Schwarzenegger backs McCain: Oil be damned
Arnold Schwarzenegger has backed John McCain for the Whitehouse. He states that he is a war hero. Fast forward. Which oil rich nation will America invade next to liberate more oil? Hasn't America had enough of war?
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
McCanns: There's no business like show business
McCanns: There's no business like show business
I could not help but notice that this story from the Daily Express is posted under News/ShowBiz which just about sums it up if you ignore the first part. It is not news that Clarence Mitchell has said he believes the McCanns are innocent. It would be news if he said he believed that the McCanns are guilty. Therefore, we are just left with the show business category. The other day I reported that the Home Secretary was interfering with the Portuguese police investigation. Now we have Clarence Mitchell claiming that both the British police and Social Services have said that the McCanns are not suspects. If this is true then they are also interfering with the Portuguese police investigation. Of course, they have not said anything of the sort in public. We only have the word of a spin doctor, who's job it is to twist lies into truth, that they told him this in private. Officially, the McCanns are prime suspects. Never mind stranger danger. The danger to Madeleine was closer to home. She trusted her parents, and they breached that trust.
Meanwhile, as Clarence Mitchell is centre stage he says, "Now for my next trick".
Yawn!
Hat-Tip to Noclue.
I could not help but notice that this story from the Daily Express is posted under News/ShowBiz which just about sums it up if you ignore the first part. It is not news that Clarence Mitchell has said he believes the McCanns are innocent. It would be news if he said he believed that the McCanns are guilty. Therefore, we are just left with the show business category. The other day I reported that the Home Secretary was interfering with the Portuguese police investigation. Now we have Clarence Mitchell claiming that both the British police and Social Services have said that the McCanns are not suspects. If this is true then they are also interfering with the Portuguese police investigation. Of course, they have not said anything of the sort in public. We only have the word of a spin doctor, who's job it is to twist lies into truth, that they told him this in private. Officially, the McCanns are prime suspects. Never mind stranger danger. The danger to Madeleine was closer to home. She trusted her parents, and they breached that trust.
Meanwhile, as Clarence Mitchell is centre stage he says, "Now for my next trick".
Yawn!
Hat-Tip to Noclue.
Cameron is Camp
Cameron is Camp
Exclusive, Sexclusive and Blogsclusive (Trademark Chris Paul)
The Queen of bloggers claims than Cameron is Camp. People in glasshouses...
Exclusive, Sexclusive and Blogsclusive (Trademark Chris Paul)
The Queen of bloggers claims than Cameron is Camp. People in glasshouses...
Batten down the hatches
Batten down the hatches
We've had the lot today and last night, and more to come over the next few days. Winds of over 70mph, rain, snow and hailstones, and even sunny spells. Trees uprooted, ariels and tiles off roofs. Wheelie bins blown over and their contents dancing in the wind.
I've got the coal in.
Spent most of the day Spring Cleaning in the middle of Winter.
The butcher gave me a large bag of bones for Rocky. I darn near broke my back carrying them home.
We've had the lot today and last night, and more to come over the next few days. Winds of over 70mph, rain, snow and hailstones, and even sunny spells. Trees uprooted, ariels and tiles off roofs. Wheelie bins blown over and their contents dancing in the wind.
I've got the coal in.
Spent most of the day Spring Cleaning in the middle of Winter.
The butcher gave me a large bag of bones for Rocky. I darn near broke my back carrying them home.
Prison reform plan to be unveiled
Prison reform plan to be unveiled
Justice Secretary Jack Straw is due to announce prison reform measures aimed at reducing the rate of reoffending.
He will outline plans to encourage criminals to undertake behaviour programmes and to learn new skills.
In return, they would be expected to meet certain standards of behaviour inside and outside prison.
He will also confirm the government is trying to find sites for the huge Titan prisons in south-east and north-west England and the West Midlands.
On Wednesday, he suggested that the huge 2,500-place jails might not go ahead because the government did not have planning permission for them.
Drug searches
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We're not going to have large warehouses as they have in the United States and indeed France" - prompting suggestions of a government U-turn.
But later Prime Minister Gordon Brown said they would go ahead, after consultation.
Mr Straw is due to unveil plans in a written statement to MPs later.
The BBC's Danny Shaw said ministers were also to look at the possibility of more rigorous drugs searches in prisons, and whether prisoners should lose visiting rights if they fail drug tests.
Last year the prison population hit a record high of more than 81,000, and that figure is predicted to carry on growing, but Mr Straw said that under Labour crime had fallen and the number of prison places provided had risen by 20,000.
