Music superstar Robbie Williams will be performing at the Genting Arena in Birmingham this month during the Sports Personality of the Year 2016 ceremony

Music stars Robbie Williams, Laura Mvula, Gareth Malone and the Invictus Choir are all set to perform at BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2016.

The stellar line-up will take to the stage in front of a star-studded audience, and millions watching on BBC One, live from the Genting Arena in Birmingham on Sunday 18 December.

Superstar Robbie will provide the soundtrack to a special moment in the programme which celebrates the achievements of our Olympians and Paralympians at Rio 2016.

Birmingham’s own Laura Mvula will be welcoming the audience live in the arena and watching on TV as she performs the opening number to BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Gareth Malone will be joined by the Invictus Choir in a moment dedicated to remembering those sporting icons that have sadly passed this year.

The Sports Personality of the Year Awards 216 takes place at the Genting Arena in Birmingham (Photograph: BBC)

The BBC Concert Orchestra will provide the musical score to the programme throughout the evening.

Robbie said: “I’m honoured to perform in such an iconic BBC programme. It’s been a truly amazing year for sport and I can’t wait to take to the stage in Birmingham in front of such sporting heroes.”

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BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2016 will be live from Birmingham’s Genting Arena on Sunday 18 December. Tickets are on sale now from http://www.theticketfactory.com or by calling 0844 33 88 222. Tickets are priced at £45 plus admin fees, see website for full details. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult, minimum age 10 years. Full information available at bbc.co.uk/sportspersonality

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Severn Trent Water is aware of a discoloration of water issue in Birmingham

Severn Trent Water have responded to complaints after a number of Birmingham residents woke up to discover “brown water” coming out of their taps this morning.

Brummies across the city posted concerned tweets along with photos of discoloured water in sinks, basins and bath tubs, but water company Severn Trent – responsible for the supply of water to Birmingham – have insisted the water is safe to use.

In some parts of the city, the problem was identified as early as yesterday evening.

@MyJQ @stwater anyone know why the water has gone brown this evening? pic.twitter.com/TAypQIYpNH

— Michelle Leavesley (@Leavesm) December 13, 2016

@stwater we seem of have brown water coming from the mains in B12 9QB Help, I want a drink!

— James Gillies (@James_Gillies) December 14, 2016

@stwater water is B24 severely discoloured

— Anthony Akuoko (@aakuokoa) December 14, 2016

Responding to public concerns earlier today, a statement from Severn Trent read:

“This morning we’ve discovered an issue which has caused water supplies to be discoloured for some of our customers in B12, B13, B18, B20 & B21 in Birmingham. Although unappealing, we have no reason to believe there is any risk to your health, however we understand that whilst the supply is discoloured you may choose not to drink the water.

“Discolouration is normally caused by harmless sediment at the bottom of water pipes being disturbed. We have teams out in the areas affected flushing the sediment from the pipes and we hope that this will resolve the problem.

“The flushing that we’re doing should remove the sediment from the main pipes in the street, however some of the discoloured water may have made its way into your supply pipes, so you can help to resolve this themselves by flushing their own pipes. To do this you will need to run the first mains fed cold water tap in your house, normally at the kitchen sink, at a gentle rate for up to 20 minutes. If the supply is not clear then turn off the tap for 20 minutes and then repeat the process, you may need to do this several times before the supply is clear.”

Images and reports have also been posted of discoloured water in Birmingham city centre today, in the B1 area.

Oi!!!! Why is the water brown in Moseley Birmingham??? @stwater

— 4elaine henson (@elliejh4) December 14, 2016

@stwater The water in Moseley and B12 is an offish yellow colour, I’ve seen other tweets about it to so it is not just my house…

— Sabah (@Unavailable1996) December 14, 2016

@stwater the water from the sink this morning? Anyone know why this is happening ? pic.twitter.com/wc7swWnv9N

— Ikhlas (@DeenInspired) December 14, 2016

We are aware of an issue with discoloured water in #Birmingham this morning. For more advice on this please see: https://t.co/4e0ug1nNqS

— Severn Trent (@stwater) December 14, 2016

Tap water in some south Birmingham homes appeared discoloured last month too, on 23 November, following a major leak in Selly Oak where millions of gallons of water had flooded into Harborne Lane.

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What causes discoloured water?

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What causes discoloured water? (Image: Severn Trent Water)

Burst pipes, changes in direction or speed of water flow and old plumbing and pipe work can cause your water to be discoloured. It may look orange, yellow, brown or black when that happens. On the whole this can be cleared quite quickly by running your tap for about 20 minutes.

If the water doesn’t clear or this happens often, call Severn Trent Water on 0800 783 4444 to let them know. This line is open 24 hours a day seven days a week.

Need more info? Download the factsheet here.

Water appears to be discoloured/brown in various parts of #Birmingham from B1 to B13. @STwater are aware of issue. Are you having problems? pic.twitter.com/msx5FNuiKn

— I Am Birmingham (@IAmBirmingham) December 14, 2016

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Stay Updated

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Severn Trent will be posting updates (about the situation as they get information from their engineers and incident control team) here. They’ll also be tweeting updates from their official twitter account: @stwater.
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More than 500 jolly Santas took part in Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice’s annual Jingle Bell Jog (Photograph: Aaron Scott Richards)

More than 500 jolly Santas took part in Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice’s annual Jingle Bell Jog this month – beating last year’s numbers by more than 100 participants.

Kings Heath Park became a sea of red and white as hundreds of Santas suited up to complete the 2km fun run on Sunday 4 December. All ages, abilities and even dogs warmed up with support from EasyGym Kings Heath before setting off on the jog, cheered on by friends and family. Runners were greeted at the finish line with mince pies and a special medal.

The Jingle Bell Jog kicked off Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice’s ‘Care at Christmas’ campaign (Photograph: Aaron Scott Richards)

The annual event is on track to raise more than £15,000 for the Hospice – beating last year’s target of £10,000.

Hamish Shilliday, Head of Fundraising at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, said:

“The Jingle Bell Jog is always an amazing way to kick start our ‘Care at Christmas’ campaign and this year was no exception. I took part this year with my family and it was humbling to join our fantastic supporters and get in the festive spirit. More and more people, young and old support this event each year which is wonderful. The money raised from the fun run will enable us to continue to provide care and support to local families living with terminal illness so a huge thank you to all those that took part, volunteered and sponsored the event.”

Last year’s campaign raised more than £50,000 which could pay for 2,000 hours of Hospice at Home nursing care (Photograph: Aaron Scott Richards)

Kings Heath Park became a sea of red and white as hundreds of Santas suited up to complete the 2km fun run (Photograph: Aaron Scott Richards)

The Jingle Bell Jog kicked off Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice’s ‘Care at Christmas’ campaign, a jam-packed schedule of events throughout the festive period aimed at raising vital financial support for the charity. It costs £8 million each year to run the Hospice which provides care and support for over 1,200 individuals and their families, carers and loved ones across Birmingham and Sandwell.

The annual event is on track to raise more than £15,000 for the Hospice – beating last year’s target of £10,000 (Photograph: Aaron Scott Richards)

Over half of these running costs come from voluntary incomes. Last year’s campaign raised more than £50,000 which could pay for 2,000 hours of Hospice at Home nursing care. It’s not too late to share the cheer and support the Hospice with its ‘Care at Christmas’ campaign. Christmas cards are available to buy and locals can book to get their Christmas tree collected and recycled in the New Year as part of the ‘Treecycling’ scheme.

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Visit www.careatchristmas.org to find out more about this year’s campaign and how you can get involved.

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Grand Central’s Christmas tree has been donated to Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity

Grand Central has teamed up with Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity to add a touch of Christmas magic by donating their very own Christmas tree, complete with the festive works, for the children, their families and the hard working staff at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, to enjoy.

For many, a Christmas tree is a magical family tradition that brings joy to people’s lives over the festive period.

Jonathan Cheetham, General Manager for Grand Central said: “We’re so pleased to be able to donate Grand Central’s Christmas tree to Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity. Christmas is such a wonderful time of year, bringing so much happiness and joy to children and is especially important to the brave young patients and their families at the hospital.

“There are many children who are too poorly to spend Christmas Day at home, so we’re pleased that we’re able to help spread some joy across the wards at the hospital during this festive season.”

Birmingham Children’s Hospital is one the UK’s leading specialist paediatric centres, offering expert care to over 90,000 children and young people from across the country each year. The team at the hospital works hard to provide the highest quality of treatment to patients, who require their services, and to share and spread new knowledge and practice.

Grand Central Birmingham has donated a Christmas tree for the patients and staff at Birmingham Children’s Hospital

Kirsty White, Corporate Partnerships Officer at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said, “We are always overwhelmed by the generosity of others surrounding Christmas time.

“Christmas is such a precious time for the children, and we like to do as much as we can to help our patients have an unforgettable Christmas. The Christmas tree donated by Grand Central is sitting in our hospital conservatory, and it looks beautiful.”

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is in cinemas now, but is it any good?

WARNING: This review does contain spoilers for the film. Go watch it first, and then read on…

Ever since Disney released the first photo (a group shot of the Rebels, lead by Jyn Erso) for this standalone Star Wars story, I was happy.

Happy at the tone of the film, happy with the actors involved (including Birmingham Kings Norton Girls’ School alumni Felicity Jones) and happy that, once again, we were to be given a lived in, grubby and real Star Wars universe free (mostly) from the over-reliance on CGI.

I had faith in Gareth Edwards, even when the internet imploded with the scandalous rumours that reshoots had been ordered from the higher-ups in Disney because of fears that this was going to be a ‘dark’ film. And it is, and all the better for it.

My first hope had always been that while the full-on Star Wars series could very well ape what had come before (and boy, did Star Wars: The Force Awakens ape the original Star Wars film beat for beat), this – and subsequent Star Wars Stories – could be their own thing; their own brattish offspring shaped and moulded to leave the fingerprints of the director (in this case Gareth Edwards) all over it. Having seen his low budget debut, Monsters, as well as the over-bloated Godzilla, I was impressed that Edwards could do scale.

