In Today's Papers

By Amy Taylor, Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson.
Four years for asylum seekers in riot chaos
Two asylum seekers have been sentenced for four years in prison for their part in a riot at a £100 million Home Office detention centre.
Henry Momodu, a Nigerian aged 39, and Behar Limani, an Albanian aged 27, were found guilty of violent disorder during the uprising that saw Yarl's Wood in Bedfordshire gutted by fire in February of last year.
Limani was overheard threatening to  kill one of the security officers, but told police that he had not taken part in the violence, instead helping others to escape the flames.

Momodu smashed one of the reinforced security windows and hurled missiles at staff.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Saturday 16 August page 11
Hospital facing cash crisis from bill for illegal immigrants
Health officials revealed the rising cost of treating asylum seekers and immigrants is pushing some hospitals into financial crisis yesterday.
It was claimed that services in Swansea were at breaking point due to an influx of asylum seekers suffering from Aids.
More than a third of all new HIV cases in the city are asylum seekers. It costs the NHS £15,000 a year to treat each patient.
Source:- Daily Mail Saturday 16 August page 31
Disabled robber's walking stick-ups
A disabled bank robber who walks with the aid of a stick and has evaded the police for three years, appeared at Preston crown court last week.
Alan Moore pleaded guilty to robbing four banks and building societies, four attempted robberies and five offences of possessing an imitation firearm.
He used to rest his walking stick against the wall outside and limp into banks armed with the fake gun and steal thousands of pounds.
On some occasions his brother Barry, his registered carer, is alleged to have been outside waiting in Moore's Motability car. He was able to park it on double yellow lines right outside banks due to Moore's disabled parking privileges.
The exact nature of Moore's disability was not disclosed. The pair are due to be sentenced on Monday.
Source:- The Times Saturday 16 August page 1
NHS rehires doctor on sex offenders' file
A gynaecologist placed on the sex offenders' register following child pornography allegations has been allowed to continue working in an NHS post despite leaving his post at a private hospital.
Charles Redman received a police caution after his credit card was found to have been used to access a pornographic website.
Redman was suspended  from the University Hospital of North Staffordshire Trust, Stoke-on-Trent, after being arrested in December. He has now been reinstated, but faces an investigation by the General Medical Council.
He previously left his post in private healthcare at a Staffordshire Nuffield hospital by mutual consent.
Source:- The Sunday Times 17 August page 8
Church speaks out on child refugees
Senior church leaders from throughout the EU are due to call on the Home Secretary to end the government's policy of locking up asylum seekers' children in detention centres.
The call will come after strong criticism of the treatment of a Kurdish family of four children and their mother held for over a year in detention centres.
The leaders will meet in Brussels in October, where the Right Rev John Mone, the Bishop of Paisley, who campaigned for the Ay family's release, will speak out against the government for breaching European children's rights laws.
Britain is the only country in Europe to put children in detention centres.
Source:- The Independent on Sunday 17 August page 2
Vatican told bishops to cover up sex abuse
The Vatican  instructed all Catholic Bishops to cover up cases of sexual abuse or risk being thrown out of the church.
A 40-year-old confidential document written in Latin from the secret Vatican archives outlining the policy was sent to every bishop in the world.
Lawyers have called it a 'blueprint for deception and concealment'.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 17 August page 1
Lawyers blast jury bias in asylum trial
The lawyers for two asylum seekers convicted of 'violent disorder' for their part in a fire that destroyed Yarl's Wood detention centre last year will argue the their sentences should be ruled invalid, after it was revealed that two jury members had expressed hostile feelings towards asylum seekers.
A member of the jury during the trial passed a note to the judge detailing how two jury members had questioned asylum seekers' motives for coming to Britain.
One juror is alleged to have said they believe asylum seekers only come to Britain for state benefits while another is alleged to have said  that asylum seekers only come to take our jobs.
Source:- The Observer Sunday 17 August page 12
Destitute: asylum seekers pushed on to the street by an official letter
Groups of asylum seekers from a range of countries have been sleeping rough in south and central London and Croydon due to letters from the government denying them support.
Refugee campaigners have hailed it as the beginning of what could soon be hundreds of asylum seekers sleeping rough as the government's policy of denying state support, including food and shelter to asylum seekers who it believes failed to claim refugee status as soon as they arrived, takes effect.
Source:- The Guardian Monday 18 August page 7
Four flee from detention centre
Four male asylum seekers broke out of an immigration detention centre in Gosport last night.
The men, all from Sri Lanka, scaled an external fence and are now on the run.
A spokesperson for Hampshire police said the men were being held under Home Office immigration orders pending appeal and deportation.
Source:- The Guardian Monday 18 August page 7
Africa is the main source of new HIV cases in Britain
An almost 50 per cent increase in the number of new cases of HIV amongst homosexuals over the past year has been put down to immigration from Africa, according to the Health Protection Agency.
The figures are expected to fuel calls for the government to adopt health tests for immigrants.
The number of new cases among heterosexuals was above that of homosexuals for the first time. The figure for homosexuals increased by just 6 per cent over the same period.
Source:- The Times  Monday 18 August page 4
Scottish newspapers
MP calls for new laws to boost rights for disabled
The government should strengthen the rights of disabled people and mark the European Year of Disabled People by bringing forward new legislation, according to a city MP.
Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West, John Barrett, has called for new legislation to be at the heart of the Queen’s Speech in the autumn, in a letter to the minister for disabled people Maria Eagle.
He said that despite the good intentions of the 1995 Disability Bill many disabled people still face discrimination in their everyday lives.
“The government must now respond to organisations like Capability Scotland and commit themselves to bringing forward comprehensive new legislation in the autumn which will help end this discrimination, once and for all,” he added.

