Friday 27 September 2002

By Clare Jerrom, Nicola Barry and Alex
Dobson.

French to close Sangatte in April

The refugee camp in Sangatte, near Calais, is to close by April
next year under an agreement between David Blunkett and his French
counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy to curb the number of cross-Channel
asylum seekers.

No more refugees will be accepted by the centre after 15
November and from this morning those in the camp will be
registered, finger-printed and interviewed to determine their
country of origin.

The French and British governments hope many of up to 2,000
refugees will be tempted to return home voluntarily with the offer
of a £1,300 cash payment each.

Britain is to take at least half of the Sangatte refugees who
the United Nations high commissioner decides are genuine asylum
seekers.

Source:- The Times Friday 27 September page 2

One night of Ecstasy may bring on
Parkinson’s

A night taking the drug Ecstasy can result in serious brain
damage and hasten the onset of Parkinson’s disease, according
to scientists.

Just two to three tablets can permanently destroy brain cells
that affect reasoning and movement, according to the American
research that links the use of the drug to Parkinson’s for
the first time.

The findings by scientists at Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore, Maryland, suggest that Ecstasy may be raising the
possibility of thousands of cases of early-onset Parkinson’s
as well as a milder version called ‘Parkinsonism’.

Source:- The Times Friday 27 September page 3

…but alcohol still kills far more

Young women are binge drinking and face health problems as a
result, according to research.

The proportion of women drinking above 14 units a week has
nearly doubled since 1984 from nine to 17 per cent, a report from
Action on Addiction found.

Research at the Institute of Psychiatry in London showed that 60
per cent of the alcohol consumed by women in the 20 to 29 age group
was taken in bouts of heavy drinking, defined as more than six
units a day.

“Drinking the same amount, but in binge-type pattern is
associated with higher psychological morbidity,” Dr David Ball,
from the institute said.

Source:- The Times Friday 27 September page 3

Quarter of all families are headed by single
parent

More than a quarter of families with children are now headed by
single parent families, according to figures today.

The statistics show the number of single parent families in
Britain has almost doubled in the past 15 years and they estimate
that in 2000, there were 1.75 million one parent families. Almost
2.9 million, or 26 per cent of children aged under 19 live in a one
parent family.

Author of the study John Haskey said the figures reflected huge
changes in society over the past 40 years, with increased divorce,
separation an births outside marriage.

Source:- The Times Friday 27 September page 15

Detective held over child porn

A police detective working on the hunt for murdered schoolgirl
Danielle Jones is being questioned in connection with child
pornography.

Essex detective DC Chris Lacey and five other men were arrested
yesterday as part of an FBI internet inquiry and their computer
equipment was taken.

Essex police are thought to have names of other people in their
area.

Danielle, aged 15, from Tilbury, Essex was last seen in June
2001 and her uncle, Stuart Campbell, will stand trial for her
murder next week.

Source:- The Times Friday 27 September page 15

Racial divide

Oldham council has been granted permission for a brick wall to
replace an 8-feet fence built as a temporary measure to segregate
white and Asian communities after last year’s race riots.

The “Hathershaw Wall” was put up to stop white youths from
stoning Asian houses.

Source:- The Times Friday 27 September page 15

Blair warns on public services

Tony Blair will today warn critics of his sweeping changes to
public services that they risk becoming “prisoners” of an outdated
model of the welfare state.

In defence of private finance initiative strategy the prime
minister insists that the role of private finance in modernising
the public sector must grow if voters are to get schools, hospitals
and transport they expect.

He will urge ministers, activists and unions to embrace the
change.

Source:- The Guardian Friday 27 September page 1

Prison service found guilty of systematic neglect after
‘at risk’ youth kills himself

A teenager who was found hanged from his cell in Feltham young
offenders institution last year, committed suicide an inquest jury
found yesterday, and the prison system was partly to blame.

The jury at Hammersmith and Fulham coroners court, west London,
also highlighted “gross deficiencies” in the system. It also
criticised the lack of safe accommodation, failure to distribute
information about 16-year-old Kevin Jacobs’ suicidal
tendencies, and a lack of communication between different
agencies.

Kevin’s family and prison reformers believe he was the
latest victim of a penal system that fails to care for vulnerable
at-risk youngsters.

Source:- The
Independent Friday 27 September
page 4

Scottish newspapers

Jury sent out in baby girl death trial

The jury in the trial of a couple accused of murdering a
13-month-old girl spent last night in a hotel.

Andrea Bone and Sandy McLure, are alleged to have killed Nicole
Bone on 13 May through a combination of abuse and neglect at their
home in Huntly, Aberdeenshire.

The three-week trial at the high court in Stonehaven heard
evidence that McLure had struck the baby against a wall, and
knocked her head to the floor several times on the day she
died.

Source:- The Herald September 27 page 15

MSPs need lessons in racism

The head of Holyrood’s equal opportunities committee yesterday
called for politicians to be given race awareness training. Kate
Maclean said MSPs had to be lead by example, as the parliament
discussed the executive’s anti-racist strategy.

Source:- The Scotsman September 27 page 13

Huge rise in single parent families

The number of single parent families has almost doubled in the
last 15 years, new government figures show.

Lone parents now account for 26 per cent of all families in the
UK – 1.75 million – compared with just one in seven in 1986.

Source:- The Scotsman September 27 page 3

Welsh newspapers

The Facts They Tried To Hide

Following the publication of the joint review of Cardiff social
services the newspaper devotes seven pages to an analysis of what
went wrong.

The key findings present a picture of an authority unable to
serve people well, and in default of its statutory obligations
towards children in its care.

The joint review from the Audit Commission and the Social
services Inspectorate for Wales found that the authority had many
competent and committed staff but they are not currently led,
managed and organised in ways that use their creative energies to
the full.

The newspaper charts the troubled history of the department
starting with the report from the Children’s Society in 1993
that highlighted weaknesses in the care of ‘looked
after’ children. In 1997 the then Welsh office social
services inspector found that improvement was needed in 26 areas,
but in 2001 action on many of the report’s recommendations was
still outstanding.

There are calls for managers to resign in the wake of the
review, and Liberal Democrat social services spokesperson Jacqui
Gasson says that unless the authority improves quickly the Welsh
Assembly may have to use its powers and step in to mange the
service.

Source:- South Wales Echo Thursday 26 September page 1
to 7

‘City failed to protect children at
risk’

Cardiff’s Lord Mayor has been given six months to turn
around his social services department that has put vulnerable
children at risk.

Jane Hutt, Welsh social services minister, has demanded answers
from Russell Goodway, the highest paid local authority leader in
Britain, following the publication of a damming joint review into
Cardiff social services.

Sue Mead, assistant director of the Audit Commission, who helped
compile the review, said that the council had defaulted in its
statutory obligations to protect children at risk.

She added: “The report presents a worrying picture of chronic
concerns and problems especially around children’s
services”.

The newspaper also includes a page feature on the failings of
the social services department as outlined in the review.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 27 September pages 1 and
7