Petition soars through 1,000 – Bestselling author Lynne Reid Banks – 63 MPs support EDM – and a reminder of why this is a life and death cause…
Shortly before 1pm on Friday the end child detention now no10 petition recorded its 1,000th name. A huge thank you to everyone who has signed the petition so far. Let’s redouble our efforts to take the number of signatures to 2,000 in memory of all the children who are arrested and detained by the immigration authorities each year.
We are delighted to have the support of best selling author of the ‘L Shaped Room’ and ‘The Indian in the Cupboard’, Lynne Reid Banks, who wrote to us to say:
A woman I knew, a Quaker, once said to me, “I’m not sure of anything, except this: If you see someone about to harm a child, you must act.” If we saw a government minister about to strike a child and knock it down, every one of us would leap forward instinctively to grab his arm. What is being done in our name in locking up these poor innocents is worse than a blow from a grown man’s hand – it can do life-long damage. Three cheers for everyone involved in this campaign. I’m glad to add my name to the list which I hope will grow and grow’.
63 MPs have now signed the early day motion sponsored by Chris Mullin, Peter Bottomley, and Sarah Teather from across the political spectrum including the Labour Party, SDLP, UUP, SNP, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. This is an unprecedented parliamentary consensus and a clear demonstration that MPs do listen to their constituents and that many are just as shocked as we are that so many children continue to be detained unnecessarily in the United Kingdom.
Is it going to take the death of a child in custody for this government to wake up to the misery they are inflicting on innocent young lives?
The shocking news of the attempt by a 10 year old Nigerian girl to strangle herself to death in Tinsely House immigration removal centre on Sunday 18 October reported by The Guardian on Wednesday shows why this campaign is so important and highlights the human cost of the mistreatment of children who are subject to repeated detention and the threat of deportation to a fate which for Adeoti Ogunsola was more awful than attempting to end her own life. Is it going to take the death of a child in custody for this government to wake up to the misery they are inflicting on innocent young lives? (Listen to the report from BBC Radio 4 Today Programme Friday 23 October).
