Thursday 7 April 2005

By Simeon Brody, Sally Gillen and Derren Hayes

“Nasty” Howard vows to make yobs fear Conservative
victory

The Tory leader picked law and order as the theme of his first full
day of campaigning with a promise to make troublemakers “fear
the consequences of their actions”.

A Conservative government would give councils the power to block
benefits to families convicted of anti-social behaviour three times
or more and antisocial young people aged under 17 would have their
right to a driving licence delayed. Parents whose children
persistently breach asbos would be forced “spend more time at
home with their kids”.

Source:- Financial Times Thursday 7 April 2005 page
3

Affordable housing plans criticised

The government should put more resources into the construction of
social housing rather than increasing the amount of private house
building, according to the Institute for Public Policy
Research.

In a report that is broadly critical of the government’s
housing agenda the institute concludes that an increase in housing
supply in the south-east is not the way to make homes more
affordable.

Source:- Financial Times Thursday 7 April 2005 page
4

MPs savage Labour education strategy

The national literacy strategy is almost certainly flawed and fails
one child in five, a committee of MPs said yesterday.

They urged the government to commission a large-scale research
programme to find the best way of teaching children to read.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Thursday 7 April 2005 page
1

Unhealthy habits may bar patients from NHS help

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is considering for
the first time whether patients should be denied treatment if their
lifestyle means the treatment is likely to fail.

The suggestion in a formal consultation document raises the
possibility that heavy smokers or grossly obese people might
receive different treatment.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Thursday 7 April 2005 page
6

Howard threatens a weekend in jail for parents of
persistent yobs

Parents of “persistently yobbish children” would be
sent to prison at weekends under new, hard-line Conservative plans
to tackle antisocial behaviour.

While their parents were behind bars, the children would be removed
to stay with their grandparents or members of their extended
family.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Thursday 7 April 2005 page
8

PE teacher jailed for affair with 15-year-old
schoolgirl

A teacher who pursued a teenage girl until they were in a
relationship was jailed for 18 months at Peterborough Crown
Court.

Gavin Lister, 31, bombarded the girl with text messages while
working as a PE teacher at King’s School in
Peterborough.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Thursday 7 April 2005 page
11

Prisoner denied self-harm “right”

The High Court has denied a suicidal prisoner the right to be given
razors to cut himself.

The court heard the man suffered from manic depression and cutting
himself “lifts his mood” and makes suicide less
likely.

Source:- The Times Thursday 7 April 2005 page 2

BNP leader faces racial hatred charge

Nick Griffin, 45, leader of the British National Party will
appear before magistrates this morning accused of inciting racial
hatred at party gatherings infiltrated by a TV documentary
team.

Griffin will appear alongside BNP founder John Tyndall, 70.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday 7 April 2005 page 2

Public service reform high on Labour manifesto

An extension of private sector involvement in health and education
and greater power for local neighbourhoods will be among the
policies in Labour’s manifesto.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday 7 April 2005 page 7

Official denies legionnaires’ charge

A council official has denied being responsible for the maintenance
of an air conditioning system which led to Britain’s worst
outbreak of legionnaires’ disease.

Gillian Beckingham faces seven charges of manslaughter after seven
people died during the outbreak in Barrow, Cumbria in 2002.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday 7 April 2005 page 11

UK’s first centre for abused children

Britain’s first specialist centre for children who have been
raped or sexually assaulted is to be set up in Manchester. The
centre, due to open later this year, is designed to cope with a
steep rise in the number of children seen at the sexual assault
referral centre at the city’s St Mary’s hospital.

Source:- The Guardian Thursday 7 April 2005 page 12

Kennedy unveils plans to abolish the national
curriculum

Charles Kennedy will set out plans today to replace the national
curriculum with a system giving teachers more flexibility and
replace A-levels and GCSEs with a school diploma.

Source:- The Independent Thursday 7 April 2005 page
7

Scottish news

Don’t despair

The Daily Record runs a piece written by a mental health campaign
group about what it is like for young people living with a mental
health problem and how its ‘See Me’ campaign is trying
to overcome this.

It gives practical advice to young people on what to do if they are
being bullied at school because of their condition.

Source:- Daily Record Wednesday 7 April

Welsh papers

Police investigate elderly deaths

Detectives are investigating the deaths of nine older people who
were residents at a Welsh care home.

They died over a month at The Headlands care home in Llangollen,
north Wales, from what is believed to be a flu-like illness. The
Care Standards Inspectorate and Denbigh Council are also involved
in the investigation.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 6 April

Child rapist held in Germany

A man who went on the run before he could be jailed for raping a
nine-year-old girl has been detained in Germany.

Benjamin Griffiths, formerly of Aberystwyth, was convicted of rape
and indecent assault last December at Chester Crown Court and was
sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 6 April

Billie-Jo murder retrial postponed

Simon Jenkins retrial for the murder of his foster daughter
Billie-Jo has been postponed for two weeks.

Jenkins was jailed for life six years ago after he was convicted of
killing Billie-Jo in Hastings, East Sussex. But the Court of Appeal
ruled last July that his conviction was unsafe.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 6 April