In Today's Papers

By Mithran Samuel, Simeon Brody, Maria Ahmed, Derren Hayes and Amy Taylor

Caravan cruelty

A couple left a four-year-old girl locked up alone in their caravan day after day while they worked at a factory, a court was told.

The pair, who cannot be named, pleaded guilty before magistrates in March, Cambridgeshire, to three charges of child cruelty. The case was adjourned for sentencing until September 20.

Source:- The Times Saturday 13 August 2005 page 11

Sex attacker is sectioned

A sex attacker who made legal history by admitting to trying to rape a woman who has never been traced was committed to a mental health unit.

Farhan Osman, from south London, is believed to suffer from a form of schizophrenia. Osman’s attack on the woman in a subway at Elephant and Castle, south London, was spotted by security guards but before they and the police could arrive, the victim and a passer-by who rescued her had gone.

Source:- The Times Saturday 13 August 2005 page 34

Binge drinking is a bigger challenge than terror says police chief

Binge drinking is a greater challenge to the police than terrorism, a senior officer claimed yesterday.

Clive Wolfendale, deputy chief constable of north Wales, called for alcohol prices to be tripled in an attempt to curb Britain’s over-drinking.

Source:- The Daily Mail Saturday 13  August 2005 page 6

Give ratings to warn of sex stories, says expert

Children’s books should carry age ratings on their covers to protect vulnerable young readers from explicit content, Dr Rona Dutt, a national officer and former president of the National Association of Head Teachers said.

Source:- The Daily Mail Saturday 13 August 2005 page 13

Fines not working

Nick Hawkins, a chief crown prosecutor, has said the fixed penalty notice policy of £80 spot fines was no deterrent to offending.

Hawkins also said they are not being used for offences for which they are appropriate, such as football hooliganism.

Source:- The Daily Mail Saturday 13 August 2005 page 29

Woman ends ‘right to die’ food protest

A 28-year-old terminally ill woman who went on hunger strike as an act of voluntary euthanasia has ended her protest after 19 days because of intense pain.

Kelly Taylor had waited nearly 10 years for a heart and lung transplant, but was taken off the list two years ago after doctors told her the risks were too high.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Saturday 13 August 2005 page 9

Lesbian’s marriage fight goes to court

A lesbian couple sought to make legal history yesterday by challenging the government’s refusal to recognise same-sex marriages.

Celia Kitzinger and Sue Wilkinson, who went through a marriage ceremony in August 2003 in British Colombia, Canada, say that a failure to recognise the validity of their lawful marriage constitutes a breach of their human rights.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Saturday 13 August 2005 page 9

More than half of jails in England are too full

More than half the prisons in England and Wales are dangerously overcrowded and the conditions could be contributing to the number of prisoner suicides, the Prison Reform Trust has warned.

Source:- The Guardian Saturday 13 August 2005 page 2

Teenagers deny manslaughter

Four teenagers pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Aimee Wellock, 15, who died after she was found unconscious near her home in Allerton, Bradford.

They were bailed to appear at Leeds crown court.

Source:- The Guardian Saturday 13 August 2005 page 9

Damilola witness gets life

A prosecution witness the Damilola Taylor trial was jailed for life yesterday for the gangland killing of a teenager.

Pepe Brown, 21, was one of the inmates at Feltham Young Offender Institution in west London who gave evidence against two brothers accused of killing the 10-year-old boy. The brothers and two juveniles were found not guilty of the murder after the trial in
2002.

Source:- The Guardian Saturday 13 August 2005 page 12

Dumped boy’s mother hunted

Police are looking for the mother of a newborn baby boy found abandoned in woodland in Edinburgh on Friday.

It is believed he was abandoned within an hour of being born.

Source:- The Observer Sunday 14 August 2005 page 4

Drink-related deaths surge

The number of alcohol-related deaths has risen by 18 per cent in the past five years according to government figures.

Deaths in which alcohol was the “primary cause” have risen from 5,525 to 6,544 in 2004 in England and Wales.

Source:- The Sunday Telegraph Sunday 14 August 2005 page 2

Man who admitted paedophile fantasies is allowed to continue work with children

The Care Standards Tribunal has overturned a government decision to prevent a social worker who confessed to paedophilic thoughts from working with children.

It said putting the man, who has been in social care for 30 years, on the Protection of Children Act list amounted to “thought policing”.

The Department for Education and Skills has lodged an appeal.

Source:- The Sunday Telegraph Sunday 14 August 2005 page 10

Storm over “easiest ever” A-levels as passes soar

Record numbers of pupils will this week receive the highest A-level passes ever awarded, prompting a political row about the merits of the examination.

Source:- The Independent on Sunday Sunday 14 August 2005 page 1

“NHS patients must pay” says top doctor

Taxpayers should be forced to take out additional social insurance to cover the cost of NHS treatment, according to a leading doctor.

Source:- The Independent on Sunday Sunday 14 August 2005 page 8

They weren’t clever enough…

A couple who had their two children taken away from them because they were too “backward” to be parents fear the youngsters now face spending their entire childhood in care.

Essex Council social services department decided the children would be better off being adopted after learning their natural mother had a slight learning difficulty.

Source:- Mail on Sunday Sunday 14 August 2005 page 23

“Safe” to go home

Failed asylum seekers are to be forced to return home to Iraq despite continuing terror attacks there.

The Home Office has already had scores of Iraqis rounded up and sent to detention centres ready for repatriation.

Source:- The Mirror Monday 15 August 2005 page 2

Parent sues school trying to expel his “less academic” son

One of Britain’s most prestigious public schools will be taken to the High Court by the father of a pupil the school is trying to expel.

He will try to take an injunction against Marlborough College, which said his son could not return because he had not worked hard enough and had a poor disciplinary record.