Birmingham actress Felicity Jones plays Jyn Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Photograph: Disney/LucasFilm Ltd.)

Epic, gargantuan scale; and he does. Star Wars is all about the epic; the vast long shots that establish not only planets but environment, topography, alien life and culture.

Jedha, the shot up and shat out war-torn world so important to the mining of kyber crystals Jedis had once used in their lightsabers, feels suitably lived in and worn out. It’s a world on the brink of annihilation because of the Empire’s Machiavellian machinations and also the planet on which Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) brings together – more by accident than by design – a rag-tag team of down and outs that has something of the Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai about them. But then, that’s the point.

Lucas was deeply influenced by the visionary director Akira Kurosawa, and it is well known of the many, many narrative and visual cues he took from films such as Hidden Fortress and others. In fact, when I first saw the green Naboo vistas upon which the Gungans and humans battle for their planet in the dreadful Phantom Menace prequel, it reminded me of the same lush green vistas of Kurosawa’s King Lear epic, Ran. Lucas wears these influences proudly, as does Edwards.

Rule one for making a successful Star Wars film: borrow from the best. And, as a Seven Samurai in space, this does just that, with similar end results to the story too.

Actor Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Photograph: Disney/LucasFilm Ltd.)

Darth Vader returns in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Photograph: Disney/LucasFilm Ltd.)

Just like Seven Samurai, the film opens with the saving of a young Jyn by an ageing Ronin like rebel, Saw Gerrara (Forest Whitaker) on a very Kurosawa-esque planet, Eadu.

Eadu looks and feels like the Mount Fuji based Throne of Blood, all washed out, ashen, damp and dark. The very place you would go to hide from an evil Empire keen to reacquaint themselves with Jyn’s father, and Death Star guru, (Mads Mikkelsen), Galen Erso. The set dressings here, as elsewhere in the film, looks and feels very familiar.

Rule number two: keep it familiar but add your own twist. Erso’s moisture farm stands in antithesis to Lars Owens’ own moisture farm on the desert planet Tatooine and Jeddah’s bustling city is chock full of the same kind of ‘scum and villainy’ as Mos Eisely.

There are a fair few familiar faces that crop up in cameos throughout the film too, that help add a smile to fans in a film that, on the whole, is the darkest (if not the darkness) addition to the franchise. Only fleeting in many cases, but satisfying nods to fandom nonetheless.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was directed by British film producer Gareth Edwards on a budget of $200 million (Photograph: Disney/LucasFilm Ltd.)

I’ll let you look out for them for yourselves, but one in particular – and not advertised – has a rather larger part than others. Indeed, this one character, as well as the revelation of another fond and familiar face at the very end of the film, brings me to my only gripe with the CGI usage.

While CGI is used to enhance the film on the whole, adding depth and detail to the fantastical environs of the many planets we visit during the film, this character is totally GCI powered and as such just doesn’t come off as believable. I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief that much. But, as I say, this is but a minor gripe.

But, the one cameo everyone was keen to see has to be Darth Vader in all his glory. And, while brief, he doesn’t disappoint. His commanding presence is only enhanced when we visit what seems to the his home – a fiery Mustafar-like planet suitable for this Sith Lord to call home. A place to escape and be at one with the Force, it would seem. His powerful presence is all the more strengthened because of the ineptitude of Rogue One’s main bad guy, Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn).

British actor Riz Ahmed portrays Bodhi Rook in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Photograph: Disney/LucasFilm Ltd.)

While Krennic starts the film off looking like a man in control; successfully procuring Galen by force and in the process killing his wife, he is very soon revealed as a toadie with ‘vaulting ambition’ (Macbeth I.vii) but not the intelligence or power at his command to ensure this. He is a good indication that, even now at its zenith, the Empire is not as invulnerable as it would want the galaxy to think it is. And, Krennic spends a lot of the film trying to either cover up or suck up. Sounds like a lot of management in the modern era to me.

Overall, this is and isn’t a Star Wars film. It is, because it has all the same old familiar design elements and battered, frayed edges. It has echoes of Kurosawa sown through it, maybe even more than Lucas ever did, but it is also Edwards’ own film too.

It is dark, tragic, grim. It starts off, quite literally, with bang and no crawling exposition that has traditionally started every single one of the other seven films. The ending may leave you emotionally drained too, be warned, but it is also a reminder of what is just waiting around the corner; a bright young farm boy with big ideas and even bigger dreams and the return of the Jedis!

The dark before the breaking light of dawn is always the darkest, but as Jyn constantly reminds us, hope is on the horizon, a new hope.

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Olly MacNamee

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A Hanukah menorah is lit on each night during the festival of Hanukkah (Photograph: Gil Dekel)

Christmas, without fail, takes place every year on 25^th December. Although not the exact (or even accurate) date of Jesus’ birth in Christianity, it is widely accepted as the symbolic date for his birthday and therefore the date Christmas is celebrated in most of the western world.

Hanukkah, however, is a Jewish festival and – like most Jewish festivals – runs on a lunar calendar as opposed to a solar one. Unlike the Gregorian calendar which we now use on a daily basis, the lunar calendar is shorter and so lunar dates tend to move by around 11-12 days each year against the solar calendar.

What this basically means is that the festival of Hanukkah (or ‘Chanukah’) begins later this year than it did last year, and coincidentally the first evening of the celebration (Jewish dates and celebrations start at sunset) has landed on the same day as Christmas Eve.

Because Hanukkah lasts eight nights, the overlapping of the two winter festivals isn’t as rare as you might think. What is a bit more rare, however, is for the first night to coincide with Christmas Eve or Christmas. The first night of Hanukkah last fell on Christmas Day in 2005, but Hanukkah has overlapped with Christmas or Christmas Eve as recently as 2011 and 2014.

Although traditionally a relatively minor Jewish holiday, Hanukkah has – by way of popular culture, the commercialisation and Americanisation of annual celebrations and due to it nearly always falling in December – become amplified by the prominence and dominance of Christmas in Europe and America.

Colorful dreidels on sale at a market in Jerusalem (Photograph: Adiel Lo)

But what is Hanukkah? Well, the eight-day observance essentially commemorates the rededication of the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire, celebrating the victory of the Maccabee brothers’ rebel army over Greek King Antiochus IV during the 2nd century.

The festival also celebrates the miracle that is said to have occurred when a small amount of oil apparently lasted for eight days in the rededicated Second Temple. Hence the eight days and nights of Hanukkah and the focus on oil-fried foods including doughnuts and potato pancakes.

Classic Hanukkah ‘Sufganiyot’ doughnuts filled with strawberry jam and covered in sugar (Photograph: Noam Furer)

For Simon Williams, Hanukkah is a time for family, friends and community (Photograph: Simon Williams)

Simon Williams is an English language teacher from Birmingham, currently living in Seoul, South Korea. He looks forward to celebrating Hanukkah with family and friends, while also acknowledging its cultural and historic significance.

“The festival isn’t a religious festival as such, it is more a token festival that complements the Jewish community, seen as a way to show our support for Simon Maccabee and reminds us that although we may feel safe living outside of Israel, there are many people who fall victim to racial hate,” explains Simon.

“Like many of our Muslim and other faith friends – we must sadly remain alert to being attacked for the beliefs we hold – so for me this year, Chanukah remains a time to be proud of who I am and my heritage whilst letting my Menorah be a reminder that still, the world struggles to deal with peace and love as a priority, for me, each angle represents an alternative view which blows in the wind with love.

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle and Rabbi Rachel Isaacs join Chemi Peres and Mika Almog for the menorah lighting during Hanukkah reception #2 in the East Room of the White House, Dec. 14, 2016. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

“Chanukah is a family time for the Jews of Birmingham, we get together with our families to exchange gifts and use this a time to enjoy our many friends in this great city much like our friends and family in the city – we visit the German Market.

“This year we will share our festival period with our Christian friends and I guess this will add to our enjoyment as the city will be lit up for the national Christmas festivities. Chanukah for me – is a time to enjoy with family and friends, party hard, play hard and to value what we have.”

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Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, starts on the evening of Saturday 24th December 2016 and ends on January 1st 2017. 

Adam Yosef

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The Library of Birmingham has been lit up in red and white, the colours fo the Turkish flag, in tribute and solidarity with the victims of the New Year’s Eve terror attack in Istanbul (Image: Majid Mahmood)

The Library of Birmingham was lit up in the colours of the Turkish flag last night, to pay tribute to those killed in  New Year’s Eve terror attack in Istanbul.

The Birmingham landmark was illuminated in red and white to show solidarity after 39 people were killed when a gunman opened fire inside Istanbul’s Reina nightclub on December 31st. 

The move follows a request made by Councillor Majid Mahmood to the Library to mark the atrocity, to stand firm against all forms of terror. Militant group Daesh (also known as ISIS) has claimed it was behind the attack in Turkey.

The Library of Birmingham has been lit up in red and white, the colours fo the Turkish flag, in tribute and solidarity with the victims of the New Year’s Eve terror attack in Istanbul (Image: Majid Mahmood)

Hodge Hill Councillor Majid Mahmood said:

“Birmingham is multicultural and will always stand up against the evil that is terrorism.”

The majority of the 39 people killed in the nightclub massacre were Turkish, but around two-thirds of the dead were visitors from other countries.

The library has displayed the colours of national flags in the past after similar terror attacks. The German tricolour was adopted by the building after 12 people were killed when a truck ploughed into the Christmas market outside the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church last month.

Proud to see that the colours of the Turkey flag js displayed on the Library of Birmingham tonight #PrayforTurkey https://t.co/k9WMW9AB0j

— Cllr Majid Mahmood (@ClrMajidMahmood) January 3, 2017

The Library of #Birmingham is lit up in the colours of the Turkish flag tonight, in solidarity following the NYE #IstanbulAttack. #RIP pic.twitter.com/r3q5PLGUoe

— I Am Birmingham (@IAmBirmingham) January 3, 2017

>> READ MORE: Birmingham shows solidarity for Paris terror victims <<

In March last year, the library was lit up in green and white to remember the victims of a terrorist attack which killed 70 in Pakistan, and was also enveloped in the colours of the Belgian flag following terror attacks in Brussels in the same month.

