Category: News

The news section offers short commentaries on news about our project and related topics

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State Violence and Criminal Amnesties

Last week the UK Government announced plans that would see an end to prosecutions, inquests, judicial review and civil claims to 1970s ‘Troubles’ conflict related incidents. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis outlined plans to introduce a bill to parliament which would block all future prosecutions via a statute of limitations from Autumn 2021. This move has pushed commentators, such as Susan McKay, to ask: how much contempt does this government have for Northern Ireland?

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Weekly recommendations from WFTA

A quick update on what the Warnings from the Archive team have been listening to/reading/watching this week. The pieces that have caught our interest and develop the themes and topics explored by the project.

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Curating colonialism: Reflections on Osborne’s appointment to chair ‘Brutish’ Museum

Last Thursday, George Osborne, former Chancellor of Exchequer, was unanimously appointed the new chair of the British Museum’s board of trustees. This position is not government-appointed, however given his high-status role in the Cameron cabinet and in the Conservative party more broadly, the decision has garnered considerable controversy. It has fed into an ongoing debate over the state’s role in the curation of a white supremacist British self-image, particularly with regards to cultural restitution, the display of stolen items, and national profit from colonial legacies.  

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Weekly recommendations from WFTA

A quick update on what the Warnings from the Archive team have been listening to/reading/watching this week. The pieces that have caught our interest and develop the themes and topics explored by the project.

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Reckoning with Iraq, Revoking Authorisation

On 17th June, the US House of Representatives voted to revoke the 2002 Authorisation for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iraq. Whilst the resolution is not currently in use as the legal basis for any ongoing US military activities, its existence sanctions a US President to attack Iraq without Congressional approval. In January 2020, the Trump administration used it to justify the legality of the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Given the escalation in tensions with Iran that ensued many argued that the attack should have required Congress’ assent. 

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Weekly recommendations from WFTA

A quick update on what the Warnings from the Archive team have been listening to/reading/watching this week. The pieces that have caught our interest and develop the themes and topics explored by the project. 

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Royal Commissions and Legacies of Colonialism

On 31st March, the UK government published the findings of the Commission on Race and Disparities in, what has been termed, the Sewell Report. In this 258-page report, the Commissioners outlines their key findings about the contexts of racial discrimination and inequality in UK. Despite recognising that the nation is not ‘yet a post-racial society’ (9), the Commission reflects positively on the steps that have been taken towards equality of opportunity within various sectors.

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Would a COVID inquiry provide justice?

Popular figures, including author Michael Rosen, have demanded a public inquiry to investigate government failings to the COVID outbreak in the UK. Rosen referred to his personal experience of COVID where he was on a ventilator in an ICU ward during 2020 for six weeks, causing long-term effects on his physical and mental health.

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