Deborah Coles
Director @INQUEST_org expertise on contentious deaths & their investigation. Social justice research & policy. Feminist. Abolitionist. Advisor @cleanbrk
- Thirty-two people died in ICE custody last year, the highest number of deaths in two decades. At least five people have reportedly died in ICE custody this year. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
- “Please don’t destroy all that we have achieved.” www.theguardian.com/football/202...
- Vital intervention @andyburnham.bsky.social. The duty of candour must apply in full to the security & intelligence services & every public service so that no institution can hide behind secrecy. Recent scandals about MI5 as well as Manchester Arena bombing highlight why this is so important.
- “ #HillsboroughLaw must happen in its entirety, it must include every service, no exceptions. MI5, MI6 and GCHQ are as high up the chain as you can get so why would any other service feel they needed to tell the truth when those at the top are exempt?” www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
- “Seeing the same companies continue as if nothing happened is a painful reminder of the lack of consequences. Justice has been delayed; it must not be denied. Public bodies must protect people and ensure Grenfell is never repeated.” www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
- No surprises here then. Just talk to families of those whose relatives have died after police violence and neglect - read inquest and inquiry reports going back decades. A commissioner who denies institutional racism. A system incapable of reform. www.bbc.com/news/article...
- “……there appears to be a growing pattern of undercover officers raising mental ill-health as a reason that they should not attend the inquiry to give oral evidence” www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
- Reposted by Deborah ColesMP's will debate Hillsborough Law for the first time on Monday. The Bill is a critical opportunity to right past wrongs and end cover-up culture. It must be implemented in full. We've teamed up with JUSTICE and Hillsborough Law Now to brief MP's ahead of the debate. Read the briefing:
- “No mother wants to see her son splayed out on the ground, riddled with bullets.” State violence on a huge scale devastates communities. Those responsible need to be held to account. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
- Reposted by Deborah Coles[Not loaded yet]
- During first 10 years of the spending cuts that began in 2010, councils’ funding for youth services in Eng & Wales suffered a real-terms cut of 70%. By 2023, about 1,200 publicly run youth centres had closed, & more than 4,500 youth workers had lost their jobs. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- “These amendments are rooted in what families have been demanding for years: stop sending children to unsafe, inappropriate places and start investing in community-based support that centres care, not detention.” morningstaronline.co.uk/article/pare...
- Vital work of museum of homelessness @ourmoh.bsky.social bringing to light the shocking reality of deaths of people experiencing homelessness. museumofhomelessness.org/news/new-res...
- “These harmful policies isolate people from community, support and healthcare, and deny them dignity. Amid racist rhetoric around immigration, we must remember the real human cost.” www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
- Racism, misogyny, violence and corruption. Reports, recommendations and promises of change. Policing has proved itself incapable of reform. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
- No surprises here then. Racism, misogyny and violence endemic in policing culture, policy and practice. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
- “The mismatch between the realities of asylum seekers’ lives and the increasingly hateful rhetoric of shouty politicians, amplified by large sections of the media and social media, has never been greater.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Reposted by Deborah ColesStrong MP turnout for @ianbyrnemp.bsky.social Westminster Hall debate on Hillsborough Law. The Govt must enact a full Hillsborough Law - with a legal duty of candour and equality of arms. It’s not a technicality - it’s a moral imperative. Watch the full debate www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...
- Reposted by Deborah Colesthis is why they proscribed PA isn’t it
- Elbit, the Israeli company that was Palestine Action's primary target, is close to winning a £2bn MoD contract to train British soldiers. The idea that as genocide continues it's "business as usual" is why thousands plan to shut down the DSEi arms fair on 9 Sept www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-clos...
- “It would be easy to be distracted by the failings of one individual. However shocking that conduct might have been, it is paramount that the other wider and more important issues are acknowledged and addressed”. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
- Despite the best efforts of the Scottish police federation they fail in their attempts to derail the Inquiry. www.bbc.com/news/article...
- “They have the most advanced technology and know exactly where the missile will fall and who the target is. How could this be a mistake? A ‘mistake’ that killed both of my children!” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
- “If we are starting to talk about truth telling, here is the truth from where we stand: police racism was a factor in the death of Kumanjayi Walker – not just the racism of an individual officer but the structural racism of the force itself.“ www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Reposted by Deborah Coles[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Deborah Coles[Not loaded yet]
- “The actions used by Palestine Action are not new. They follow a tradition of protest that has been instrumental to civil rights movements throughout history. Indeed, these actions have shaped modern Britain and enriched democratic participation globally”. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
- Reposted by Deborah Coles[Not loaded yet]
- “The legislation is ready to go. It’s just a question of political will. If the Prime Minister doesn’t enact the Hillsborough Law in full, it will be seen as another betrayal of Hillsborough families, survivors and victims of other state cover-ups.” www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpo...
