Friday 12 November 2004

By Shirley Kumar, Maria Ahmed, Clare Jerrom and Amy
Taylor

Drive from Spain to abandon man, 82

An English family drove from Spain to leave their grandfather at a
hospital in east London with a note asking staff to look after
him.

The 82-year-old man is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and
the family claimed they could not cope.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Friday 12 November 2004 page
1

Elders ‘beat children at mosques’

Child protection officials and the police are to interview 40
school children believed to have been subjected to violence and
punishment by elders at two mosques in West Midlands.

The investigation was sparked when the mother of an eight-year-old
boy complained to police that a mullah (teacher) had slapped her
child on the back.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Friday 12 November 2004 page
2

Police cleared over ‘killing’

Seven police officers suspended after an inquest ruled that a black
man with mental health problems had been unlawfully killed have
been reinstated after a High Court judge overturned the
verdict.

Roger Sylvester had suffered a cardiac arrest after being
restrained by officers. The judge said the coroner’s summing up was
unsound.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Friday 12 November 2004 page
2

Pole dancing for children axed

Plans to run pole dancing classes for children over 12 in Coventry
have been scrapped following protests from child protection
groups.

Source:- The Guardian Friday 12 November 2004 page 9

‘Latchkey kids’ to be thing of the past in
Blair child care plan

Tony Blair pledged affordable child care would be available in
every primary pupil by 2010.

He said the guarantee of care will be delivered in the next
parliament.

Source:- The Guardian Friday 12 November 2004 page
17

Seaside towns top teen pregnancy list

Seaside towns and inner cities are to be targeted in the
government’s drive to cut schoolgirl pregnancies after an
analysis showed

50 per cent of teenage conceptions are concentrated in the 20 per
cent of areas with the highest pregnancy rates.

Source:- The Times Friday 12 November 2004 page 3

Drinks group to launch health site

The Portman Group, the drinks industry-funded body that regulates
alcohol packaging, will today launch a website to give consumers a
better idea of whether their drinking fits healthy norms. The site
is www.drinkaware.co.uk.

Source:- The Financial Times Friday 12 November 2004 page
2

UN criticises Blunkett over Iraqi refugees

David Blunkett was accused last night of imposing
“punitive” measures against Iraqi asylum seekers by the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The agency accused the home secretary of using coercion to force
refugees to leave Britain to face life in the midst of the
worsening situation in Iraq.

The UNHCR has sent an official warning notice to the government
saying the continuing violence is too great to allow refugees to
return safely. The UNHCR said around five of the 6,400 Iraqi
refugees who came to Britain in the 12 months to June this year
were recognised as refugees, leaving the majority destitute.

Source:- The Independent Friday 12 November 2004 page
20

Scottish newspapers

The boyfriend of murdered schoolgirl Jodi Jones yesterday went on
trial at the High Court in Edinburgh accused of murdering the
14-year-old.

Luke Mitchell is said to have slashed Jodi in a wooded area in
their home town of Dalkeith when both were aged 14. He is accused
of tying her arms before repeatedly striking her with a
knife.

Mitchell, now 16, claims to have been elsewhere at the time. Jurors
were told to ignore anything they may have read about the
killing.

Source:- The Scotsman  Friday 12 November

Safety net

Glasgow entrepreneur Alex Hewitt yesterday launched a security
system designed to protect children in internet chat rooms from
grooming by paedophiles by carrying details of user’ ages and
sex.

Source:- The Scotsman  Friday 12 November

Child abuse transsexual’s plea over jail turned
down

A transsexual has been sent to a men’s jail after a sheriff
ignored his pleas to serve his sentence for abusing children in a
women’s prison.

Brian O’Neill abused a five-year-old girl and a nine-year-old
boy and yesterday began a three-month sentence at Saughton prison
in Edinburgh.

At an earlier hearing, O’Neill, who likes to be called
Briony, begged not to be sent to a men’s prison and said
he’s rather kill himself than serve a sentence alongside
men.

During his trial O’ Neil, insisted that he could not have
committed the offences because gender changing hormones destroyed
his sex drive.

Source:- Evening News  Thursday 11 November

SNP blasts ‘big lie’ on jobless total

The number of unemployed people in Scotland is far higher than the
Scottish executive will admit, according to the SNP.

The nationalists claim Scotland’s true jobless total is
358,000 rather than the official figure of 95,000.

The claims were outlined in a research paper entitled
Labour’s Big Lie.

Source:- Evening News  Thursday 11 November

New rules to end B&B use for homeless

Communities minister Malcolm Chisholm today pledged to end the
unnecessary use of bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless
families.

No children in Scotland should be placed in B&B accommodation
except in an emergency, he said. Chisholm also announced new
regulations on the types of temporary accommodation that councils
can use.

Source:- Evening News  Thursday 11 November

Cheap holidays for tenants who pay up on time

Tenants who keep up rent repayments will be offered discount
holidays, home make-overs and cut-price energy supplies under a
reward scheme by Scotland’s biggest landlord.

Glasgow Housing Association will offer tenants incentives if they
do not default on rent repayments.

The Glasgow Gold scheme, which is part of a two pronged plan to
clamp down on antisocial behaviour and reward good tenants could
also allow residents to buy their homes at reduced prices.

Source:- The Herald  Friday 12 November

Welsh newspapers

Concerns over out of hours cover

Concerns have been raised that there is not enough GP out-of-hours
cover in rural Wales.

Tory AM Lisa Francis said that she was worried that more pressure
would be put on the ambulance services.

She said finance minister Sue Essex had told her that there were no
plans to put more money into the ambulance service because of the
concerns about GP out-of-hours cover.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 12 November