Friday 23 September 2005

By Maria Ahmed, Simeon Brody, Sally Gillen and Amy
Taylor

Grandad ‘stole’ girl 15

A grandfather who ran away with a girl of 15, who was pregnant
with his baby, was yesterday found guilty of child abduction.

Moses Smith, who faces jail, was found in a car with the girl a
month after her distraught family reported her missing.

Smith, of Bar Hill, Cambs, denied the charges at Cambridge Crown
Court. He was also convicted of under-age sex. He will be sentenced
next month.

Source:- Daily Mirror Friday 23 September 2005 page
31

Give noisy pets Asbos

Most people want Asbos slapped on neighbours with irritating
pets. Four out of five people would like to see Asbos applied to
dogs that foul the pavements, cats which wail all night and
tweeting budgies, a survey by Halifax Pet Insurance reveals
today.

Source:- Daily Mirror Friday 23 September 2005 page
34

Heart gave in

A girl attacked by a teenage gang died because the strain on her
heart was too great, a court heard.

Aimee Wellock, 15, had a severely diseased heart which had not been
diagnosed, an expert told Leeds Crown Court. She was forced to run
from the gang in Bradford. The case continues.

Source:- The Sun Friday 23 September 2005 page 15

Benefit lies ‘mum’ faked tot’s
birth

A fraudster faked giving birth to rake in benefits of nearly
£7,000.

Angeli Whitehead, 27, told welfare workers she had a son. But she
ended up in court after the Department of Work and Pensions
received a tip-off that she had never even been pregnant.

Source:- The Sun Friday 23 September 2005 page 16

Cockling risk claim

The cockle beds at Morecambe Bay where 21 Chinese cocklers died
in rising tides were dangerous and should not have been opened, a
court heard yesterday.

Alleged gangmaster Lin Liang Ren, 29, of Liverpool, denies 21
counts of manslaughter, perverting justice and conspiracy to help
illegal immigration. Four more deny conspiracy. The case
continues.

Source:- The Sun Friday 23 September 2005 page 31

Science creates Down’s syndrome mouse

A mouse with the equivalent of Down’s syndrome has been
created to pave the way for new treatments for the health problems
that affect people with the genetic disorder.

Source:- The Times Friday 23 September 2005 page 14

Study shows up generous council pensions

Government-commissioned research will show that about 90 per
cent of local authority workers are able to retire at age 60
without losing any of their pension benefits, underlining the
generosity of many pension schemes.

The research was commissioned by deputy prime minister John
Prescott after unions threatened to strike over plans to scrap the
so-called Rule 85, which allows local authority workers to retire
at 60 without suffering any cuts in benefits.

Source:- The Financial Times Friday 23 September 2005
page 1

Union in ‘council of war’ over
pensions

A flashpoint in the government’s dispute with trade unions
over public sector pensions could come today when representatives
of two million local government workers are expected to reject
employers plans to raise the retirement age or increase pension
contributions.
The move comes as Unison holds a “council of war” to
prepare for a possible national strike over pension plans.

Source:- The Financial Times Friday 23 September 2005
page 2

NAPF submits plans for citizen’s
pension

The National Association of Pension Funds yesterday put its
final proposals for a “citizen’s pension” to the
Pension Commission, arguing it would be simpler and fairer, would
lift up to 10m future pensioners off means-tested benefits and
would encourage more savings for old age.

Source:- The Financial Times Friday 23 September 2005
page 4

Ethnic melting pot gives language lessons a
boost

Celebrating languages in schools is one way of promoting better
relations between different ethnic groups, according to the Centre
for Information on Language Teaching.

 Source:- The Independent Friday 23 September 2005 page
16

Alcohol campaign wins £4m funding

The government is planning a high-profile £4 million
advertising campaign to warn of the dangers of binge drinking.

Source:- The Independent Friday 23 September 2005 page
19

Labour activist to challenge Blair over plight of
elderly

A member of the Labour Party’s ruling body is to launch a
drive to win better hospital care for the elderly. Harriet Yeo will
promote her “Forgetmenot” campaign during next
week’s Labour conference after being appalled at the
treatment her mother received.

Source:- The Independent Friday 23 September 2005 page
22

Ghettoes in English cities “almost equal to
Chicago”

Ghettoisation of ethnic minorities in Leicester and Bradford has
reached levels almost equivalent to Chicago and Miami, according to
Trevor Phillips.

For people of Pakistani origins the two cities were fast
becoming ghetto communities, he said.

Source:- The Guardian Friday 23 September 2005 page
7

Unapologetic Hewitt denies trying to privatise
NHS

Health secretary Patricia Hewitt rejected claims that the
government’s drive to make the NHS compete with private
healthcare providers amounts to the privatisation of the health
service. She said the government’s decision to bring in the
private sector to operate on NHS patients was a success story.

Source:- The Guardian Friday 23 September 2005 page
12

Nurse gave girl contraceptive jab in toilets at
McDonalds

The government’s teenage pregnancy strategy came under
fire after a nurse admitted giving a girl a contraceptive injection
in the toilets at McDonalds.

Calls were made for the nurse to be reprimanded but Gateshead
Primary Care Trust said Angela Star was an exemplary employee.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Friday 23 September 2005
page 1

Legal aid for travellers in battles with
planners

The government has changed the rules so travellers fighting to
win planning permission for their caravans can claim legal aid.

Source:- Daily Mail Friday 23 September 2005 page
12 

Scottish news

Private firms to bid for council jobs

European private companies are to win the right to bid to run
council facilities such as care homes and sports centres under new
EU proposals.

Scottish councils would be forced to open up the running of
services to 25 EU countries, including those that do not have as
robust health and safety.

Local government leaders plan to fight the proposal, known as the
directive on services.

Source:- The Scotsman Friday 23 September 2005

Young people to give views on housing

A group of 16 to 25-year-olds are organising an event in
Edinburgh and Lothians to have their say on housing.

Nikki Thomson from Edinburgh Tenants Federation said: “There’s a
growing number of young tenants being housed in social housing, but
not enough getting involved in influencing the decisions that
affect them.”

Source:- The Scotsman Friday 23 September 2005

Never Let Him Out

A serial rapist was jailed yesterday for raping his frail
neighbour.

Richard Snaddon, 24, was described by police as one of the most
dangerous sex offenders in Scotland.

He has a history of offending and abused a six-year-old girl when
he was 16. He may never be released. 

Source:- The Daily Record Friday 23 September 2005

Welsh news

GP’s suicide ‘not linked’ to
patient’s death

A Welsh doctor’s suicide was not linked to the death of one
of his patients a few days before, it was ruled at an inquest
yesterday.

Dr Paul Goodson, 45, injected himself with morphine and hung
himself from a tree in a field near his Pembrokeshire
surgery.

Alison Webster, one of Goodson’s patients who was a new
mother, had died of stomach problems in hospital days after being
visited by the doctor but the inquest heard that it was extremely
unlikely that Goodson knew she had died.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 23 September

Teenager in court over nurse stabbing

A 19-year-old appeared before magistrates yesterday in connection
with stabbing a nurse in a care home.

David Dando, of Trealaw, Tonypandy, South Wales, appeared in court
after being charged in connection with the stabbing at the Clydach
Court Home in Trealaw in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Source:- Western Mail Friday 23 September