Wednesday 17 December 2003

By Amy Taylor, Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson

Fugitive immigrant raped two

An immigrant who had his asylum claim rejected but was allowed
to remain in Britain has been jailed for raping two prostitutes and
indecently assaulting another.

The Home Office made no attempt to deport or track George Kamau
despite his failed claim.

The judge at Nottingham Crown Court said Kamau, who arrived here
in February 2002 from Kenya, should be deported after serving at
least five and a half years in jail.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Wednesday 17 December page
8

Westminster fights flood of soup runs

There are too many people providing soup runs for the homeless
in central London and the help they are offering is inappropriate,
Westminster Council said last night.

The council has prepared leaflets to give out to the large
number of people who are travelling long distances to provide
clothing and food telling them that their help is misguided.

Simon Milton, the Conservative leader of the council, said that
such charity sustained people’s lives on the streets when the main
aim should be to get homeless people inside, particularly in
winter.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 17 December, page 5

Asylum shift by former minister

An independent tribunal should make the decisions on asylum
seekers’ applications rather than the Home Office, the former Home
Office minister Barbara Roche will propose today.

Roche believes that a major shift in perceptions on asylum is
needed and that this could be achieved by making the whole system
independent of government.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 17 December page 5

Inmates stage sit-in on roof

Inmates at Feltham Young Offenders’ Institution staged a sit-in
protest on the roof last night while other inmates lit small fires
in their cells.

Three inmates went on to the roof after 8pm and were still up
there after 11pm while staff tried to persuade them to come
down.

A Prison Service spokesperson said the offenders did not appear
to be staging a protest, but were running around and shouting.

After the inmates went on the roof, others lit fires in their
cells, although these were soon put out by staff, the spokesperson
added.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 17 December, page 7

There should be a law against it

The legal and regulatory system is failing vulnerable people in
care who suffer abuse and neglect, undercover TV reporter Donal
MacIntyre found. Now it’s time for a tough new approach, he
argues.

Source:- The Guardian Society Wednesday 17 December
page 3

Best of both worlds

He was a loyal MP in the Thatcher years, so what formed Keith
Best’s liberal views on immigration and asylum?

Source:- The Guardian Society Wednesday 17 December
page 6

The buck stops here

A ‘one-top’ project in Bury that helps young homeless people by
breaking down departmental barriers

Source:- The Guardian Society Wednesday 17 December
page 7

Brought to book

The first star ratings last year came as a shock to many local
authorities. Twelve months on, what do councils – and their
inspectors – think?

Source:- The Guardian Society Wednesday 17 December
page 9

If the face doesn’t fit

‘Golden goodbyes’ are discouraged in the public and voluntary
sectors, but payoffs using public funds are not uncommon

Source:- The Guardian Society Wednesday 17 December
page 14

What else can I do?

Changes to the NHS complaints system mean Iain is out of a job.
No need to panic – some tips for his next step in patient
advocacy

Source:- The Guardian Society Wednesday 17 December
page 40

Scottish news

Newborn boy abandoned in freezing street

A newborn baby boy was found abandoned outside a chip shop in
Glasgow yesterday by two teenage boys.

Police are appealing for witnesses in an attempt to trace the
mother who may need medical attention.

Source:- The Scotsman Wednesday 17 December

Children’s hearing system too slow

Children across Scotland are experiencing
“unacceptable” delays in the children’s hearing
system, according to a damning report yesterday.

Although the system is improving, progress may be too slow to
reach new national standards by 2006, the Scottish executive report
found.

Local authorities, children’s panel reporters and police
all failed to meet some of their timetable targets.

Source:- The Scotsman Wednesday 17 December

Antisocial Behaviour Bill
‘anti-youth’

Children’s campaigners branded measures in the Antisocial
Behaviour Bill “anti-youth” and potentially illegal
yesterday.

The bill proposes a number of measures targeted at young people
including antisocial behaviour orders, electronic tagging and
parenting orders.

Children’s groups and law experts giving evidence to the
Justice 2 committee were critical of many of the ideas in the
planned legislation.

Source:- The Scotsman Wednesday 17 December

Anger as mental health unit decision is
deferred

Community groups and politicians were furious last night after a
steering group failed to announce which of the three short-listed
sites in Scotland would host a medium secure unit for patients with
mental health problems.

A scoring exercise by the Scottish Centre for Mental Health
Development found the facility at Dykebar hospital in Paisley was
narrowly better than Kirklands hospital in Bothwell and the Medical
Rehabilitation Unit at Uddington.

But the steering group of health executives, psychiatric,
medical and local authority representatives deferred a decision to
await a second opinion from another independent assessor.

Source:- The Herald Wednesday 17 December

Blindness fear for hundreds of Scots

A failure by the NHS to provide effective treatment is causing
hundreds of Scots to lose their eyesight unnecessarily each
year.

The Royal National Institute of the Blind Scotland said victims
of a devastating eye disease were being denied the only therapy
known to stop their vision deteriorating.

MP Kate Maclean, chairperson of a cross-party group on visual
impairment, has lodged a motion with the Scottish executive
demanding immediate funding for the treatment across the
country.

Source:- The Herald Wednesday 17 December

70 per cent rise in women who drink-drive

The number of women caught drink-driving in the run up to
Christmas has increased by almost 70 per cent from last year.

Thirty-two women were caught during the first week of the
crackdown, which began last Wednesday, compared to 19 in the same
period last year.

Road safety campaigners blamed the rise on the “laddette
culture”, with females drinking more alcohol in general.

Source:- Daily Record Wednesday 17 December page 2

Sex beast wrecked my poor girl’s life

A man walked free from court yesterday even though he admitted a
shocking attack on a girl in a school.

David McKenzie subjected his 13-year-old victim to a 30-minute
ordeal. But the 16-year-old was given two years’ probation
after the judge heard about his “sad” family
circumstances.

The Record can reveal McKenzie’s mother, Rosemary, was
charged with killing her third child shortly after giving birth in
Moray in March 2000. A judge said she was not fit to stand trial.
McKenzie is now cared for by his aunt.

McKenzie was originally charged with raping the girl but the
Crown accepted his plea of guilty to indecently assaulting her.

Source:- Daily Record  Wednesday 17 December page
13

Welsh news

Please help children like Callum

The mother of an eight-year-old boy with cerebral palsy is
appealing for donations to help fund a specialist clinic to help
other children in south Wales who have the condition.

Callum Arnold was only five months old when he was diagnosed
with the condition and he has received treatment from a clinic in
Cardiff. However his mother, Jane, says that many other children
are missing out on specialist help.

Source:- South Wales Argus Tuesday 16 December page
1

Prejudice unlocked at Parc

The head of the Prison Service has spoken of his shame and
horror after a report unveiled a catalogue of racism in jails,
including some in Wales.

The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) report highlighted
incidents of attacks on English and black prisoners at HMP Parc in
Bridgend, which is the only privately-run Welsh prison.

Phil Wheatley, director general of the Prison Service, said that
a major action plan had been agreed to tackle the problem of racial
behaviour in prisons.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 17 December page 5