set up for the five councils and the South East Wales Education Achievement Service (EAS).

This will develop a more consistent approach to work around anti-racism in Wales and consider how best to support schools in their professional learning for staff and governors. It will also support curriculum development around diversity and the prevention of racism.

Each council will develop an action plan based on the recommendations and will be responsible for monitoring progress.

Read the full report.