The Source hits 1000+ subscribers
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for subscribing
Good morning, afternoon or evening,
Thank you so much for subscribing to The Source.
This week, we officially hit over 1000 subscribers. I cannot express how happy I am.
I started the Source to highlight stories from Black, Asian and Arab communities that often go under the radar and now it has evolved to include our own independent journalism by telling stories from the Black community. To know that over a 1000 of you feel this work is worth doing gives me a renewed sense of purpose and I cannot thank you enough.
I also want to thank those who recommended me on Substack. I’m so grateful to
, and who told their subscribers to join me over here, as well as those of you who aren’t on the app who told friends and family to sign up. I also want to thank the writers and journalists who have contributed thus far.This is a reader-funded publication. No oligarchs pulling the strings, no major backing, just fearlessly writing and highlighting the stories I believe the public needs to hear.
Here’s to the next 1000 subscribers.
Also, don’t forget to follow The Source on Instagram @thesourcenewsletter. I usually post what I’m up to and this week I went to see an immersive play on the Windrush scandal so I shared a few clips of it over there.
As you know, those of you who are on a free subscription do get the exclusive independent journalism from The Source, but you do not usually get the full weekly news recap out on Saturdays. However, in honour of achieving this milestone, this week’s one is on me.
Without further ado, here’s what you shouldn’t have missed this week.
Top stories
Portraits honouring the Windrush Generation have been vandalised in a ‘act of racial hatred’ just over a week since they were unveiled in Brixton. Police say no arrests have been made. Read the full story by Jacob Phillips at The Standard.
An investigation has been launched after a mosque was set on fire in Blackburn. Police say a window was broken at the Masjid Al Aqsa and a fire was “deliberately set within the premises.” Council leader Phil Riley said Islamophobia was on the rise but that it could not become acceptable. Read the full story by Matthew Calderbank at The Lancashire Post.
Showing support for Palestine Action or being a member of the group will now be considered a criminal offence carrying a sentence of up to 14 years in prison from today after it became banned under The Terrorism Act. Read the full story by Haroon Siddique at The Guardian.
The Source Exclusive
A 70-year-old Windrush scandal victim who lost his job and his home says he has been awarded £0.00 from the Home Office’s compensation scheme after requesting a review three times. Latest figures show that a shocking 64 percent of eligible Windrush claimants have been denied a payout. Read the full story by me for The Source.
Alleged Violence Against Women and Girls
A man has been charged with murder after the body of a mum-of-four was found at a house in Birmingham. Irene Mbuguan is said to have been working as a carer for David Walsh, 34, who has been arrested. Read the full story by ITV.
Legal
The seven-year custody sentence given to a 15-year-old boy who racially abused and killed an 80-year-old man will be reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme after being referred by the Attorney General. Bhim Kohli was subjected to racist abuse and left with three broken ribs and a fatal injury to his spinal cord following a "seven-and-a-half minute period of continuing aggression" while walking his dog in the park near his home. Read the full story by Dan Martin at BBC.
Politics
A former Conservative MP who was suspended after using the racist phrase “N****r in the woodpile” in 2017 has now joined the Reform UK party. Read the full story by Rowena Mason at The Guardian.
Windrush Scandal
A mum who has been denied the right to stay in the UK despite her two children being born in Britain has been granted permission to take her case to the Court of Appeal. Jeanell Hippolyte whose father had come to the England as part of the Windrush generation said she was “grateful” that her ‘voice would be heard.’ Read the full story by BBC.
The rollout of eVisas could risk leaving up to 200,000 people who have been living in the UK for decades undocumented in a Windrush-style scandal as “the Home Office does not know their whereabouts or have their details on government computer systems” in order to let them know of the changes from physical immigration status documents to digital. Read the full story by Diane Taylor at The Guardian.
A law to consider clean air a human right is being sought by cross-party London MPs in memory of nine-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah who was the first person to have air pollution listed as a cause of death after she died in 2013. The girl had been “exposed to excessive levels of pollution” and suffered multiple seizures. Read the full story by Thomas Mason at BBC.
Policing
A “game changing” new device that can detect bruising on darker skin has successfully been used in rape cases. Following a pilot of the device in south London where Project Archway was used, charges were brought in on 45 percent of cases. Read the full story by Anthony France and Tristan Kirk at The Standard.
A Black former police superintendent is suing over claims she was forced out of the Metropolitan Police in a “racist witch-hunt.”Robyn Williams was convicted in 2019 of possessing a video of child sexual abuse which had been sent to her on WhatsApp. She now claims she would have been treated if she was white. Read the full story by Tristan Kirk at The Standard.
Business
A ‘loyal ASOS customer’ who says she bought multiple sizes of clothes after struggling to find the right fit has been banned from shopping at the retailer because of the amount of returns she made. Tskenya-Sarah Frazer, 31, says that being tall and plus-sized forced her to buy multiples during her annual big shops and that the retailer was “punching down” on people who don’t fit regular sizes. Read the full story by Neil Shaw at MyLondon.
An entrepreneur who features on a campaign at Heathrow airport celebrating UK businesses says he received hateful racist and Islamophobic messages likening him to a terrorist. Syed Usman Shah who runs the Date Sultan from Borough Market said he was made to feel like “he doesn’t belong.” Read the full story by Shuiab Khan at Asian Image.
Health
One in eight senior managers in the NHS are from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds, according to new figures published this week, but 80 percent of trusts report that white applicants were significantly more likely than Black and minority ethnic applicants to be appointed from shortlisting. Read the full story
A woman who lost her leg when she took the tube and stood next to one of the four men involved in the London bombings on July 7, 2005, says she had originally planned to take the day off from work but decided to go in. The bombings saw 52 people killed but Thelma Stober who was one of the survivors is now supporting others who have lived through horror. Read the full story by Riz Lateef and James W Kelly at BBC.
World News
A 12-year-old boy who was shot centimetres from his heart by Israeli snipers while sitting near a car eating pizza is ‘lucky to be alive’. Doctors say Iyas Abu Mufreh was hit by ‘dumb dumb’ bullets designed to expand on impact and are banned for use in war under international law. Read the full story by Al Jazeera.
The singer Akon’s Plans to build a futuristic Senegalese city likened to Wakanda in the Marvel film Black Panther have been dropped officials says. Following years of issues, it is reported that the musician is now working on a more “realistic project.” Read the full story by Nicolas Négoce, Natasha Booty & Jonathan Griffin at BBC.
A funeral has been held for the 31-year-old journalist/blogger whose death sparked protests in Kenya. An autopsy report conflicted with police claims that he died from self-inflicted wounds. Read the full story by Africa News.
Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo has become the first Black African singer to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Read the full story by Africa News.
