News

THE PHOTOGRAPHS of murdered schoolboy Alex Kamondo posing with his gang, the Man Dem Crew, were sad and shocking. Shocking is how casually the boys pose with their guns the way, a generation ago, a similar group of boys would have posed with a football.

Diane raises the issue of gang crimes in Hackney

MY GRANDMOTHER, "Miss Di", lived all her life in the village of Smithville in rural Jamaica. The "Miss" was not a clue to her marital status.

London’s Mayor, Ken Livingstone, and the Association of London Government have today launched a commission to help tackle child poverty in the capital.

The Home Secretary Charles Clarke today announced that a nationwide knives amnesty will be held between 24 May and 30 June. The amnesty is to be backed up by a tough police enforcement campaign to drive home the message that carrying knives is not acceptable. Diane Abbott MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington welcomed the move but warned that more long-term solutions are also needed.

Diane today welcomed the Government’s announcement of a new register of all children in England.

Like most people my age, I have always had a fairly relaxed attitude to cannabis. Student parties in the 1970’s and 1980’s took place in a haze of cannabis smoke. And it was demonstrably true that most of those people grew up into boringly solid citizens. But in recent times my views on cannabis have hardened.

MY PARENTS were raised in rural Jamaica and left school at 14. They cared very much about my education, so they made sure I did my homework, encouraged me to excel and turned up dutifully to parents' evenings.

This morning Hackney MP Diane Abbott visited Tyssen Primary School to mark the beginning of Family Learning Week and the opening of the school’s new family centre.

Diane Abbott, Hackney MP of Jamaican descent, has a busy schedule in October. She will be celebrating Black History Month by attending various functions and speaking engagements across the capital.