Saturday 16 July

By Maria Ahmed

130,000 sickness claimants left off the figures

Tens of thousands more people are claiming incapacity benefit than
was previously thought, the government admitted yesterday.
Officials say there is a ‘ghost’ group of 130,000
claimants who have never been included in their figures.

Source:- The Daily Mail, Saturday 16 July 2005, page 12

Girl of 15 stabbed in school row

A schoolgirl was stabbed in the chest yesterday during a row with
another 15-year-old girl at breaktime. Police were called to Thomas
Alleyne School in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, soon after 11am.

Source:- The Daily Mail, Saturday 16 July 2005, page
13

Struck off, doctor who sent mothers to jail for
murder

Professor Sir Roy Meadow, whose evidence led to three
mothers being wrongly convicted of murdering their babies, was
struck off the medical register yesterday. The 72-year-old doctor
was found guilty of serious professional misconduct after he was
found to have given ‘erroneous’ and
‘misleading’ evidence in court which led to jail terms
for the women, Sally Clark, Angela Cannings and Donna
Anthony.

Source:- The Daily Mail, Saturday 16 July 2005, page
15

Doctors will fear testifying

The General Medical Council’s decision to strike Sir Roy
Meadow off the medical register will be viewed with dismay by most
doctors.

The decision will discourage other doctors from stepping into court
as expert witnesses.

Source:- The Times, Saturday 16 July 2005, page 2

Lauren: teenager charged

A teenager has been charged with the murder of the ten-year-old
schoolgirl Lauren Pilkington-Smith. Keiron Smith, 18, of Greater
Manchester, was due to appear at Wigan Magistrate’s Court
today.

Source:- The Times, Saturday 16 July 2005, page 30

Liver disease caused by alcohol has doubled

Excessive drinking has caused cases of alcoholic liver disease to
nearly double in less than 10 years, at a cost to the health
service in

England of more than £71 million in a year, government figures
show.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Saturday 16 July 2005, page
9