London fire chief apologises to mother of firefighter who took own life

Death of Jaden Matthew Francois-Esprit led to review of service that found it to be ‘institutionally racist’The head of the London fire brigade has personally apologised to the mother of a black firefighter whose suicide triggered a review of the service and found it to be “institutionally misogynist and racist”.The review by Nazir Afzal, involving testimonies from 2,000 members of staff, found “dangerous levels of ingrained prejudice against women” and that people of colour were “frequently the target of racist abuse”, and it made 23 recommendations to the service.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.