Lord Scarman dies
Lord Scarman, who chaired the investigation into the Brixton riots has died at the age of 93.
His report, which found that both the local community and the police were to blame for the three days of disturbances which swept Brixton and spread to northern cities such as Liverpool, is now widely credited with bringing about a change in policing methods.
In April 1981 the disturbances led to over 300 people being injured and cars and vehicles were damaged to an estimated cost of £7.5 million.
Lord Scarman decided that while the police as a whole were not institutionally racist, there were a few ‘bad apples’ and urged the Government to act on the “racial disadvantage that is a fact of British life.”
He also recommended a number of measures to improve trust between the police and ethnic minority communities, including the recruitment of more ethnic minority officers, which indirectly led the establishment of the Police Complaints Authority.
In addition, he also carried out a number of other high profile inquiries, including the 1969 tribunal into civil disturbances in 1969.
Lord Scarman died peacefully in a nursing home in Kent.
Antony Barnett, the former director of Charter88 said today: “We mourn the death of Lord Scarman, one of the founding forces behind Charter88. He was a founding signatory of our manifesto in November 1988 and in 1989 launched the Charter plan ‘We can make it happen’ that set out the principles and strategy of the organisation. He continued to support Charter with his shrewd advice and in regular meetings for the next five years, and was the most formative external influence.
“He was a clear sighted advocate of a written constitution and his influence will live on.”
