Friday 21 November 2003

By Natasha Salari, Clare Jerrom and Alex
Dobson.
Author rejects prize from ‘anti-migrant’
newspaper
Promising young novelist Hari Kunzru has refused to accept a
literary prize sponsored by the ‘Daily Mail’ and the
‘Mail on Sunday’ because of the papers’ editorial
policies of “demonising refugees and asylum
seekers”.
Kunzru won the £5,000 John Llewellyn Rhys award for his debut
book, ‘The Impressionist’, but rejected it because of
what he called the papers’ consistent “hostility
towards black and Asian British people”. He has asked for the
prize money to be donated to the Refugee Council.
Source:- The Guardian Friday 21 November page 7
Fatalities hit new record
Over 100 people died while in police custody or in accidents
involving police cars last year, according to the latest Home
Office figures.
The number of people from ethnic minorities who died “during
or after contact” with the police also rose from seven in
2001 to 22 last year.
Source:- The Guardian Friday 21 November page 12
Labour scrapes win on hospital and jury
plans
The government has finally won parliament’s agreement to its
two flagship bills on criminal justice and foundation
hospitals.
Opposition peers backed down on the Health and Social Care Bill, as
even rebel Labour MPs set against the measure insisted the will of
the elected Commons must prevail. The Home Office also stressed
that despite concessions it had secured most elements of the
Criminal Justice Bill.
Source:- The Guardian Friday 21 November page 14.
Jackson put in handcuffs after arrest for child
abuse
Michael Jackson was led away in handcuffs last night after being
arrested on charges of child abuse.
He has been wanted for questioning for two days, but had been out
of the jurisdiction of California police in Vegas, where he had
been filming a promotional video. He was released after his bail
was set at $3 million (£1.7million), and he is to have no
contact with children.
Source:- The Daily Mail Friday 21 November page 16 and 17
Shut failing schools to help pupils, says
Ofsted
The worst schools should be closed to prevent thousands of
inner-city children from receiving an abysmal education, the head
of Ofsted said yesterday.
Many schools in deprived areas are continuing to struggle despite
billions of pounds of extra funding, and the gulf in achievement
between pupils from poor and well-off backgrounds is widening, said
David Bell.
Source:- The Daily Mail Friday 21 November page 31
Mother jailed after child was left to die in his
cot
An 18-month-old boy died after being left by his mother in the cot
which became “his home, his feeding place and his
toilet”.
Haley Onley, a qualified nursery nurse, left her son Ryan with
chips, chocolate and squash for up to 24 hours at a time. He was
found dead in his cot in May. Chelmsford crown court was told that
he probably died through dehydration. Onley, aged 20, was jailed
for six years in a young offenders’ institute.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Friday 21 November page 9
Raising a child will cost you £140,000
The cost of raising a child from birth to 21 is
£140,000 – nearly £3,000 more than the price of the
average house.
According to one of the most comprehensive surveys carried out into
the financial cost of children, a child in a typical household
where the father is in full-time employment and the mother works
part-time costs £6,686 a year.
Source:- The Daily Telegraph Friday 21 November page 13
£500 reward to halt graffiti vandals
A sum of £500 is being offered to identify a handful of
notorious graffiti artists by ministers determined to curb their
vandalism.
‘The Name That Tag’ campaign, co-ordinated by the Home
Office and Crimestoppers, is concentrating on 12 offenders who have
sprayed hundreds of buildings and trains with their
“tags”. Their work will be shown in a series of posters
in stations in London, Manchester and Liverpool.
Anyone who recognises one of the graffiti artists, and informs the
authorities will receive a £500 reward if it leads to an
arrest and conviction.
Source:- The Times Friday 21 November page 14.
Scottish newspapers
School rocked by suicide No3
A school has been shocked by three suicides in two weeks.
Teachers and pupils were still grieving the deaths of two ex-pupils
when they were stunned by the news that the headteacher’s daughter
had also killed herself.
Siblings Nicky and Paul Moscrop, both former pupils at Hawick High
School, Roxburghshire died earlier this month. Yesterday it was
revealed that Claire Horne, the daughter of the rector Neil Horne,
was found dead at her student accommodation in Aberdeen last
week.
Source:- Daily Record Friday 21 November page 31
Undercover kids
Teenage spies are being used by the police to crack down on
off-licences that sell alcohol to underage children.
The youngsters are paid £5 an hour to buy alcohol from
unsuspecting stores. The scheme has proved so successful it is
likely to be adopted by forces across Scotland.
Source:- Daily Record Friday 21 November page 36 and 37
£12m to fight winter crisis
Funding of £12 million has been earmarked by health chiefs to
combat the winter blues in hospitals.
The cash will fund more hospital beds and increased staffing levels
to deal with the likes of the flu epidemic.
The money is on top of an £11 million flu immunisation
campaign and the £30 million targeted at bed blocking.
Source:- Daily Record Friday 21 November page 40
Drugs grass shown mercy
A judge showed a heroin dealer mercy yesterday when he blew the
whistle on a gang flooding Scotland with drugs.
Lord Drummond Young told Angus Sneddon he would normally face
years’ imprisonment for dealing in £360,000 worth of
heroin, cocaine and ecstasy.
However, Sneddon was jailed for just 10 months after his
information led to convictions against a Liverpool drugs
gang.
Source:- Daily Record Friday 21 November page 42
Asylum seekers to get work experience
A second Scots council was given the go-ahead for plans to allow
asylum seekers to gain work experience.
Those asylum seekers awaiting a decision on whether they are
allowed to stay in the country will be allowed to “shadow” some of
South Lanarkshire’s 15,000 staff. They will be unpaid, but receive
travelling expenses.
Glasgow Council has a similar project offering around 20 asylum
seekers work experience.
Source:- The Scotsman Friday 21 November
Watchdog will give councils best value
inspection
Seven Scottish councils will face an audit next year to see whether
their services are improving.
The country’s 25 other local authorities will undergo similar
inspections by Audit Commission Scotland over the next three
years.
The 20-week audits will examine whether Angus, Dundee, Inverclyde,
North Ayrshire, Shetland, Stirling and West Lothian are delivering
“best value” as demanded by the law.
Source:- The Herald Friday 21 November
Welsh newspapers
Drug centre opens
A project to respond quickly to the needs of heroin addicts is to
be launched today.
The Gwent Kaleidoscope Project based in the centre of Newport, will
offer prescription methadone, advice and support to substance
misusers.
The project that is funded by the Welsh assembly, will offer an
alternative to NHS treatment, where there are currently waiting
lists for services of up to 18 months.
Source:- South Argus Thursday 20 November page 3
Easing fears of witnesses
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and police in south
Wales have been awarded £200,000 to pilot new schemes designed
to reduce the numbers of witnesses who fail to attend court.
The money will be split to help separate projects, one that will
assist victims of domestic violence and the other to help all
witnesses prepare for court appearances.
Source:- South Argus Thursday 20 November page 14
Prevention is far better than cure
A page feature examining the problem of bed-blocking in Welsh
hospitals and the measures taken by the Welsh assembly to speed up
delayed discharge.
Source:- South Argus Thursday 20 November page 17
£140,398 – the cost of raising a child in Wales
today
Raising a child in Wales now costs £140,398 and that
heavy financial burden is now putting many families under acute
pressure, according to a new survey.
Catriona Williams of Children in Wales said that there was
particular concern in the principality about the numbers of
children living in poverty, but added that some new Welsh assembly
policies like free breakfasts and free swimming for children were
aimed at addressing the problem.
Source:- Western Mail Friday 21 November page 3