The Library of Birmingham lit up green and white for victims of the Pakistan attacks in March 2016

In 2015, The Library of Birmingham was lit up in French tricolore following attacks in Paris (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

In November 2015, the French tricolore was on display following terror attacks in Paris, France, during which bomb blasts and gunmen took the lives of 129 people.

At the time, similar displays of sympathy and solidarity were also shown by other city landmarks including the Birmingham Central Mosque in Highgate and the The Guru Nanak Sikh Temple in Smethwick.

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Nadiya Hussain will be launching her debut novel in Birmingham during a one-off personal event at the Town Hall (Photograph: Rebecca Fennell)

Since winning the Great British Bake Off in 2015, Nadiya Hussain has captured the nation’s hearts. She has baked the Queen’s birthday cake, published a cookbook and a children’s book, fronted a BBC One documentary, The Chronicles of Nadiya, and judged the BBC’s Junior Bake-Off.

Already demonstrating she is a woman of many talents, Nadiya has now turned her hand to fiction and makes her debut with The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters.

Nadiya will be in Birmingham for her only UK event to mark the launch of her debut novel and she will be in conversation with Immy Kaur, co-founder of Impact Hub Birmingham.

The evening will be an insight into the extraordinary journey Nadiya has made since being crowned winner of the Great British Bake Off 2015, how and why Nadiya has turned to fiction.

The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters, a debut novel from Nadiya Hussain, is out this month

I Am Birmingham’s Adam Yosef caught up with Nadiya Hussain to find out more:

You’re nationally recognised for baking and cooking, but not you’ve forayed into the world of fiction novels. What inspired this?

I have been writing for years- since the age of 7 when I won a poetry competition and l just got the bug. When the opportunity presented itself l was so excited.

What is The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters all about?

It’s about a family. They live in a quaint English village and the parents are Bangladeshi immigrants. The story is about four daughters, all four vibrant, different characters who come into their own on their journey of discovery.

Does any part of the novel reflect aspects of your own upbringing or family life?

I think there are anecdotes and aspects that come from my life but inspiration is everywhere. I make notes on my commute into London but being a part of the diverse community that l come from, l certainly do draw inspiration from that.

You’re attending a very special public event in Birmingham, in conversation with Immy Kaur, on Monday 16th January. What can we expect?

I love doing Q&As especially as the people that attend will have their own questions. I find these questions are sometimes unusual, funny and always unexpected.

You’ve been in Birmingham a number of times recently, mainly at food related shows, but what do you personally think of the city?

I love coming into Birmingham especially when it’s food related, people are so welcoming and the food and the shopping are great.

Since appearing on The Great British Bake Off, you’ve published a cookbook, a children’s book, fronted a TV show and baked the Queen’s birthday cake. How has the journey affected your life?

Life has changed dramatically in the last 18 months and it has certainly been a balancing act. As a family, we have embraced the changes. Going out to Bangladesh to film the documentary was the hardest thing to do as it was the first time l had to leave the kids.

What are your plans for the future?

I am working on my next cookbook and lots of bits of television. Watch this space!

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The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters by Nadiya Hussain is published by HQ on 12th January.

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To purchase tickets for An Evening with Nadiya Hussain at the Birmingham Town Hall on Monday 16th January 2017 at 7.30pm, click here.
The event  – supported by Writers to Readers, Foyles and Impact Hub Birmingham – will be signed by a British Sign Language interpreter and all (paid) tickets will include a copy of The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters.

Arenacross throws together an exhilarating mix of world-class indoor Motocross racing and high-flying freestyle Motocross.

The exhilarating and action-packed adrenalin rush that is the Arenacross Tour will rock up to The Genting Arena this weekend, for the third round of the fast-paced, all-action indoor Motocross and Freestyle show.

The must-see event for two-wheel bike enthusiasts and those who just want a taste of the action, guests can expect reverberating sound effects, strobe lighting and pyrotechnics to set the scene as a crammed agenda caters for mighty mini-racers from the age of seven, right through to the most talented line-up of Arenacross Pro racers ever to place a wheel on UK soil.

Away from the racing line, the Freestyle MX boys will be showcasing their electrifying, high-air whips and flips. Now in its fourth year, the UK Arenacross hopes to continue to showcase FMX (freestyle motocross) as one of the show’s major highlights.

Birmingham has been a memorable Arenacross tour location for a number of reasons; one of the closest Main Event races of the Tour, crashes galore, red flags, re-starts and AX’s first-ever streaker! Yes, that actually happened.

MVR-D Husqvarna’s Pro Lites rider Chris Povey (pictured), and battling SuperMini step-brothers Cory Aldridge and Charlie Keight, are all from Bromsgrove

Commenting on the growth and popularity of Arenacross, e22 Sports boss Matt Bates said:

“Who would have thought that just four years ago the UK would have the strongest indoor Motocross series in Europe with over 50,000 fans attending? I’m massively proud of what we’ve achieved so far, but all I can say is that this is just the beginning – I believe we have a massive future!”
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Local talent at Arenacross 2017

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MVR-D Husqvarna’s Pro Lites rider Chris Povey, and battling SuperMini step-brothers Cory Aldridge and Charlie Keight are all from Bromsgrove, and are all heading to round three with the added incentive of performing in front of, what they hope will be, a partisan home crowd.

Twenty-three-year-old Povey was drafted into the Husquvarna-backed team just three days before the opening round of the 2017 Arenacross Tour. He rocked up to Manchester on 7th January not knowing quite what to expect but soon got into the swing of things.

“It was a massive learning curve for me,” said Povey. “I’ve never ridden indoor motocross before but the support from my team has made it easier, they provide the tools and I just go out and do the job!”

The Arenacross UK tour returns to Birmingham on Saturday 21st January, 2017

By day Povey buys and sells used cars, but at the weekend he turns into a full-on AX star and he says he’s having the time of his life. He’s featured in the top eight of the four races held so far and reckons he’s going all out to get on the podium at Birmingham this weekend to impress his family and friends. The only downside of a podium for him is that he’s got a thing about heights and the podium, which is one of the Freestyle ramps, is pretty high.

Twelve-year-old Cory and 11-year-old Charlie last rode the full series two years ago in the 65cc class, but this year are contesting the bigger 85cc category. According to their parents, they are highly competitive and buzzing about racing in the same class at Arenacross. Absolutely everything they do turns into sibling rivalry, so it’s a far bet they’ll be going flat out to beat each other this weekend.

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Tickets are available from the AX website www.arenacrossuk.com or by calling the Ticket Factory on 0844 3388222. .

Winners on the Pro Main Event podium at Arenacross in Birmingham (l to r) Florent Richier, Cyrille Coulon, Jack Brunell (Photograph: Eliott Spencer)

Thousands of Arenacross fans swarmed into the Genting Arena yesterday evening ready to be entertained and the AX team didn’t disappoint.

From the very off, the evening was seeped in drama with the atmospheric opening making way for plenty of non-stop and flat-out race action, with three vibrant and jaw-dropping sets of FMX thrown into the heady mix.

Ben Clayton dominates the first Supermini race at Arenacross 2017 in Birmingham (Image: Eliott Spencer)

The exhilarating and action-packed adrenalin rush that is the Arenacross Tour rolled into Birmingham on Saturday for the third round of the fast-paced, all-action indoor Motocross and Freestyle show.

The must-see event for two-wheel bike enthusiasts and keen novices brought together reverberating sound effects, strobe lighting and pyrotechnics to set the scene, as young and mature racers took part in grueling high-energy competitions and coordinated stunt displays. Away from the racing line, the Freestyle MX boys showcased their electrifying, high-air whips and flips.

Arenacross lights up Birmingham’s Genting Arena during its return for 2017

Now in its fourth year, the UK Arenacross once again presented FMX (freestyle motocross) as one of the show’s major highlights.

The Pro class was again ruled by SR75 World Suzuki’s Cyrille Coulon, who proved that age isn’t an issue when it comes to Arenacross. In the Main Event, the 34-year-old started behind Keystone Honda’s Florent Richier, and picked his way past in the early stages of the race – he was never bettered.

Cedric Soubeyras topped Pro qualifying at Arenacross 2017 at the Genting Arena in Birmingham (Photograph: Eliott Spencer)

>> Arenacross live show blasts its way back to Birmingham <<

Behind him a hard-charging Brit in the shape of Jack Brunell, stayed strong throughout on his Team Green Kawasaki and was perfectly placed to take his first podium position of the season with a solid third. Coulon now takes the red plate to Belfast next weekend.

I-Fly JK Yamaha’s Yannis Irsuti was an AX unknown prior to this season, but has firmly stamped his mark of authority on the Pro Lites category. He rode two flawless races to take the win and extend his championship lead.

BIRMINGHAM second win in @arenacrossuk 🤗

A photo posted by Yannis Irsuti (@yannisirsuti170) on Jan 22, 2017 at 2:10am PST

In the youth groups, both Ben Clayton in the Superminis and Ashton Boughen in the Youth 65s maintained their winning ways and took maximum points and the championship lead in their respective classes.

Commenting on the growth and popularity of Arenacross, e22 Sports boss Matt Bates said, “Who would have thought that just four years ago the UK would have the strongest indoor Motocross series in Europe with over 50,000 fans attending? I’m massively proud of what we’ve achieved so far, but all I can say is that this is just the beginning – I believe we have a massive future!”

The 2017 Arenacross Tour now heads across the Irish Sea to Belfast for the only double-header of the Tour at the The SSE Arena next Friday and Saturday, the 27th and 28th of January.

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‘Bearded Ladies’ Charlotte Gregory and Melissa Hurlbutt with presenter Billy Wood (Image: I Am Birmingham)

Birmingham based theatre collective Needless Allies is inviting the public to experience the sad and sordid tales of The Bearded Ladies.

