Friday 28 March 2003

By Clare Jerrom, Nicola Barry and Alex
Dobson.

Father kills himself and four young sons

A man and his four sons were found dead in a fume-filled car
yesterday in north Wales.

Police tracked Keith Young to a car park on the Horseshoe pass
near Llangollen after he called his estranged wife by mobile
telephone and told her what he planned to do.

A dog handler from north Wales smashed the windows of the
vehicle and pulled the boys’ bodies from the back seat but
they were already dead.

Young’s estranged wife Samantha yesterday identified
Joshua, Thomas, Callum and Daniel at Wrexham hospital. She had left
the family home shortly before Christmas.

Source:- The Times  Friday 28 March page 15

Researchers focus on child killers

Men who kill their children are likely to seem happy, loving
fathers before they commit suicide, according to experts
yesterday.

Pressures of debt, unemployment or divorce can drive an
apparently stable father to stab, shoot or gas his children.

Around 25 men have murdered their offspring in Britain in the
past ten years.

While mothers tend to kill their children because they want to
commit suicide and cannot bear to leave children behind, men are
often motivated by jealousy, rage or desire for revenge, the
researchers claim.

Source:- The Times  Friday 28 March page 15

Refugee killed

A young asylum seeker died after being stabbed during an
argument in a park in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

The 19-year-old is believed to be from Kosovo, and police say a
man was spotted running from the scene.

Source:- The Times  Friday 28 March page 18

Poor not claiming for welfare benefits

The Chancellor’s policy to aim welfare payments at the
poorest households came under the spotlight yesterday after new
figures showed that £3.4 billion of benefits went unclaimed
last year.

One of the sharpest rises was the failure to claim council tax
benefit, particularly among pensioners. A total of 1.7 million
people missed failed to claim the benefit last year, losing
£725 million due to them collectively. The figures were
released by the office for National Statistics.

Source:- The Times  Friday 28 march page 20

Charities scorn aid cash from government

British aid charities have signed a statement saying they are
not going to accept government financial support for their relief
work in Iraq, for fear of compromising their independence.

Directors of Oxfam, Save the Children, Christian Aid, Action Aid
and Catholic agency, Cafod believe the aid would be inappropriate
while fighting continues.

Source:- The Guardian  Friday 28 March page 12

Police numbers reach new record

The government has reached its target of providing a 130,000
strong police force, six months ahead of schedule, according to
figures published yesterday.

The announcement coincided with the publication of the new
anti-social behaviour bill confirming an extension in the ability
of police and other law enforcement officers to impose fixed
penalty notices for a range of low level offences.

Measures to impose drug treatment and other community penalties
on persistent beggars outlined in the White Paper were not included
in the bill. The power to make begging a recordable offence to
trigger new penalties are to follow in secondary regulations.

Source:- The Guardian  Friday 28 March page 16

Amnesty condemns ‘safe haven’
scheme

Strong criticism of the government’s plans to send asylum
seekers to a “transit processing centre” outside Europe
while their claims are decided was voiced by Amnesty International
last night.

David Blunkett will put the proposals to a European Union
meeting of justice and home affairs ministers in Greece today.

An Amnesty spokesperson said: “The real goal behind the UK
proposal appears to be to reduce the number of spontaneous arrivals
in the UK and other EU states by denying access to territory and
shifting asylum seekers to zones outside the EU where refugee
protection would be weak and unclear.”

Source:- The Guardian  Friday 28 March page 16

Peer warns of more child deaths

Lord Laming, chair of the inquiry into Victoria Climbie’s
death, has challenged the government to act on his report published
in January or face more deaths of children at risk.

Eight year old Victoria died after months of torture by her
great aunt Marie Therese Kouao despite references to social
services, police investigations and spells in hospital.

Former director of social services, Lord Laming told MPs on the
cross-party health committee: “I hope that before any of
these people in key positions think of going on summer holidays
they will have satisfied themselves that those recommendations that
should be in operation are in operation.”

Source:- The Guardian  Friday 28 March page 19

Post-war reshuffle will enable Blair to reward loyal
MPs

Tony Blair is likely to carry out a substantial post-war
reshuffle in which he will reward ministers who have been loyal to
him over the Iraq crisis.

Cabinet ministers believe the prime minister will take the
opportunity to promote several of Labour’s rising stars from
junior government in a bid to revitalise the government following
the crisis.

Blair still has to replace Robin Cook who resigned as leader of
the Commons last week over the prime minister’s policy on the
war.

Successors have yet to be found for John Denham who quit as
minister of state at the home office and Lord Hunt who resigned as
parliamentary under secretary at the Department of Health.

Source:- Daily Telegraph  Friday 28 March page 12

Paedophile life ban on child contact

A judge banned a paedophile from having any contact with
children for the rest of his life.

Christopher Harris, 38, is prevented from going anywhere
frequented by children or even speaking to them.

Judge Paul Downes at Norwich crown court told Harris that if he
breached the lifetime order he would face a five year jail sentence
immediately.

Harris was given the suspended three year jail sentence on
Wednesday after he admitted indecently assaulting two girls aged
nine and ten. The girls were not harmed physically in the
assault.

Source:- Daily Telegraph  Friday 28 March page 12

Record number of jailed women

There is a record high number of 4,477 women in jail out of a
total prison population of 72,000.

Over the past decade the number has trebled and in the past five
years it has increased by 40 per cent.

Most women are in custody for drug trafficking offences.

Source:- Daily Telegraph  Friday 28 March page 14

Sex advice agency gives condoms to
11-year-olds

Free condoms are to be given to children as young as 11 by a
well known health agency from today, which will urge the children
to practice putting them on by using a banana.

Marie Stopes International is offering the contraceptives on its
sexual health website.

The organisation hopes young people, including under 16s,  will
feel comfortable with condoms before they think about having
sex.

But critics have said the availability of the contraceptive to
very young children will increase the likelihood of them becoming
involved in sexual activity.

Source:- Daily Telegraph  Friday 28 March page 15

Police check community care links to
killings

Links between the care in the community scheme and the murders
of young women are to be studied by Scotland yard.

Officers are likely to be keeping closer tabs on people with
severe psychiatric problems.

The move follows a spate of killings in London and the Home
Counties.

Murder squad detectives are ‘extremely concerned’
about the  number of potentially dangerous patients living in the
community with little or no supervision.

Source:- Daily Mail  Friday 28 March page 41

Scottish news

Youngsters plagued by mental ill-health

One in ten Scottish children is suffering from some form of
mental illness.

A report from the charity, Children in Scotland, says some
125,000 children are affected by debilitating illnesses such as
stress, depression and anxiety, often so severe their daily
functioning is impaired.

The charity is calling for parents and charities to tackle what
is being seen as a mental health epidemic.

Source: The Daily Mail Friday 28th March page 41

Welsh newspapers

Only six Valleys Doctors Under Fifty

A time bomb is ticking in the south Wales valleys where only six
family doctors in one area are aged under 50.

Many family doctors are now ready to retire but there is no one
to replace them and within five years the situation could become
critical.

The crisis is being caused mainly by unwillingness amongst
younger GPs to move to what is a socially deprived area, with a
high proportion of patients suffering from chronic health
problems.

Source:- South Wales Argus Thursday 27 March page 1

Canon sexually assaulted two boys

A senior Anglican clergyman was yesterday found guilty of a
series of sexual assaults on young boys that began 30 years
ago.

Canon Lawrence Davies had denied seven charges of indecent
assault, five counts of serious sexual assault and one count of
perverting the course of justice.

He was found guilty of the sexual offences but was cleared of
perverting the course of justice.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 28 March page 7