Archive for the ‘England’ Category
Political correctness is damaging our society and must be stopped UK
To arms!
You probably haven’t seen this story before, but you’ve seen a dozen like it – overzealous, over-the-top prosecution of law-abiding person by authorities which chase politically correct agendas rather than target criminals.
Jim Railton is an auctioneer. He was given a lot to sell – a little wooden cabinet with some 19th century eggs in it. It was valued at £30. He put it up for sale.
He was arrested and treated like a criminal – he is now charged with two offences relating to the sale of bird eggs under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (an Act some 90 years younger than the eggs…). As Jim says,
“in retrospect, we should have just smashed the eggs. They are antique birds eggs, and all of common species, and had old paper copperplate hand-written labels on them. It was a little oak chest, which we judged to be circa 1900.
We sell butterflies, shells, taxidermy – in fact just the type of things that come from people’s attics. To be arrested for offering to sell this little chest seems absurd, and a complete waste of police time. They have interviewed me twice, taken my fingerprints, swabbed me for DNA, had RSPB specialist inspectors visit Berwick to look at the eggs…”
Name and shame time – ridiculous attitude from the RSPB, who aggressively pursued this and caused the prosecution to come about. Even worse from Northumbria Police, who really ought to know better. Let’s presume for a moment that they were right that this is an issue (which, of course, it’s not, but play along…) – consider all the steps they could have taken before getting to this stage: (a) a friendly telephone call pointing out he’d unintentionally breached this rule; (b) a letter setting out a warning; (c) an in-person visit from a constable (we’re already in OTT territory); (d) forbidding the sale; (e) summoning him for interview. But no; our masters really want to get this guy – because he’s a law-abiding normal person who has strayed over a line – i.e. the favourite target for the authorities in modern Britain.
In the circumstances, Jim is understandably having a think about what to do next – get it all over with, or fight these ridiculous charges. Big Brother Watch has talked with him about assisting him in this unpleasantness which is of course disrupting his business and personal life; we begin by letting you know about it and calling for your help. For starters, you might like to visit their website and, if in the neighbourhood, support the business…
We are proud to support Jim in this ridiculous case. We have had some success with cases in the past and this is a prime example of the kind of overbearing, politically correct absurdity we were created to fight.
By Alex Deane
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British jobs for British workers – a joke under Labour
Labour have failed to get a grip on immigration
Thursday, February 25 2010
Damian Green has accused the Government of allowing immigration to run “out of control” following new evidence published by the Home Office.
The Shadow Immigration Minister was commenting on figures that lay bare the extent to which the Labour Government has failed to get a grip on the level of immigration in the UK.
The Home Office figures show more student visas being issued than ever and visas, settlements and EU benefit claims all up.
New asylum statistics also reveal that there are more asylum seekers arriving in Britain than failed asylum seekers leaving.
Damian said these immigration figures, the last to be published before a General Election make it clear that immigration “has been running out of control throughout the lifetime of this Government”, and he added:
“Even in a recession with more than two million unemployed the number of work visas issued is going up. So much for British jobs for British workers.”
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Alan Blackwood, Corus Redcar steel worker – “We are dead, gone, finished. There is absolutely no way it can be saved!”
Corus workers’ anger over government ‘platitudes’
Work to partially mothball the plant could take up to six months
Corus workers on Teesside have accused the government of talking “platitudes” over the future of Redcar’s plant, which is being partially mothballed.
The shutdown of the blast furnace at Teesside Cast Products (TCP) begins later, with up to 1,600 jobs set to go.
Gordon Brown said he was “desperately looking” for investment. Corus has said the closure is temporary, with the firm open to “credible offers”.
Unions say the mothballing is premature and have threatened industrial action.
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 We are dead, gone, finished. There is absolutely no way it can be saved  Alan Blackwood, Corus worker
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TCP has been under threat since last May, when an international consortium pulled out of a 10-year contract.
The mothballing was confirmed earlier this week, despite hopes that a buyer could be found in the meantime.
Alan Blackwood, 57, who has worked at Redcar for 42 years and is now facing voluntary retirement, said: “I am just gobsmacked. It just feels to me that Corus doesn’t want Teesside to exist.
“We are dead, gone, finished. There is absolutely no way it can be saved. I think I am more concerned about the company than the government is.”
Linda Robinson, 50, whose family have been working at the plant for three generations, said her brother had just finished last shift and would never be going back. Three generations of Linda Robinson’s family have worked at the plant.
“They say mothballing, but really it’s closure,” she said.
“It is catastrophic for the community. The future is bleak.”
The mothballing could take up to six months, meaning the job losses will be gradual, but there was a sense of finality among workers.
Geoff Waterfield, multi-union chairman at TCP said: “I think the mood today, as it’s been for quite a while, is quite a sad mood really amongst everybody.
“And today I think will be very emotional on the site, and very emotional in the region for the community – because it affects not just the workers but pretty much everybody in the surrounding area”.
The predicted knock-on effect has been described as “horrendous”, with Redcar and Cleveland Council estimating up to 8,000 further jobs could be lost at local companies.
Speaking on Thursday, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson maintained the plant will be protected by the company, with a view to re-opening once a buyer has been found.
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I’m very proud of the people here because they’ve had to live with this hanging over them John Bolton, TCP managing director
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However, the Community union says it plans to ballot its members on industrial action over the decision to mothball, while the GMB union has announced it is also considering action.
The shutting down of TCP’s blast furnace will start on Friday, followed by the “blow down” process to use up the remaining raw materials.
On Saturday, holes will be drilled in the furnace to take out residual metal – a procedure known as “tapping the salamander”.
Work to preserve the machinery will then begin, in the hope that it can be restarted at a future date.