- “The evidence is clear: these cuts will deepen inequality and force people further into crisis. We urge the government to listen to those most affected and change course immediately.” www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
- “There are vested interests in this country within state institutions who don't want that cultural change, and that's what we're coming up against.” www.politicshome.com/news/article...
- “There are vested interests in this country within state institutions who don't want that cultural change, and that's what we're coming up against.” #hillsboroughlawnow www.politicshome.com/news/article...
- “Reem’s death was a tragedy foretold; her children’s loss a grief that could have been prevented.” www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...
- “Godrick’s death highlights a deeply embedded culture within policing: one that defaults to violence rather than compassion.” www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
- Reposted by Deborah Coles[Not loaded yet]
- 5 years on from the police killing of George Floyd, police and state killings remain a serious global issue. Anti racist solidarity and resistance vital in face of increasing authoritarianism.
- “This is not only inhumane and unjust, it's morally wrong and a waste of taxpayers’ money”. bsky.app/profile/ungr... www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...
- This says it all from the wonderful @michaelrosenyes.bsky.social youtu.be/ih0Wdvc296c?...
- Reposted by Deborah Coles[Not loaded yet]
- Important new research on deaths in custody and detention in Scotland. Fundamental concerns about investigations, learning & accountability and lack of support for bereaved people. @thesccjr.bsky.social. ://www.sccjr.ac.uk/news_item/new-study-reveals-record-numbers-are-dying-in-scottish-prisons/
- Claiming stun guns will make prisons safer is perverse. A debate about violence and safety must include state violence against prisoners and the shocking death rate in prisons, up to 399 deaths in the year to March 2025, an increase of 37%. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
- …we must demand the government address the root causes of harm by diverting investment from prisons and punishment to community services. morningstaronline.co.uk/article/self...
- Introducing a presumption of anonymity for firearms officers sets a dangerous precedent: that police officers are above the scrutiny faced by everyone else. It chips away at open justice and risks further eroding public trust in policing. www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...
- Today, bereaved families and survivors have issued a clear warning to Government that Hillsborough Law must be "All or Nothing". Our new report shows how the injustice following the Hillsborough disaster is still a painful reality today. Read our report: www.inquest.org.uk/families-dem...
- “We miss what we've lost, but we also miss what he could have had." www.bbc.com/news/article...
- Reposted by Deborah Coles[Not loaded yet]
- Inquest into Sean Fitzgerald shot dead by a police officer begins today. It is 6 years since he died. 25 police officers have been granted anonymity. www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventr...
- Familiar state tactics. ‘After the shooting it buried any culpability on its part under a dense blanket of obfuscation and denial.’ www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
- This would never have happened without the determination of bereaved families to see an end to the inequality and injustice families face after deaths in state detention. A stepping stone but more to be done. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
- Passers by reported concerns about Deji’s mental health. Police saw him as a threat and immediately resorted to use of a Taser. Another Black man dead after contact with Met Police. www.bbc.com/news/article...
- Reposted by Deborah Coles[Not loaded yet]
- “I feel at times quite bereft at this. This is a form of torture to just put people in this form of uncertainty. It compounds the trauma and it freezes the grief.” www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
- “The reasons for putting forward such false justifications for the actions of the soldiers are obvious. This, coupled with any lack of proper challenge of their accounts by the RUC investigators, ensured there would be no actual accountability.” www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
- Reposted by Deborah Coles[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Deborah Coles[Not loaded yet]
- The perilous state of prisons and their failure will only be stopped by a radical change in sentencing policy, a halt to prison-building, dramatic reduction in the prison population and investment in communities, community services and radical alternatives to custody.
- Reposted by Deborah Coles[Not loaded yet]
- Between October 2023 and September last year, 80 children died while living in temporary housing. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
- This finding is in stark contrast to evidence heard at the inquest. Another Black man in mental health crisis dead after lethal use of force and no one held to account. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
- Full of respect and admiration for Katie and William’s family who have fought for justice for 6 years. The emotional toll placed on families is often overlooked and how others bereaved after state violence and neglect feel their pain as they see deaths repeated and no accountability or change.
- Damming indictment of Scottish prison system. Systemic failure and neglect resulted in deaths of Katie(21) and William(16). Need to stop imprisoning young people & invest in communities. And overhaul investigation & FAI system so grieving families are not forced to fight for the truth for years.
- Grim reality of life inside Manchester prison. Death, self harm and dehumanising regimes.
- Clearsprings in spotlight again as head of security at Essex centre for disabled asylum seekers removed over alleged far-right views. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
