In Today's Papers

By Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson.
Missing girl, 14, raises fear of third suicide
There were fears last night that a 14-year-old girl, who has been missing for two days, was intending to copy the suicides of her two closest friends.
Kelly McAdams told her mother: “I’ve had enough I can’t take any more”, before she disappeared from her home two days ago.
Her best friend Kirsty Botto hanged herself in March and less than a month later another friend Jade Hughes was discovered hanging from a railway bridge.

Her mother pleaded for her to return home last night.
Source:- The Times Saturday 26 July page 3
Governor brings gentle touch to Dartmoor
A profile of Claudia Sturt, the new governor of Dartmoor prison, which has just been named with Holloway and Brixton as the worst three jails in England and Wales.
Source:- The Times Saturday 26 July page 8
Has the government given up on illegal immigrants?
Ministers have lost control over who enters Britain.
Source:- The Times Saturday 26 July page 12
Sex attacker of children banned from owning toys
A man who has been jailed for six years for acts of indecency against children has been banned from possessing children’s toys or books for the rest of his life.
Peter Heaton from Greater Manchester pleaded guilty to a series of attacks on boys and girls aged between nine and 15-years-old.
Sentencing Heaton at Manchester crown court, Judge Anthony Hammond banned him from communicating with children under 16 as well as preventing him from owning any children’s toys or “any animal which could be considered for use in ‘grooming’ a child”.
Source:- The Guardian Saturday 26 July page 10
Blunkett wants new immigrants to give ‘UK values’ pledge
Government proposals will see new immigrants to Britain attending citizenship ceremonies complete with the national anthem and union jack flag.
As well as swearing allegiance to the Queen, immigrants will also make the new pledge to uphold the rights, freedoms and democratic values of the UK.
Home secretary David Blunkett believes the ceremonies, to be launched next year,  will help foster a sense of national identity.
Source:- The Independent Saturday 26 July page 4
Pensioners living abroad set to lose free NHS care
Older British people, who live in other countries for more than six months a year, are to be denied free National Health Service treatment.
Thousands of Britons who have retired to the Spanish costas or south of France will no longer be able to return home to be cared for by the health service for free, under the changes to be proposed by the department of health this week.
The move is designed as part of a crackdown on “health tourism” and illegal asylum seekers abusing the NHS.
Source:- The Sunday Times 27 July page 2
Litter wardens to lead drive for clean streets
A campaign to clean up Britain’s streets in a bid to stem growing crime and antisocial behaviour is to be launched by the government.
The initiative, spearheaded by the department for environment, food and rural affairs is part of a series of new laws to tackle “yobbish” behaviour and begging.
The main elements of the ‘Living Places’ scheme include the creation of litter wardens to issue £50 on-the-spot fines and allowing local authorities to clean private land and seek costs.
Source:- The Sunday Times 26 July page 26
Twelve held after racial clash
Twelve people have been arrested following a racially motivated outbreak of violence in Hull city centre.
Youths armed with baseball bats and metal pipes went on the rampage yesterday, and four local men and eight men of Iraqi origin were arrested.
The trouble is believed to be linked to an Iraqi asylum seeker, who is alleged to have been deliberately run over last week.
Source:- The Sunday Times 27 July page 26
Drug-driving claims 200 lives a year
Up to one in four drivers involved in fatal road accidents has taken illegal drugs, according to the RAC.
The claim, backed by police statistics, is a rise on the figure three years ago.
The motoring organisation, which said around 200 people died each year because of drug-driving, called for tougher penalties.
Police have the power to test drivers for drugs but the equipment has not been approved.
Source:- The Sunday Times 27 July page 26
Children exploited as Britain faces boom in trafficking
Thousands of young children are being brought to Britain and exploited as prostitutes or drug ‘mules’, according to a report by the United Nation Children’s Fund.
The forthcoming report claims that child trafficking into Britain is on the increase and ‘Stop the Traffic’ warns that children are being transported from an increasing number of countries by traffickers, who are using a variety of methods to avoid detection.
