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Hello,
Today’s edition leads on fresh allegations that Merseyside Police is institutionally racist following an incident in Toxteth. We also have some initial findings from the census and Michael Gove has a pop at Liverpool City Council bosses.
Force 'institutionally racist'
Merseyside Police has once again been accused of institutional racism this morning, after footage emerged of armed officers aiming guns at two young innocent black men in Toxteth.
The force says it was responding to reports a man had been seen carrying a gun and that one of the men stopped matched a description officers had been given, but the body cam footage has caused widespread anger and upset in Liverpool.
Kim Johnson, the MP for the area and also Liverpool's first black MP, says the "profiling and scapegoating" of black men by police needs to stop.
"Seeing the video of the stop on Mulgrave Street, I thought I was witnessing an incident on the streets of America, not Liverpool," Ms Johnson said.
"The firearms teams, the handcuffing of two young black men who were innocent of any offence. Yet another time when 'you matched the description' was used by the police to intimidate and harass black men for being black; yet another time Merseyside police have left young Black people scared and traumatised.
"This is why I say they are institutionally racist and it is this profiling and scapegoating that needs to change, and change now."
Merseyside Police have defended their actions and insisted that the circumstances surrounding the stop search meant it was "justified".
The incident comes a month after Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Emily Spurrell said the force was indeed "institutionally racist".
Ms Spurrell, who was elected to the position in May 2021, said that while the "vast majority" of officers were "incredibly dedicated" and "not racist" - the institution had been "designed by a certain group of people" and "did not take into account" the experiences of black and ethnic minority people.
Merseyside Police denied the charge at the time however, with Chief Constable Serena Kennedy saying "I categorically do not believe that Merseyside Police is institutionally racist".
Census shows North's towns and cities moving further apart
Some 24 million of us around the country filled in the questionnaires last spring - and yesterday the results of the census were revealed in all their nerdy, technicolour glory.
The figures offer a fascinating insight into how the North's population is changing and the challenges those changes might bring to the region's political leaders as our towns and cities go in very different directions.
While the population of England and Wales increased by 6.3% to 59.6 million in the last decade, the North's grew much less quickly with the North East's increasing just 1.9% in the same period.
But a number of areas saw their populations increase markedly, such as Salford, the home of MediaCity, but perhaps more surprisingly Selby in North Yorkshire and Chorley in Lancashire.
On Merseyside, Knowsley's population increased by 5.9% and Liverpool by 4.2%.
But in many parts of the region the picture was quite different. There are only a dozen areas outside London where population actually fell in the last ten years and more than half of those are in the North.
The trend was most pronounced in more rural parts of the region, with Copeland and Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria and Richmondshire in North Yorkshire seeing the biggest drops.
Michael Gove slams 'weak leadership'
“Weak leadership” that was ‘wholly unacceptable’ forced the Conservative government to send in commissioners to Liverpool Council according to a senior minister.
Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Levelling Up and Communities, told delegates at the Local Government Association (LGA) Conference in Harrogate, that the government had to take action when councils “do fall short”.
Citing Liverpool as a “high profile instance”, Mr Gove said the widely documented failings at the Town Hall prompted a response from Whitehall.
Referencing Liverpool alongside Slough, Mr Gove said: “In both there’s the common thread of weak leadership. I’m sure, like me, you find these failings wholly unacceptable.
“It’s not just the case that the people of Liverpool and Slough deserve better, it’s also the case that local services matter.” Mr Gove’s comments to the local government conference come ahead of the impending update from commissioners that is expected to lead to further action at the Town Hall.
A year on from the damning Caller Report, it was revealed last month in a briefing note to Mr Gove that the council is going "backwards not forwards" in some areas. Pressure continues to mount on the local authority as more and more issues emerge around its handling of contracts.
In focus
The view
“This profiling and scapegoating needs to change, and change now"
| Liverpool MP Kim Johnson |
First look inside Liverpool's new £38m theatre
Images have shown the inside of Liverpool's newest theatre ahead of its grand opening in July.
The ground-breaking new venue, Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot, is home to the only 17th-century style, timber-built "Cockpit" theatre outside London, able to seat 450 spectators. Built entirely during the pandemic with public funds and donations, the new venue is anticipated to attract over 140,000 visitors a year.
Melanie Lewis, chief executive of the Shakespeare North Playhouse, said: "Revealing the building is wonderful. It's a culmination of more than a decade of work by so many people, and yet in many ways this is just the start.
"The entire building is a work of art in its own right, but what I am most excited about is how people will use it; how they will be welcomed and feel safe; how they will be inspired by Shakespeare, the physical space, and the people."
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