Friday 8 November 2002

By Clare Jerrom, Nicola Barry and Alex
Dobson.

Sex attacker is given life

A man was jailed for 23 years yesterday at Leeds crown court for
subjecting two girls to a 14-year “living hell” of violence and
sexual humiliation.

Glynn Kenyon from Halifax, west Yorkshire, will serve 16 life
sentences for 43 sex offences and another life sentence for the
attempted murder of a mother of two stabbed seven times because he
did not like the clothes she was wearing.

Source:- The Times Friday 8 November page 13

Peers back concessions on asylum and farms

Two late concessions were made to controversial bills yesterday
by ministers in order to complete the government’s programme
of legislation before the end of the parliamentary session
yesterday.

Home secretary David Blunkett offered to have the location of
asylum accommodation centres reviewed by a monitor who will look at
their operation. As a result his proposals to overhaul asylum and
immigration procedures cleared the Lords although disagreement
remained over the provision’s practical impact.

Source:- The Times Friday 8 November page 16

MPs urge ban on smacking

Tony Blair was warned by MPs yesterday that his drive against
anti-social behaviour will not work unless he legislates to prevent
parents smacking children.

The MPs supported an NSPCC campaign which draws attention to
links between beating children and subsequent aggressive and
anti-social behaviour.

The prime minister decided a year ago against a legal ban on
smacking following a government review.

He is now pressing ahead with a crackdown on vandalism and
street disorder.

Source:- The Guardian Friday 8 November page 12

Protests as GP refuses to see ‘rude
refugees’

A GP faced growing criticism yesterday for his move to turn
asylum seekers away from his surgery because they were a drain on
his resources.

Dr Vijayaker placed a sign in his Birmingham surgery window
saying that he is refusing to see refugees.

They are rude and demanding and often require specialist
treatment, he argues. He added that they cost too much money to the
detriment of his other patients.

But colleagues and welfare groups accused him of being
“xenophobic” and “ridiculous” last night.

Source:- Daily Telegraph Friday 8 November page 7

Ex-servicemen make up quarter of the
homeless

One in four homeless people is a former armed forces member,
according to research by Shelter and the government’s social
exclusion unit.

Thousands are living rough or in sheltered homes because they
cannot adjust to independent living or have problems triggered by
their war experiences.

Minister for the armed forces Adam Ingram said the government
saw resettlement of all service leavers as a “very important part
of the transitional process back to civilian life”.

But some politicians claim that councils give priority on
housing lists to ex-prisoners rather than former military
personnel.

Housing charity Shelter today launched a campaign to help people
leaving Britain’s armed forces

Source:- Daily Telegraph Friday 8 November page 9

Couple were kept apart to cut costs

An older couple who had spent hardly a night apart in 60 years
of marriage were placed in separate nursing homes by social
services.

Gordon and Nora Watts from Oxfordshire were placed in homes 20
miles apart by Oxfordshire council to keep costs down.

Mervyn Kohler of Help the Aged said: “This is yet another
example of the miserable state of funding in our social services,
and we must seriously question the values of the local authority
and the government for allowing such a callous act to happen.”

“It is tantamount to the days of the 19^th century
workhouses and akin to mental cruelty,” he added.

Source:- The
Independent Friday 8 November
page 11

Scottish newspapers

Police investigate sexual allegations at school for the
blind

Police are looking into claims of sex abuse at Scotland’s
school for the blind.

It is understood that a teenage pupil at the Royal Blind School
in Edinburgh has been asked not to attend while Lothian and Borders
Police investigate the complaint, made by a fellow pupil.

Vice-principal Alison Thompson said: “As soon as the complaint
was made, we took action immediately, following child protection
guidelines laid down by the local authority.”

Source:- The Scotsman Friday 8 November page 4

Children’s care home worker guilty of sex
abuse

A former housefather of a children’s home was jailed for
eight years at the high court in Glasgow for sexually abusing two
boys in his care 30 years ago.

John Porteous, who worked at the Quarrier’s Village
children’s home in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, was
convicted of sexually abusing the youngsters between 1969 and
1977.

This follows the conviction of another former Quarrier’s
carer, Samuel McBrearty, who was found guilty of rape and indecency
towards two seven-year-old girls in the 1970s.

Source:– The Scotsman Friday 8 November page
4

Decades of service to elderly rewarded

A care worker has been awarded Glasgow’s prestigious St
Mungo Prize for her commitment to helping older people.

Sheila Halley, of the Dixon Community, which offers residential
and day care services to older people, was presented with a cheque
for £1,000 by the Lord Provost. The prize money will be put
towards the cost of a new ambulance for the Community.

Mrs Halley said: “My time with the Dixon Community has been a
wonderfully rewarding experience.”

Source:– The Herald Friday 8 November page 7

Welsh
newspapers

MP Joins Row Over Sacking

The case of a former Salvation Army captain, who claims he was
sacked after he developed a debilitating illness, will form part of
a government review of religious employment rights.

Paul McNab from Abergavenny in south Wales said he was dismissed
after developing myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), which causes
chronic fatigue. But because people who are employed by religious
organisations are deemed to have a covenant with God, rather than
their church, he cannot take his former employer to an industrial
tribunal. His case has now been taken up by Monmouth MP Huw
Edwards.

Source:- South Wales Argus Thursday 7 November page
1

Help for victims of racism

People in Cardiff who feel they have been the victims of racial
harassment will soon find it easier to report incidents.

Staff at a council-run contact centre C2C are now handling calls
in a new partnership scheme that brings together the authority,
Race Equality First and South Wales police.

The new initiative will be widely advertised in the Cardiff area
and people can also report incidents to centre staff through a free
internet service at the library.

Source:- South Wales Echo Thursday 7 November page
22

Mystery mother of dead baby urged to seek
help

The mother of a baby boy found dead in a canal almost one month
ago has been urged to seek medical help.

New tests have revealed that the baby was almost certainly
stillborn, but the identity of the mother still remains a mystery.
The five-and-a-half pound baby was found in a green holdall in the
Monmouthshire and Brecon canal in south Wales on October 11.

Professionals say that it is likely that the mother will be
experiencing enormous grief and trauma and that she may need
medical attention.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 8 November page 7