The suggestion in Letters 29th January that immigration is the reason for a council housing shortage is racist and ill informed. These are the lies that the BNP and other fascist parties use to divide communities who are all on the receiving end of poor policy.

The shortage in council housing is because consecutive governments and councils have sold housing stock without replacing it. The shortage puts house prices and rent up and makes it more difficult for people to own their home either personally or through co-operative housing.

The council allows property development companies to throw up hundreds of one bedroom apartments for maximum profit and then lets them buy out of the social housing obligations and market the ‘homes’ at London’s overspill.

This kind of approach does not serve the interests of anyone but the developers, the bankers and the far right! Cambridge needs family and community homes that are well designed and well built with good transport, social spaces and amenities.

Our local elected representatives must campaign for more council housing as part of a city wide plan not make excuses for the pro market ideologies that create these housing conditions. They will however write to this page claiming that central governments don’t give them any money to build council housing and that the planning committee is not to cast political judgement. Well what do our councillors do? They should shout a little louder for public housing or it is their own hands they have tied.

Labels: Local Respect, No Fire Cuts, Oakington/Immigration, Unite/Anti Racism

Amicus members staged a one day strike at Oakington Detention Centre near Cambridge on Tuesday 22nd August.

Amicus members, employed by the Refugee Legal Centre (RLC’s) to provide legal representation to asylum seekers detained at Oakington will be striking in protest at the RLC’s failure to abide by its Redundancy Policy.



95% of Amicus’ members at Oakington voted in favour of industrial action in a ballot conducted earlier this month after fourteen early redundancies were made in July without consultation with the union. Employees are also being redeployed from the site and up to twenty more face losing their jobs at the end of September.

Respect are concerned at the way staff have been treated and at the disregard for their rights as employees.

Amicus Regional Officer, Sarah Carpenter, said:

“There’s a real hypocrisy at work here. This is a human rights organisation that is abandoning agreed policies and sacrificing people when it suits them which is exactly what our members at Oakington seek to defend their clients from.”

Cambridge Respest have repeatedly stated concerns over the treatment of asylum seekers and the role of the centre. It is clear that conditions for both detainees and staff is worsening.

In June the Home Office decided to convert Oakington from a centre for fast tracking asylum claims into an ordinary detention centre. On Wednesday this week the Legal Services Commission decided that the contract for providing a legal service to those six asylum seekers per day after the end of September would be awarded to the Immigration Advisory Service, the other organisation on site at Oakington which provides a legal service to detained asylum seekers.

A picket was in place on Tuesday between 8.30 am and 10.30 am.

Amicus says the plans for Oakington fly in the face of the Home Offices immigration policy. The sites future as a detention centre is also uncertain but is likely to stay open until 2008 and perhaps up until 2011. Oakington Detention Centre was opened in 2000 in order to process asylum claims within a week.

The RLC, which is a national organisation, has a record of challenging Home Office decisions on Immigration. Last year the RLC won the Liberty award for defending Human Rights which is awarded by Liberty, Amnesty and the Law Society.

Labels: Oakington/Immigration

Sent 2/10/05

Dear David Howarth MP,

Cambridge Respect are very concerned for the wellbeing of asylum seekers at the Immigration reception centre in Oakington following the discovery of an unexploded WW2 close to the old army base. The bomb was discovered on Friday but it took until Sunday to make the device safe. However the asylum seekers were not moved to safety over the weekend whilst it was seen as dangerous enough to evacuate residents in near by houses as well as staff from the centre.

Cambridge Respect has written to the Home Office asking for an explanation after Staff who work at the centre raised concerns that detainees were left in possible dangers for much of the weekend and without translators or legal advice and with little idea of what was going on.

I would be most grateful if you also asked questions about this issue.

Yours Sincerely,


Tom Woodcock
Respect – The Unity Coalition

Labels: Local Respect, Oakington/Immigration

Oakington Reception Centre - sent 2/10/05

To Whom It May Concern:

Cambridge Respect are very concerned for the wellbeing of asylum seekers at the Immigration reception centre in Oakington following the discovery of an unexploded WW2 bomb close to the centre. It was discovered on Friday but it took until Sunday to make the device safe. Asylum seekers appear not to have been moved to safety over the weekend even though the bomb was perceived to be dangerous enough to warrant the evacuation of residents in near bye houses as well as many staff from the centre.

We are concerned that staff and detainees were left in danger for much of the weekend and without translators and legal advice, potentially unable to communicate, leaving asylum seekers with little idea of what was going on.

By keeping asylum seekers under lock and key the British Government is already showing contempt and knowingly leaving detainees in danger, further compounds this vulnerable and distressing process. Asylum seekers need and are entitled to translators and legal advisors and it is inhumane and illegal to prevent access to these services.

We are asking for an independent investigation into whether sufficient safety and evacuation procedures are in place in detention centre. If so were they adhered to on Friday the 30th of September, Saturday the 1st and Sunday the 2nd of October 2005. Further to this we ask if you can guarantee the safety and wellbeing of asylum seekers in you custody, especially during an emergency. We would also like to visit the centre with the aid of translators in order to talk to detainees and employees.

I anticipate your response and hope you will be able to follow up our requests

Yours truly,


Tom Woodcock
Cambridge Respect – The Unity Coalition

Labels: Local Respect, Oakington/Immigration