By Amy Taylor, Nicola Barry and Alex Dobson.
Officer in Soham case faces prison over child porn
An officer involved in helping to search for murdered girls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells has pleaded guilty to owning child pornography at Ipswich crown court.
PC Antony Goodridge admitted possessing 330 indecent images of children.
Source:- Daily Mail Saturday 1 February page 31
Tory plan to detain refugees is only 'emergency measure'
Oliver Letwin MP has softened the Conservative's attitude towards asylum seekers saying that Iain Duncan-Smith's proposal to detain them on arrival in Britain is only an "emergency" measure that would be overturned when the terrorist threat lessened.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Saturday 1 February page 2
I feel no guilt, says assisted suicide widow
A feature looking at how Win Crew accompanied her terminally ill husband to Zurich where he took a fatal dose of barbiturates so he could 'die with dignity'.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Saturday 1 February page 8
Jailed paedophile who plotted girl's murder gets life
A judge has described the case of a paedophile who planned to kill the eight-year-old girl he regarded as responsible for his imprisonment as the most disturbing case he had ever seen in his approximately 40 years in court.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Saturday 1 February page 10
'Vicious racism' costs Met £250,000
£250,000 in damages was awarded to a middle-aged black man with no criminal record who was assaulted by police officers, racially abused and prosecuted on inflated charges.
The money is one of the largest ever awards made for misconduct by the police.
Source:- The Guardian Saturday 1 February page 6
Back door entry lures Iraqis on a 2,500-mile voyage
Source:- The Independent Saturday 1 February page 14
Benefits scam that officials cannot even address
A man only realised his swish West London address was being used by a bogus asylum seeker to claim benefits when he received a letter from the National Asylum Support Service (Nass) this month.
Charles Bathurst was shocked when he learned that nobody in the immigration service thought to check his Kensington address given by an Iraqi asylum seeker or any made any attempt to check that any other address they are given is correct.
Source:- The Independent Saturday 1 February page 14
The secret prisoners who get a Well Man clinic
Since September 11 growing numbers of Islamic terrorist suspects are being held at Belmarsh high-security prison in south-east London.
They are being held under such closed conditions that few people outside the prison know how many of them there are.
However, unlike the 600 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, the US military prison camp in Cuba, the terrorist suspects are treated to some of the best conditions around in prison. These include television in their cells; sporting facilities; and access to a "Well Man Clinic" once a month.
Source:- The Independent Saturday 1 February page 15
Blunkett: results will take time
It will take until the summer before the rising numbers of asylum seekers, thought to soon top 100,000 for the first time, starts to decrease, David Blunkett has admitted in private.
Sources said that efforts were to be increased to ensure the new measure in 2002's Asylum and Immigration Act were fully acted on.
Source:- The Independent on Sunday 2 February page 14
Mentally ill at risk of violent abuse
An institute of psychiatry study published last week has found that people with mental health problems living in the community are twice as likely to be the target of violent abuse than the general public.
Source:- The Independent on Sunday 2 February page 15
Archbishop wants asylum seekers held in secure centres
The Archbishop of Canterbury has said that asylum seekers should be locked up in "secure accommodation" until their applications have gone through in order to counteract the threat of terrorism.
Rowan Williams said that it was "perfectly reasonable" that asylum seekers should be placed in secure accommodation as long as the government gets quicker at processing asylum applications.
Source:- The Sunday Times 2 February page 5
Black racism is being ignored, says Labour whip
A government whip has written to the Race Equality Commission claiming that "racist" attacks on white people by blacks and Asians are being ignored by politicians.
Phil Woolas, who is the MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, areas that suffered race riots two years ago, said in his letter that race relations are being harmed by the refusal of politicians to condemn black racism on white people.
Source:- The Sunday Times 2 February page 7
Asylum seekers offloaded on rural towns
Inner city councils are moving asylum seekers in their care to privately rented accommodation in rural areas.
The towns concerned have no way of stopping the councils' practice and say they are being swamped by the numbers, with some smaller rural areas having six times the number of asylum seekers they have been allocated by the home office.