Theatrical trio Charlotte Gregory, Melissa Hurlbutt and Kerrie Reading are hosting their work-in-progress show By The Hair of Her Chin at the mac in Birmingham next month, ahead of a possible national tour of the performance in 2018.

As you might have guessed by the title of the piece, the project is all about women with facial hair, and quite a fair bit of it.

The work-in-progress theatre performance reflects on bearded ladies in the late 1800s.

Bearded Ladies?

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Yep, bearded ladies. Bearded ladies from history, bearded ladies from the world of arts and entertainment and bearded ladies today, all while exploring the meaning and significance of facial fuzz on the female form.

Utilising an Arts Council England investment and the support of the city’s Midland Arts Centre (mac), Needless Allies is currently undertaking a research and development phase for their new work; a theatre show which employs live music and song as it reflects on bearded ladies in the late 1800s.

Suitably hairy, the bewhiskered hostesses for the evening of the presently one-off performance are described as “stunning yet grotesque, intriguing yet frightful, and most certainly equipped to cause a furry frenzy.

“Through their uncouth nature, wicked charm and seductive methods of persuasion, they will rapture even the most reserved guest.

The Bearded Ladies performance piece is funded by Arts Council England and supported by the city’s Midland Arts Centre (mac)

‘By The Hair of Her Chin’ stars Birmingham-based actors Charlotte Gregory and Melissa Hurlbutt (Image: I Am Birmingham)

According to Needless Allies, the creators of the presentation:

“By the Hair of Her Chin explores femininity through the masculine veil of a beard, and asks the audience to question and quantify the notion of beauty, as well as the expectations placed on women both at the turn of the 20th century and in our own times. It’s also a lot of fun!

“We create works that journey in and around historical buildings, disused spaces and unconventional sites and often draw inspiration from the old industrial landscape of lovely Brum. As a counterpart we make work within rural settings, often taking inspiration from the landscape, traditional stories and nature.

“We delight in bringing theatre to non-theatrical spaces and aim to make both unconventional performance sites and theatre itself accessible to new audiences.”

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When is it on?

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By the Hair of Her Chin is on at the mac Birmingham, on Monday 6th February between 4pm-5pm. The event is free to attend.

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George Orwell travelled across Britain documenting austerity and its affects in British cities, including Birmingham, as part of his Journey to Wigan Pier (Photographs: Adam Yosef/Public Domain)

The Daily Mirror’s Real Britain column is embarking on a year-long project, recreating George Orwell’s iconic The Road to Wigan Pier journey, which began in Birmingham.

Just like Orwell, writers Ros Wynne-Jones and Claire Donnelly are going to visit towns and cities across the UK to see how people are living and coping with austerity.

The duo are going to document the journey in the Daily Mirror and via a new digital platform throughout the year and are calling on people to share their stories and tell us about the challenges they are facing – poverty, benefit cuts, zero hours contracts, access to health care, homelessness and food banks, community cohesion and unity in the face of social struggles; and fighting back.

The Daily Mirror’s ‘Real Britain’ columnist Ros Wynne-Jones will be travelling across the UK, retracing the famous journey made by George Orwell in 1936

The team are also inviting people to send in stories, pictures and film, and are also looking to go out to meet and interview people too during their travels across the country.

The project starts, like Orwell, with a launch visit to Birmingham and Brummies are needed to be a part of the initiative.

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The Wigan Pier Project
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80 years after George Orwell set off on The Road to Wigan Pier, The Wigan Pier Project is recreating his journey using 21st century technology.

Throughout the anniversary year, the project will bring you stories from all along the route – covering Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Barnsley, Sheffield and Wigan and the places in-between– and, most importantly, allow other people to share theirs.

The Orwell public house at Wigan Pier in England (Photograph: Rept0n1x/Wikimedia Commons)

In 1937, Orwell’s famous book exposed to middle class England the levels of poverty in which huge industrialised swathes of people in the north of the country were living in.

He lived above a tripe shop and in various lodgings, including hostels across the country, attempted to live on working men’s wages and heard testimonies about the Means Test. He experienced the grim conditions, poor food and back-to-back homes of miners and factory workers. He went to listen to Oswald Mosley prey upon people’s fears about immigration and lambasted bearded Communist fruit-juice drinkers.

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Retracing Orwell’s steps in contemporary Britain

The Daily Mirror will be exploring austerity and its affects in cities across the UK including Birmingham, looking at social struggles and social action (Photograph: Paul Wheeler)

In 2017, the Daily Mirror will tell modern stories of working and unemployed poverty through a regular series in the newspaper and also a special anniversary website.

They will bring you the human stories behind the housing crisis, welfare cuts, the ‘gig economy’, the refugee crisis, and Brexit Britain, and take you behind the doors of foodbanks, homeless shelters, factories, churches, mosques, hospitals and private rented and social housing.

As well as these stories, the project will hear people from all along the route as they upload their own experiences and speak for themselves.

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What is the route?

The Wigan Pier Project, journey, which emulates George Orwell’s ‘The Road to Wigan Pier’, will be launched in Birmingham (Photograph: Unsplash/Pixabay)

Birmingham, Stourbridge, Wolverhampton, Penkridge, Stafford, Hanley, Burslem, Eldon, Rudyard Lake, Macclesfield, Manchester, Wigan, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds, Middlesmoor, Barnsley, Mapplewell, Leeds.

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Who exactly was George Orwell?
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Born in 1903 as Eric Arthur Blair, George Orwell took on his “good, round, English” writing name (after the River Orwell) to avoid embarrassing his well-to-do family when he had lived as a ‘tramp’ to write his previous book, Down And Out In Paris In London. After writing The Road to Wigan Pier, he went on to fight in the Spanish civil war.

He returned wounded before publishing his most famous works Animal Farm, and Nineteen Eighty-Four. To escape his sudden fame, Orwell then moved to the island of Jura, off the coast of Scotland. He died of TB in 1948 in London, aged just 46. After his first wife’s death, he married again in hospital three months before his death, to Sonia Brownell.

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How can I take part?
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If you live in Birmingham and have a story to share or want to be part of the launch event, please contact Real Britain via clairedonnellyfeatures@yahoo.co.uk.
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Hundreds of Brummies protest in Birmingham city centre following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th US President (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Hundreds of people attended a protest in Birmingham city centre today to coincide with the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th President of the United States.

The demonstration, organised by the Birmingham branch of national anti-hate organisation Stand Up To Racism, attracted activists and concerned members of the public to High Street outside the Bullring and Waterstones as speakers voiced their anger at the official handover of power to the billionaire businessman who won the US Presidential election in November last year.

Complimenting a number of anti-Trump chants, many held up banners with slogans including “No to Racism, No to Trump”. The messages at the rally echoed the sentiments of many public figures and politicians who have responded harshly to Donald Trump’s rhetoric following his well-documented and repeated attacks on Mexican immigrants and members of the Muslim community.

Similar protests have also been taking place in cities and towns around the UK, including London, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

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Speakers rallied against new US President Donald Trump, who has called for a ban on Muslims entering the US and racially attacked members of the Mexican community (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

The Anti-Trump protest was held in Birmingham city centre on the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration as US President (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

The protest against new US President Donald Trump in Birmingham attracted hundreds of activists and concerned members of the public (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Protesters at the Birmingham protest against Donald Trump held up banners displaying slogans including ‘No to Racism, No to Trump’ and ‘Refugees Welcome’ (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Anti Donald Trump protesters displaying banners in High Street in Birmingham city centre (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

People gathered outside the Bullring and Rotunda in High Street in Birmingham to protest the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Anti-racism campaigner Maxie Hayles speaks at the anti-Trump protest in Birmingham earlier today (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

A number of speakers in Birmingham challenged Donald Trump’s negative views on immigrants, Mexicans, Muslims, disabled people and women (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Young and old, hundreds attended the Birmingham protest against Donald Trump’s inauguration as US President, as speakers vowed to keep returning to challenge his policies (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Disability activist Robert Punton, from DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts), speaks at the Birmingham protest against Donald Trump (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Birmingham protest against the inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Anti-racism activist Bridget Parsons addresses the crowd at the Birmingham protest against Donald Trump (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

The Birmingham protest agianst Donald Trump is expected to be one of many during the billionaire-turned-politician’s US Presidential term (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Millions of people across the world have been protesting against Donald Trump during his first week as US President, amid growing anger at his anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant policies (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Over a thousand people are planning to attend an emergency protest in Birmingham this evening against Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim travel ban’ (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Thousands of people are expected to attend a mass protest against Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim travel ban’ in Birmingham city centre this evening.

The demonstration has been called by Birmingham resident Hasanain Jaffer in response to the executive order signed by new US President Donald Trump which bans travel to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Anti Donald Trump protesters displaying banners in High Street in Birmingham city centre on 20th January 2017 (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Donald Trump’s highly controversial and widely condemned executive order – which was signed on Friday – immediately suspended all nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries, halted the entire US refugee programme for 120 days and indefinitely banned Syrian refugees. A number of mid-flight passengers were detained on arrival, regardless of whether they held valid US visas or other immigration permits.

In response, thousands gathered at airports across the US to show support and solidarity with passengers targeted by the new policy, while calling on the US President to reverse the ban. Lawyers challenging the ban also joined protesters and offered free legal aid to those affected. Demonstrations have been held outside the White House and Trump Tower in New York over the weekend and are expected to continue this week.

Following the outcry, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson issued a statement claiming UK nationals would not be affected by the ban if they were born in any of the seven barred countries or if they held dual nationality. But the US embassy suggested otherwise.

Kings Heath dad Hasanain Jaffer has called a demonstration and rally in Birmingham protesting Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim travel ban’

29-year-old Hasanain Jaffer from Kings Heath set up a Facebook event page on Saturday calling on the public to protest against the so-called ‘Muslim ban’. Within a day, the event had attracted the interest of over 6,000 people with over 1,000 confirming attendance.