Source:- The Independent Monday 15 August 2005 page 5

Lib Dem leader in Brussels calls for all hard drugs to be legalised

Chris Davies, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament has said all drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine, should be made legal.

He said selling drugs under a regulated regime is the only way to beat the traffickers.

Source:- The Independent Monday 15 August 2005 page 17

Move to change IVF treatment laws

Lesbians and single women may find it easier to have an IVF baby after changes to fertility treatment laws are proposed this week.


Clinics are required to consider the welfare of a child, including its need for a father. While some will treat any women, provided the child would have a male role model, others refuse. But Suzi Leather, of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, has called the rule a “nonsense”.

Source:- The Financial Times Monday 15 August 2005 page 4

Centre to explore and celebrate children’s books

Seven Stories, a £6.5 million centre for children’s books near the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, is to open on Friday. It is an archive of manuscripts and illustrations and a tool to encourage children to explore creativity, to read and imagine.

Source:- The Guardian Monday 15 August 2005 page 8

Disabled refugee family fights benefits withdrawal

Samina Altaf and her children are one of 116 families caught by new legislation which removes benefits from families who do not leave the UK voluntarily.

Section 9 of the 2004 Asylum and Immigration Act could render adults homeless and destitute, with children taken into care. Altaf claims she fled Pakistan to escape ill-treatment from her husband and his family who blamed her for giving birth to disabled children.

Source:- The Guardian Monday 15 August 2005 page 10

Binge-drink thugs face at least three years in prison

Violent binge drinkers can expect three years in jail if convicted after the Lord Chief Justice ruled that the courts should hand out substantial sentences because of the need to protect the public.

Even longer jail terms will be imposed on offenders who have a criminal record.

Source:- The Times Monday 15 August 2005 page 14

Violent porn sites may be blocked

Viewing violent pornography on the internet could be made an offence under measures being considered by the government.

The Home Office said that it is keen to strengthen the current legislation, which allows only for the closing down of British internet sites hosting obscene material, such as necrophilia and strangulation.

Source:- The Times Monday 15 August 2005 page 15

Scottish news

Standards fall in ‘shabby’ mental health units

The standard of mental health accommodation in Scotland has declined significantly in the last two years and would not be acceptable elsewhere in the NHS according to a new Scottish executive report.

It reveals that just 76 per cent of accommodation received a fair or very good assessment of decor, floor coverings and furniture compared to 84 per cent in 2002. Campaigners said the conditions found in much of the country’s mental health accommodation wouldn’t be tolerated in other health settings.

Source:- The Sunday Herald Sunday 14 August

Police to watch sex offenders 24 hours a day

More than 3000 registered and suspected sex offenders are to be more closely monitored under a new data sharing scheme.

To be piloted in five police force areas, the scheme will allow all information held on an individual by the police, their social work sex offender team and the Scottish Prison Service to be shared between the agencies and held in a new national intelligence database.

Source:- Sunday Herald Sunday 14th August

Needle exchange at police stations

Police are planning to offer free needle exchanges in police stations to try to reduce drug related deaths in Scotland.

Though the number of overdoses appears to be dropping this year, police and drug action teams believe offering clean needles to addicts who have been held in police custody could help to further reduce the problem.

Currently, those arrested by police have their dirty needles confiscated, raising concerns this is likely to increase the spread of HIV and hepatitis.

Source:- The Herald Monday 15 August

Revealed: 110,000 hidden jobs on the public payroll

Scotland has a hidden public-sector workforce of 110,000 who go unacknowledged in the official government headcount because their work is subcontracted.

Doctors, university staff and contract cleaners were omitted from the Scottish executive's national staff roll because they technically work in the private sector, although their sole client is the government.

When such people are included, 681,000 Scots now work for the public sector - rather than the 572,000 claimed by the executive.

Source:- The Scotsman Monday 15 August

Rising worry of teenage drinking

Problem drinking by Scotland's young people has increased by 50 per cent in the past five years, according to new figures.

Last year, almost 2000 under-16s were referred to children's panels because of serious alcohol problems.

The head of the children's hearing system said cases involving drinking by young teenagers, which rose from 1,260 in 1999 to 1,969 last year, highlighted increasing concerns about parent’s failure to give proper guidance.

Source:- The Scotsman Monday 15 August

Doctors demand liability cover in MMR licence row 

GPs are at loggerheads with government officials over the use of unlicensed MMR vaccinations.

The Department of Health has brought in 400,000 doses of the vaccine from abroad to tackle a rise in mumps.

The vaccine is no different from the ordinary injection given in the UK, but doctors are concerned about the legality of administering a foreign drug if the patient falls ill.

Source:- The Scotsman Monday 15 August

Welsh news

Carer filmed stealing cash

A pensioner installed a secret CCTV camera in her home when she suspected a care worker was taking money from her wallet a court heard yesterday.

Beryl Rowe became suspicious and pressed record on the camera every time Karen Evans came round.
Evans received a 200-hour community punishment order.

Source:- Western Mail Saturday 13 August

Anger at drugs unit proposal

Residents have launched a petition against plans for a dug unit and needle exchange on their door steps.

The Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust is planning to move a section of the Cardiff Addiction Unit (CAU) from the Royal Infirmary to an estate in Ely, Cardiff.

The site is near a play area, four schools and a proposed community centre.

Source:- South Wales Echo Saturday 13 August

Safe disposal of drug-related litter

People are risking catching life-threatening diseases by attempting to clear away syringes without any training.

High numbers of syringes are found in open spaces in Wales. Needle-stick injuries can put people at risk of HIV, Hepatitis B or C.

In response to the problem St John Wales and PHS Waste Management have developed a scheme to train people to safely manage drug related litter.

Source:- Western Mail Monday 15 August