Unicef fears that the children, mainly from Asia, west Africa and eastern Europe face a life of exploitation and abuse at the hands of their captors, many of whom escape unpunished because of a loophole in anti-trafficking laws.
Source:- The Sunday Telegraph 27 July page 10
Blair orders Blunkett to put identity card scheme on hold
The prime minister has postponed the launch of  a plan to compel every Briton to hold an ID card in response to fears that it will turn into an expensive and frustrating assault on liberty.
One version of the scheme would require every adult to report personally to a government office to have their identity checked. British citizens, who fail to register for an ID card, could be denied access to the NHS or benefits and prevented from renewing documents such as passports.
But home secretary David Blunkett has quietly dropped the idea that people could be stopped by police and ordered to report to a police station with their ID card.
Blunkett was expected to announce the initiative before MPs left for their summer break, but the announcement was postponed following a private meeting with Tony Blair earlier this month.
Source:- Independent on Sunday 27 July page 2
Channel rescue
Three asylum seekers were rescued after trying to cross the Channel in an inflatable dinghy.
The men were seen ten miles south-east of Dover and picked up by a yacht.
Source:- The Times Monday 28 July page 4
12 in court over violent race clash
Eight Iraqi asylum seekers and four men from Hull will appear in court today following a violent clash between the two groups in the city centre.
Witnesses said the group were armed with baseball bats and metal pipes, and the fight was believed to be the result of what police described as a racially motivated attack on an Iraqi man in which he was hit by a car.
The charges against the 12 men include public order offences and possession of offensive weapons.
Source:- The Times Monday 28 July page 6
Epilepsy inaction
Efforts to improve the treatment of epilepsy patients have had little effect, according to a survey of 200 GPs.
The survey found that only 12.5 per cent had read a new action plan, and only eight per cent had changed their treatments.
Source:- The Times Monday 28 July page 6
Tough case bonus for social workers
Social workers taking on the toughest cases are to be offered premium rates in an attempt by ministers to attract more recruits to the profession.
A salary shake-up will be followed by a television campaign to revitalise the image of the profession, tarnished by high profile cases.
Plans will be drawn up in the autumn amid concerns about vacancy rates of 50 per cent in some areas.

Source:- The Times Monday 28 July page 7
£1.5bn boost to council housing
The government will announce today a £1.5 billion boost to improve sub-standard homes around England.
Councils will give up responsibility for day-to-day management of housing, and hand powers to new arms-length organisations.
Source:- The Guardian Monday 28 July page 6
Brown’s taxes ‘cost families £6,000’
The average family could be £6,000 better off if the Chancellor had not introduced his programme of 60 tax rises coupled to his spending programme, according to a right -wing thinktank.
A Centre for Policy Studies report accused Gordon Brown of missing key economic goals set when Labour came to power.
Tax rises have cost the average household £4,000 a year with £2,000 lost annually because of lower economic growth, the report says.
Source:- The Guardian Monday 28 July page 8
Unruly pupils ‘are not ill, just naughty’
A variety of medical complaints are being used to excuse bad behaviour in the classroom, a leading academic has warned.
Professor of Childhood Studies at London University, Priscilla Alderson blamed psychologists who she said were trying to ‘make a quick buck’.
She accused them of lowering the threshold for diagnosing complaints, such as attention deficit disorder and mild autism, leading to a massive rise in the number of children considered to have learning difficulties.
Source:- Daily Mail Monday 28 July page 14
The teenager struck dumb for a year by bullies
A teenager was so traumatised by bullies at school that she lost her voice for almost a year.
Sarah Fisher can now speak, but only for a short period of time in a whisper because of the stress bought on by the attacks.
Her doctor has referred her to a hospital for a course of speech therapy.
Source:- Daily Mail Monday 28 July page 23
Scottish news
Plea to women in fear of abuse
The West Lothian branch of Women’s Aid is calling on local women living in fear of abuse to contact the group if they need advice or support.
