Monday 17 October 2005

By Maria Ahmed, Simeon Brody, Mithran Samuel, Amy Taylor and Derren Hayes

Man charged with murder of seven-year-old girl

A man has been remanded in custody, charged with the murder of seven-year-old Toni-Ann Byfield in Harlesden, north-west London, in September 2003.
Joel Smith, 31, of no fixed address, is also charged with the murder of Anthony Pinnock, the man Toni thought was her father, and whom she was visiting at the time of her murder.

Toni was in the care of Birmingham social services at the time of her death.

Source:- The Independent Saturday 15 October page 11

Zimbabwe deportation policy in chaos after tribunal ruling

The government may be prevented from sending failed asylum seekers back to Zimbabwe after a ruling stopping the deportation of a man who had made a fraudulent claim.

The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal ruled that the very fact that the man had claimed asylum would put him risk if he returned to Zimbabwe.

Source:- The Times Saturday 15 October 2005 page 4

Work until you drop

The number of working pensioners has risen by 7 per cent over the past year and by over a million since Labour came to power.
Campaign group The Third Age Employment Network said the rise reflected a crisis in pensions.

Source:- The Daily Mail Saturday 15 October page 40

Parents may have to stay home with suspended pupils

A discipline taskforce will call next week for parents to make themselves available to supervise children suspended from school and greater protection for teachers who restrain pupils.
The group was commissioned by education secretary Ruth Kelly to look at ways of tackling poor behaviour in schools.
Other measures they will propose include forcing councils to arrange alternative education for excluded pupils more quickly than they do at present.

Source:- The Daily Mail Saturday 15 October page 47

700,000 homes are empty despite housing shortage

Nearly 700,000 homes are lying empty at a time when 106,000 families are living in temporary accommodation, government figures show.
This represents over 3 per cent of the total housing stock.

Source:- Daily Telegraph Saturday 15 October page 2

Warning over masked man

School pupils in Coventry have been warned not to walk alone after a masked man made several attempts to abduct children.

Source:- Daily Telegraph Saturday 15 October page 13

Faith schools warned: open gates to all or be shut down

Employment minister Margaret Hodge has said faith schools should be shut down if they do not admit pupils from other religions.
In a speech to Labour think-tank Progress, she warned that racism among white working-class people was on the rise and needed to be tackled by giving them greater opportunities and upholding British traditions.

Source:- The Guardian Saturday 15 October page 4

Texting teenager referred to addiction centre

A 19-year-old man from Paisley is receiving counselling for an addiction to sending text messages and emails, in one of the first cases of its kind.
Renfrew Council on Alcohol trust is treating the man, and its project leader Phillip Irvine said he had all the hallmarks of addiction including depression and relationship difficulties.

Source: – The Guardian Saturday 15 October page 4

Babies fall sick as doctors ignore superbug hygiene

Newborn babies at 90 per cent of hospitals are carrying the superbug MRSA, according to a Patients Association study which found doctors and nurses are ignoring basic hygiene measures to combat the spread of infection.

Source:- The Sunday Times Sunday 16 October 2005 page 3

Violence blamed on teenage mums

Britain’s high rate of teenage pregnancies is a principle factor in the cause of violent crime, leading criminologist George Hosking said before the launch of one of the largest studies into violence.

Teenage parents can lack “emotional maturity” and misjudged attempts at discipline could lead to their children developing violent tendencies.

Source:- The Observer Sunday 16 October 2005 page 3

Revealed: Britain’s network of child drug runners

The UK’s crack and heroin trade is fuelled by children and teenagers in search of a quick fortune, according to a 20-month investigation by criminologists at King’s College London.

Source:- The Observer Sunday 16 October 2005 page 6

Lawrence: you have let my son down

The mother of Stephen Lawrence has attacked the government for failing to implement key lessons learnt after her son’s racially motivated murder, saying she still consider the police “institutionally racist”.

Source:- The Observer Sunday 16 October 2005 page 9

Sex with trafficked women is rape, says minister

Men who have sex with trafficked prostitutes should be charged with rape, according to Home Office minister Tony McNulty – a move that could see thousands prosecuted.

Source:- The Observer Sunday 16 October 2005 page 16

Charities gain bigger role in providing care

A task force to “transform the role of the voluntary sector” will be launched by care services minister Liam Byrne to put the voluntary sector on the same footing as the private sector in the government’s bid to expand NHS choice.

Source:- The Observer Sunday 16 October 2005 page 17

Children’s behaviour drug has “unknown risks”

Strattera, a controversial new drug for children with behavioural disorders is being prescribed by doctors despite the pharmaceutical company that makes it admitting it has “unknown risks”.

Source:- The Sunday Telegraph Sunday 16 October 2005 page 2

Ritalin nation

Report questioning whether we are in the grip of a new “social health fad” as growing numbers of adults are being diagnosed with ADHD.

Source:- The Sunday Telegraph Sunday 16 October 2005 page 19

Police fear anti-gay killers may strike again

Police were last night hunting two men believed to have beaten a man to death in a homophobic attack. They fear the suspected killers may strike again.
Jody Dobrowski, 24, was chased and set upon Clapham Common, south London.

Source:- The Guardian Monday 17 October 2005 page 3

Clarke plans to privatise probation board services

The home secretary, Charles Clarke, is to announce legislation this week to abolish local probation boards so he can take over their statutory powers and put their services supervising 200,000 offenders out to private tender.

