Friday 6 August 2004

By Clare Jerrom, Amy Taylor, Alex Dobson and Shirley
Kumar

Job advert axed after excluding whites

A job advert that specifically excluded white candidates has been
axed after the Commission for Racial Equality said it could be
unlawful.

However, the commission and the Arts Council, which indirectly
financed the post, said some temporary jobs could still legally
discriminate in favour of ethnic minorities.

Source:- The Financial Times, Friday 6 August, page 2

£30,000 payout for victim of RAF sexism

Catherine Brumfitt, a former RAF corporal, was awarded £30,000
compensation after she was victimised by colleagues for making a
sexual harassment complaint.

The tribunal ruled she had not suffered sexual harassment, but
awarded the compensation because of the “deliberate
denigration” as a result of her complaint.

Source:- The Financial Times, Friday 6 August, page
4

Boy, 12, is youngest armed robber

A 12-year-old boy terrorised a West Bromwich greengrocer with an
unloaded sawn off shotgun.

The boy was in care due to violence at home. He is due to appear in
court in two weeks.

Source:- The Times, Friday 6 August, page 3

Youth convicted

A teenager faces jail after stabbing a woman in a London
park.

The 16-year-old, nicknamed Slasher, was found guilty of wounding
Monica Watts with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Source:- The Times, Friday 6 August, page 4

Aids risk from dispersal of asylum
seekers

A team of doctors say dispersing asylum seekers across the country
could hasten the spread of the disease.

The team say dispersal can disrupt and damage the care of
immigrants but attempts to oppose it in particular cases have
failed.

Source:- The Times, Friday 6 August, page 10

Fears for patients if GPs opt out of out-of-hours
care

Patients needing a doctor outside of normal office hours may face
problems, warn the Commons Health Select Committee.

From the end of the year GPs can opt out of out-of-hours care which
will then become the responsibility of primary care trusts (PCTS),
but the report says some PCTS are not ready, while others lack the
fund to do so.

Source:- The Times, Friday 6 August, page 10

Pubs are caught selling drinks to
13-year-olds

More than half of pubs and clubs have been caught selling alcohol
to under-age teenagers as young as 13-years, reveals the Home
Office.

Around 51 per cent of 646 pubs and clubs targeted sold alcohol to
under-18s.

Source:- The Daily Mail, Friday 6 August, page 4

Why killing a husband in cold blood may not be murder

Victims of domestic abuse who kill their husbands even if it was
pre-mediated could have their crime reduced from murder to
manslaughter if the court believes them, reveals the Law
Commission.

The commission recommends that the defence of prolonged provocation
should be incorporated in the first major overhaul of the law on
murder.

Source:- The Daily Mail, Friday 6 August, page 8

The £30,000 beggar

A beggar who makes around £90 per day begging and who claimed
£155 per week in benefits has been fined £20 for
harassing passer-bys for small change.

Michael Hunter was convicted under the Vagrancy Act used the money
to feed his drug and alcohol habit, heard Yeovil magistrates in
Somerset.

Source:- The Daily Mail, Friday 6 August, page 35

Tories may educate disabled children in separate
schools

Disabled children could be educated in separate schools under the
Conservatives.

The party are conducting a review of “inclusive”
education which tries to get disabled children taught alongside
other children.

The review will look at whether disabled children would get more
attention in specialist schools for children with learning
difficulties and physical disabilities.

Source:- The Independent, Friday, 6 August, page 4

Father facing murder trial gets bail

A man charged with murdering his 10-year-old terminally ill son was
granted bail yesterday. Andrew Wragg, 36, of Worthing, West Sussex,
is set to stand trial for killing his son Jacob who suffered with
Hunter’s syndrome. The case has been adjourned until October
22.

Source:- The Independent, Friday, 6 August, page 4

Tributes and tears at hearing as child abuse expert
awaits his fate

A consultant paediatrician who has been found guilty of abusing his
professional position by accusing a father of murdering his two
babies on the basis of a television documentary will find out if he
is to be struck off the medical register today.

The General Medical Council disciplinary panel met yesterday to
consider if David Southall was guilty of serious professional
misconduct and if so what punishment to give out. Their ruling is
due today.

Source:- The Guardian, Friday, 6 August, page 3

Gipsies’ eviction notice delayed as girl has
baby

An eviction notice for a group of 40 gipsies has been delayed by a
court for four weeks due to a teenage girl among them giving
birth.

The decision has angered councillors and residents near the site in
Christchurch, Dorset who are concerned that it would cause more
travellers to arrive.

The district judge, sitting at Bournemouth, said that the
18-year-old mother needed time to rest.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Friday, 6 August, page
9

Scottish newspapers

Slopping-out: new row dogs minister

A new row over the controversial practice of slopping-out broke out
yesterday.

Justice minister Cathy Jamieson was set to reveal the end of the
practice in Scotland’s largest prison after more than a
century.

But as the minister arrived at Glasgow’s Barlinnie prison to
make the announcement, Scotland’s chief inspector of prisons
published a damning report in to the continuation of the practice
at a young offenders’ institution near Falkirk.

Dr Andrew McLellan said conditions in two of the halls at Polmont
prison were “very bad” partly because young prisoners
were forced to use buckets in cells rather than toilets.

Source:- The Scotsman  Friday 6 August

‘Not enough’ food at young offenders’
unit

Young offenders are being given “inadequate amounts” of
food at Polmont Young Offender Institution, the chief inspector of
prisons in Scotland has found.

An inspection report by Dr Andrew McLellan claimed there was
“not enough food for young men”. The meals served were
generally good, but the portions were “noticeably
small”.

Source:- Evening News  Thursday 5 August

Nurse in abuse inquiry

An auxiliary nurse has been suspended from a Glasgow hospital over
claims he abused older patients.

An investigation into reports that patients at Royal Infirmary have
been mistreated has been launched.

Colleagues of the male nurse are believed to have made complaints
about his behaviour after a patient fell from a bed hoist and there
are allegations that a female patient was treated in a degrading
way.

Source:- The Scotsman  Friday 6 August

Scotland: Still terrified by crime

One in five women in Scotland live in fear of being raped or
assaulted according to a new report.

Twenty per cent of Scots are afraid of being mugged or physically
assaulted, the 2003 Scottish Household Survey has found, showing
that the Scottish executive’s clampdown on crime is failing
to reassure the public.

More than a quarter of the people interviewed said there biggest
fear was having their homes broken into while a fifth did not
consider it safe to travel by bus or train or walk through their
neighbourhood at night.

Source:- The Herald  Friday 6 August

Welsh newspapers

Teenager Mike prepares to become a dad for the fifth
time

Nineteen-year-old Mike Blake and his wife Kathleen, 23 are
to become parents for a fifth time. The couple’s four
children range from six to seven months and they say that they are
looking forward to the birth of their next child. But psychologist,
Professor Cary Cooper says that the young parents have missed out
on their teenage years and that could cause problems in the
future.

Source Western Mail Friday 6 August page 7

‘Caring for the sick making us sick’

Nurses say that staff shortages and pressures on the NHS
are causing them to suffer ill health. The shortage of nurses at
Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth means that the existing staff are
placed under enormous pressure and regularly work beyond their
shifts causing some nurses to suffer health problems.

Source Western Mail Friday 6 August page 9