By Clare Jerrom, Shona Main and Alex Dobson.
Carr weeps as she appears in court on jail video link
The girlfriend of double murder suspect Ian Huntley, broke down in tears yesterday when she appeared before a judge via a video link in connection with the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
Maxine Carr was seen on monitors at a courtroom in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, yesterday via a live link from a video suite in Holloway prison, north London.
She faces a charge of perverting the court of justice. She stands accused of giving false information to police investigating the murder of the two 10-year-old girls from Soham, Cambridgeshire.
Ian Huntley is currently in high security Rampton psychiatric hospital, charged with murdering the two girls.
The hearing was adjourned until 27 September.
Source:- The Times Friday 30 August page 5
Race killing
A confrontation between asylum seekers and a group of white men in Sunderland resulted in an Iranian man being killed.
Tayman Bahmani, who had been in Britain for two years, was fatally stabbed in what police consider was a racially motivated attack.
Source:- The Times Friday 30 August page 2
Porn charges
A senior office clerk at the House of Commons has been charged in connection with child pornography, according to Scotland Yard.
Philip Lyon, of Basildon, Essex, was charged with 10 counts of making indecent images of children, and was bailed to appear before Bow magistrates court on 10 September.
Source:- The Times Friday 30 August page 4
Labour ‘refused job to dwarfism woman’
The Labour party discriminated against a disabled woman by refusing her a job on Tony Blair’s 1997 general election team, an industrial tribunal heard yesterday.
Helen Garrod, who has dystrophic dwarfism, claimed she suffered psychological problems after her application was rejected as she was "unsuitable for any work because she was disabled".
Garrod, from Helston, Cornwall, said that in January 1997, she was a deputy editor of 'Progress' magazine for Labour modernisers, and was recommended for a job on the campaign squad.
The hearing is to decide whether Garrod’s case can be heard, as a discrimination claim must usually be lodged within three months. She applied for an exemption.
The hearing continues today.
Source:- The Guardian Friday 30 August page 7
Two held after baby injured
A 22-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman have been arrested by officers investigating an attack in a Bristol park on a three-month-old baby and her mother that left the child with a fractured skull.
Source:- The Guardian Friday 30 August page 10
Pupils hit by crisis over staff checks
Thousands of pupils could be turned away from schools next week because of a crisis in vetting staff, head teachers warned yesterday.
The Criminal Records Bureau, which checks the suitability of people in charge of children, has a backlog of 12,000 applications which needs to be completed before term begins.
Schools are waiting to hear whether teachers, governors and other staff have passed the vetting. Head teachers face delaying the start of term because they do not have the staff to supervise classes.
Source:- Daily Telegraph Friday 30 August page 1
Scottish newspapers
Social workers demand action on staffing and workload
Unison has called on the Scottish executive to act now to tackle the crisis in social work, and to better resource social work and social work services.
Unison delegates met in Glasgow yesterday as Glasgow council launched the ‘Help Us Care For Glasgow’ recruitment drive. Glasgow's social work department is Scotland’s largest, and is currently operating with shortfalls in almost every social work field.
Stephen Smellie, branch secretary for South Lanarkshire, welcomed the Scottish executive’s forthcoming recruitment and retention campaign, but warned that more would need to be done to ensure the delivery of better social services.
Joe di Paolo, Unison’s Scottish organiser for local government, said the union was not considering industrial action. "There is a crisis in social work, and it needs to be addressed urgently. A root-and-branch review of social work services is required. Resources have to be found before it is too late."
The union is now seeking talks with the Scottish executive and COSLA to discuss the concerns of frontline social worker staff.
A spokesperson for Cathy Jamieson, the minister who initiated the recruitment and retention campaign, said: "There are currently two project groups reporting to the minister on recruitment and professional reforms, and we are pleased that Unison is willing to be part of that process."
Source:- The Herald Friday 30 August
Three jailed for abuse of woman with handicap
The men convicted of what Lord Dawson called "a course of depravity and brutality towards a defenceless and vulnerable young woman" were sentenced to a total of 24 years at the high court in Edinburgh.
James Mercer was sentenced to a 10-year sentence and Alexander Maber and Ross Douglas were each given seven years.
Their victim, who suffers from severe learning difficulties, said, "I am relieved, but unhappy that it has taken so long to get this all sorted out. I have been through hell. All I wish is to be left in peace to get on with my new life."
Following the death of her mother in November 2001, the woman went to live with Mercer, who was described as "on the borderline of mental handicap". However, she was made to sleep on the hall floor whilst he took her benefit money to spend on drink.
Over a period of three months, Mercer repeatedly handcuffed the woman to a chair and sexually abused her. He also shaved her head and raped her and, along with Douglas and Maber, tried to set fire to her clothes at a school playing field. A friend became concerned, and she was taken to hospital where doctors found that she had 71 injuries.
Detective inspector John Clark, of Borders police, said: "This was a horrifying series of crimes, and it is one of the most serious abuse cases I have been involved in."
The woman is now reported to have a new life and is being supported by social work services. Scottish Borders council is carrying out an investigation into the handling of the case by social work. The report will be made to the council and to the Mental Welfare Commission, he added.
Source:- The Scotsman Friday 30 August
Champion for Children
The Scottish Executive has announced the role of the children’s commissioner.
Cathy Jamieson, the Minister for Education and Young People, said yesterday that the commissioner would have the powers to investigate how the rights, interest and views of children and young people are taken into account, particularly those who live in poverty.
Source:- The Daily Record Friday 30 August
Welsh newspapers
Police launch drug crime crackdown
A two-page feature outlining the ways in which police in south Wales are fighting the growing problem of illegal drug use.
As well details of new police initiatives the article also contains a breakdown of the way that Communities Against Drugs (CAD) funding from the home office will be shared among local authorities in south Wales.
Newport is to receive £150,400 of the latest CAD funding, while Blaenau Gwent will get £87,200, Caerphilly £149,600, Monmouthshire £76,800 and Torfaen £84,500.
The money will be used to step up frontline projects and services.
Source:- South Wales Argus Thursday 29 August pages 4-5
We Can Do It!
The second day of the newspaper’s "Dump The Dealers" campaign against illegal drug misuse with a special four-page report looking at the extent of the problem.
Sir Anthony Burden, chief constable of south Wales police, issues a tough warning to drug dealers and called for better treatment to help addicts overcome their addiction.
Burden says that drugs and drug-related crime are the biggest and most serious issues facing valley communities at present.
He added that was a need to move quickly to ensure that adequate referral services for treatment are available to those who need them.
Source:- South Wales Echo Thursday 29 August pages 4-5 and 6-7
Pledge made to find new home
Minister for health and social services in the Welsh assembly, Jane Hutt, has pledged to help a charity providing hospice care a new home.
The George Thomas Hospice charity provides specialist nursing care for more than 1,000 people in their own homes in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan every year.
But the hospice care centre is currently housed in cramped accommodation in Penylan, and Hutt said that the charity deserved help so she would assist in any way she could to replace the existing accommodation.
She said on a visit to the hospice that she was very impressed with the work that was being done and by the close co-operation between the hospice and social services. She added that this was the type of joint working that she wanted to see throughout Wales.
Source:- South Wales Echo Thursday 29 August page 14