There are currently 1,200 spare places, with an additional 1,000 coming on stream in April and 2,600 during 2008.
Earlier this week Mr Straw announced plans to merge the Prison Service with other parts of the justice system.
It followed criticism of the National Offender Management Service (Noms) which was set up partly to tackle rates of reoffending, by joining up different parts of the criminal justice system.
Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women's rights
Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women's rights
By Kim Sengupta
Thursday, 31 January 2008
A young man, a student of journalism, is sentenced to death by an Islamic court for downloading a report from the internet. The sentence is then upheld by the country's rulers. This is Afghanistan – not in Taliban times but six years after "liberation" and under the democratic rule of the West's ally Hamid Karzai.
The fate of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh has led to domestic and international protests, and deepening concern about erosion of civil liberties in Afghanistan. He was accused of blasphemy after he downloaded a report from a Farsi website which stated that Muslim fundamentalists who claimed the Koran justified the oppression of women had misrepresented the views of the prophet Mohamed.
Mr Kambaksh, 23, distributed the tract to fellow students and teachers at Balkh University with the aim, he said, of provoking a debate on the matter. But a complaint was made against him and he was arrested, tried by religious judges without – say his friends and family – being allowed legal representation and sentenced to death.
The Independent is launching a campaign today to secure justice for Mr Kambaksh. The UN, human rights groups, journalists' organisations and Western diplomats have urged Mr Karzai's government to intervene and free him. But the Afghan Senate passed a motion yesterday confirming the death sentence.
The MP who proposed the ruling condemning Mr Kambaksh was Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, a key ally of Mr Karzai. The Senate also attacked the international community for putting pressure on the Afghan government and urged Mr Karzai not to be influenced by outside un-Islamic views.
The case of Mr Kambaksh, who also worked a s reporter for the Jahan-i-Naw (New World) newspaper, is seen in Afghanistan as yet another chapter in the escalation in the confrontation between Afghanistan and the West.
It comes in the wake of Mr Karzai accusing the British of actually worsening the situation in Helmand province by their actions and his subsequent blocking of the appointment of Lord Ashdown as the UN envoy and expelling a British and an Irish diplomat.
Demonstrations, organised by clerics, against the alleged foreign interference have been held in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where Mr Kambaksh was arrested. Aminuddin Muzafari, the first secretary of the houses of parliament, said: "People should realise that as we are representatives of an Islamic country therefore we can never tolerate insults to reverences of Islamic religion."
At a gathering in Takhar province, Maulavi Ghulam Rabbani Rahmani, the heads of the Ulema council, said: "We want the government and the courts to execute the court verdict on Kambaksh as soon as possible." In Parwan province, another senior cleric, Maulavi Muhammad Asif, said: "This decision is for disrespecting the holy Koran and the government should enforce the decision before it came under more pressure from foreigners."
UK officials say they are particularly concerned about such draconian action being taken against a journalist. The Foreign Office and Department for International Development has donated large sums to the training of media workers in the country. The Government funds the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) in the Helmand capital, Lashkar Gar.
Mr Kambaksh's brother, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, is also a journalist and has written articles for IWPR in which he accused senior public figures, including an MP, of atrocities, including murders. He said: "Of course we are all very worried about my brother. What has happened to him is very unjust. He has not committed blasphemy and he was not even allowed to have a legal defence. and what took place was a secret trial."
Qayoum Baabak, the editor of Jahan-i-Naw, said a senior prosecutor in Mazar-i-Sharif, Hafiz Khaliqyar, had warned journalists that they would be punished if they protested against the death sentence passed on Mr Kambaksh.
Jean MacKenzie, country director for IWPR, said: "We feel very strongly that this is designed to put pressure on Pervez's brother, Yaqub, who has done some of the hardest-hitting pieces outlining abuses by some very powerful commanders."
Rahimullah Samander, the president of the Afghan Independent Journalists' Association, said: "This is unfair, this is illegal. He just printed a copy of something and looked at it and read it. How can we believe in this 'democracy' if we can't even read, we can't even study? We are asking Mr Karzai to quash the death sentence before it is too late."
The circumstances surrounding the conviction of Mr Kambaksh are also being viewed as a further attempt to claw back the rights gained by women since the overthrow of the Taliban. The most prominent female MP, Malalai Joya, has been suspended after criticising her male colleagues.
Under the Afghan constitution, say legal experts, Mr Kambaksh has the right to appeal to the country's supreme court. Some senior clerics maintain, however, that since he has been convicted under religious laws, the supreme court should not bring secular interpretations to the case.
