The Report

The Brixton Maoists


Listen Later

At the end of November 2013 the Metropolitan police released details of what has been described as Britain's worst case of domestic slavery.

Following the arrest of two people in Lambeth, South London, it was revealed that three women had been taken into care - a 69-year-old from Malaysia, a 57-year-old from Ireland, and a 30-year-old Briton.

It was claimed the three women had been held for 30 years, but further details began to emerge which suggest this is a unique case and not typical of other stories of domestic servitude.

Two of the women, Josephine Herivel and Aishah Wahab, had been members of a small Maoist collective which formed in Brixton in the 1970s - The Workers Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought. The women were still living with the group's founder and his wife - the couple who were recently arrrested and bailed by the police - while the youngest woman, Rosie Davies, is believed to have been born into the household.

On this edition of The Report, Simon Cox probes the circumstances under which these women came to live together, exploring the relationship they had with their suspected captors.

The programme speaks to those who came into contact with the Maoist collective over the past three decades, as well as relatives of former members of the group, to ask how the women could seemingly lose contact with wider society.

Reporter: Simon Cox

Producer: Richard Fenton-Smith
Researcher: Hannah Moore.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The ReportBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4
  • 4
  • 4
  • 4
  • 4

4

7 ratings


More shows like The Report

View all
This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,847 Listeners

Inside Health by BBC Radio 4

Inside Health

94 Listeners

Casefile True Crime by Casefile Presents

Casefile True Crime

37,793 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

110,802 Listeners

RedHanded by Wondery | RedHanded

RedHanded

12,493 Listeners

Female Criminals by Parcast Network

Female Criminals

6,778 Listeners

The Dr. Hyman Show by Dr. Mark Hyman

The Dr. Hyman Show

9,271 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

13,048 Listeners

Crime World by Sunday World

Crime World

245 Listeners

Manchester Arena Bomb: Stories of Hope by BBC Sounds

Manchester Arena Bomb: Stories of Hope

0 Listeners

When I Was 25 by BBC Radio Ulster

When I Was 25

0 Listeners

Би-Би-Си Кыргыз кызматы 25 жыл ободо by BBC Kyrgyz Radio

Би-Би-Си Кыргыз кызматы 25 жыл ободо

0 Listeners

Dad Boys with Dave Elliott and Shane Todd by BBC Radio Ulster

Dad Boys with Dave Elliott and Shane Todd

2 Listeners

QUB Talks 100 – The Partition of Ireland: Causes and Consequences by BBC Radio Ulster

QUB Talks 100 – The Partition of Ireland: Causes and Consequences

0 Listeners

Descendants by BBC Radio 4

Descendants

13 Listeners

The Listening Project by BBC Radio 4

The Listening Project

6 Listeners

The Great Post Office Trial by BBC Radio 4

The Great Post Office Trial

35 Listeners

Siarad Moel: Podlediad Aled Hughes by BBC Radio Cymru

Siarad Moel: Podlediad Aled Hughes

1 Listeners

Що це було by BBC Ukrainian Audio

Що це було

4 Listeners

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart by Comedy Central

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart

10,324 Listeners

ZOE Science & Nutrition by ZOE

ZOE Science & Nutrition

2,039 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics

3,027 Listeners

The MAHA Podcast by Del Bigtree

The MAHA Podcast

106 Listeners