Over a thousand people have confirmed to attend a Birmingham protest against Donald Trump (Image: Facebook)

Writing online, the father-of-two said he was surprised by the response but understood the anger and emotion many were feeling:

“Donald Trump has imposed a ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US. That includes people who helped the US army. That includes people on holiday trying to get home via the United States. That includes people trying to be reunited with their dying parents.

“It also includes Britons with dual nationality. Like our national hero Mo Farah. Even the Iraq-born Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi.

“Theresa May has decided to ally herself with Donald Trump’s bigoted, misogynistic government. She has refused to speak out against Donald Trump’s #MuslimBan – even when her own Members of Parliament are targeted. It is not only weak, it is a matter of national shame – disgracing our country across the world.

Activists are rallying against new US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called for a ban on Muslims entering the US and racially attacked members of the Mexican community (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

“Theresa May has betrayed her own people. That doesn’t mean we have to. Let’s stand in solidarity with those targeted by Donald Trump’s hateful government, including the people of this country, outside Downing Street and all over Britain.

“Other governments – like Canada, like France, like Germany – have spoken out. Our weak, cowardly government has refused to. Let’s not have the same cowardice and betrayal as our own government.”

Co-organised by the Birmingham branch of national anti-hate organisation Stand Up To Racism and Stop the War Coalition, the demonstration and rally takes place tonight between 6pm and 8pm in Victoria Square, outside the Council House.

Attendees have been encouraged to bring banners in order to show solidarity for communities they feel are being marginalised by Donald Trump and his administration.

Hundreds of Brummies protest in Birmingham city centre on 20th January 2017, following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th US President (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

West Midlands anti-racism campaigner Geoff Dexter stated:

“Stand Up To Racism and Stop the War Coalition have called demonstrations with MEND and Muslim Association of Britain all over the country today and Saturday.

“Theresa May has pinned her flag to Trump’s mast of racism sexism and homophobia. Mass resistance from Birmingham, US to Birmingham, UK are key to sinking this hate and bigotry.”

Ten days ago, hundreds of people congregated in Birmingham city centre to voice their anger following the official inauguration of billionaire businessman Donald J. Trump as the 45th US President.

>> IN PICTURES: Anti-Trump protest in Birmingham city centre <<

Hundreds attended a Birmingham protest against Donald Trump’s inauguration as US President, as speakers vowed to keep returning to challenge his policies (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Complimenting a number of anti-Trump chants, many held up banners with slogans including “No to Racism, No to Trump”. The messages at the rally echoed the sentiments of many public figures and politicians who have responded harshly to Donald Trump’s rhetoric following his well-documented and repeated attacks on Mexican immigrants and members of the Muslim community.

Join me tonight at the Birmingham protest of Trump’s #MuslimBan. The time to stand up and say enough is NOW. #resist https://t.co/VCxP4BMgRs

— Tom [PositiveLad] (@PositiveLad) January 30, 2017

Similar protests have been taking place in cities and towns around the UK and in countries around the globe. Journalist and activist Owen Jones has also called a mass demonstration this evening in response to the ‘Muslim ban’.

Journalist and activist Owen Jones has called a mass protest in London in response to Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim travel ban’, coinciding with national demonstrations co-organised by Stand Up To Racism, Muslim Association of Britain and Stop the War Coalition (Image: Adam Yosef)

The London event, taking place at the same time as its Birmingham counterpart, will be attended by national figures including Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, Syrian refugee Mohammed Ateek, Ed Miliband MP, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Caroline Lucas MP, Wail Qasim (Black Lives Matter), Tim Farron MP, Mhairi Black MP, Asad Rehman (Friends of the Earth), Musician and activist Lily Allen, Clive Lewis MP, Zrinka Bralo (Migrants Organise), comedian Shappi Khorsandi, Bianca Jagger, Talha Ahma (Muslim Council of Britain), Kate Hudson (CND), Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP, Malia Bouattia (NUS President) and Natasha Walter (Women for Refugee Women, Women’s March).

BIRMINGHAM! Protest against Donald Trump’s #MuslimBan and Theresa May’s complicity tomorrow (Monday): https://t.co/GvR2gLgEdO

— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) January 29, 2017

Urging solidarity and support for the rally, Owen Jones wrote:

“There are moments of terrible injustice throughout history where we look back and rightly ask – what did people do? Future generations will look back at the targeting of Muslims – as we look back at the targeting of Jews – with disgust, horror and shame. If we do not speak out, we are complicit.”

More than 1.3 million people have signed a petition urging the government to call off Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK

Since Trump’s travel ban was enforced, more than 1.3 million people have signed a petition urging the government to call off Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK. British Prime Minister Theresa May invited the US President to meet the Queen during her visit to the White House last week. Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the row.

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The Birmingham protest against Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ takes place in outside the Council House in Victoria Square between 6pm-8pm on Monday 20th January.

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Over a thousand people gathered in Birmingham’s Victoria Square to protest new US President Donald Trump and his recent ‘Muslim ban’ (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Over a thousand of people turned out for a mass protest against Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim travel ban’ tonight in central Birmingham, as thousands more gathered across the country.

The demonstration, called by Birmingham resident Hasanain Jaffer in response to the executive order signed by new US President Donald Trump which bans travel to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries, was backed and supported by several West Midlands anti-racism and anti-war organisations.

Congregating outside the Council House in the city centre, several public figures spoke and rallied against Donald Trump’s highly controversial and widely condemned executive order – signed on Friday – which immediately suspended all nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

The “special measures” also halted the entire US refugee programme for 120 days and indefinitely banned Syrian refugees. A number of mid-flight passengers were detained on arrival, regardless of whether they held valid US visas or other immigration permits.

In response, thousands have been gathering at airports across the US to show support and solidarity with those affected, while calling on the US President to reverse the ban. Demonstrations have been held outside the White House and Trump Tower in New York over the weekend and again today across the globe, including the UK.

In Birmingham, the second anti-Trump protest in just over a week attracted around 1,500 people and was lead by speakers including peace activist Salma Yaqoob, Geoff Dexter from LGBT+ Against Islamophobia and Sharon Campion from Stand Up To Racism.

Kings Heath dad Hasanain Jaffer called the demonstration and rally in Birmingham protesting Donald Trump’s recent ‘Muslim travel ban’ (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

29-year-old Hasanain Jaffer from Kings Heath, who set up the Facebook event page calling on the public to protest against the so-called ‘Muslim ban’, chaired the event. Although only created and shared online on Saturday, the event had attracted the interest of over 6,000 people with over 1,000 confirming attendance.

The event was deliberately scheduled to coincide with similar protests across the country, also taking place this evening and was supported by Birmingham Stand Up To Racism, Stop the War Coalition, MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development), the Muslim Association of Britain, Amnesty International, UNISON and the West Midlands Green Party.

Brummies brave the cold weather to protests against Donald Trump’s US ‘Muslim ban’ (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Diversity and unity were common themes during speeches at the Birmingham anti-Trump rally (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Addressing the large crowd outside the Council House, Jaffer said:

“We will not remain silent in the face of Islamophobia. We will not remain silent in the face of immigrant-bashing. We will not remain silent in the face of unjustified restrictions on freedom.

“We stand here to show President Trump that his policies will not be met with silence. His oppression will be resisted.We stand here to show our diversity, and because we want to spread the love and share it. I hope Theresa May is watching. This is what a multicultural community looks like. This is what we want to share with the world.”

Salma Yaqoob joined protesters in Birmingham city centre and spoke out against Donald Trump (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Prominent peace activist Salma Yaqoob came out to support the rally. She said:

“I don’t normally like name-calling but I do think that ‘Theresa the Appeaser’ is very apt.

“[It was] particularly disgusting that it was on Holocaust Memorial Day that Trump announced this ban. We know that the irony will be lost on him but at least when it comes to the rest of the world and the world leaders – on the very day that they say ‘Never again will we allow this kind of prejudice, this kind of appeasement to happen’ – on that very day that’s what happened.

“And I speak as an unapologetic Muslim, and I say to my fellow brothers and sisters, do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. That’s what they want for us as Muslims. They want us to feel that we’re alone, they want us to feel that everybody’s against us, they want us to actually be part of that hatred of ‘them and us’; and at the same time they want people who are not Muslim to fear people like me.”

.@caitlinmoran @OwenJones84 @CrowdpacUK Nice Proud of huge protests today all over UK – amazing turnout and amazing spirit

— Salma Yaqoob (@SalmaYaqoob) January 30, 2017

Also speaking at the event were local political figures. Businesswoman Beverley Nielsen spoke on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, while councillors Sharon Thompson, Mariam Khan and Penny Holbrook for the Labour Party. Green Party activist Giovanni Spoz Esposito lead chants and emphasised the unity of a diverse population. Waseem Zaffar, Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet Member for Transparency, Openness & Equality, was also in attendance, as were fellow Labour councillors Stewart Stacey, Lisa Trickett, Majid Mahmood, and Paulette Hamilton.

Birmingham poet and Green Party member Giovanni ‘Spoz’ Esposito speaking at the anti-Trump rally outside the Council House (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Somali community representative Abdi Naseer Ahmed was joined by Mirfat Sulaiman from the Yemeni community. Both nations are on the list of Muslim countries recently banned by Donald Trump’s executive order. They were supported by Ladislav Balaz from the European Roma group and members of the city’s Gambian community.

Doug Morgan from the National Union of Teachers spoke alongside Peter Jackson from the People’s Assembly, Faeeza Vaid from the Muslim Women’s Network UK and Kurly from Love Music Hate Racism.

Valerie Harrison from the Birmingham Progressive Synagogue addresses protesters at the rally against Donald Trump (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Rev. David Butterworth, the Minister for West Midlands Methodist Churches, shared his views on peace and prejudice before being complimented by the Progressive Synagogue chair Valerie Harrison’s message of hope in the face of hate. Jessica Foster from St Peter’s Church in Hall Green equally challenged divisive politics and condemned Donald Trump.