Mr Karzai has the right to intervene and pardon Mr Kambaksh. However, even if he is freed, it would be hard for the student to escape retribution in a country where fundamentalists and warlords are increasingly in the ascendancy.
How you can save Pervez
Sayed Pervez Kambaksh's imminent execution is an affront to civilised values. It is not, however, a foregone conclusion. If enough international pressure is brought to bear on President Karzai's government, his sentence may yet be overturned. Add your weight to the campaign by urging the Foreign Office to demand that his life be spared. Sign our e-petition at www.independent.co.uk/petition
By Kim Sengupta
Thursday, 31 January 2008
A young man, a student of journalism, is sentenced to death by an Islamic court for downloading a report from the internet. The sentence is then upheld by the country's rulers. This is Afghanistan – not in Taliban times but six years after "liberation" and under the democratic rule of the West's ally Hamid Karzai.
The fate of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh has led to domestic and international protests, and deepening concern about erosion of civil liberties in Afghanistan. He was accused of blasphemy after he downloaded a report from a Farsi website which stated that Muslim fundamentalists who claimed the Koran justified the oppression of women had misrepresented the views of the prophet Mohamed.
Mr Kambaksh, 23, distributed the tract to fellow students and teachers at Balkh University with the aim, he said, of provoking a debate on the matter. But a complaint was made against him and he was arrested, tried by religious judges without – say his friends and family – being allowed legal representation and sentenced to death.
The Independent is launching a campaign today to secure justice for Mr Kambaksh. The UN, human rights groups, journalists' organisations and Western diplomats have urged Mr Karzai's government to intervene and free him. But the Afghan Senate passed a motion yesterday confirming the death sentence.
The MP who proposed the ruling condemning Mr Kambaksh was Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, a key ally of Mr Karzai. The Senate also attacked the international community for putting pressure on the Afghan government and urged Mr Karzai not to be influenced by outside un-Islamic views.
The case of Mr Kambaksh, who also worked a s reporter for the Jahan-i-Naw (New World) newspaper, is seen in Afghanistan as yet another chapter in the escalation in the confrontation between Afghanistan and the West.
It comes in the wake of Mr Karzai accusing the British of actually worsening the situation in Helmand province by their actions and his subsequent blocking of the appointment of Lord Ashdown as the UN envoy and expelling a British and an Irish diplomat.
Demonstrations, organised by clerics, against the alleged foreign interference have been held in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where Mr Kambaksh was arrested. Aminuddin Muzafari, the first secretary of the houses of parliament, said: "People should realise that as we are representatives of an Islamic country therefore we can never tolerate insults to reverences of Islamic religion."
At a gathering in Takhar province, Maulavi Ghulam Rabbani Rahmani, the heads of the Ulema council, said: "We want the government and the courts to execute the court verdict on Kambaksh as soon as possible." In Parwan province, another senior cleric, Maulavi Muhammad Asif, said: "This decision is for disrespecting the holy Koran and the government should enforce the decision before it came under more pressure from foreigners."
UK officials say they are particularly concerned about such draconian action being taken against a journalist. The Foreign Office and Department for International Development has donated large sums to the training of media workers in the country. The Government funds the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) in the Helmand capital, Lashkar Gar.
Mr Kambaksh's brother, Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, is also a journalist and has written articles for IWPR in which he accused senior public figures, including an MP, of atrocities, including murders. He said: "Of course we are all very worried about my brother. What has happened to him is very unjust. He has not committed blasphemy and he was not even allowed to have a legal defence. and what took place was a secret trial."
Qayoum Baabak, the editor of Jahan-i-Naw, said a senior prosecutor in Mazar-i-Sharif, Hafiz Khaliqyar, had warned journalists that they would be punished if they protested against the death sentence passed on Mr Kambaksh.
Jean MacKenzie, country director for IWPR, said: "We feel very strongly that this is designed to put pressure on Pervez's brother, Yaqub, who has done some of the hardest-hitting pieces outlining abuses by some very powerful commanders."
Rahimullah Samander, the president of the Afghan Independent Journalists' Association, said: "This is unfair, this is illegal. He just printed a copy of something and looked at it and read it. How can we believe in this 'democracy' if we can't even read, we can't even study? We are asking Mr Karzai to quash the death sentence before it is too late."
The circumstances surrounding the conviction of Mr Kambaksh are also being viewed as a further attempt to claw back the rights gained by women since the overthrow of the Taliban. The most prominent female MP, Malalai Joya, has been suspended after criticising her male colleagues.
