Options for making a complaint against the police following apparent loss of a report of an offence and non-response to subsequent emails, explaining why pursuing a complaint is important, not simply for personal reasons but also in the public interest.
5-minute read
Given concerns about the recent appointment to the board of the Office for Students, I set out and examine in this article issues relating to conflict of interest in public appointments generally and raise questions about this appointment in particular.
5-minute read
A critique of an explanation by a columnist at The Times (London) for English lack of knowledge, forgetting, and ignorance about Ireland, with reference to a type of English approach to writing about Ireland and the Irish, and with broader critical reference to similar claims about ignorance, which have implications for truth, justice, and commemoration.
A memorial tribute to the work of Alan Hunt, Professor Emeritus, Carleton University, Canada, a hugely important figure in the sociology of law, who passed away on 8 December 2021.
BBC Radio recently broadcast a programme ‘Class in the workplace’. The programme description and the programme itself leave much to be desired. Here’s an alternative description, one that acknowledges relevant socio-legal realities around social class.
3-minute read
An examination of the implications and challenges for understanding heritage, particularly regarding colonialism and slavery, in omitting reference to the Black attendant in historical paintings of royalty and the aristocracy, which follows from what appears to be a not-isolated experience at the National Trust, England.
25-minute read
A critique of claims made for the photography exhibition ‘Daylight Robbery’ about the historical window tax and its effect on access to light and air in London and purported resonance during the COVID-19 ‘lockdown’; underscoring the importance of critically assessing techniques of framing and the need for complex understanding regarding health and socio-economic conditions.
10-minute read
This is an update from my blog Petition to the Board of Ofcom Regarding ‘The Truth About Traveller Crime’, published on 11 May 2021. It includes reference to the number of signatories to the petition, plus analysis of responses from Ofcom.
4-minute read
Should socio-economic background be monitored in public appointments, and, if so, how? A discussion on this issue, including with reference to the response of Peter Riddell CBE, Commissioner for Public Appointments, to my question on the issue, following his speech to the Constitution Unit, UCL, 29 April 2021. Spoiler: I’m in favour of such monitoring.
15-minute read
Why it’s necessary to petition the Board of Ofcom, the UK’s broadcast regulator, to seek responses regarding their ongoing, woefully delayed investigation into Channel 4’s programme ‘The Truth About Traveller Crime: Dispatches’.
5-minute read