John Bolton, managing director of TCP told the BBC: “It’s a very sad day today. We’ve known about the potential of this happening since May.
“I’m very proud of the people here because they’ve had to live with this hanging over them.
“Everybody here has done everything they can to keep this plant going.”
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Recovery of Britains economy has a long and difficult way to go
Jim Ferguson
Gordon Brown’s legacy will be the Great Recession
Commenting on the news that the UK is the last G20 economy to leave the recession, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said “Gordon Brown’s promise that Britain would lead the world out of recession lies in tatters”.
“We were one of the first in and now, today, we are the last out. Gordon Brown’s legacy will be the Great Recession.”
Not only is the UK the last G20 economy to leave the recession, but:
- The UK was one of the first countries to enter recession, and the last G20 country out.
- Some countries emerged nine months ago.
- The pound has fallen significantly against other major currencies.
Osborne added that a key reason for this was that “Gordon Brown’s decisions as Chancellor left Britain ill-prepared and his judgements as Prime Minister made the recession even worse.”
The Conservatives have published a document explaining how Gordon Brown made the recession worse – you can read it in full below.
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Better care for the elderly
Protecting Britain’s Pensioners
Labour want to cut Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance for over 65s, wrecking their chances of living independently.
2.4 million elderly people need support to cope with a physical or mental disability.
These people rely on disability benefits – a third of them through the Disability Living Allowance for over 65s, and two thirds of them through the Attendance Allowance.
Labour want to cut these benefits, wrecking their chances of living independently and having the freedom to tailor their care to their needs.
Those over 65 who claim Disability Living Allowance currently get an average of £75 every week, and those who receive Attendance Allowance get an average of £60. This compares to an average pensioner’s income of around £250 a week.
This means that some of the most vulnerable pensioners in our country could lose around a quarter of their income – amounting to a loss of around £8 billion a year.
These cuts are unwise, unfair, and unkind. Our pensioners deserve better.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
- Sign our petition against the care cuts
- Email/Write to your MP to ask them to oppose these cuts
- Add your name to this petition to the Prime Minister
CAMPAIGN UPDATE:
The Government’s social care policy was plunged into disarray during the Conservative Opposition Day debate on Tuesday 8th December in the House of Commons on ‘disability benefits for the elderly’.
The Health Secretary has now tried to assert that there will now be “no cash losers” amongst current recipients of disability benefits in a future care and support system. This is at odds with the proposed changes to Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance for the over 65s contained in the Government’s own Green Paper.
All of the preferred funding models in the Government’s Green Paper are underpinned by integrating Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance for people over 65 into a future care and support system, with no guarantees that benefit recipients would receive the same level of ‘cash’ support.
The change of policy, announced unexpectedly on the floor of the House, has effectively holed the Government’s own Green Paper below the waterline as none of its funding models currently reflect this new policy.
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Sex offender statistics causing concern
Sex offenders figures down – or are they?
By Olivia Bell
Published: 29 October, 2009
THE Highlands and Islands has dropped down the rankings in the Scottish sex offenders league in the latest set of figures published by the authority which monitors and manages them.
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Instead of being third in Scotland for the number per 100,000 of the population on the sex offenders’ register, the region has dropped to sixth place out of nine areas during 2008/2009.
But the way the figures are collated has changed from last year’s statistics, which gave the region a high ranking.
This year the Northern Community Justice Authority – which covers Grampian and Highlands and Islands – has reduced the number of sex offenders shown by taking out those in prison awaiting pre-release, only showing those who live in the community.
However, there are now five sex offenders classed as level three – who pose the most risk of serious harm to the community and need high level monitoring – one more than last year.
And the authority’s annual report states: “It is envisaged the total number of registered sex offenders will rise year on year.
“This is not a cause for alarm as the increase is due to the fact that offenders often remain on the register for longer than 12 months, with some being registered for life.”
This year, on March 31, there were 167 living in the community, which equates to 58.5 per 100,000.
In August, the Highland News Group highlighted that in 2007/2008 there were 71 registered sex offenders per 100,000 in the region, with only Fife and Glasgow ahead in the statistics.
At the time, Jim Ferguson, Inverness Crime Prevention Panel and Highland Crimestoppers chairman, questioned whether this meant offenders were being moved to the Highlands and Islands from other areas.
The HNG has now asked Scottish Information Commissioner Kevin Dunion to look into Northern Constabulary’s refusal, through a Freedom of Information request, to give the number moving into the region and also the cost of managing such offenders.
In our original story, the HNG highlighted two high profile cases where offenders broke their release conditions and were sent back to jail.
Dangerous sex offender John Angus (55) was caged for two years at Inverness Sheriff Court for breaching a court order to curtail his movements in Inverness.
And freed rapist David Penman (34), who lived in Nairn, breached a sex offenders prevention order which banned him from approaching women after an early release from prison and was recalled to serve the rest of his sentence in custody until 2010.
This week, Jim Ferguson praised the HNG for continuing to chase the figures and suggested the goalposts could have been moved this year, making the statistics more difficult to understand.
“I think it is in the general population’s interest to know if there are sex offenders moving into the area, while it is also important that no harm comes to the offender from people who may want to take things into their own hands,” he said.
“Nevertheless, the public has the right to more information about this.”
Linda Dorward, vice-chair of the Northern Community Justice Authority’s strategic oversight group, said its report provided clear evidence that it has the appropriate structures and measures in place to identify, assess and manage the risks posed by serious and violent offenders.
She rejected claims that this year’s figures, overseen by the Scottish Government, gave a false picture and were difficult to compare to last year’s due to the change in how they were reported.
“It does not make a difference because all the regions are measuring these in the same way,” she added.
o.bell@highland-news.co.uk
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