Monday 28 July 2003

By Clare Jerrom and Alex Dobson.
Missing girl, 14, raises fear of third suicide
There were fears last night that a 14-year-old girl, who has been
missing for two days, was intending to copy the suicides of her two
closest friends.
Kelly McAdams told her mother: “I’ve had enough I
can’t take any more”, before she disappeared from her
home two days ago.
Her best friend Kirsty Botto hanged herself in March and less than
a month later another friend Jade Hughes was discovered hanging
from a railway bridge.
Her mother pleaded for her to return home last night.
Source:- The Times Saturday 26 July page 3
Governor brings gentle touch to Dartmoor
A profile of Claudia Sturt, the new governor of Dartmoor prison,
which has just been named with Holloway and Brixton as the worst
three jails in England and Wales.
Source:- The Times Saturday 26 July page 8
Has the government given up on illegal
immigrants?
Ministers have lost control over who enters Britain.
Source:- The Times Saturday 26 July page 12
Sex attacker of children banned from owning
toys
A man who has been jailed for six years for acts of indecency
against children has been banned from possessing children’s
toys or books for the rest of his life.
Peter Heaton from Greater Manchester pleaded guilty to a series of
attacks on boys and girls aged between nine and 15-years-old.
Sentencing Heaton at Manchester crown court, Judge Anthony Hammond
banned him from communicating with children under 16 as well as
preventing him from owning any children’s toys or “any
animal which could be considered for use in ‘grooming’
a child”.
Source:- The Guardian Saturday 26 July page 10
Blunkett wants new immigrants to give ‘UK
values’ pledge
Government proposals will see new immigrants to Britain attending
citizenship ceremonies complete with the national anthem and union
jack flag.
As well as swearing allegiance to the Queen, immigrants will also
make the new pledge to uphold the rights, freedoms and democratic
values of the UK.
Home secretary David Blunkett believes the ceremonies, to be
launched next year,  will help foster a sense of national
identity.
Source:- The Independent Saturday 26 July page 4
Pensioners living abroad set to lose free NHS
care
Older British people, who live in other countries for more than six
months a year, are to be denied free National Health Service
treatment.
Thousands of Britons who have retired to the Spanish costas or
south of France will no longer be able to return home to be cared
for by the health service for free, under the changes to be
proposed by the department of health this week.
The move is designed as part of a crackdown on “health
tourism” and illegal asylum seekers abusing the NHS.
Source:- The Sunday Times 27 July page 2
Litter wardens to lead drive for clean streets
A campaign to clean up Britain’s streets in a bid to
stem growing crime and antisocial behaviour is to be launched by
the government.
The initiative, spearheaded by the department for environment, food
and rural affairs is part of a series of new laws to tackle
“yobbish” behaviour and begging.
The main elements of the ‘Living Places’ scheme include
the creation of litter wardens to issue £50 on-the-spot fines
and allowing local authorities to clean private land and seek
costs.
Source:- The Sunday Times 26 July page 26
Twelve held after racial clash
Twelve people have been arrested following a racially motivated
outbreak of violence in Hull city centre.
Youths armed with baseball bats and metal pipes went on the rampage
yesterday, and four local men and eight men of Iraqi origin were
arrested.
The trouble is believed to be linked to an Iraqi asylum seeker, who
is alleged to have been deliberately run over last week.
Source:- The Sunday Times 27 July page 26
Drug-driving claims 200 lives a year
Up to one in four drivers involved in fatal road accidents has
taken illegal drugs, according to the RAC.
The claim, backed by police statistics, is a rise on the figure
three years ago.
The motoring organisation, which said around 200 people died each
year because of drug-driving, called for tougher penalties.
Police have the power to test drivers for drugs but the equipment
has not been approved.
Source:- The Sunday Times 27 July page 26
Children exploited as Britain faces boom in
trafficking
Thousands of young children are being brought to Britain and
exploited as prostitutes or drug ‘mules’, according to
a report by the United Nation Children’s Fund.
The forthcoming report claims that child trafficking into Britain
is on the increase and ‘Stop the Traffic’ warns that
children are being transported from an increasing number of
countries by traffickers, who are using a variety of methods to
avoid detection.