Under the Afghan constitution, say legal experts, Mr Kambaksh has the right to appeal to the country's supreme court. Some senior clerics maintain, however, that since he has been convicted under religious laws, the supreme court should not bring secular interpretations to the case.
Mr Karzai has the right to intervene and pardon Mr Kambaksh. However, even if he is freed, it would be hard for the student to escape retribution in a country where fundamentalists and warlords are increasingly in the ascendancy.
How you can save Pervez
Sayed Pervez Kambaksh's imminent execution is an affront to civilised values. It is not, however, a foregone conclusion. If enough international pressure is brought to bear on President Karzai's government, his sentence may yet be overturned. Add your weight to the campaign by urging the Foreign Office to demand that his life be spared. Sign our e-petition at www.independent.co.uk/petition
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tories no longer the Nasty Party
Tories no longer the Nasty Party
The Conway Dynasty has come to and end. And, so too it would appear, has the name Nasty Party for the Conservatives. From this point on, by order of the "Queen Sloane" they are to be known as The "Fuck Off I'm Rich" party.
The Conway Dynasty has come to and end. And, so too it would appear, has the name Nasty Party for the Conservatives. From this point on, by order of the "Queen Sloane" they are to be known as The "Fuck Off I'm Rich" party.
Truth and lies and friendship
Truth and lies and friendship
Iain Dale's Diary reports that the fraudster Derek Conway is to stand down as an MP and will not be seeking to stand at the next election. This is not surprising given that he would not have the support of the local party and would have to stand as an independent. Martin Bell he is not. So, he is jumping before he is pushed. Who in their right mind would vote for this crook, even if he is not in prison by the time of the next election? I do not believe that merely standing down goes far enough. He should resign with immediate effect. I have amended parts of Derek Conway's statement:
"Since joining the Conservative Party nearly 40 years ago I have had the privilege of dipping into the public purse since 1974 and have done so to the best of my ability".
Iain Dale states:
"Whatever Derek did or did not do he did not deserve some of the comments that have been thrown his way".
I did not deserve some of the comments thrown my way on Iain Dale's Diary.
Iain Dale states:
"I refute any charge of hypocrisy".
I am amazed that my computer has not crashed upon reading this. It is a wild and inaccurate statement to make, and if Iain cannot tell the difference between a lie and the truth then I suggest that he book an appointment with a psychiatrist or alternatively take a polygraph test. My charge is not in relation to the Derek Conway affair. Rather it refers to something Iain blogged and said about me on 18DS.
Iain Dale states:
"It's all to do with basic human decency and how you define friendship".
I recall in 1983 I was in the strip cell in HMP Gartree, and when the deputy governor made his rounds and came to my cell door (surrounded by 6 prison officers), I said to him that I was entitled to either a mattress or a chair in the cell, he replied that he would check Standing Orders and if I was right he would ensure I got one or the other. It would have been very easy for him to abuse his power and totally ignore my complaint. But he returned with a mattress and said that I was less likely to hurt one of his officers with it than with a chair. On another occasion he found me not guilty upon an adjudication when adjudicators tended to support a prison officer's word to keep up their morale. A friendship developed even though we were on opposite sides of the fence. When the IRA offered me the contract to kill this deputy governor they thought it was as good as done. I refused it. I thought about the criminal code and the conflict of interests with the friendship. I decided to talk to my friend the deputy governor and warned him that he was in danger if someone else took up the contract from the IRA. I recall he went very white and for the first time I saw fear in someone on the other side. He took what he deemed to be the appropriate action, and lived to fight another day for the forces of law and order. We have remained good friends ever since. He rose through the ranks and is the present Director General of HM Prison Service. I think that this is a good example of basic human decency and how you define friendship. One of his good qualities that I admire is his ability when he is in the wrong to hold his hands up, apologise, learn from the lesson, and move on.
On the other hand, Derek Conway has made a half-hearted apology, denies wrong doing, and tries to wriggle off the hook. If Iain Dale likes having this slimy character as a friend then that is his business. Personally, I would choose my friends more carefully. All my friends know about my past, take that into account, and treat me as they find me and that is what our friendships are based upon. I have not lost any of these friends which came about since 1989, save for one who died of a heart attack and is sadly missed. He was instrumental in my reform in prison and was part of my support network upon release. I know that my friends would not be my friends if, for example, I became a supporter of the BNP. And, I would not want to know them if they were BNP supporters. Friendships have their limits. I suspect that Iain does not know how to redefine the limit of his friendship with a serial fraudster. This is not about my country right or wrong. Right is right and wrong is wrong. A serial of wrongs do not make a right. Iain can stick by his friend. I don't say that this is wrong. It's the conduct of Derek Conway that is wrong. It does not matter how many times Iain spits out his dummy, it will not change the fact that Derek Conway is a 'wrong un'.