Source:- The Guardian Monday 17 October 2005 page 4

Call for tougher curbs on freed sex offenders

Tougher restrictions on sex offenders living in the community after release from prison were demanded yesterday by children’s charity NSPCC.

Source:- The Guardian Monday 17 October 2005 page 8

Help for struggling pupils

Children who struggle with English and maths are to receive one-to-one tuition when they start secondary school under plans to be announced today by education secretary Ruth Kelly, and expanded in a white paper next week.

Source:- The Guardian Monday 17 October 2005 page 9

Children’s tsar says young are still losing out on pain relief

Sick and injured children are still not receiving adequate pain relief, the government’s children’s tsar warns today.
Al Aynsley-Green, a consultant paediatrician, is urging for greater efforts to ensure all children who need it receive help with pain.

Source:- The Guardian Monday 17 October 2005 page 13

Poorest found to be most at risk of being murdered

People living in Britain’s poorest neighbourhoods are six times more likely to be murdered than those from affluent areas, according to a report out today.

Source:- The Guardian Monday 17 October 2005 page 13

Bunch of Dopeys

Pantos of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs are being censored – to outlaw the word dwarf. A shocked village drama group sent off a script and found Dopey and his pals had to be called ‘gnomes’ instead.

Source:- The Sun Monday 17 October 2005 page 1

Asbo for racist yell

A white girl who starred in a documentary about living in an Asian area has been given an Asbo after hurling racist abuse.
Ashleene Gallagher, 15, appeared in Channel 4’s The Last White Kids. JPs in the city heard 27 allegations against her.

Source:- The Sun Monday 17 October 2005 page 25

£40,000-a-year ‘super bobbies’

‘Super bobbies’ earning £40,000 a year are being considered by the Home Office. They would be in charge of a team of civilian staff who would do the paperwork while they concentrate on tackling crime.

Source:- The Daily Mail Monday 17 October 2005 page 17

Prescott is social cleansing, says minister

A minister has told a public inquiry that the demolition of 367 mostly Victorian homes as part of a regeneration scheme funded by John Prescott’s department amounts to the “social cleansing” of her constituents.
The remarks by Jane Kennedy, the Labour MP for Wavertree and Minister of State for Health, reveal deep disquiet about Mr Prescott’s troubled housing market renewal scheme.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Monday 17 October 2005 page 2

Sex case prejudice is still widespread

The Director of Public Prosecutions is initiating measures to boost the rate of convictions in sex cases after research indicated that ignorance and prejudice are still widespread among judges, juries and prosecutors. Lawyers are accused of harbouring antiquated attitudes towards rape cases.

Source:- The Times Monday 17 October 2005 page 21

 Childcare choice under threat

An oversupply of places in government-funded nurseries and daycare centres could force many private childcare providers to close, research suggests.

Source:- The Times Monday 17 October 2005 page 28

Scottish news

Landmark victory for disabled ex-taxman

A man has won a landmark disability ruling which is set to spark a series of similar claims.
Wallace Millar claimed he had been unfairly dismissed from work after he was sacked following long-term sick leave. An employment tribunal said he was not disabled because there was no physical or mental cause for his problems, but the Court of Session has overturned the ruling saying that a person can be disabled without there being a cause for it. Disability campaigners said the ruling would lead to other people bringing similar cases.

Source:- The Scotsman Saturday 15 October

Homelessness worsens despite Executive pledge

New statistics show that the Scottish executive is set to fail to achieve its flagship target of eradicating homelessness by 2012.
Ministers have committed to offering all unintentionally homeless people the right to permanent accommodation by 2012. But figures published by local authorities show that the number of homeless households will actually rise by 2011, with some areas set to see homeless households increase by more than 200 per cent.

Source:- Herald on Sunday Sunday 16 October

Minister defends dawn raised against ‘over the top’ critics

Tony McNulty, the immigration minister, has defended the policy of dawn raids on asylum seekers as legitimate.
Jack McConnell, first minister, and Malcolm Chisholm, communities minister, were among those who criticised the tactic after its use to remove the Vucaj family from their home in Glasgow last month.
However, McNulty said every removal was subject to a risk assessment.

Source:- The Herald Monday 17 October

Welsh news

Child sex warning
Children’s charity the NSPCC has called for police and probation officers to receive extra funding in order to improve the monitoring of sex offenders.
The charity wants all medium-risk sex offenders to be monitored by police and probation officers. At present this only usually happens for high risk offenders.

Source:- Western Mail Monday17 October

Two on child abduction charge

A woman charged with the false imprisonment of a social worker at a house in Riverbank, Bagillt, was remanded in custody yesterday.
Paula Louise MacKenzie-Sears, 28, together with her partner Kevin Terry Jones, has also been charged with child abduction. The pair appeared at a preliminary hearing at Mold Crown Court.

Source:- Western Mail Saturday 15 October

Plan for better care for the elderly

A multi-million pound plan is being put in place to improve the care facilities for older people in a Welsh county.
Carmarthenshire’s new services will include an eco-friendly complex near Llanelli.

Source:- Western Mail Saturday 15 October

Mum fights for special school

A mother has spoken out against plans to close her autistic son’s school.
Wendy Hayes, says that the plans to put the disabled pupils into mainstream education could damager their progress. The closure is a part of Flintshire Council’s plans to reorganise special schools in the area.

Source:- Western Mail Saturday 15 October