Roar of the crowd at the #StandUpToTrump demo in Birmingham! #refugeesarewelcomehere @OwenJones84 pic.twitter.com/97YYprqeug

— Amrit Singh (@MrASingh) January 30, 2017

Student organisations were also out in full force at the protest, with Vice President of Birmingham City University Student Union Jaspreet Singh standing in solidarity alongside Jo McNeil of the University and College Lecturer’s Union and Jo Goodman, the President of student union at Birmingham City University (BCU).

A placard targets Donald Trump during the Birmingham emergency protest against the US President’s recent ‘Muslim ban’ (Photograph: Harvey McDonald)

Around 1,500 people turned out in Birmingham to protest Donald Trump and his recent policies (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

West Midlands anti-racism and LGBT rights campaigner Geoff Dexter co-chaired the rally. Speaking to I Am Birmingham, he said:

“Stand Up To Racism and Stop the War Coalition called demonstrations with MEND and Muslim Association of Britain all over the country today and again on Saturday.

Geoff Dexter from LGBT+ Against Islamophobia speaks at the anti-Trump rally in Birmingham (Photograph: Harvey McDonald)

“Theresa May has pinned her flag to Trump’s mast of racism sexism and homophobia. Mass resistance from Birmingham, US to Birmingham, UK are key to sinking this hate and bigotry. We will not allow one form of oppression to be used against another form of oppression. We need solidarity from all sections of society to overthrow this rotten system and fight for a better world.

“As Black revolutionary Angela Davies put it, we have to turn every single day into a day of resistance.”

A protesters and his placard message at the Birmingham anti-Trump protest (Photograph: Harvey McDonald)

Anti-Trump placards outside the Birmingham Council House in Victoria Square (Photograph: Harvey McDonald)

>> IN PICTURES: Anti-Trump inauguration protest in Birmingham city centre <<

Complimenting a number of anti-Trump chants, many held up banners with slogans including “No to Racism, No to Trump”. The messages at the rally echoed the sentiments of many public figures and politicians who have responded harshly to Donald Trump’s rhetoric following his well-documented and repeated attacks on Mexican immigrants and members of the Muslim community.

Thank you Birmingham. For coming to stand against Trump’s hate & May’s appeasement. For protesting peacefully despite the weather. #RESIST pic.twitter.com/xOvQs4vqz8

— Tom [PositiveLad] (@PositiveLad) January 30, 2017

It’s all about people.. nothing to do with race, religion, sex, sexuality, colour or creed.. just one people. Proud of you #birmingham https://t.co/z9jGjlVuPI

— Ed James (@edjames_) January 30, 2017

Speaking in my beautiful city of #Birmingham with fellow amazing Brummies in protest against the #MuslimBan & for #TrumpBan. pic.twitter.com/kxwzJ0Ra7A

— Mariam Khan (@mariamkhan29) January 30, 2017

Similar protests took place in cities and towns around the UK and in countries around the globe. Journalist and activist Owen Jones has also called a mass demonstration in London.

The London event was attended by national figures including Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, Syrian refugee Mohammed Ateek, Ed Miliband MP, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Caroline Lucas MP, Wail Qasim (Black Lives Matter), Tim Farron MP, Mhairi Black MP, Asad Rehman (Friends of the Earth), Musician and activist Lily Allen, Clive Lewis MP, Zrinka Bralo (Migrants Organise), comedian Shappi Khorsandi, Bianca Jagger, Talha Ahma (Muslim Council of Britain), Kate Hudson (CND), Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP, Malia Bouattia (NUS President) and Natasha Walter (Women for Refugee Women, Women’s March).

“We said #NeverAgain in Auschwitz,
We said #NeverAgain in Rwanda,
As citizens of Birmingham we stand united and say #NeverAgain” #RESIST pic.twitter.com/HGVCFsPRoJ

— Tom [PositiveLad] (@PositiveLad) January 30, 2017

Urging solidarity and support for the rally, Owen Jones wrote:

“There are moments of terrible injustice throughout history where we look back and rightly ask – what did people do? Future generations will look back at the targeting of Muslims – as we look back at the targeting of Jews – with disgust, horror and shame. If we do not speak out, we are complicit.”

More than 1.3 million people have signed a petition urging the government to call off Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK

Since Trump’s travel ban was enforced, more than 1.3 million people have signed a petition urging the government to call off Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK. British Prime Minister Theresa May invited the US President to meet the Queen during her visit to the White House last week. Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the row.

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Comedian Russell Brand will be performing his new stand-up show at the Birmingham Symphony Hall in December (Photograph: Matt Crockett)

Following a series of sold-out preview shows in November and December last year, Russell Brand is bringing a new national stand-up tour to Birmingham and the Midlands.

As the popular comedian, activist and actor embraces his recent induction to fatherhood, he ponders over the more pressing question sin life: “What is real? Who are we? Where did this baby come from?”

In the aptly named RE:BIRTH, Russell Brand wrestles with these questions while unravelling the matrix of modern media, politics, sex, fatherhood and death.

Fans of one of comedy’s fiercest talents can join him at the city’s Symphony Hall in December as he tries to make sense of life having just made a new one.

Russell Brand speaks at a fundraising dinner for Birmingham drugs rehab charity Changes UK (Photograph: Paul Stringer)

Pondering on his latest observations, Russell said:

“How do we make sense of the madness of our lives once we become parents? What am I going to tell my daughter about conformity and responsibility? What happens if she grows up to be like me or, worse, date someone like me?”

Since rising to fame in 2003, Russell Brand has established himself as one of one of the world’s most celebrated stand-up comedians.

His acclaimed tours include 2006’s Shame followed by Only Joking a year later, before debuting in the US in 2009 with Scandalous. In 2013, the critically-acclaimed and hugely successful Messiah Complex, made its way through British cities as Russell’s interest in politics and social action grew.

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> VIDEO: Adam Yosef discusses drug abuse and rehabilitation with Russell Brand <<

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Where is he playing?

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Alongside Russell Brand’s Birmingham show date at the Symphony Hall on Tuesday 5th December, he will also be playing the Warwick Arts Centre in Coventry on Tuesday 9th May,  the De Montfort Hall in Leicester on Tuesday 3rd October and the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham on Thursday 2nd November.

He plays the Wolverhampton Civic Hall too, but not until Thursday 1st November 2018!

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Activism

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Russell, who juggles being a successful broadcaster, actor, author, podcaster, columnist and political commentator also gives up his time championing mental health and drug rehabilitation activist.

Comedian Russell Brand with Steve Dixon, founder of the Birmingham drugs rehab charity project Changes UK (Photograph: Paul Stringer)

Last year, the 41-year-old made several visits to Birmingham to back drugs rehab project Changes UK, eventually accepting a role as ambassador for the charity launched by former drug addict Steve Dixon.

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RE:BIRTH will begin in April 2017 and visit every corner of the UK and Ireland, finishing in November 2018. Tickets for RE:BIRTH go on sale 10am, Friday 3rd February 2017. For a full list of tour dates, more information and to book tickets visit russellbrand.com.

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Members of the Birmingham Romanian community came out to to rally against a decree decriminalising some forms of corruption in Romania (Photograph: Davina James)

Birmingham Romanian residents came together on Thursday to stand in solidarity with their fellow countryfolk in the southeastern European nation of Romania, where protests are taking place against a new decree passed by the government to decriminalise and pardon officials currently in jail for corruption while in office.

It has been made law that corruption while in office will no longer be a crime as long as the amount of ‘damages’ is below £38,000. Romanians across the globe have protested and stood in solidarity over this.

Romania’s government has rejected calls to withdraw the decree. Critics have stated that the move marks a major retreat on anti-corruption reforms. Nationwide protests in the country entered a third day last night, as solidarity protests have also taken place across the world.

The country’s new Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu has so far refused to repeal the controversial measure, despite the biggest protests since the fall of communism.

There are an estimated 220,000 residents of Romanian heritage living and working in the UK. Although most live in London, there is a sizeable Romanian community in Midlands towns and cities. In Birmingham, protesters gathered in Victoria Square, outside the Council House.

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Members of the Birmingham Romanian community protesting in Victoria Square (Photograph: Davina James)

A man holds up a placard at a community protest in Birmingham against a government decree in Romania (Photograph: Davina James)

Protesters gathered outside the Council House in Birmingham on Thursday evening to challenge a Romanian emergency decree will see dozens of officials jailed for corruption freed (Photograph: Davina James)

Romanian Brummies stood in solidarity with their fellow country folk who are now in their third day of protests in Romania (Photograph: Davina James)

Protesters held aloft placards in Birmingham to protest a Romania government pardon of officials guilty of corruption (Photograph: Davina James)

A protest against President Donald Trump in Birmingham city centre (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Two large protests have already taken place in Birmingham city centre since the inauguration of new US President Donald J. Trump on Saturday 20th January.

The first rally took place on the day the new Head of State took the oath of office, as a gesture of solidarity with individuals and groups protesting Trump across the world, and in response to Trump’s rhetoric targeting marginalised communities including Muslims, Mexicans, disabled people and women.

The second took place ten days later on Monday 30th January to protest an executive order, signed by Trump, which bans travel to the US from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The demonstration was also a response to British Prime Minister Theresa May inviting Trump on an official state visit to the UK. This gathering also coincided with large demonstrations in major cities across the UK and around the globe.

A third protest rally is taking place tomorrow (Sat 4th Feb) in central Birmingham as many vow to continue protesting Donald Trump’s policies.

We asked Brummies why they stood against the newly instated Republican President of the United States.

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Jessica Foster, Kings Heath

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“Yesterday’s protest was part of a wave of action to protest the executive order passed by President Trump banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries from travelling to the US. An order for the immediate ban on refugees arriving in America was another major area of concern for me and many others. I wanted to be there, as an Anglican clergy person, to demonstrate that I care about people affected by the ban, the Church cares and God cares.

