By Shirley Kumar, Derren Hayes and Amy Taylor
Disabled man wins wheelchair appeal
A disabled man charged for using a wheelchair won a legal victory yesterday against low cost airline Ryanair and Stansted airport who were found guilty of discrimination.
The ruling for Bob Ross by three senior appeal court judges was welcomed by the Disability Rights Commission.
The Commission's legal advisors said many more cases were on hold pending the outcome of the Ross case.
Source:- Financial Times, Wednesday 22 December 2004, page 4
Private schools should spend tax breaks on poorer pupils
Home Office minister Fiona Mactaggart said private schools should spend the £100m a year they get in tax breaks to educate pupils from poorer backgrounds.
However, the Independent Schools Council, insisted a third of pupils in such schools were already given some help with fees amounting to three times the sum received in tax breaks.
Source:- Financial Times, Wednesday 22 December 2004, page 4
28 cot death cases could be appealed
Twenty-eight cases in which a parent or carer has been convicted of unlawfully killing a child under two could go to appeal.
The move is a result of a review launched by the government after Angela Cannings murder conviction was quashed.
Source:- Financial Times, Wednesday 22 December 2004, page 4
Violent protests will benefit axed Sikh play, says minister
Home office minister Fiona Mactaggart has suggested the violent protests that forced a play about Sikhs to be axed will benefit the author and the show.
Mactaggart said ticket sales of Behzti, a black comedy including scenes of rape and murder in a Sikh temple, would increase if the play returned to the stage because of the publicity.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 22 December 2004, page 1
More sites for gipsies planned
The government has authorised more sites for gipsies and travellers and better facilities on existing sites yesterday.
Enforcement action against inappropriate sites will be faster and more effective housing and planning minister Keith Hill said.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 22 December 2004, page 2
Policewoman addicted to drugs gets £32,000 payout
A woman police officer addicted to crack cocaine and heroin has retired on medical grounds from the Metropolitan Police with a lump sum of £32,000 and a pension of £580 per month.
At one point it appeared she had overcome her problems after attending a £7,000 rehabilitation programme for which Scotland Yard lent her the money.
But she had a relapse and doctors recommended retirement on the grounds of addiction and depression.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 22 December 2004, page 9
Father entitled to child benefit
A Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of an unemployed father who shared the care of his children with his estranged wife by giving him the right to a share of her child-support benefits.
The appeal judges said Eugen Hockenjos of Islington, north London was a victim of sex discrimination.
He could be entitled to five years back payment for looking after his daughters, now aged 22 and 14.
The government is likely to appeal the decision in the House of Lords to stop other fathers coming forward.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday, 22 December 2004, page 11
Murder gang girl jailed
A teenage girl was jailed for nine years at the Old Bailey for conspiracy to rob and manslaughter.
Aisha Lepro, 19, was the eighth person to be convicted after planning to rob businessman Joao De Costa, Mitendele, who died after being beaten, stabbed and gagged.
Source:- The Times, Wednesday 22 December 2004, page 11
Welsh newspapers
Go home or be homeless, Congo women told
Four women and a baby from the Democratic Republic of Congo whose asylum claims have been rejected have been told they can either return home or become homeless.
Mansanga Marianne, Annita Nzemi, Motengo Nyamumbosi and Fanny Bukiala have been told to leave their accommodation in Cardiff but want to stay in Wales rather than go back to their war-torn home country.
Fanny’s baby, Blessing Bukiala Bruno, is being cared for by social services.
The Welsh Refugee Council wants a review of cases where asylum seekers are forced out of their accommodation but not sent back to their home countries.
Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday, 22 December
Paedophile jailed after parents' web warning
A man charged with 15 counts of possessing indecent images of children was jailed yesterday for 25 months at Swansea Crown Court.
Parents were so worried about Anthony Peter Luckwill that they set up a website to keep the pressure on the police to continue their investigation.
Luckwill admitted the offences and was put on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.
Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday, 22 December
Scottish newspapers
Suicide rate rises among young in Scotland
Suicide rates among young people in Scotland have risen by more than half over the past 20 years, researchers have found.
Suicide rates are highest in deprived parts of the country, according to the study in the a British Medical Journal.
Source:- The Record, Wednesday, 22 December
Domestic violence calls soar
The Scottish Domestic Abuse Helpline has extended its service to 24 hours a day to cope with a doubling of calls this year.
And volunteers are bracing themselves for a hectic festive season, when there is always an increase in domestic violence incidents.
Source:- The Record, Wednesday, 22 December
Suicide risk six times higher for women in less well-off areas
Young women living in socially deprived areas are six times more likely to commit suicide compared to those in wealthy areas, researchers have found.
The "suicide gap" was greatest for young women, undermining the fact that suicides have increased at a lower rate than for young men, found the study published in the British Medical Journal.
Source:- The Herald, Wednesday, 22 December
