In Today's Papers

By Shirley Kumar, Clare Jerrom and Amy Taylor

As Charlotte clings to life, a judge must decide if she should be left to die

Debbie Wyatt, the mother of a sick baby has been forced to wait for a High Court judge to decide whether her baby Charlotte should live or die.

The 11-month-old baby was born three months prematurely and has spent all her life in St Mary’s hospital in Portsmouth.

Source:- The Times Thursday 30 September 2004 page 4

Evangelist dismisses child-trafficking charges as a set-up

Self-styled Archbishop Gilbert Deya is fighting possible extradition to Kenya over allegations of child trafficking.

Deya, based in London, who says he was ordained by the United Evangelical Church of Kenya, denies the child trafficking claims.

He said he helped the infertile women conceive miracle babies through the power of prayer.

Source:- The Independent Thursday 30 September 2004 page 8

Blunkett offers criminals ‘weekend jails’

Home secretary David Blunkett announced plans to allow criminals to serve part-time sentences as part of Labour’s law-and-order platform at the general election.

Blunkett also promised extra cash for prison places, compulsory fostering sessions for unruly teenagers and powers to name and shame youngsters who breach antisocial behaviour orders.

Source:- The Independent, Thursday 30 September 2004, page 21

Child-care plan ‘as ambitious as NHS’

Education secretary Charles Clarke claimed Labour plans for universal child care were as ambitious as the creation of the National Health Service.

Speaking at the Labour conference in Brighton, Clarke said Labour would create a system of high-quality flexible, affordable child care for under fives if it won the election.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Thursday 30 September 2004 page 6

Bullying inquiry after girl found dead

Police are investigating whether a 14-year-old girl committed suicide because she was being bullied.

Amy Tipton was found unconscious at her home in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, after a suspected drug overdose.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Thursday 30 September 2004 page 10

Boy, 3, vanishes near Heathrow

Police are investigating the disappearance of a three-year-old African boy after his father tried to leave the country without him.

Rossi Mutuvovo went missing from a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Hounslow in August.

Officers have contacted detectives in the squad investigating the suspected ritual murder in London of an African boy whose torso was found in the Thames in 2001.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Thursday 30 September 2004 page 14

Murder victim ‘had no police support’

A woman shot dead by her husband did not receive adequate protection from the police even after she told them she thought he was going to kill her he relatives have claimed.

Julie Pemberton’s family allege that the police did not offer her enough support despite her suffering abuse from her husband Alan for years.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday September 30 page 4

Gypsy families win human rights battle

Three gypsy families have won a human rights victory in the court of appeal.

The gypsies, who were backed by John Prescott, got a High Court ruling overturned that denied them the right to set up a site in Chichester, West Sussex.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday September 30 page 8

Scottish newspapers

Cocaine abuse doubles in just five years

Cocaine use among Scottish people has doubled in the past five years, according to a study published yesterday.

While the proportion of people addicted to heroin has fallen, four times as many children under-15 have reported drugs problems – an increase from 53 to 204.

A total of 917 cocaine users had treatment to battle their addiction in the last year, according to the Scottish Drug Misuse Database.

Source:- The Herald  Thursday 30 September

Prisoners row firm came last in ranking

Reliance security was ranked last on technical abilities, including security and prisoner care, before being awarded the £126 million prisoner escort contract, it emerged yesterday.

Of the three firms tendering for the work, Reliance was officially rated third on technical issues, but won the contract after submitting the cheapest bid.

The company lost a number of prisoners in the first weeks of its contract.

Source:- The Herald  Thursday 30 September

New mobile service ‘key to keeping children safe’

A mobile phone service which pinpoints a child’s location has been hailed as a useful way to protect youngsters from paedophiles.

The KidsOK service uses mobile phone masts to trace the whereabouts of a child. Adults will be able to see the location of their child to within a kilometre on a street map sent to their phones.

Source:-Evening News Wednesday 29 September

Welsh newspapers

Mum accused of trying to kill three children

A mother accused of trying to kill her three children on moor land appeared in court yesterday.

The woman, who cannot be named, is alleged to have carried out the attacks near Llyn Brenig on Denbigh Moors on May 12.

Denbighshire Magistrates transferred the case to Mold Crown Court where her case will be heard in late October.

Source:- The Western Mail Thursday, September 30 page 1

Pupils stand up for school

Pupils at the school where a girl who is believed to have committed suicide due to bullying attended have spoken out arguing that the school does not have a bullying problem.

The statement from the student council at Cefn Saeson comprehensive school in Neath South Wales, was prompted after the school received bad press.

However, the parents of the dead girl, Laura Rhodes, said that the claim was incorrect and that the situation at the school could only improve once the authorities admitted that there was a problem.

Source:- The Western Mail Thursday September 30 page 5

Labour apologise over leaflet

Labour apologised for a leaflet that criticised the Liberal Democrats for backing a site for travellers and gypsies yesterday.

The leaflet was distributed in the Llanedeyrn and Pentwyn wards in Cardiff during the run up to the June’s local elections.

An inquiry set up by the Welsh Labour Executive found that party officers outside the ward didn’t know about the leaflet before it was distributed.

Source:- IC Wales Thursday 30 September