Thursday 14 April 2005

By Clare Jerrom, Lauren Revans and Amy Taylor

The Al-Qaeda plot to poison Britain

An Al Qaeda terrorist who planned a chemical attack could have been
deported as an illegal immigrant six months before he stabbed a
police officer to death.

Kamel Bourgass, whose claim for asylum failed, plotted to smear car
handles and contaminate toiletries in shops with ricin or nicotine.
He had been arrested in July 2002 for shop lifting in July 2002 and
was reported to immigration officials but no enforcement officer
was available to interview him or take him to custody. Magistrates
could have detained or deported him but he was freed with a
fine.

In 2003 he murdered detective Constable Stephen Oake and wounded
three other officers.

Source:- The Times  Thursday 14 April page 1

Jailed teacher’s hunger strike

A special needs teacher who was jailed for six months for firing an
air pistol during a confrontation with a group of youths who she
alleged had vandalised her home is on hunger strike.

Her husband claims the protest came soon after Linda Walker was
told she could not be freed on bail pending appeal.

Walker, who is imprisoned at Styal women’s prison in
Cheshire, fired into the pavement last August.

Source:- The Times  Thursday 14 April page 4

Prisoner killed

A prisoner died after being stabbed by a fellow inmate at Rye Hill
prison in Warwickshire.

Wayne Reid was seving seven years for robbery.

Source:- The Times  Thursday 14 April page 4

Chief justice to retire as law reforms are
complete

Lord chief justice Lord Woolf is expected to announce that he will
retire as Britain’s most senior judge within weeks of the
election.

Source:- The Times  Thursday 14 April page 16

Underworld link to missing girls

Three Chinese girls who vanished days after seeking asylum in
Britain may have been forced into prostitution by the human
traffickers who arranged their journey.

Police and the National Missing Person’s helpline last night
made appeals for help in tracing Weng Mei Fang, 15, Lin Xiu Ming
and He Yun Jin both aged 16.

Source:- The Times  Thursday 14 April page 17

Shipman ‘tricked jail about suicide’

Harold Shipman’s inquest yesterday heard how the former GP
deliberately deceived inmates about his state of mind prior to his
suicide in Wakefield prison.

His plans were aided by flaws in the prison system which meant
officers had no idea that Shipman had been designated “a
permanent and ongoing suicide risk”.

Source:- The Times  Thursday 14 April page 25

Man of 91 had to lie on hospital floor when the lease on
his bed ran out

Cecil Baker was forced to sleep on a hospital floor after the lease
on his bed ran out.

The 91-year-old was given a low-level bed because he had dementia
and was prone to falling out. However, after the free trial of the
bed ran out, it had to be returned to suppliers and Baker was
forced to sleep on the floor.

Source:- Daily Mail  Thursday 14 April page 29

Immigration strategy backfiring on Tories

Michael Howard’s immigration strategy is encouraging more
reluctant Labour voters to return to their party rather than vote
for the Tories according to a poll.

The ICM findings suggest Howard’s hardline stance on asylum
and immigration is putting off more voters than it is
attracting.

Source:- The Guardian  Thursday 14 April page 1

Tory candidate under fire for ‘send them back’
asylum ad

A Conservative candidate has come under fire after he issued a
“send them back” message in an advertisement about
“asylum cheats”.

Bob Spink, who is defending his 985 majority in castle Point,
Essex, took out the advertisement in the yellow Advertiser under
the heading Stop Asylum Abuse.

Source:- The Guardian  Thursday 14 April page 6

Nursery head on porn charges

Brian Griffiths, a manager of two pre-school nurseries, is charged
with making or possessing child pornography following raids on
three houses in his home town of Burton Latimer in
Northamptonshire.

Source:- The Guardian  Thursday 14 April page 13

Scottish news

MRSA in Scottish hospitals hits new record levels

Health experts and opposition MSPs are calling on the Scottish
executive to take urgent action to reduce levels of MRSA in
hospitals.

Health services in Scotland reported almost 1,000 cases of MRSA in
Scottish hospitals in 2004 – a 12 per cent rise on the
previous year.

Source:- The Scotsman Thursday 14 April

Primary class sizes up for the first time since 1997

The average class sizes in Scotland’s primary schools rose
for the first time since devolution in 2004, new figures
reveal.

Since 1997, when average class sizes were 24.9, the figure has
fallen year on year. The 2004 figure was 23.9, compared with 23.7
in 2003.

Source:- The Scotsman Thursday 14 April

Vice girl tolerance zone Bill hit by third delay

Proposed legislation to allow councils to set up designated
tolerance zones for prostitutes has been postponed to
October.

It is the third time the legislation, introduced by Independent
Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald, has been delayed.

Source:- Edinburgh Evening News Wednesday 13 April

Ailing family support group seeks funding

The Family Mediation Lothian group has launched an appeal for vital
new funding, warning that it could be forced to make cutbacks later
this year if more donations are not forthcoming.

The appeal, Helping Lothian’s Children, will help provide
contact centres and support work for children, young people and
families.

Source:- Edinburgh Evening News Thursday 14 April

Rough sleeping shame

The number of people sleeping rough on Edinburgh’s streets
has more than doubled following the closure of a homeless
shelter.

The latest figures show that more than 50 people were sleeping on
the capital’s streets after last week’s closure of a
Bethany Christian Trust shelter compared with 22 people in the most
recent council-backed count.

Source:- Edinburgh Evening News Thursday 14 April

Welsh news

Addict gets life for tramp murder

A drug addict was jailed for life at Swansea Crown Court yesterday
for killing a well-known homeless person.

Alan Payne, 21, of Ystradgynlais, has previously admitted killing
Phillip Jones, 66, in Neath last summer.

The court heard how Jones was a much loved figure in the
town.

Source:- Western Mail Thursday 14 April

Giving youth a voice

Teenagers will be raising issues that concern them in the National
Assembly on Monday in a debate.

Politicians from all political parties are welcome to attend to
learn about what matters to young people.

Source:- Western Mail Thursday 14 April