Wednesday 22 December 2004

By Shirley Kumar, Derren Hayes and Amy
Taylor

Disabled man wins wheelchair appeal

A disabled man charged for using a wheelchair won a legal
victory yesterday against low cost airline Ryanair and Stansted
airport who were found guilty of discrimination.

The ruling for Bob Ross by three senior appeal court judges was
welcomed by the Disability Rights Commission.

The Commission’s legal advisors said many more cases were on
hold pending the outcome of the Ross case.

Source:- Financial Times, Wednesday 22 December 2004,
page 4

Private schools should spend tax breaks on poorer
pupils

Home Office minister Fiona Mactaggart said private schools
should spend the £100m a year they get in tax breaks to
educate pupils from poorer backgrounds.

However, the Independent Schools Council, insisted a third of
pupils in such schools were already given some help with fees
amounting to three times the sum received in tax breaks.

Source:- Financial Times, Wednesday 22 December 2004,
page 4

28 cot death cases could be appealed

Twenty-eight cases in which a parent or carer has been convicted
of unlawfully killing a child under two could go to appeal.

The move is a result of a review launched by the government
after Angela Cannings murder conviction was quashed.

Source:- Financial Times, Wednesday 22 December 2004,
page 4

Violent protests will benefit axed Sikh play, says
minister

Home office minister Fiona Mactaggart has suggested the violent
protests that forced a play about Sikhs to be axed will benefit the
author and the show.

Mactaggart said ticket sales of Behzti, a black comedy including
scenes of rape and murder in a Sikh temple, would increase if the
play returned to the stage because of the publicity.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 22 December
2004, page 1

More sites for gipsies planned

The government has authorised more sites for gipsies and
travellers and better facilities on existing sites yesterday.

Enforcement action against inappropriate sites will be faster
and more effective housing and planning minister Keith Hill
said.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 22 December
2004, page 2

Policewoman addicted to drugs gets £32,000
payout

A woman police officer addicted to crack cocaine and heroin has
retired on medical grounds from the Metropolitan Police with a lump
sum of £32,000 and a pension of £580 per month.

At one point it appeared she had overcome her problems after
attending a £7,000 rehabilitation programme for which Scotland
Yard lent her the money.

But she had a relapse and doctors recommended retirement on the
grounds of addiction and depression.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 22 December
2004, page 9

Father entitled to child benefit

A Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of an unemployed father
who shared the care of his children with his estranged wife by
giving him the right to a share of her child-support benefits.

The appeal judges said Eugen Hockenjos of Islington, north
London was a victim of sex discrimination.

He could be entitled to five years back payment for looking
after his daughters, now aged 22 and 14.

The government is likely to appeal the decision in the House of
Lords to stop other fathers coming forward.

Source:- The Times, Wednesday, 22 December 2004, page
11

Murder gang girl jailed

A teenage girl was jailed for nine years at the Old Bailey for
conspiracy to rob and manslaughter.

Aisha Lepro, 19, was the eighth person to be convicted after
planning to rob businessman Joao De Costa, Mitendele, who died
after being beaten, stabbed and gagged.

Source:- The Times, Wednesday 22 December 2004, page
11

Welsh newspapers

Go home or be homeless, Congo women told

Four women and a baby from the Democratic Republic of Congo
whose asylum claims have been rejected have been told they can
either return home or become homeless.

Mansanga Marianne, Annita Nzemi, Motengo Nyamumbosi and Fanny
Bukiala have been told to leave their accommodation in Cardiff but
want to stay in Wales rather than go back to their war-torn home
country.

Fanny’s baby, Blessing Bukiala Bruno, is being cared for
by social services.

The Welsh Refugee Council wants a review of cases where asylum
seekers are forced out of their accommodation but not sent back to
their home countries.

Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday, 22 December

Paedophile jailed after parents’ web
warning

A man charged with 15 counts of possessing indecent images of
children was jailed yesterday for 25 months at Swansea Crown
Court.

Parents were so worried about Anthony Peter Luckwill that they
set up a website to keep the pressure on the police to continue
their investigation.

Luckwill admitted the offences and was put on the sex
offenders’ register for 10 years.

Source:- Western Mail, Wednesday, 22 December

Scottish newspapers

Suicide rate rises among young in Scotland

Suicide rates among young people in Scotland have risen by more
than half over the past 20 years, researchers have found.

Suicide rates are highest in deprived parts of the country,
according to the study in the a British Medical Journal.

Source:- The Record, Wednesday, 22 December

Domestic violence calls soar

The Scottish Domestic Abuse Helpline has extended its service to
24 hours a day to cope with a doubling of calls this year.

And volunteers are bracing themselves for a hectic festive
season, when there is always an increase in domestic violence
incidents.

Source:- The Record, Wednesday, 22 December

Suicide risk six times higher for women in less well-off
areas

Young women living in socially deprived areas are six times more
likely to commit suicide compared to those in wealthy areas,
researchers have found.

The “suicide gap” was greatest for young women, undermining the
fact that suicides have increased at a lower rate than for young
men, found the study published in the British Medical Journal.

Source:- The Herald, Wednesday, 22 December

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