March organiser Tyrek Morris, right, gave a speech to a socially distanced crowd at Piccadilly Gardens.
Chants of “no justice, no peace, take to the streets and f*** the police” could be heard yesterday as protestors marched through Manchester in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Around 100 protestors walked from St Peter’s Square to Piccadilly Gardens via Deansgate and the Arndale at 2.30pm yesterday, causing temporary traffic jams in the city centre.
The march took place while talks are being held between Boris Johnson and Andy Burnham, under speculation over Greater Manchester being forced into a Tier 3 lockdown.
Becca Withers, front and centre, was one of more than 100 people who participated in the march from St Peter’s Square to Piccadilly Gardens via Deansgate.
“Our demands do not wait for a pandemic,” said Becca Withers, one of the organisers of the march.
21-year-old Tyrek Morris, a journalism student at Manchester Metropolitan University, is one of the founding members of All Black Lives UK, a youth led organisation protesting and working towards change across the globe.
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking to The Manc before leading yesterday’s march, he said: “So far, we’ve had all these protests, and nothing is really changing.
“Positive change is coming, but there’s a long way to go.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Formed in June 2020, All Black Lives UK are campaigning on five main demands, including to commit to ending discrimination, specifically in relation to stop and search figures.
In the year ending March 2019, black people in Manchester were nearly three times more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts, relative to population size.
And during the same time period, black people were eight times more likely to be stopped and searched within Greater Manchester, according to government statistics.
ADVERTISEMENT
Protestors also want a commitment from local and national government to end racial health disparities, and from schools and universities to work towards ending racially targeted bullying and teach about British history in relation to the empire.
Leaflets which were handed out to passers by said that in 2018/19, black people in Manchester were 3.5 times more likely to face force tactics by Greater Manchester Police.
Signs held by protestors included messages like “Decolonise the curriculum”, “Destroy systemic racism” and “Pull down the racist statues.”
On arrival in Piccadilly gardens, protestors gathered in the centre while different speakers took it in turn to say their bit in support of the cause.
Mr Morris added: “We can’t wait for our lives to matter. Racism is a pandemic in itself and the fact we are still willing to march during these times shows much people care about the movement.”
News
Police are searching for a missing bride-to-be, with CCTV from the day she vanished released
Daisy Jackson
Police have ramped up their appeal to find missing bride-to-be Eren Wright, releasing CCTV of her on the day she vanished.
Eren has been missing since 27 October, when she left her home address in Lytham St Annes.
Since then, her desperate fiancé has shared that her phone was last detected in Birkdale Southport at around 5.30pm that same day, and her bank accounts are empty.
He said last week in a post on Facebook: “Myself and the pets are freaking out not knowing where she is and if she is ok, she has been missing for nearly 12 hours.”
Eren was last seen just after 10am leaving her home on St David’s Road South.
She is described as white, 5’7″, slim, and with blonde hair. She also has tattoos of vines and a tree on her hand and arms.
Police have ramped up their appeal to find missing bride-to-be Eren Wright. Credit: Fylde Police
Eren was last seen wearing a light olive green hoodie with a painting on the front, beige/cream wide leg pants, and worn white trainers.
Police have now shared the new CCTV image of Eren in the hopes that someone might know where she is, or have seen her.
Fylde Police also said they were ‘worried’ about her.
If you see Eren or know where she might be, call 999 quoting log 1309 of October 27th.
Leigh drug dealer jailed after being ‘caught red-handed’ by police
Emily Sergeant
A drug dealer known around the Leigh area has been jailed last week after police caught him ‘red-handed’.
Dawid Bialek, of no fixed abode, has been jailed after pleading guilty to four counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs (heroin and crack cocaine), and handling stolen goods.
It comes after, on Monday 11 May 2026, officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) who were patrolling on a canal towpath, near Quayside in Leigh, spotted 30-year-old Bialek attempting to discard a package in the water.
The package was subsequently recovered, and according to GMP, was found to contain multiple wraps of suspected Class A drugs.
Further enquiries then led police to an address in Leigh, where additional evidence linked to drug dealing was recovered – including suspected drugs, scales, empty wraps, and mobile phones.
Bialek was later bailed as police conducted further enquiries, but while that work was continuing, on Friday 19 June, officers carrying out plain-clothes patrols in the town centre saw Bialek in an alley just off the canal tow path, handing out wraps of heroin and crack cocaine to others.
He was once again stopped, searched, and found to be in possession of drugs and cash.
This time he was charged and able to be remanded. He appeared at court over the summer and plead not guilty to the charges brought against him, but as the investigation continued, examination of seized mobile phones uncovered further evidence of drug dealing activity – including messages, videos and notes consistent with the supply of Class A drugs.
Due to the quantity of evidence gathered and submitted to the CPS, Bialek changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court last week.
He has been jailed for a total of four years and nine months.
Following the sentencing, a spokesperson for GMP’s Leigh Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “The supply of Class A drugs causes significant harm within our communities and often exploits vulnerable people who are struggling with addiction.
“This result demonstrates our commitment to targeting those responsible for bringing drugs into Leigh and disrupting the criminality associated with them.”
Sam Ormiston -
19th October 2020 
