Runnymede Trust

15/08/2026

Our love and deepest condolences to the family and friends of Jason Arday.

Jason was a trustee of the Runnymede Trust for three terms, concluding his service in 2024. His death is personal to us, and we are all reeling from this news.

His death comes after an obscene and relentless media campaign that denied him the most basic human compassion. By one count, this media barrage totalled 249 media articles in less than a month, with over 20 stories per day even following his resignation.

Racism has consequences; it kills.

In his own words, Jason asked “only for understanding, for compassion, and for the space to begin again.” He was denied this. There must be a reckoning with the media and academic actors that created and fuelled the specific racism that shaped the final years of his life.

But for now, we mourn his death, along with all those who were close to him.

Rest in eternal peace and power, Jason 🕊

30/07/2026

From widespread racist violence, to attacks on places of worship and burning down homes and businesses of people of colour, our new Prime Minister is inheriting a country which is ripping at the seams.

Successive governments have not only failed to deliver a coherent and ambitious anti-racist strategy, but have fuelled and encouraged racist hatred through cruel policies which demonise and scapegoat people of colour and migrant communities.

This time it must be different. That’s why, alongside over 100 organisations from across civil society, we’ve written to the Prime Minister to urge him to deliver a national anti-racist strategy, built with civil society and communities affected by racism and discrimination.

Tackling racism will benefit us all, from fairer institutions to more equitable wealth distribution, creating healthy communities where everyone has the ability to prosper.

Read the full open letter on our website 🔗 https://www.runnymedetrust.org/news/open-letter-national-antiracist-strategy

22/06/2026

This Windrush Day, we’re promoting the work of the Windrush Justice Community Collective.

The Windrush generation were encouraged to help rebuild post-war Britain. In return, they were wrongly detained, deported, denied healthcare and work, and stripped of their citizenship, homes and livelihoods by Hostile Environment policies.

The Windrush compensation scheme, which was promised to correct these injustices, is now in its seventh year, and has still failed to deliver for many families. As of January 2026, over 60 people have died waiting for the resolution of their cases. More than half of concluded claims received zero compensation. And without access to legal advice, even those who have received compensation are receiving a fraction of the amounts they are entitled to.

A June 2025 report by JUSTICE found that the average amount offered without legal advice was £11,400. With representation, that rose eight-fold to £83,200. In the most extreme cases, one claimant’s offer went from zero to £295,000 with legal support. Another claimant’s rose from £300 to £170,000.

This is clearly a rigged system. These are not individual failings or errors, but evidence of a system that is set up to fail. This is unsurprising given the Hostile Environment demands the ongoing persecution of our communities of colour.

The WJCC petition is calling for a full public inquiry, the establishment of a new independent body to manage the compensation process, as well as free legal support and citizenship or indefinite leave to remain for all families affected.

This Windrush Day, support the victims and their families and sign the petition.

Hey! 👋 Survivors of the Windrush scandal have been given apologies and memorials, but the reality is that many are still being denied fair compensation. 😔 The Government promised to overhaul this broken system, and it’s time we hold them to it. Could you take a minute to add your name and he...

18/06/2026

"Young people are being failed, and that's about deprivation and a lack of resources, but also a lack of care and love"

In the first episode of our new podcast, Richie Brave speaks to rapper KOJ and lecturer Dr Becky Clark about the racialised myths that paint young Black people as criminals.

'When Fear Picks a Face' is now available via YouTube (https://youtu.be/JJDztJV16Ao) and wherever you get your podcasts (https://rss.com/podcasts/unpacked-young-people-violence/)

New episodes every Thursday.

16/06/2026

Grenfell is not the exception, it is the rule.

Our latest report hears from residents across London, who describe housing circumstances that have had devastating effects on their lives.

Their experiences show how trauma is produced, intensified and normalised within the housing system, to the detriment of people of colour in particular.

What people are now living through is the preventable outcome of decades of policies that consider homes as assets, instead of essential foundations of wellbeing and security.

Housing is a human right, not a conditional commodity, and it should never put our health or wellbeing in danger.

Read the full report, ‘Homes, not harm’ on our website 🔗

London’s housing system breaches basic standards of humanity, with racism embedded at its core.

14/06/2026

“Grenfell was not a tragedy without a cause”

Nine years ago today, 72 people were killed in the Grenfell fire.

Many of those residents were from working-class communities of colour, repeatedly ignored in their appeals for safety and maintenance, and fatefully instructed to remain in place as an inferno ripped through the building.

As the tower is taken down this year, it is more important than ever that we stand with the survivors, bereaved families and communities in their fight for accountability and justice. Nine years later, and we are still waiting for charges against those responsible.

Forever in our hearts. Justice for the 72 💚

13/06/2026

“We have seen masked men rampaging through streets, kicking down doors and demanding if there are ‘foreigners’ inside before they decide if they are going to light that house on fire”

Hear our CEO Dr Shabna Begum at the Windrush Justice Community Collective launch event, reflecting in the horrors of this week and emphasising the need to connect our struggles for justice.

12/06/2026

‘This should ring alarm bells for all of us’

The freedom to read is under threat in the UK. Authors, librarians and educators warn that books exploring race, identity, the empire and LGBTQ+ lives are increasingly being challenged, restricted or quietly removed from school libraries.

In March, nearly 200 titles were pulled from one Greater Manchester school library, including books by Black authors such as Nova Reid’s The Good Ally.

This rising censorship is a serious concern, writes journalist Kitty Monrose in our latest blog ✍️

Once seen as a culture war confined to the USA, book censorship is gaining ground in the UK. Authors, librarians and teachers warn of mounting pressure to remove titles from school libraries, particularly those on race, identity and social justice issues. In March, nearly 200 titles were pulled from...

10/06/2026

The violent racism unfolding in Northern Ireland is shocking, but sadly unsurprising. What is unfolding follows a pattern of collective punishment, fuelled by the far right and enabled by weak political responses. This - burning people’s homes, livelihoods and belongings in what has been described as “racist pogroms” - is the direct consequence of equating criminality with identity, and the aggressive and sustained dehumanisation of people of colour.

Violent racist riots should be treated - and responded to - as a national emergency, not met with gesture politics that denounces racist violence but continues to push policies that enable it, demonising those who are now victims in their own towns and cities.

Our thoughts are with the victim of the original knife attack, and those who have since been targeted as a result.

On one street, hundreds of masked men carrying bottles and bricks set bins on fire and shouted "foreigners out", our reporter says.

10/06/2026

For many children and young people in Britain, violence is a part of daily life. But, behind the headlines, systems are continually failing to keep our young people safe.

‘Unpacked: Young People & Violence’ is a new, five-part podcast series challenging us to think differently. Presented by and featuring a range of expert voices, ‘Unpacked’ encourages us to flip the narrative on youth violence to question who gets forgotten and why, and how we can really keep young people safe.

Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts - visit the ’s bio for the links 🔗

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