Blair Peach
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Blair Peach (1946 - April 23 1979) was a New Zealand-born teacher of special needs children at a school in London, who became a symbol of resistance to authority when he died as a result of alleged police brutality during a demonstration in London.
A campaigner against far right wing and neo-Nazi organisations, Peach was killed in a clash with officers from the Metropolitan Police's Special Patrol Group in Southall in 1979 during a protest by the Anti-Nazi League against a British National Front meeting taking place in the town hall.
An inquest jury later returned a verdict of death by misadventure, prompting Mr. Peach's girlfriend Celia Stubbs to claim the police constable who administered the fatal blows to his head had got off 'scot free'. She continues to campaign for a public inquiry into his death.
A primary school in Southall was later named after Blair Peach.
External links
- Who was Blair Peach? (http://www.anl.org.uk/13-blairpeach.htm)
- BBC News Online - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/317775.stm