While this ban affects people of many faiths including Jains, Baha’is, Christians, Yazidis and people of no faith; it is clearly aimed at Muslim people and I wanted to be there in solidarity with my Muslim friends who face discrimination, suspicion and prejudice. The demonstration was arranged in just a few days, called by Hasanain Jaffer from the Shia Mosque in Clifton Road, backed by Stand Up to Racism. I think there were well over 1,000 people gathered in Victoria Square, with a plethora of placards and banners.

I was concerned that some attending this protest may seek stir up hatred against an individual (Trump) but the atmosphere was largely positive and good-humoured with a determination to stand together against this latest divisive and hurtful policy. There were lots of familiar faces in the crowd: Christians from various denominations, Muslim and Jewish friends, local politicians, young people and older activists.

I had not had much time to plan my speech but as a good Anglican I had planned three points beginning with ‘P’ – I managed two, then thrown by some applause, the third one went out of my head! I spoke about protesting policy not people. I said that we need to act out of compassion and love not hatred and resentment. Trump too is made in the image of God.

My second point was that we need to be practical and welcome to Birmingham those who have fled violence and conflict, immigrants and refugees, demonstrating that we value and appreciate them and all they bring to our great city. If it had remembered my third point it would have been that we must pray – the scale of what is happening seems overwhelming, the centre of power is thousands of miles away but prayer can and does change things.

As Christians, we are global citizens and part of a family that has members across the whole world. We cannot limit ourselves to caring only about our own street or neighbourhood nor can we turn a blind eye when there is injustice. We are called to speak truth to power, as Jesus did, even when it is risky. We are called to proclaim love in the face of hatred and unity in the face of division. We who pray ‘Your will be done on earth as it in heaven’, need to protest, practice our faith and pray until we see the justice, joy, peace and harmony of heaven here on earth.”

Anglican church curate Jessica Foster with Muslim community worker Saraya Haych at the anti-Trump demo in Birmingham (Photograph: Saraya Haych)

Saraya Haytch, Balsall Heath
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“I attended the demo because like many times before I have felt so much frustration at injustices that happen around the world and feeling like there is little or nothing I can do.

If I were able to sit down with the man himself then I would remind him that he too, has instigated a massive injustice against people who less than 400 years ago were stolen from some of the so called ‘Muslim Ban’ countries and the fact they were utilised like cattle to produce lucrative crops and thus contributed massively to the economy of what is now the United States of America.

Many people may argue that we have no right to interfere in the politics of the US but when our own Prime Minister is seen to be condoning his actions, Yes Mrs. May, silence is the voice of complicity – I feel it is only right that we, as citizens of the country she leads should make a stand and make clear we do not agree with the hindering of our fellow human beings from returning to their families, jobs, schools and lives dictated by some arbitrary rule that they were born in the wrong place.

In less than 48 hours, Birmingham rallied together with a turnout of well over a thousand people outside the Council House and it was a true reflection of what I know Birmingham to really be. A melting pot of people who came together with one aim alone and that was to send a clear, concise message of unity against the despicable policy of he who is known as a leader of the free world.”

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Majid Mahmood, Hodge Hill
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Cllr Majid Mahmood (left) with Paulette Hamilton and Mohammed Aikhlaq MBE (Photograph: Majid Mahmood)

“It was important that we came together to show our anger towards an ill -ounded policy that will breed hatred and marginalise a community. If we don’t speak up tomorrow it could be another community, and so on.

Our wonderful city is the one of the most diverse cities in the world with people of all backgrounds and religions living together in peace. Hence, it was amazing to see people from all backgrounds, religions, and cultures come together as one to stand up to Trump.

History has proven time and time again that appeasement doesn’t work in the long run. It is imperative that all cities come together to show their fury at the ridiculous policy.”

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Aquila Edwards, Edgbaston
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Aquila Edwards vlogging live at the anti-Trump rally in Birmingham (Image: Aquila Edwards)

“Seven executive orders, seven presidential memos and two proclamations.

Reads like nothing on paper or a screen of a device.

However, it seems we’re entering into the best of times and the worst of times. We’re seeing the President of the united States (POTUS) writing executive orders which stand in total opposition with the very constitution the founding fathers sought to prevent.

Hence why we stand shoulder to shoulder with our fellows in the US, seeing Muslims coming home getting walked into immigration even when they’re long time green card holders, contributing to community and doing their thing.

Seeing a rally organised in the space of 24 hours and the turnout says a lot. Nearly a thousand people with a mix of all kinds of people.

Students. Professionals. Pensioners. Poets.

All joined by one common denominator, being united in the face of a ridiculous, non-sensical administration trying to divide the US and therefore the globe.”

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Kerry Baugh, Digbeth
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Kerry Baugh attended the anti-Trump rally in Birmingham city centre

“In all honesty, I attended the demo to make sure that there was an anti-fascist presence if any right-wingers showed up.

Of course, I detest Trump and all he is doing and represents, but I was unsure what a protest in Birmingham would actually achieve. Once I arrived I was pretty overwhelmed by the numbers. It was a grim cold day and there were lots more people than expected.

I appreciated the variety in the crowd, with people of all ages and races uniting. Although the protest wasn’t likely to actively change the situation, I think a lot of people there seemed to take comfort from knowing that they aren’t alone in their outrage, and hopefully the amount of people and atmosphere there will encourage more people to attend more direct actions in the future.”

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Waseem Zaffar, Handsworth
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Cllr Waseem Zaffar, seen here in the US campaigning for Barack Obama in 2012 (Photograph: Waseem Zaffar)

“Trumps ban on Muslims from the countries identified is a racist piece of legislation that contradicts the values that the United States of America was founded and built upon. It also play right into the hands of extremists that seek to divide and spread hate.

“I’m proud to be in a city and country that welcomes people from all over the world, often helping people re-establish their  life’s from oppression and challenges of all sorts.”

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Doug Morgan, Moseley
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Doug Morgan speaking at a previous anti-racism event in Birmingham (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

“As a teacher, I have to wonder how many of my students would now be prevented from going to the States just because of the lottery of where they were born. This racist policy of Trump is one that isn’t just a policy of politicians across the ocean.

“Here in Birmingham, we have had teachers going to teach children stuck in refugee camps in Calais and Dunkirk who are prevented from coming to the UK in order to seek asylum, enjoy education and hope to reach their potential. Trump has rightly attracted phenomenal opposition to his racist, sexist and discriminatory policies.

“Our union is proud to stand with those saying that his nightmare vision is not one that people should accept and we look back to the many examples in history of how people have fought for rights for democracy, trade unionism, women, black people, minorities and more as the potential guide to a better future for all.”

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Salma Latif Khanim, Moseley
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Salma Latif Khanim attended the anti-Trump demonstration in Birmingham with her daughter (Photograph: Salma Khanim)

“I attended, accompanied by my 14 year old daughter. Main reason for attending – I’m angry at the poor leadership around the world and particularly with Trump and May right now. We need leaders with compassion, integrity, humanity and grace.

Young people are growing up in a world where most leaders are dishonest, selfish and ignorant about what the people want. Is this the legacy we are allowing our young people to follow? I won’t allow that! We are the wall.

Very pleased with turnout, fully expected it to be great. Us Brummies always come together to fight injustice of any kind.

With regards to the ‘Muslim Ban’, again, Trump’s leadership is shocking! He wants to protect America from terror threats so he’s picked the majority Muslim countries which have been ripped apart by war and famine. How does that make any sense?

The biggest threat America has is the gun violence plaguing the nation. He needs to look to that first. Plenty of research to show how more deaths in US are caused by gun violence. Using the ‘Muslim Ban’ is totally wrong, is an injustice to a group of people based on their faith, and it’s a distraction from real issues he needs to deal with!”

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Abdi Samad, Highgate
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Abdi Samad, seen here with former Prime Minister David Cameron, joined the recent Birmingham demonstration against Donald Trump (Photograph: Abdi Samad)

“As a community campaigner I really felt that I had to come out and support the thousand plus who gathered in Birmingham. This is about equality and protecting human values. More vitally, it is about showing that humans, wherever they come from are bound by human love and shared values.

The United States immigration statute had, for 50 years, prohibited the kind of discrimination that this travel ban engages in, and moreover, the US Constitution prohibits targeting people because of their religion, which this travel ban is a very lightly disguised attempt to do.

I profoundly believe that the travel ban is the wrong approach and will likely be counterproductive. This ban must be withdrawn immediately and world leaders, including the British Prime Minister, should voice their deepest concern.”

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Joe Cook, Sutton Coldfield
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Joe Cook (right), shown here with poet Giovanni ‘Spoz’ Esposito, at a previous Stand Up To Racism event (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

“I attended the demo for a number of reasons to show solidarity with Muslims from the many countries being denied temporary access to the United States, many of which will be fleeing violence, war and oppression.

But with Trump, unfortunately there are so many reasons to attend and be angry. He is like a selection box of ignorance so there is something for everyone, whether its women’s rights, immigrant rights, human rights, spreading ignorance about Latino and Hispanic people, climate change, advocating war crimes and torture.

The main reason I’m here is to make a stand against the far-right groups who through his victory have grown in strength, confidence and power. I’m not saying every Trump supporter is a racist but when you’ve got groups saying ‘Jew Lies Matter’, ‘Hail Trump’; and white-power and Nazi salutes are being thrown up at rallies and conferences, we have to do something.

We take pride in British history of  our triumph over fascism being one of our greatest victories, but I truly believe we are losing the rematch.”

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Hasanain Jaffer, Kings Heath
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Kings Heath dad Hasanain Jaffer called the demonstration and rally in Birmingham protesting Donald Trump’s recent ‘Muslim travel ban’ (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

“We will not remain silent in the face of Islamophobia. We will not remain silent in the face of immigrant-bashing. We will not remain silent in the face of unjustified restrictions on freedom.

“We stand here to show President Trump that his policies will not be met with silence. His oppression will be resisted.We stand here to show our diversity, and because we want to spread the love and share it. I hope Theresa May is watching. This is what a multicultural community looks like. This is what we want to share with the world.”

