The callous hypocrisy of our asylum system

By Maria Ahmed and Derren Hayes

Compensation bill for NHS may top £9bn

The NHS estimates it could be forced to pay out more than £9 billion in compensation to victims of botched procedures, it was disclosed yesterday.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph, Tuesday 2 October 2007, page 8
 
 
Nurse ‘stuffed apron in mouth of 99-year-old’

A care home nurse stuffed a plastic apron into a 99-year-old woman’s mouth as punishment for being noisy at lunch time, a hearing was told yesterday.

Source:- Daily Mail, Tuesday 2 October 2007, page 18
 
 
Half of single mothers ‘do not want to work’

Up to half of all single mothers do not want to work, and simply will not take jobs, a report has found.

Source:- Daily Mail, Tuesday 2 October 2007, page 27
 
 
The callous hypocrisy of our asylum system

Gordon Brown has been accused of failing to match words with deeds when it comes to standing up for refugees fleeing some of the world’s worst tyrants.

Source:- The Independent, Tuesday 2 October 2007, page 1-2
 
 
Letwin’s ‘hug a druggie’ speech attacked

The Conservative Party’s gaffe-prone policy chairman, Oliver Letwin, was accused of adopting a “hug a druggie” policy yesterday after he claimed pushers were victims as well as villains.

Source:- The Independent, Tuesday 2 October 2007, page 6
 
 
Missing children alerts backed

EU ministers backed a Europe-wide alert system for missing children before the union’s first talks on the subject today.

Source:- The Independent, Tuesday 2 October 2007, page 19
 
 
Claimants refusing job offers could lose their benefits

David Cameron yesterday proposed a form of “tough love” welfare reform, saying that claimants will lose all access to benefit if they refuse to take up an offer of work from a job centre.

Source:- The Guardian, Tuesday 2 October 2007, page 13
 
 
Equality fears

Lawyers believes that tribunals struggling with a huge rise in claims of unfair pay also face a surge in human rights cases, after the Commission for Equality and Humans Rights came into force today, taking over responsibility from the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Disability Rights Commission.

Source:- The Times, Tuesday 2 October 2007, page 25
 
 
Scottish news

Childline’s Rantzen in plea for more protection in court for children

Childline founder Esther Rantzen has called for an overhaul of the Scottish court system to stop abused children from facing courts to give evidence.

Rantzen said the new Scottish Government measures brought in in April aimed at helping child witnesses give evidence was a positive change in the law – but warned that much more needed to be done.

Giving the annual Children 1st Lecture at Glasgow City Chambers, she said the court system is failing abused children and believes that no child should be made to face what she described as an “adversarial system where two high priced grown ups fight it out” even through a videolink.

Source:- The Herald, Tuesday 2 October