Source:- The Sunday Telegraph 2 February page 13
Is this man disabled? Ken says he isn't
Karl Davies, a thalidomide victim, must use public transport after being refused exemption from the Mayor of London's congestion charge. We join him on a tube journey to work.
Source:- The Sunday Telegraph 2 February page 15
Heavy drinkers to be locked up
Measures in the planned Mental Health Bill, which define addiction as a psychiatric illness, will allow heavy drinkers to be locked up and forced into "detox" treatment or alcohol education courses.
Source:- The Observer 2 February page 8
Doctors rebut scare stories of 'infectious' migrants
Department of Hhealth officials have said that they do not recognise figures claiming to show immigration is doubling the rate of HIV and increasing the risk of Hepatitis B twentyfold, as claimed in The Sun and Spectator.
The officials say the figures have been manipulated, and have led to doctors saying voluntary health checks should be offered to all refugees.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 2 February page 14
£50,000 for woman who failed Victoria?
Lisa Arthurworrey, the social worker in the middle of the Victoria Climbie inquiry, could be set to receive over £50,000 compensation if she is successful in her appeal against her dismissal for gross misconduct.
Arthurworrey was severely criticised in Lord Laming's recent report into Victoria's murder.
Source:- The Mail on Sunday 2 February page 40
Brown vows to reform public services
Parts of the public services are still ready for reform by market forces according to Chancellor Gordon Brown.
He is set to tell Labour supporters that they must forget about their ideological objections to commercial companies and the private finance initiative (PFI) where they can be used for great success.
Source:- The Times Monday 3 February page 1
Race abuse officers suspended
Two Metropolitan police officers involved in the beating of Sylbert Farquharson, who won £250,000 damages in a civil claim against the police for the attack, have been suspended.
Source:- The Times Monday 3 February page 11
Scottish newspapers
Number of Scots in hospital due to drug abuse soars by 62%
The number of Scots hospitalised as a result of drug abuse has soared by 62 per cent over the past five years.
Last year, 4,700 people were admitted for treatment as a result of their drug habit, compared with 2,900 in 1997, according to the latest official figures.
Source:- Scotland on Sunday 2 February page 5
Age Concern is more concerned than ever at 60
"Some of the ways in which we treat old people we would not accept for any other section of society."
The damning view of Jess Barrow, head of Policy for Age Concern, Scotland, spoken 60 years after the charity was set up to fight the hardships of old age like isolation, poverty and poor housing. The country is falling towards a crisis in pensions, nursing homes are closing and many old people say days pass and they speak to no-one.
Source:- The Herald Monday 3 February page 6
Hospitals accused of neglect in feeding elderly
Hospitals are failing to feed older people properly, according to leading charities.
Maureen O’ Neill, director of Age Concern Scotland, said the government’s attempt to have the best drugs, technology and training has been prioritised over ensuring the welfare of the frail.
Source:- The Herald Monday 3 February pages 1, 8 and 15
A nation of oldies
Scotland is ageing faster than any other part of the UK.
Pensioners will outnumber children in Scotland in just eight years, the latest government figures show. They warn that an increasing proportion of older people will rely on being supported by a smaller working age population.
Source:- Daily Record Monday 3 February page 2
The parent fatigue trap
Children are rebelling against hyperactive mums and dads intent on cramming every moment with quality time.
Hyper-parenting has arrived from the US and a survey, involving hundreds of young people has revealed that children in the UK are crying out for some peace and quiet.
Source:- The Herald Monday 3 February page 11
Welsh newspapers
Assembly plans action on bullying
The Welsh Assembly will unveil measures today that are aimed at tackling bullying in all its forms.
Education minister Jane Davidson will launch the consultation, ‘Respecting Others’, at a specially convened conference in Cardiff organised by the Welsh Institute for Health and Social Care, the University of Glamorgan and Childline.
She is expected to outline the ways in which the assembly will tackle the problem, including measures designed to cut down on mobile phone harassment and she will stress the need for an inclusive approach to policy formulation.
Source:- Western Mail Monday 3 February page 5