Unicef fears that the children, mainly from Asia, west Africa and
eastern Europe face a life of exploitation and abuse at the hands
of their captors, many of whom escape unpunished because of a
loophole in anti-trafficking laws.
Source:- The Sunday Telegraph 27 July page 10
Blair orders Blunkett to put identity card scheme on
hold
The prime minister has postponed the launch of  a plan to compel
every Briton to hold an ID card in response to fears that it will
turn into an expensive and frustrating assault on liberty.
One version of the scheme would require every adult to report
personally to a government office to have their identity checked.
British citizens, who fail to register for an ID card, could be
denied access to the NHS or benefits and prevented from renewing
documents such as passports.
But home secretary David Blunkett has quietly dropped the idea that
people could be stopped by police and ordered to report to a police
station with their ID card.
Blunkett was expected to announce the initiative before MPs left
for their summer break, but the announcement was postponed
following a private meeting with Tony Blair earlier this
month.
Source:- Independent on Sunday 27 July page 2
Channel rescue
Three asylum seekers were rescued after trying to cross the Channel
in an inflatable dinghy.
The men were seen ten miles south-east of Dover and picked up by a
yacht.
Source:- The Times Monday 28 July page 4
12 in court over violent race clash
Eight Iraqi asylum seekers and four men from Hull will appear in
court today following a violent clash between the two groups in the
city centre.
Witnesses said the group were armed with baseball bats and metal
pipes, and the fight was believed to be the result of what police
described as a racially motivated attack on an Iraqi man in which
he was hit by a car.
The charges against the 12 men include public order offences and
possession of offensive weapons.
Source:- The Times Monday 28 July page 6
Epilepsy inaction
Efforts to improve the treatment of epilepsy patients have had
little effect, according to a survey of 200 GPs.
The survey found that only 12.5 per cent had read a new action
plan, and only eight per cent had changed their treatments.
Source:- The Times Monday 28 July page 6
Tough case bonus for social workers
Social workers taking on the toughest cases are to be offered
premium rates in an attempt by ministers to attract more recruits
to the profession.
A salary shake-up will be followed by a television campaign to
revitalise the image of the profession, tarnished by high profile
cases.
Plans will be drawn up in the autumn amid concerns about vacancy
rates of 50 per cent in some areas.
Source:- The Times Monday 28 July page 7
£1.5bn boost to council housing
The government will announce today a £1.5 billion boost to
improve sub-standard homes around England.
Councils will give up responsibility for day-to-day management of
housing, and hand powers to new arms-length organisations.
Source:- The Guardian Monday 28 July page 6
Brown’s taxes ‘cost families
£6,000’
The average family could be £6,000 better off if the
Chancellor had not introduced his programme of 60 tax rises coupled
to his spending programme, according to a right -wing
thinktank.
A Centre for Policy Studies report accused Gordon Brown of missing
key economic goals set when Labour came to power.
Tax rises have cost the average household £4,000 a year with
£2,000 lost annually because of lower economic growth, the
report says.
Source:- The Guardian Monday 28 July page 8
Unruly pupils ‘are not ill, just
naughty’
A variety of medical complaints are being used to excuse bad
behaviour in the classroom, a leading academic has warned.
Professor of Childhood Studies at London University, Priscilla
Alderson blamed psychologists who she said were trying to
‘make a quick buck’.
She accused them of lowering the threshold for diagnosing
complaints, such as attention deficit disorder and mild autism,
leading to a massive rise in the number of children considered to
have learning difficulties.
Source:- Daily Mail Monday 28 July page 14
The teenager struck dumb for a year by
bullies
A teenager was so traumatised by bullies at school that she lost
her voice for almost a year.
Sarah Fisher can now speak, but only for a short period of time in
a whisper because of the stress bought on by the attacks.
Her doctor has referred her to a hospital for a course of speech
therapy.
Source:- Daily Mail Monday 28 July page 23
Scottish news
Plea to women in fear of abuse
The West Lothian branch of Women’s Aid is calling on local
women living in fear of abuse to contact the group if they need
advice or support.