Source:- The Scotsman Saturday 16 August
Cannabis spray painkiller in use in months
Multiple sclerosis sufferers are set to receive painkillers made with cannabis on the National Health Service by the end of the year.
Tests on the oral spray Sativex have been completed and are being reviewed by regulators. If the painkiller is approved the law will be changed to allow the cannabis-based drug to be prescribed by doctors.
Source:- The Scotland on Sunday 17 August
Kirk critical of executive’s ‘impotent’ stance over Dungavel
A top Church of Scotland minister has branded the Scottish executive as “impotent” over the detention of children at Dungavel asylum centre in Lanarkshire, and warned that public trust in devolution has been damaged by the silence of the executive on this issue.
The Reverend Alan McDonald spoke out after members of the executive again refused to comment on the subject, despite concerns raised by the chief inspector of prisons in England and Wales.
McDonald slated executive ministers for insisting they cannot intervene, despite having responsibility for education and children’s welfare.
Source:- Sunday Herald Sunday 17 August
Anger at sexual-health policy delay
Over 34,000 Scottish teenagers have become pregnant since the Scottish executive announced plans for its sexual health strategy.
But despite the pledge made by former health minister Susan Deacon in 1999, the executive still cannot give a specific date for when the long awaited policy will be published.
Children’s groups and health charities have expressed both “disappointment” and “frustration” at the delay.
Source:- Sunday Herald 17 August
Drink law reforms will target binge culture
Major proposals to reform Scotland’s drinking laws will be revealed this week in a bid to target Scotland’s binge-drinking culture.
Sheriff principal Gordon Nicholson’s long awaited report is expected to announce some liberalisation of the country’s licensing laws, but in return for stronger measures to crack down on those breaking the rules.
The Nicholson Committee will outline plans for tough measures to target pubs and clubs ignoring the law, as well as off-licence owners who continue to sell alcohol to youngsters.
Source:- The Herald Monday 18 August
Scandal of patients dumped in OAP homes
Hundreds of disabled people are trapped in hospital or nursing homes because there are insufficient houses where they can live.
For every disabled person to get a specially adapted house, at least five more are left out in the cold.
Kevin Glencross has been left in an old person’s home because the authorities cannot find him a suitable place to live, and campaigners say his plight is evidence of a “chronic shortage” of homes for disabled people.
Source:- Daily Record Monday 18 August
Tramp may have vital clues to Jodi murder
Police hunting the killer of Jodi Jones are searching for a vagrant who was sleeping rough close to the murder scene.
They believe the tramp may have vital information about the murder of the 14-year-old. When officers visited the cave where he had been sleeping, they found evidence that someone had left in a hurry.
Forensic and DNA tests are being carried out on items found in the cave including a sleeping bag which had been set on fire.
Source:- The Scotsman Monday 18 August
Mother of sex abuse case family agrees to attend film
The mother of a family whose lives were torn apart when the father and youngest son were imprisoned for charges of sexually molesting young boys, will attend the screening of a controversial documentary about the case during the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Elaine Friedman has agreed to champion the film and talk with audiences about her recollection of events.
In 1988, Arnold Friedman and his youngest son Jesse pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexually molesting boys whose ages ranged between eight and 11.
Arnold committed suicide in prison while Jesse served 13 years of the 18-year sentence.
Source:- The Scotsman Monday 18 August
Far east search for care workers
Scotland’s largest care home provider is to extend its search for recruits to the Philippines because of the critical shortage of care workers and nurses in the UK.
Highfield Care, which runs 33 homes north of the border, has hired 74 Filipino care workers and 28 Filipino nurses to fill vacancies after failing to attract applicants at home.
Now another delegation is preparing to return to the Philippines to secure another 40 staff.
Source:- The Herald Monday 18 August
Home office denies U-turn on children detained at Dungavel
The home office has denied claims that David Blunkett had engaged in a major policy U-turn over the detention of children of asylum seekers at Dungavel detention centre.
A home office spokesperson insisted that the position was the same as on Friday when the minister in charge of immigration, Hazel Blears, responded to the critical reports of Dungavel. She said that it was regrettable that some children had to be detained and insisted it was not a decision they took lightly.
A newspaper yesterday claimed that the home secretary was drawing up plans to keep children in “less penal” conditions and allowing them to attend mainstream schooling.
Source:- The Herald Monday 18 August
Welsh newspapers
Work blamed for erosion of family life
The increasing demands of work and long hours spent in the office are undermining the quality and quantity of family life in Wales.
Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru Welsh assembly member (AM), for south Wales central said that society must learn to value parenting as a skilled job in the same way it values traditional employment. Her views are echoed by Catriona Williams, chief executive of the charity Children in Wales, who said that work-life balance is fundamentally important to the quality of family life.
Source:- Western Mail Monday 18 August page 3
Poverty linked to heart surgery complications
Poverty and social deprivation have been found to increase the risks of patients suffering complications following heart by-pass operations.
New research from a team at the Bristol Heart Institute at the University of Bristol found that patients, who came from areas with high levels of deprivation, had higher rates of heart attacks and strokes within 30 days of surgery.
Source:- Western Mail Monday 18 August page 3