Wednesday 13 April 2005

By Amy Taylor and Clare Jerrom

Tory immigration claims unravel

The Conservative shadow chancellor Oliver Letwin admitted that his
party’s pledge to watch borders 24-hours a day seven days a
week would only take place in 35 of Britain’s 650
ports.

Letwin has also admitted that 11 of the 35 ports already have
round-the-clock surveillance.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday April 13 page 6

Tory who doctored photo runs for cover

Ed Matts, the Conservative candidate for Dorset South, was in
political hot water yesterday after it was revealed that he
doctored photographs of a campaign to stop the deportation of a
Malawian family.

Matts changed a photo of him holding a placard to support the
family so he was holding a sign reading ‘controlled
migration’. Dorset
South is Labour’s most marginal seat.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday April 13 page 7

Sun reporter fails language test

A reporter from The Sun newspaper was unsuccessful in his attempt
to pose as a Kosovan asylum seeker trying to enter the UK after he
failed a language test.

Brian Flynn’s pretence was uncovered when immigration
officers at Dover called in an interpreter only to find that he
couldn’t speak either of the region’s languages,
Serbo-Croat or Albanian.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday April 13 page 9

175, 000-strong hidden army of school-age carers

There are at least 175, 000 young carers looking after family
members, one in five of whom regularly miss school or experience
educational difficulties, according to new research.

The study, carried out by the policy and research organisation that
supports local education authorities, The Education Network, also
found that some of the carers are as young as five-years-old.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday April 13 page 13

Call for needle exchange in jails

A prisoner has launched a court challenge to the Prison
Service’s failure to provide a needle exchange service for
drug users.

John Sheldon, a long term prisoner at Long Lartin jail, near
Eversham, says that the failure is putting his life at risk. He is
seeking a judicial review of the service’s current policy of
providing prisoners with disinfecting tablets.

The Department of Health, doctors and drug users says that this
method is inadequate for protecting people from blood-borne
infections such as HIV.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday April 13 page 13

Divorcees at risk

People coming out of long-term relationships in their 40s and 50s
are at greater risk of catching a sexually transmitted infection,
doctors have warned.

Edinburgh health experts believe middle aged divorcees may not have
had the same quality sex education as their children and could be
less aware of the dangers of unprotected sex.

Source:- The Times  Wednesday 13 April page 7

Murder remand

 A 17-year-old girl accused of stabbing Charlotte Polius to death
has been remanded in custody.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at
Redbridge Youth Court in east London charged with murder.

Source:- The Times  Wednesday 13 April page 15

Shipman ‘told to go hang himself’

A prison officer told Harold Shipman to “go and hang
himself”, according to an inmate at the same prison that
Shipman was held at.

David Smith told a coroner’s inquest into Britain’s
most prolific serial killer that Shipman was his best friend in
Wakefield prison, where the doctor was found hanged in January
2004.

Smith told the jury that he heard Shipman reveal that a prison
officer had told him to hang himself and that if he didn’t
know how to, he could be shown how to do it. He added that the
former GP claimed he was being bullied because he would not form
relationships with officers at the jail.

The hearing continues.

Source:- The Times  Wednesday 13 April page 21

Manifesto opts for the personal touch

Prime minister Tony Blair will today ask for a third term in
government to make Labour’s changes to public services
“irreversible”.

In its manifesto today, Labour will announce measures designed to
make public services more personalised and responsive to the needs
of users.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 13 April page 27

CSA computer chaos fails a million  families

Computer blunders at the Child Support Agency mean that one million
families entitles to maintenance from absent fathers face delays of
up to a year.

A £456 million IT system introduced in March 2003 was supposed
to simplify how child maintenance is calculated.

However, delays in transferring a massive backlog of cases from
older records mean nearly £800 million owed by fathers is
failing to reach single mums.

Source:- Daily Mail  Wednesday 13 April page 30

Race for power

As the political parties square up for the 5 May showdown, Malcolm
Dean considers the key battlegrounds, while leaders across the
public service sector consider the government’s record and
state their priorities for the incoming administration.

Source:- Society Guardian  Wednesday 13 April page 2, 3, 4
and 5

Border terrier

First minister Jack McConnell tells Peter Hetherington how he aims
to rid Scotland of its ‘sick man of Europe’ tag and
bolster the falling population through immigration.

Source:- Society Guardian  Wednesday 13 April page 8

Brought to heal

While there has been a focus on raising awareness of sex abuse
against children, treatment has fallen into second place. Can a new
dedicated centre for victims tip the balance?

Source:- Society Guardian  Wednesday 13 April page
10

What else can I do?

In September, Alice will complete her graduate programme for a
local government career, and is considering the options for her
first job.

Source:- Society Guardian  Wednesday 13 April page
104

Scottish news

Police call for 24-hour court hearings

Strathclyde police have called for the introduction of 24-hour
courts in Scotland to run every day in line with their
shifts.

Former mayor of New York Rudolph Giuliani introduced the sittings
as part of his crackdown on crime. Under the scheme in New York,
accused persons are bought before a judge within 24 hours.

Strathclyde officers are to make their plea for a similar style
court at the Scottish Police Federation conference in Peebles next
week.

Source:- The Herald  Wednesday 13 April

Children taught how to become good citizens

Scottish children will receive lessons in civic pride and community
awareness following a successful scheme in Glasgow.

Education officials at Glasgow Council have completed a ground
breaking learning package to help young people become active
participants in society and it is now being taken up by other local
authorities.

Source:- The Herald  Wednesday 13 April

Rough sleeping shame

Over 50 people are sleeping rough in Edinburgh each night, it
emerged today.

The figure has soared after a homeless shelter was forced to close
due to a lack of funding.

Edinburgh Council claim there is little they can do for people who
choose to sleep rough rather than seeking help. However, the local
authority and homeless charities have expressed fears for their
welfare.

Source:- Evening News  Tuesday 12 April

Police fail to use new powers

Police and council chiefs are failing to use tough new powers
designed to crackdown on teenage gangs.

The Scottish executive introduced powers to allow antisocial
behaviour orders to be enforced against children under 16
committing nuisance crimes and measures for the police to disperse
groups of youths.

However, since the powers were introduced five months ago, they
have not been used in the capital.

Source:- Evening News  Tuesday 12 April