One of the group’s workers, Wilma Duncan, said a lot of women
believe they have to be beaten black and blue before they can
contact the organisation, but she stressed that Women’s Aid
can help with physical, sexual or emotional abuse.
Source:- The Scotsman Saturday 26 July
Porn-row driver loses job battle
A council driver who claimed he was wrongly accused of looking at
porn on office computers because of his skin colour has had his
employment tribunal case thrown out.
Anand Moodley claimed he was forced out of his job at Midlothian
council after he was disciplined for looking at sex websites on the
internet at work. He said he was computer illiterate and did not
know how to surf the net, but council bosses claimed at the hearing
last week that Moodley had looked at porn more than 80 times.
Moodley claimed race discrimination against his former employers,
but the claims were dismissed yesterday by the employment tribunal
in Edinburgh.
Source:- The Scotsman Saturday 26 July
JK Rowling puts her sole into combating domestic
violence
A host of Scottish celebrities including author JK Rowling
are to auction their shoes to highlight the number of women who die
each year at the hands of violent partners.
The Harry Potter author, alongside Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox
are to put their footwear on sale online in the hope of raising
money for anti-abuse charities such as YWCA Scotland, Women’s
Aid and Rape Crisis.
Source:- The Sunday Herald 27 July
Insurance hike threat to charities
Agencies in Scotland promoting public health and young
people’s fitness could be forced to close as a result of
soaring premiums from insurance companies.
Voluntary organisations across the UK have been staggered at
insurance quotes raising premiums by an average of 30 per cent this
year.
In many cases, increases are blamed on the tragedy of September 11,
but charities say this is irrelevant and rises are out of
proportion with the risks of their work.
Source:- The Sunday Herald 27 July
Lecturer sues college over disability
A lecturer is suing his employers under disability laws amid claims
that they gave him no support and referred him to the internet when
he told them he suffered from Parkinson’s disease.
Ian Duncan was diagnosed with the disease in July 2000 and he
claims to have been treated unfairly by his employers after more
than 20 years’ service at Cumbernauld College, and will now
give evidence at an employment tribunal in Edinburgh.
Source:- The Scotsman Monday 28 July
Criminals fear ‘tough justice’ more than
Edinburgh’s
Criminals fear Glasgow courts more than those in Edinburgh,
according to a report commissioned by the Scottish Prison
Service.
Prisoners’ views of the legal system found that although
offenders believed big city courts were more lenient than small
town sheriffs, they could expect lighter sentences and smaller
fines in Edinburgh than Glasgow.
Source:- The Herald Monday 28 July
Head injury trial for cannabis-type drug
Patients with major head injuries are being given a cannabis-type
drug to discover whether it can limit brain damage.
Doctors at Western General Hospital in Edinburgh are taking part in
international tests of the new drug Dexanabinol.
It is hoped the drug, based on chemicals found in cannabis, can
improve the outcome for victims of road accidents and assaults.
Serious head injuries are the most common cause of death and
disability in young Britons.
Source:- Daily Record Monday 28 July
Heroin fear in village of damned
A major health scare has been sparked in a Highland village by a
batch of poisoned heroin.
Five addicts who injected the drug became seriously ill, and were
treated in hospital over the weekend.
Police and health bosses yesterday issued a public warning over the
rogue batch as they desperately tried to piece together the dealer
chain to find its source.
Source:- Daily Record  Monday 28 July
Welsh newspapers
Beggars face arrest
Police in Swansea have arrested a number of people for allegedly
begging from shoppers.
The decision to arrest was taken following complaints from members
of the public that they were being harassed for money. A police
spokesperson said that they were targeting ‘nuisance
beggars’.
Source:- Western Mail Monday 28 July page 3
Sport Minister’s vision is to get unhealthy nation
back on its feet
A cradle to grave initiative aimed at making people in Wales
healthier will be unveiled today.
Welsh Assembly sports minister Alan Pugh wants to raise activity
rates to nearer those of Finland where 70 per cent of people
exercise regularly. The new 20-year strategy, Climbing Higher, is
being introduced at a time of increasing concern over rates of
obesity and ill health among adults and children in Wales.
Source:- Western Mail Monday 28 July page 5