Iain Dale's Diary reports that the fraudster Derek Conway is to stand down as an MP and will not be seeking to stand at the next election. This is not surprising given that he would not have the support of the local party and would have to stand as an independent. Martin Bell he is not. So, he is jumping before he is pushed. Who in their right mind would vote for this crook, even if he is not in prison by the time of the next election? I do not believe that merely standing down goes far enough. He should resign with immediate effect. I have amended parts of Derek Conway's statement:
"Since joining the Conservative Party nearly 40 years ago I have had the privilege of dipping into the public purse since 1974 and have done so to the best of my ability".
Iain Dale states:
"Whatever Derek did or did not do he did not deserve some of the comments that have been thrown his way".
I did not deserve some of the comments thrown my way on Iain Dale's Diary.
Iain Dale states:
"I refute any charge of hypocrisy".
I am amazed that my computer has not crashed upon reading this. It is a wild and inaccurate statement to make, and if Iain cannot tell the difference between a lie and the truth then I suggest that he book an appointment with a psychiatrist or alternatively take a polygraph test. My charge is not in relation to the Derek Conway affair. Rather it refers to something Iain blogged and said about me on 18DS.
Iain Dale states:
"It's all to do with basic human decency and how you define friendship".
I recall in 1983 I was in the strip cell in HMP Gartree, and when the deputy governor made his rounds and came to my cell door (surrounded by 6 prison officers), I said to him that I was entitled to either a mattress or a chair in the cell, he replied that he would check Standing Orders and if I was right he would ensure I got one or the other. It would have been very easy for him to abuse his power and totally ignore my complaint. But he returned with a mattress and said that I was less likely to hurt one of his officers with it than with a chair. On another occasion he found me not guilty upon an adjudication when adjudicators tended to support a prison officer's word to keep up their morale. A friendship developed even though we were on opposite sides of the fence. When the IRA offered me the contract to kill this deputy governor they thought it was as good as done. I refused it. I thought about the criminal code and the conflict of interests with the friendship. I decided to talk to my friend the deputy governor and warned him that he was in danger if someone else took up the contract from the IRA. I recall he went very white and for the first time I saw fear in someone on the other side. He took what he deemed to be the appropriate action, and lived to fight another day for the forces of law and order. We have remained good friends ever since. He rose through the ranks and is the present Director General of HM Prison Service. I think that this is a good example of basic human decency and how you define friendship. One of his good qualities that I admire is his ability when he is in the wrong to hold his hands up, apologise, learn from the lesson, and move on.
On the other hand, Derek Conway has made a half-hearted apology, denies wrong doing, and tries to wriggle off the hook. If Iain Dale likes having this slimy character as a friend then that is his business. Personally, I would choose my friends more carefully. All my friends know about my past, take that into account, and treat me as they find me and that is what our friendships are based upon. I have not lost any of these friends which came about since 1989, save for one who died of a heart attack and is sadly missed. He was instrumental in my reform in prison and was part of my support network upon release. I know that my friends would not be my friends if, for example, I became a supporter of the BNP. And, I would not want to know them if they were BNP supporters. Friendships have their limits. I suspect that Iain does not know how to redefine the limit of his friendship with a serial fraudster. This is not about my country right or wrong. Right is right and wrong is wrong. A serial of wrongs do not make a right. Iain can stick by his friend. I don't say that this is wrong. It's the conduct of Derek Conway that is wrong. It does not matter how many times Iain spits out his dummy, it will not change the fact that Derek Conway is a 'wrong un'.
Viscount Linley the blackmailed Royal to raise funds for the Conservative Party
Viscount Linley the blackmailed Royal to raise funds for the Conservative Party
As long as Viscount Linley does not resort to blackmail to raise the funds he should be alright. We don't want another Royal scandal do we?
The Confather: A tale of a Mafia family
The Confather: A tale of a Mafia family
Obviously, my original estimate of at least £500,000 was a Conservative one.
Secrecy leads to MPs staffing scandal.
Obviously, my original estimate of at least £500,000 was a Conservative one.
Secrecy leads to MPs staffing scandal.
