Top US attorney Benjamin Crump meets UK families and campaigners seeking justice on deaths involving the state

TOP US attorney Benjamin Crump met with UK families and campaigners affected by deaths involving the state last week.

The internationally renowned civil rights attorney met bereaved families who had lost loved ones following contact with police, prison, immigration, mental health or other state agencies at the Houses of Parliament in a gathering hosted by Streatham MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy and supported by the United Families and Friends Campaign and the Alliance for Police Accountability.

Also attending the meeting were race equality campaigners from Britain, Ireland and the United States, lawyers and parliamentarians.

Crump is one of the most prominent civil rights lawyers in the United States and is widely known for representing the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, Tyre Nichols and many others whose deaths became defining cases in the global struggle against police violence and racial injustice.

Marcia Rigg, a spokesperson for the United Families and Friends Campaign, said: “For decades, families in Britain have had to fight against silence, delay, denial and institutional defensiveness after loved ones have been killed following contact with agents of the state. We welcome Attorney Benjamin Crump’s visit as an opportunity to build international solidarity between bereaved families and to insist that deaths in custody and deaths following police contact must never be treated as isolated tragedies.

“Solidarity between families in Britain, Ireland, the United States and beyond is vital. Sharing our experiences, lessons and strategies strengthens our collective pursuit of truth, accountability and justice. Unity is power.”

Representatives from the campaigns for Yves Sakila, Azelle Rodney, Adrian McDonald and Chris Kaba were at the meeting.

Community urged to support memorial procession

Kayza Rose, Justice for Chris Kaba campaigner and a founding member of Black Lives Matter UK, said: “For decades, families have carried the weight of fighting for truth and accountability after the death of loved ones following contact with the state. For decades, families within the United Families and Friends Campaign have carried this work, supporting one another, sharing lessons across generations and continuing to push for truth, accountability and justice.

Rose added that bereaved families will gather on Saturday 31st October for the annual United Families and Friends Campaign memorial Procession, an event that stretches back nearly three decades.

“I would encourage anyone who cares about these issues to learn more about the work of UFFC and to stand alongside families where they can” she said.

“Since Black Lives Matter UK was founded in 2016, we have stood alongside families in that work, helping to amplify campaigns, support calls for justice and help coordinate the annual United Families and Friends Campaign procession to Downing Street.

“This gathering is an opportunity to honour that history and the families who have carried it forward. It is also an opportunity to learn from one another and strengthen the relationships that help sustain long campaigns for justice.”

‘Critical moment across Britain’

Lee Jasper, Chair of the Alliance for Police Accountability, said: “Attorney Benjamin Crump’s visit comes at a critical moment. Across Britain, Ireland and the United States, Black communities continue to raise urgent concerns about deaths following contact with police and other state agencies, and about the failure of existing systems to deliver meaningful accountability.

“The recent death of Yves Sakila in Ireland has once again reminded us that families are too often left fighting for basic answers while institutions move slowly, defensively and without transparency. APA is proud to stand alongside the United Families and Friends Campaign, bereaved families and Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP in creating this important space in Parliament.

‘Pain of losing a loved one to the state’

Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Parliamentary host of the meeting, said: “I am proud to open the doors of Parliament to these campaigns and to Attorney Benjamin Crump. For too long, the pain of losing a loved one to the state has been treated as a private grief rather than a public failure. Every family in this room has had to become an investigator, a campaigner and a lawyer just to get close to the truth, while the institutions meant to protect us close ranks.

“What Ben Crump’s visit shows is that this fight does not stop at our borders. Families in Britain, Ireland and the United States are living the same nightmare and demanding the same thing: accountability.”