George Floyd death evokes 'overwhelming' memory of brother's murder

The sister of a man who was murdered in a racist attack has said George Floyd's death has brought back "emotions that have been overwhelming at times".

Anthony Walker, 18, was killed on Merseyside in 2005 after being racially abused while waiting at a bus stop with his white girlfriend.

His sister Dominique said the past week had seen "an outpouring of grief".

She said she continued to work against racism as "it's important anti-racism is at the centre of everything we do".

Ms Walker, vice-chair of the Anthony Walker Foundation set up after her brother's murder, told BBC Breakfast: "For me the last few days have been a mix of counselling and supporting people."

"It's been a mix of emotions, having to deal with processing my own emotion tied to my brother because it does evoke the past," she said.

Since Mr Floyd died there have been protests across America and other parts of the world, including the UK, where thousands of people joined a protest in London on Wednesday organised by campaign group Black Lives Matter.

Ms Walker called for an "ongoing revolution" following the demonstrations "to break down institutional racism".

She said: "It's important that anti-racism is at the centre of everything that we do.

She also said police initiatives including diversity training "are brilliant" but reform in the UK "has to be taken further".

"It's about police organisations realising that you're dealing with human beings first," she said.

Anthony's mother Gee said looking at footage of the protests made her feel "like we've reverted back to the 1950s and '60s".

"If people are not affected by it something is terribly wrong," she said.

"We've got to stop talking and do something that's effective [against racism].

"We have to look deep within ourselves - who is the problem? It's all of us and we need change."