Wednesday 10 November 2004

By Shirley Kumar, Amy Taylor and Clare
Jerrom

Antisocial behaviour plans give councillors powers over
police

Local councillors could be given powers to force police to take
action on antisocial behaviour under new government plans.

The proposals are part of reforms outlined in a white paper which
if implemented would translate into the biggest shake up in
policing for more than 40 years.

Source:- The Financial Times Wednesday 10 November 2004
page 4

Mother cleared of baby murder had stabbed husband to
death

A mother convicted of murdering her four-month old baby was cleared
yesterday in a retrial after evidence from paediatrician professor
Sir Roy Meadows was discredited.

The jury at Newcastle Crown Court was not told Margaret Smith and
her husband Keith had stabbed her first husband Robert Brannan to
death in 1995.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 10 November 2004 page
11

‘Honour killing’ cousins jailed

Two cousins were jailed for a total of 34 years for
conspiring to murder a man who married their young female relative
in a secret Muslim wedding.

Tariq Mahmood and Mohammed Jahangir admitted plotting the honour
killing of Zafar Iqbal in Bradford, West Yorkshire on January 18
2004.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Wednesday 10 November 2004
page 2

The village where Gypsies and locals learnt to live
together

The gypsy site at Smithy Fen in Cambridgeshire has been
home to travellers for many years and did not pose a problem to
residents of the village.

The problems began when an influx of travellers arrived from
Ireland in Easter last year. It was the sheer numbers trying to
live on the site that caused the problem.

Source:- The Independent Wednesday 10 November 2004 page
19

Judge tells MPs: ‘I won’t meet fathers’
group’

Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, the country’s most senior family
law judge, has said she will not meet the controversial
fathers’ group Fathers4Justice because they have shown
themselves to be “not sensible.”

She said they had done their cause further harm by demonstrating
outside the homes of a number of well-known family judges,
including her own.

Source:- The Independent Wednesday 10 November 2004 page
21

Gypsies can stay on the green belt, says judge

A group of gypsies who bought green belt land and then moved their
caravans on to it were given the right to stay.
In a landmark ruling, the travellers were told they had special
circumstances and therefore were allowed to stay on the land that
ought to have been protected against development.

Source:- The Daily Mail Wednesday 10 November 2004 page
5

Lawyers only add to the misery of divorce, says judge

Senior judge Justice Munby has blamed lawyers for adding to the
misery of families caught up in divorce and disputes over
children.

He told MPs that judges settled arguments in broken families more
quickly and simply when there was no legal representation.

Source:- The Daily Mail Wednesday 10 November 2004 page
17

Candid camera

It’s a high risk strategy for any profession to allow a
fly-on-the-wall documentary; for one of the most vilified, it might
appear downright foolhardy. But a new TV series hopes to challenge
some of the stereotypes about social work.

Source:- SocietyGuardian Wednesday 10 November page 2

Fast forward

Christine Beasley, the new chief nursing officer, ‘has not
been near a bedpan for 20 years’-but tells Helen Mulholland
why she can take the profession to the next level

Source:-SocietyGuardian Wednesday 10 November page 6

Last resort

A therapeutic community with a difference is providing a home for
people with severe personality disorders

Source:-SocietyGuardian Wednesday 10 November page 7

Acts of contrition

The Catholic church is facing up to its problems over child abuse,
but could the closure of the UK’s only resident treatment
centre for paedophile priests put children at risk?

Source:- SocietyGuardian Wednesday 10 November
page 8

The pioneers

Thirty years ago, a group of students decided to share their home
with five learning disabled people – and shaped the future of
care

Source:- SocietyGuardian Wednesday 10 November page 10

Hidden assets

Talk of Gordon Brown raising £30 billion from a
‘disposals’ auction is way off mark when PFI means
there’s a lot that has disappeared form the
accountants’ radar screen.

Source:- SocietyGuardian Wednesday 10 November page 14

What else can I do?

Sian is looking for her second job after spending five years
working in regeneration and development for a local council. Debbie
Andalo suggests some choice moves

Source:- SocietyGuardian Wednesday 10 November page
96

Scottish newspapers

Capping council tax rises to 2.5 per cent ‘unrealistic’
says COSLA

The first minister’s demands to local authorities that
council tax rises should be restricted to just 2.5 per cent were
branded “totally unrealistic” by councils
yesterday.

COSLA, the umbrella body for local authorities, said keeping tax
rises to the level set out by Jack McConnell was impossible without
“significant” additional funding from the Scottish
executive.

Source:- The Scotsman  Wednesday 10 November

Retrial clears mother of murdering her baby son

A mother was cleared of murdering her baby son yesterday following
a retrial which was ordered because discredited paediatrician
professor Roy Meadow gave evidence at the original hearing.

Margaret Smith was found not guilty of smothering her baby Keith at
their home on Hull in September 1994.

The Newcastle jury was not told the eight day hearing was a retrial
and were not informed that Smith and her second husband Keith were
convicted of killing her first husband Robert Brannan in
1995.

Source:- The Herald  Wednesday 10 November

Recorded sex crimes increase by almost 75 per cent

Sex crimes more than doubled in the first six months of this year
in Lothian and Borders police force area.

There was a 74 per cent increase in the number of rapes compared
with the same time last year in Scotland’s second largest
police force area.

There were also increases of 14 per cent in assault with intent to
ravish and 13 per cent in libidinous practices.

Source:- The Herald  Wednesday 10 November

Welsh newspapers

Sex advice at teens’ fingertips

Teenagers will be able to get information on sexual health from
text messages sent to their mobile phone under a new service
launched today.

The scheme, which is being run by Brook, an organisation providing
sexual health information, could especially help young people in
Wales where there is only limited access to sexual health
clinics.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 10 November