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Geoff Dexter, Hockley
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Geoff Dexter (second right), seen here at Birmingham Pride, also attended the anti-Trump demonstration in the city (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

“Stand Up To Racism and Stop the War Coalition called demonstrations with MEND and Muslim Association of Britain all over the country today and again on Saturday.

Theresa May has pinned her flag to Trump’s mast of racism sexism and homophobia. Mass resistance from Birmingham, US to Birmingham, UK are key to sinking this hate and bigotry. We will not allow one form of oppression to be used against another form of oppression. We need solidarity from all sections of society to overthrow this rotten system and fight for a better world.

As Black revolutionary Angela Davies put it, we have to turn every single day into a day of resistance.”

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Salma Yaqoob, Kings Heath
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Salma Yaqoob joined protesters in Birmingham city centre and spoke out against Donald Trump (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

“[It was] particularly disgusting that it was on Holocaust Memorial Day that Trump announced this ban. We know that the irony will be lost on him but at least when it comes to the rest of the world and the world leaders – on the very day that they say ‘Never again will we allow this kind of prejudice, this kind of appeasement to happen’ – on that very day that’s what happened.

“And I speak as an unapologetic Muslim, and I say to my fellow brothers and sisters, do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. That’s what they want for us as Muslims. They want us to feel that we’re alone, they want us to feel that everybody’s against us, they want us to actually be part of that hatred of ‘them and us’; and at the same time they want people who are not Muslim to fear people like me.”

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An anti-Trump demonstration is taking place on Saturday 4th February in High Street in Birmingham city centre, outside Waterstones and the Bullring, between 2pm-4pm.

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>> READ MORE: Hundreds protest Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ at mass Birmingham rally <<

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Birmingham anti-racism activist Maz Saleem has called out writer Owen Jones for boycotting an anti-Trump demonstration

A Birmingham anti-racism campaigner has accused controversial Guardian journalist Owen Jones of “sectarianism” and hypocrisy after he urged people not to attend an anti-Trump demonstration, which has been co-organised by Muslim organisations.

Maz Saleem, who became an anti-hate and anti-Islamophobia activist after her father Mohammed Saleem was murdered by neo-Nazi Pavlo Lapshyn in Birmingham in 2013, has condemned Jones’ comments which suggest a demonstration taking place in London today has been organised by the Socialist Worker’s Party (SWP).

Following the inauguration of new US President Donald Trump last month and the implementation of his ‘Muslim ban’, several protest rallies have taken place across the UK, many called by Stand Up To Racism, Stop the War Coalition and the Muslim Association of Britain. These have been supported and attended by a wide range of organisations who stand in opposition to the policies of Trump.

A protest against President Donald Trump in Birmingham city centre (Photograph: Geoff Dexter)

Today, a similar mass demonstration is due to take place in central London, outside the US Embassy, with hundreds of thousands expected to attend.

The gathering has been called by Stop the War Coalition, Stand Up to Racism, the Muslim Association of Britain, MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development), the Muslim Council of Britain, CND, Friends of Al-Aqsa, The People’s Assembly Against Austerity and Help Refugees Worldwide.

However, writer Owen Jones yesterday publicly boycotted the demonstration, attributing his stance to the “leading role of the SWP in it”, describing the Socialist Worker’s Party as a “cult which covered up rape”.

I’m not taking part in tomorrow’s Trump demo because of the leading role of the SWP in it, a cult which covered up rape.

— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) February 3, 2017

When told the SWP were not one of the key organisers of the event, Jones insisted Stand Up To Racism was a “front” for the left-wing political party.

Owen Jones has claimed Stand Up To Racism is a “front” for the Socialist Worker’s Party (Image: Twitter)

This claim contradicts the Stand Up to Racism website, which displays Labour MP Diane Abbott as its President and a committee which includes Talha Ahmed of the Muslim Council of Britain, Labour MP Kate Osamour, Rabbi Lee Wax and Labour MEP Claude Moraes.

Maz Saleem responded by describing his call as “outrageous” and “disgraceful”, writing:

“We should be working in solidarity with all regarding #NoMuslimBan yet you want to cause division.”

@OwenJones84 outrageous tweet we should be working in solidarity with all regarding #NoMuslimBan yet you want to cause division disgraceful

— Campaigner Maz (@CampaignerMaz) February 3, 2017

@OwenJones84 First demo organised by Muslims everybody should join in solidarity even little Owen Jones #NoMuslimBan #StandUptoTrump

— Campaigner Maz (@CampaignerMaz) February 3, 2017

She went on to post a photograph of Owen Jones speaking at a recent anti-Trump protest, in which Jones is surrounded by Stand Up to Racism and SWP placards.

Explaining the picture, Saleem wrote:

“Pic from Mond demo you were happy2use their PA and have a speaker #hypocritemuch stop divisive sectarianism foc #nomuslimban”

@OwenJones84 pic from mond demo you were happy2use their PA and have a speaker #hypocritemuch stop divisive sectarianism foc #nomuslimban pic.twitter.com/ew3WwXk9Bp

— Campaigner Maz (@CampaignerMaz) February 3, 2017

During the heated exchange, Saleem accused Jones of equally attacking the Stop the War Coalition, after he maintained he was only targeting Stand Up To Racism because of the rape allegations against SWP.

Saleem responded by posting a tweet in which Jones described the Stop the War Coalition’s anti-Trump ‘No Muslim Ban’ demonstration as “a sectarian Peoples [sic] front of Judea pro Brexit demo”. Jones reportedly later deleted the tweet.

Maz Saleem has accused Owen Jones of attacking both Stand Up To Racism and Stop the War Coalition (Image: Twitter)

Pressed on providing evidence to prove Stand Up to Racism is a front for the Socialist Worker’s Party, Jones simply reiterated “SUTR is a SWP front”.

Guardian journalist Owen Jones has claimed Stand Up to Racism is a front for the SWP (Image: Twitter)

Human rights campaigner Maz Saleem has described Owen Jones’ claims as “hypocritical” (Image: Twitter)

Writing online about Saturday’s planned demonstration, Saleem stated:

“Some of the UK’s most prominent Muslim organisations will stage a demonstration outside the US embassy on Saturday in protest at President Trump’s order blocking travel to the US from seven majority-Muslim countries.

“Thousands are expected to join the third protest against aspects of the Trump presidency to take place in London in a fortnight. One of the organisers hopes to see ‘unprecedented numbers’ of Muslims attend.

Maz Saleem, whose father Mohammed Saleem was murdered by a far-right terrorist in Birmingham, leading a Stand Up to Racism demonstration in ‘The Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

“The Muslim Council of Britain, MEND, Friends of al-Aqsa and others will be joined by Stand Up to Racism, Stop the War and the People’s Assembly for a rally and march from the US embassy to Downing Street.”

Owen Jones himself has previously attended several Stand Up to Racism events, including the broad coalition’s annual UN Anti-Racism Day rallies and their first national conference.

Journalist Owen Jones has previously supported Stand Up to Racism (Image: SUTR)

Although a supporter of Stand Up to Racism since its inception in 2015, Jones last year pulled out of the organisation’s national conference, which was attended by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, anti-war activist Salma Yaqoob, NUS President Malia Bouattia, Maurice Wren from the Refugee Council, Edie Friedman of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg and Black Lives Matter representatives.

Jones claimed at the time that he had boycotted the event because of SWP involvement, on advice from a number of women’s groups. It was claimed the presence of SWP activist Weyman Bennett on the Stand Up To Racism committee was problematic. Bennet has been accused of being “complicit in the SWP’s scandal over covering up rape and bullying those who were trying to expose allegations of sexual assualts [sic]“.

The rape and sexual misconduct allegations against the SWP were made public in 2013, but dated back to 2008.

Critics of Stand Up to Racism and Stop the War Coalition have expressed their support for Owen Jones (Image: Twitter)

A number of activists have described Owen Jones’ actions as divisive (Image: Twitter)

Despite the majority of the Stand Up To Racism committee not being members of the Socialist Worker’s Party, Owen Jones maintains the organisation is a front for SWP.

Steve Hart, who campaigned for Owen Smith in last year’s Labour leadership challenge, is the vice-chair of Stand Up to Racism. Responding to “SWP front” claims, he wrote:

“Stand Up to Racism is not an SWP front. It grew out of Unite Against Fascism, because some of us thought that we should clearly distinguish between the very specific battle against fascism and the growing campaign against racism.”

A placard targets Donald Trump during the Birmingham emergency protest against the US President’s recent ‘Muslim ban’ (Photograph: Harvey McDonald)

Protests organised by anti-racism and Muslim groups are taking place across the UK today, including in London, Manchester, Luton and the West Midlands.

In Birmingham, a rally is taking place outside Waterstones in the city centre between 2pm-4pm.

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‘God save the Queen from the orange tangerine’ placard at the Birmingham anti-trump demonstration (Photograph: Adam Yosef)

Around 500 people turned up out in Birmingham city centre yesterday to in solidarity with the thousands who hit the streets in London protesting Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban’.

Where there are protests, there are placards; and where there are placards, there are some really funny as f*** messages to delight the current US President. Here’s some of Birmingham’s best…

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‘Cash Me Outside How Bow Dah’
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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‘I’ve seen better cabinets in Ikea’
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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‘We shall overcomb…’
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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Supercalifragilistic…
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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Tiny hands…
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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Poop-ident of the United States
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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Wubba-Lubba-Dub-Dub, it’s a bit of Rick and Morty…
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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‘Gingers Against Trump’
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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The kids are alright…
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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What’s new pussycat?
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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Bro, do you even Leviosa?
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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Trump the psychopath…
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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You know when you’ve been tangoed…
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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‘Impeach the tangerine…’
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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But, but, all lives matter…
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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‘American Psycho!’
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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When fertilised eggs are people but refugees just ain’t…
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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‘You’re not invited to my birthday party’
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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Brump…
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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Drumpf…
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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‘Trump is a fart’
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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‘Go ruin Mars instead… you rancid giant peanut’
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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Trump hates everyone…
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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What the heil?
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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May it be…
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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Those Brummies are a funny bunch.
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(Photograph: Adam Yosef)

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