National Press Highlights Spring 2020
COVID19 Vaccination Scam
As of 7 January 2021, Action Fraud had received 57 reports from members of the public who have been sent text messages claiming to be from the NHS, offering them the opportunity to sign up for coronavirus vaccinations. The texts ask the recipient to click on a link which takes them to an online form where they are prompted to input personal and financial details. In some cases the online form has looked very similar to the real NHS website. In the UK, coronavirus vaccinations will only be available via the National Health Services of England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. You can be contacted by the NHS, your employer, a local GP surgery or pharmacy, to receive your vaccination. Remember, the vaccinations are free of charge and you will not be asked for a payment.
The NHS will never:
ask for your bank account or card details
ask for your PIN or banking passwords
arrive unannounced at your home to administer the vaccine
ask for documentation to prove your identity, such as a passport or utility bills
If you receive a call you believe to be fraudulent, hang up. If you are suspicious about an email you have received, forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk. Suspicious text messages should be forwarded to the number 7726, which is free of charge. If you believe you are the victim of a fraud, please report this to Action Fraud as soon as possible by calling 0300 123 2040 or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk.
Windrush Community Fund
The Windrush Community Fund is up to £500,000 of financial support available to charity, community or grassroots organisations across the UK to fund projects which raise awareness of the Windrush Scheme (documentation), the Windrush Compensation Scheme or both. This support is available to fund activities across the UK. Awards will range from a minimum of £2,500 to a maximum of £25,000. Voice4Change England will oversee the Windrush Community Fund application process. They will process incoming applications and respond to enquiries about the application process. The applications will then be referred to the Windrush Cross-Government Working Group and the Home Office, who will make final decisions on funding.
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Covid vaccine: 72% of black people unlikely to have jab, UK survey finds
Advisers from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) have raised fresh concerns over Covid vaccine uptake among black, Asian and minority ethnic communities (BAME) as research showed up to 72% of black people said they were unlikely to have the jab. Historical issues of unethical healthcare research, and structural and institutional racism and discrimination, are key reasons for lower levels of trust in the vaccination programme, a report from Sage said.
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Cultural Warriors Attacking "Woke" History Care Little For Truth. It's All Political Theatre
Historian David Olusoga has written an article about the recent trend both in the UK and USA to push against teaching a more inclusive view of our history. Olusoga characterizes these attempts by politicians who claim to want to protect "our history" as being political theatre intended to pander to notions of exceptionalism that have prevented us from confronting difficult facts and painful truths about what our nation has done and been and how those histories continue to shape our modern societies.
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Black Bosses "Shut Out" By "Vanilla Boys Club"
There are fewer black people at the top of the FTSE 100 firms despite long-standing diversity targets, research has found. For the first time in six years, there are no black chairs, chief executives or finance chiefs, the Green Park consultancy found. Green Park chair Trevor Phillips said talented black people did not stay at big firms because they felt they would be used as "window dressing". A "vanilla boys' club" of senior executives was to blame, he said. According to Green Park's research, just 10 out of 297 FTSE 100 chairmen and women, chief executives and finance chiefs are from an ethnic minority background.
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Ministers Promise Crackdown On Online Racism Against Black Footballers
Ministers have vowed to crack down on online racism levelled at footballers as Manchester police confirmed they were launching an investigation into the racial abuse a number of black players received during the last week. The Manchester United and England striker Marcus Rashford has described the racist abuse he received after United’s draw at Arsenal as “humanity and social media at its worst”. This came as the Chelsea defender Reece James, West Brom’s Romaine Sawyers and the Manchester United duo Axel Tuanzebe and Anthony Martial were also all targeted this week.
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Craig Small Killing: Police Officers Under Investigation Over Sharing Of CCTV Film
Two Metropolitan police officers are under criminal investigation for allegedly filming and sharing CCTV evidence of the moment a man was murdered, the Guardian has learned.Carol Campbell said that the video of the murder of her son, Craig Small, being uploaded to social media has compounded her trauma. Small, 32, was shot outside a shop in Wembley, London on 5 July 2019. He later died in hospital. The moment was caught on the CCTV of a nearby fast food outlet. Days later, his family discovered that a video was circulating on social media of the moment Small was killed.