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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
World
Joshua Hartley

Protestors call for apology over handling of 'racist incident' at Nottingham Castle

Protestors gathered outside Nottingham Castle led by grandma Panya Banjoko who has demanded an apology from the Trust behind the landmark for its handling of a reported 'racist incident' last year.

A child was reported to have racially abused Ms Banjoko's two grandchildren, then aged seven and 11, in a play area at the Castle on August 17.

A dispute then followed between two families.

Nottinghamshire Police investigated the incident but no further action was taken because the accused child was below the age of criminal culpability.

An independent investigation into how the incident was handled found the written complaint wasn't managed in accordance with the Nottingham Castle Trust's complaints policy.

It concluded that staff of the Castle "failed to enact the safeguarding procedures" listed on its website.

On Saturday afternoon (March 5), Ms Banjoko and Stand Up to Racism campaigners protested outside the castle gates at 11.30am.

Ms Banjoko demanded a formal apology from the Trust.

She said: "It has taken eight months to get a small statement that is not enough.

"I have still not received an apology directly for me or my granddaughters, unless they think a statement to the press is a real apology."

Ms Banjoko, who had been a curator at Nottingham Castle and is currently withholding her services, had taken her grandchildren to see her exhibition entitled 'Don't Blame the Blacks'.

"No trustees will meet with me. After all this time no one from here has met me," Ms Banjoko added.

"This protest is about the failings of the trustees to deliver on the statements on diversity, they seem like hollow messages.

"There's no empathy or compassion. I would have thought that this protest would have been an opportunity for them to reach out."

Ms Banjoko formally complained about the way the incident was handled by Nottingham Castle staff, as she felt safeguarding procedures were not met and complained at the lack of an anti-racism statement among other areas.

Richard Buckwell, 70, a joint coordinator for Stand Up to Racism, said: "Nottingham is supposed to be a inclusive city and we have all been frustrated by the length of time we have been trying to get a proper response over this.

"We're calling on artists and people involved in the culture industries to boycott Nottingham Castle.

"The trustees do not represent the city of Nottingham."

A statement on behalf of the Nottingham Castle Trust Board was previously released after the findings of the independent report came to light.

It said: "We have been in conversation with Ms Banjoko about attending a meeting to discuss the report and to find a way forward but have been unable to confirm a date.

"We have faced pressure to release the findings earlier than we would have liked but hope that [this] statement makes the conclusions and the positive action that has already been taken clear.

"To clarify, this report followed a separate police investigation into an allegation of racism against one of the two families involved.

"None of the Castle staff were involved in, nor witnessed, this incident, and the police closed their enquiry due to lack of evidence and due to this being a safeguarding incident. This matter therefore formed no part of the Trust’s report.

"Before touching on the conclusions made and the learnings that are being actioned, we want to formally apologise to both families. It is clear the incident could have been handled in a way that they would have felt better supported, and staff felt more prepared, potentially creating a better outcome for all parties.

"We apologise to our team who faced this difficult situation without that specialist training and to both families who trusted that this had been completed before their visit to the Castle.

"There are a range of findings and recommendations that we accept and are now part of a clear action plan."

It added: "To clarify that this independent report had an overarching objective of fully answering the letter of complaint and to specifically investigate whether Nottingham Castle Trust’s Complaints and Safeguarding Policy and Procedure was followed.

"It is also important to add that Ms Banjoko was invited to take part in the investigation and that she declined due to her stated lack of confidence in the board. This was not recorded in the report itself as Ms Banjoko did not speak to investigators but will be formally recorded in board meeting notes on 23 February.

"In summary, the report did not find that staff failed to assist the complainant and her family, police were correctly called, and staff did their best to take care of all children involved and did act positively in numerous ways.

"There are significant lessons that have been learned. The Safeguarding Policy was not observed in full and processes to determine the seriousness of the incident were not followed, and this is not acceptable."

The trust said a group had been formed to help consider how it improves procedures.

The senior leadership team was working through each of the recommendations, the trust said, and an interim anti-racism statement is being presented to the internal group for endorsement.

This is before a more detailed policy is worked on.

The trust added: "The Trust’s senior leadership team is well on track to addressing the report’s conclusions, prioritising support to the team that is at the heart of the Castle’s success and implementing ways to better represent and include the wider Nottingham community in everything the Castle offers."

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