News

By Clare Jerrom, Reg McKay and Alex Dobson.

Labour ‘wrong to claim child poverty success’

The government has failed to reach its target of lifting more than a million children out of poverty in its first term, children’s rights groups and opposition parties said yesterday.

Official figures published yesterday showed that the number of children living below the poverty line had fallen by just 500,000 in spite of claims in Labour’s 2001 election manifesto that more than one million children had been taken out of poverty since 1997.

The Households Below Poverty Average Income report shows that the number of children living in poverty, after housing costs, fell from 4.4 million in 1996-97 to 3.9 million in 2000-1. That is a fall of 10 per cent but still means that 13 million children in Britain are living below the poverty line.

But work and pensions secretary Alistair Darling said the government’s approach to tackling poverty was clearly paying off: “We promised that everyone would share in the nation’s rising prosperity, and that is happening,” he said.

Source:- The Times  Friday 12 April page 10

Ten areas of high crime to have fast track courts

Ten areas with the highest street crime will fast track robbery cases through the courts under proposals announced yesterday.

In these areas, 41 magistrates’ courts have been set aside to deal with street offences such as robbery and car jacking. The courts were chosen because they had the best facilities to prevent intimidation of witnesses by suspects.

But the Lord Chancellor’s department was unable to provide details of how the cases would be “fast tracked” and said these were matters for individual courts.

Source:- The Times  Friday 12 April page 12

Employers of refugees face jail

Employers could face up to 14 years in prison for knowingly harbouring illegal immigrants under a reform of the asylum law to be announced today by David Blunkett.

The home secretary is to publish the immigration and asylum bill, which will increase the jail term for companies employing illegal immigrants from six months to 14 years.

Employers will also be required to disclose information about employees.

Source:- The Times  Friday 12 April page 12

Illegal immigrants forcing police to ignore rail crime

The fight against vandalism, theft and violence on the railways is being ignored by the police as they are forced to concentrate on illegal immigrants, it emerged yesterday.

Resources needed to round up “clandestines” were seriously undermining the force’s ability to tackle crime at stations and on trains and car theft from station car parks, according to the operational head of the British Transport Police covering the Kent region.

Inspector David Brady said his Ashford office attended calls most days from Dollands Moor, the Folkestone freight depot where more than 80 Afghans and Kurds were detained earlier this week after stowing away on a train through the Channel Tunnel.

“These duties daily impinge on my officers’ abilities to get on with their core tasks of protecting staff and passengers, tackling car crime and robberies, and, generally, making the railways safer for the travelling public,” he said.

Source:- Daily Telegraph  Friday 12 April page 1

Damilola judge points to phone call evidence

Mobile phone records may suggest that the two defendants in the Damilola Taylor murder inquiry were more than a mile away when the boy was injured, the jury heard yesterday.

A series of calls made from the defendants’ phones soon after Damilola was hurt proves the two boys were not at the scene, the defence counsel has claimed.

Mr Justice Hooper told the jury it could not convict the two brothers accused of murdering Damilola unless it was certain the boys were not using the phones.

The prosecution alleges that the 16-year-old brothers were part of a group which stabbed 10-year-old Damilola as he walked home from an after school club in Peckham, south London in November 2000.

Source:- The Guardian Friday 12 April page 7

Scottish and Welsh papers

Prison manager suspended

A male senior manager at trouble-torn Cornton Vale, Scotland’s only all female prison, has been suspended from duty following allegations that he groped two female inmates. 

Cornton Vale was the scene of eight suicides by young women between 1995 and 1998 and two more last year. The man is described as having an “unblemished record”. The Scottish Prison Service refused to comment on an individual case.

Source: The Scotsman Friday 12 April page 7

Child poverty increases in Scotland

The government’s plans to reduce child poverty have failed in Scotland as official statistics indicate an increase from 29 per cent to 30 per cent since 1997.

Overall in the UK the reduction in child poverty was half of what the government intended to achieve. Child Poverty Action Group described the figures as “deeply disappointing”.

Source: The Scotsman Friday 12 April page 2

Councils appeal for £2.5 billion funding

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has appealed to the Scottish executive to provide an additional £2.5bn funding shortfall it calculates will effect all Scottish local authorities by the year 2005-6. 

Cosla also said that its figures showed a “massive” need for capital investment in local government of some £4bn.

Source: The Herald Friday 12 April page 6

Young adults to go before children’s hearings

Young adults involved in offences could in future be referred to children’s hearings rather than the courts according to proposals of a Scottish executive feasibility group.  The Scottish Conservative Party has criticised the proposals as effectively increasing the age of criminal responsibility to 18 years.

Source: The Herald Friday 12 April page 2

John Owen inquiry offers to pay for lawyers

The row over legal representation for alleged victims of abuse appeared to be settled yesterday.

Children's commissioner for Wales, Peter Clarke has offered both the alleged victims and the supporters of John Owen, £10,000 each for legal representation at the Clywch Inquiry which is due to resume next week.

The inquiry was set up to examine the circumstances surrounding alleged abuse at a school in South Wales. It almost collapsed before Easter when the eight alleged victims said that they would not take part without independent legal representation paid for by the Commissioner.

The group's solicitor Lynda Roberts said that while the eight were now prepared to give evidence they were unhappy that a ceiling of £10,000 had been set.

Source: Western Mail Friday 12 April page 5

Campaign to name 'one boy crimewave'

The South Wales Echo is calling for the 11-year-old boy who has been called the worst car thief in Britain to be named.

The newspaper says that the boy, who the police have described as a "serious danger to the community" should be named to protect the public. He has been in court 153 times in the last year and is believed to have stolen a car a day for the last two years.

He is due to appear in court again on April 23 when he faces a further 20 offences.

Source: South Wales Echo Thursday April 11 page 11