Esmé Madill tells of small charities that make a huge difference to some of the most vulnerable, and whose existence is imperilled by the cuts.
Deborah Padfield, a Citizens Advice Bureau specialist adviser, offers a systematic breakdown of the potentially disastrous effects of proposed cuts to legal aid. She concludes that the cuts not only risk leaving the most vulnerable without access to the law, but in many cases may increase public s
In a landmark judgment on child detention at Yarl’s Wood, Judge Wyn Williams found that the UK Border Agency failed to uphold its own rules and breached claimants’ rights to freedom, privacy and family life. The coalition government’s plans to continue detaining children until May now look to be i
A report on the UK Border Agency's work, published today by the Home Affairs Select Committee, exposes poor decision-making and notes MPs' concern around the training of employees in the use of force. Clare Sambrook, co-ordinator of the campaign End Child Detention Now, welcomes the report, but sa
On December 11, a group of 15-year-old schoolboys found themselves in the middle of a several thousand strong race riot in central Moscow. The boys, already badly beaten, were rescued by four unarmed OMON [special police force] officers. In contrast to their assailants, the boys and police officer
Ilya Varlamov is one of Russia's leading photojournalists, enjoying prominence for his memorable narratives of the country's dramatic politics. Here we present his take on the Russian New Year. It proved to be an unforgettable one for dozens of activists, who in highly controversial circumstances
The differences between Putin and Medvedev over the sacking of Mayor Luzhkov in 2010 were the first real crack in the Russian duumvirate. Khimki Forest, the Khodorkovsky guilty verdict and the manoeuvring for position before the 2012 presidential election are likely to exacerbate the situation fur
We lead this first report of 2011 with a look back at the top stories of last year - a year which saw; the continuation of the Mexican tragedy; the failure to confront widespread Afghani opium production; and a rising clamour for a new paradigm and an end to drug prohibition. We look forward to ke
As we head into 2011, the Coalition has still not fulfilled their pledge to end child detention. Clare Sambrook outlines the glaring gap between the government's words and deeds regarding a policy proven to cause children serious and lasting physical and mental harm.
On 27 December Mikhail Khodorkovsky was found guilty of money laundering and probably faces another long stretch in prison. 4 days earlier retired colonel Vladimir Kvachkov was suddenly arrested. Examining these two, and one other, apparently dissimilar cases, Dmitry Travin finds that the threads
