Wednesday 26 October 2005

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

Reluctant Clarke will free more convicts

Charles Clarke is to take desperate steps to ease jail overcrowding after blaming the crisis on an increase of almost 75 per cent of foreign convicts.
The Home Secretary said he was prepared to extend the use of the controversial tagging scheme – which lets convicts walk free early – even though he admitted it was ‘undesirable.’

Source:- The Daily Mail Wednesday 25 October 2005 page 6

British grandparent may no longer mean right to visa

The historic links between Britain and hundreds of thousands of Commonwealth citizens are under threat as part of a government overhaul of migration rules.
A new points-based immigration system threatens to end a scheme under which Commonwealth citizens with a British grandparent are allowed to enter and settle in Britain.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 25 October 2005 page 2

Rape ‘made up’

Detectives were considering prosecuting websites and pirate radio stations that are being accused of provoking a weekend of rioting in Birmingham after rumours about a Jamaican girl being gang-raped were broadcast. Police are becoming convinced that the incident never happened.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 25 October 2005 page 2

Religious hatred bill hits buffers after Lords defeat

Ministers sounded a retreat on their plans for a contentious new law to outlaw incitement to religious hatred last night as the Lords inflicted a crushing defeat by throwing out the Bill.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 25 October 2005 page 2

Plans for education reform get a cool reception from parents
Schools will break free from councils, which will instead be ‘champions of pupils and parents’

Source:- The Times Wednesday 25 October 2005 page 4

Dangers of paedophile priests were ignored by Irish church

Twenty-one Irish Catholic priests sexually assaulted young boys and girls in parishes across Co Wexford over a period of 40 years, a damning report into clerical abuse revealed yesterday.

Source:- The Times Wednesday 25 October 2005 page 8

Foreign criminals “flooding jails”

Britain’s prison population crisis is being fuelled by a big increase in foreign criminals – with overseas nationals now making up about one in eight inmates.
There has been a 75 per cent increase in foreigners in British prisons in the past five years.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Wednesday 26 October 2005 page 2

I waited with sick baby for two hours as doctor rode unicycle on ward

A mother spent two hours waiting with her sick baby on South Tyneside District Hospital children’s ward while the doctor they were due to see rode up and down in front of them on a unicycle.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Wednesday 26 October 2005 page 5

Father paid private eye to track paedophile

A father spent £5,000 on a private detective to track down a man who had sexually assaulted his daughter and fled to Thailand while on licence.
The man used a network of contacts to seek leads on the attacker’s whereabouts before hiring an investigator to provide an exact location and then informing Thai police.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Wednesday 26 October 2005 page 5

Doctor accused of “terminating” three lives with drug overdoses

A family doctor “deliberately terminated” the lives of three patients by giving them overdoses of morphine, a court heard yesterday.
Howard Martin, 71, is accused of murdering the three men who were all seriously but not terminally ill. The jury at Teesside crown court was told that Martin would argue he was “easing the suffering” of the men.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Wednesday 26 October 2005 page 11

Mothers go “speed dating” for child care

Working mothers with little spare time can now choose a childminder by using the same techniques as speed dating to match carers with families.
Parents have five or 10 minute conversations with a series of childminders before making a decision.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Wednesday 26 October 2005 page 11

Watchdog criticises public sector links

Too many of the huge range of partnerships between local government, the NHS, social services and others, intended to deliver “joined up” government were proving poor value for money, the Audit Commission said yesterday.

Source:- Financial Times Wednesday 26 October 2005 page 2

Private firms poised to run state schools after reform

Private education companies and Christian groups are lining up to enter the education market created by yesterday’s reform of the state school system.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 26 October 2005 page 1

Abuse sparks audit of learning disability care

The Healthcare Commission has ordered a national audit of services for 1.5m people with learning disabilities after inspectors unearthed evidence of abuse at Budock hospital near Falmouth.
It is understood inspectors have confirmed allegations of physical abuse by staff.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 26 October 2005 page 5

Poor relations

Report from a youth worker about a criminal justice system that misses the point and the collateral damage from consumer wars on Britain’ estates.

Source:- Society Guardian Wednesday 26 October 2005 page 1

Scottish news

Two crimes every minute as figures hit record level

A crime is committed every 30 seconds in Scotland, according to new figures.
They showed recorded crime reached its highest level last year, with an act of vandalism or fire-raising taking place about every four minutes – up by 24% to 128,566 incidents.
Ministers blamed the increase on changes to the method of recording crime but Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary warned that not all of the 5% overall rise could be blamed on the new system.

Source:- The Herald Wednesday 26 October

Crown Office urged to prosecute teacher who got pupil pregnant

A local authority is set to complain to the Crown Office over the decision not to prosecute a former music teacher who had an affair with one of his pupils.
John Forrester quit his job at Kincorth Academy in Aberdeen earlier this year and set up home with 16-year-old Claire Bennett.
Despite being charged by police, Forrester was not prosecuted after the procurator fiscal decided that, while there was potentially sufficient evidence available, it was “not in the public interest” to launch criminal proceedings.

Source:- The Scotsman Wednesday 26 October

Welsh news

Doctor accused of playing God

A GP was accused of playing God by “deliberately terminating” the lives of three of his elderly patients in court yesterday.
Welshman Dr Howard Martin has been accused of killing Frank Moss, Stanley Weldon and Harry Gittins.
Robert Smith, QC, prosecuting, said that all three men had died after being given massive overdoses of morphine.
Martin has pleaded not guilty to murdering the men.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 26 October

Officials angry over Asbo breach fine

Community leaders and the police have expressed anger after a man was only fined £20 for breaching his Antisocial Behaviour Order.
Marchello Cussano, 23, was fined the sum by Llanelli magistrates’ courts after going into a Tesco supermarket that he is banned from entering.
The small fine was due to him only going into the store and not stealing any items but Keith Jones, Carmarthenshire Police Commander, and Mark James, chair of the local community safety partnership, said that it gave out the wrong message.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 26 October