One of the group’s workers, Wilma Duncan, said a lot of women believe they have to be beaten black and blue before they can contact the organisation, but she stressed that Women’s Aid can help with physical, sexual or emotional abuse.
Source:- The Scotsman Saturday 26 July
Porn-row driver loses job battle
A council driver who claimed he was wrongly accused of looking at porn on office computers because of his skin colour has had his employment tribunal case thrown out.
Anand Moodley claimed he was forced out of his job at Midlothian council after he was disciplined for looking at sex websites on the internet at work. He said he was computer illiterate and did not know how to surf the net, but council bosses claimed at the hearing last week that Moodley had looked at porn more than 80 times.
Moodley claimed race discrimination against his former employers, but the claims were dismissed yesterday by the employment tribunal in Edinburgh.
Source:- The Scotsman Saturday 26 July
JK Rowling puts her sole into combating domestic violence
A host of Scottish celebrities including author JK Rowling are to auction their shoes to highlight the number of women who die each year at the hands of violent partners.
The Harry Potter author, alongside Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox are to put their footwear on sale online in the hope of raising money for anti-abuse charities such as YWCA Scotland, Women’s Aid and Rape Crisis.
Source:- The Sunday Herald 27 July
Insurance hike threat to charities
Agencies in Scotland promoting public health and young people’s fitness could be forced to close as a result of soaring premiums from insurance companies.
Voluntary organisations across the UK have been staggered at insurance quotes raising premiums by an average of 30 per cent this year.
In many cases, increases are blamed on the tragedy of September 11, but charities say this is irrelevant and rises are out of proportion with the risks of their work.
Source:- The Sunday Herald 27 July
Lecturer sues college over disability
A lecturer is suing his employers under disability laws amid claims that they gave him no support and referred him to the internet when he told them he suffered from Parkinson’s disease.
Ian Duncan was diagnosed with the disease in July 2000 and he claims to have been treated unfairly by his employers after more than 20 years’ service at Cumbernauld College, and will now give evidence at an employment tribunal in Edinburgh.
Source:- The Scotsman Monday 28 July
Criminals fear ‘tough justice’ more than Edinburgh’s
Criminals fear Glasgow courts more than those in Edinburgh, according to a report commissioned by the Scottish Prison Service.
Prisoners’ views of the legal system found that although offenders believed big city courts were more lenient than small town sheriffs, they could expect lighter sentences and smaller fines in Edinburgh than Glasgow.
Source:- The Herald Monday 28 July
Head injury trial for cannabis-type drug
Patients with major head injuries are being given a cannabis-type drug to discover whether it can limit brain damage.
Doctors at Western General Hospital in Edinburgh are taking part in international tests of the new drug Dexanabinol.
It is hoped the drug, based on chemicals found in cannabis, can improve the outcome for victims of road accidents and assaults. Serious head injuries are the most common cause of death and disability in young Britons.
Source:- Daily Record Monday 28 July
Heroin fear in village of damned
A major health scare has been sparked in a Highland village by a batch of poisoned heroin.
Five addicts who injected the drug became seriously ill, and were treated in hospital over the weekend.
Police and health bosses yesterday issued a public warning over the rogue batch as they desperately tried to piece together the dealer chain to find its source.
Source:- Daily Record  Monday 28 July
Welsh newspapers
Beggars face arrest
Police in Swansea have arrested a number of people for allegedly begging from shoppers.
The decision to arrest was taken following complaints from members of the public that they were being harassed for money. A police spokesperson said that they were targeting ‘nuisance beggars’.
Source:- Western Mail Monday 28 July page 3
Sport Minister’s vision is to get unhealthy nation back on its feet
A cradle to grave initiative aimed at making people in Wales healthier will be unveiled today.
Welsh Assembly sports minister Alan Pugh wants to raise activity rates to nearer those of Finland where 70 per cent of people exercise regularly. The new 20-year strategy, Climbing Higher, is being introduced at a time of increasing concern over rates of obesity and ill health among adults and children in Wales.
Source:- Western Mail Monday 28 July page 5