McCanns in flight from justice and assisted by Home Secretary
McCanns in flight from justice and assisted by Home Secretary
Why is the Home Secretary allowing the child killers Gerry and Kate McCann to escape justice?
It is nonsense for Clarence Mitchell to claim that the McCanns are happy to answer police questions and support this process. When they were given the opportunity to answer police questions in Portugal they fled to Britain on the next available flight.
Why is the Home Secretary allowing the child killers Gerry and Kate McCann to escape justice?
It is nonsense for Clarence Mitchell to claim that the McCanns are happy to answer police questions and support this process. When they were given the opportunity to answer police questions in Portugal they fled to Britain on the next available flight.
'Lotto rapist' victim wins right to sue
'Lotto rapist' victim wins right to sue
"A woman whose life was ruined by "Lotto rapist" Iorworth Hoare said she was "delighted and relieved" as she won a landmark court victory which opens the door for thousands of other sex assault victims to sue their attackers for compensation".
I am disappointed by this House of Lords ruling. This is because I cannot see the link between Hoare's conduct in raping Mrs A 20 years ago, and his purchasing a Lotto ticket which turned out to be a winner. She has said it was pointless to sue him beforehand because he did not have any money. And that she brought the case on principle and not because of financial gain. If she now goes ahead and sues him for damages and is successful, will she, on a point of principle, donate the proceeds to charity? I think not.
A v Hoare, House of Lords judgment.
"A woman whose life was ruined by "Lotto rapist" Iorworth Hoare said she was "delighted and relieved" as she won a landmark court victory which opens the door for thousands of other sex assault victims to sue their attackers for compensation".
I am disappointed by this House of Lords ruling. This is because I cannot see the link between Hoare's conduct in raping Mrs A 20 years ago, and his purchasing a Lotto ticket which turned out to be a winner. She has said it was pointless to sue him beforehand because he did not have any money. And that she brought the case on principle and not because of financial gain. If she now goes ahead and sues him for damages and is successful, will she, on a point of principle, donate the proceeds to charity? I think not.
A v Hoare, House of Lords judgment.
Roll up roll up get your ties here...
Roll up roll up get your ties here...
It is being alleged that Iain Dale's mother and Jeremy Thorpe had a bit of a fling. At least, it is hinted at by Daniel Finkelstein. No wonder Iain Dale is gay.
I once served time with Andrew Newton, the man who shot Norman Scott's dog.
It is being alleged that Iain Dale's mother and Jeremy Thorpe had a bit of a fling. At least, it is hinted at by Daniel Finkelstein. No wonder Iain Dale is gay.
I once served time with Andrew Newton, the man who shot Norman Scott's dog.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
House of Corruption
House of Corruption
The BBC reports that finally David Cameron has acted and withdrawn the Tory whip from the corrupt Tory MP Derek Conway. Why did it take him so long to be decisive? Not that long ago the Tories were criticising Gordon Brown for being indecisive. Meanwhile, Tory pseudo-blogger Guido is running a poll on his blog whether the whip should be removed from Derek Conway. Catch up at the back there! I do give Guido credit for actually covering the story, when Iain Dale's Diary remained silent on the affair. See Bob Piper's posts here and here. Even when Iain Dale succumbed to pressure to post on the story he said nowt. Unity over at the Ministry of Truth has written a book on the subject, and plagiarised my intended title for my first post, great minds think alike, and Chris Paul is on form with his post on the affair. And, kicks the man whilst he is down.
Derek Conway has said: "I have let my family down very badly indeed and no judgement from any quarter could be more harsh than that which I apply to myself". You didn't let your family down, they have fared very well on the proceeds of your crimes. You let the electorate down. You honestly think we intend to let the matter drop because you claim that you will punish yourself more severely than we can? I want to see Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less paid back into the public purse even if it means you have to sell one or both of your houses. In addition, I would like to see you serve a lengthy prison sentence as a deterrence to other MPs to keep them on the straight and narrow path.
The BBC reports that finally David Cameron has acted and withdrawn the Tory whip from the corrupt Tory MP Derek Conway. Why did it take him so long to be decisive? Not that long ago the Tories were criticising Gordon Brown for being indecisive. Meanwhile, Tory pseudo-blogger Guido is running a poll on his blog whether the whip should be removed from Derek Conway. Catch up at the back there! I do give Guido credit for actually covering the story, when Iain Dale's Diary remained silent on the affair. See Bob Piper's posts here and here. Even when Iain Dale succumbed to pressure to post on the story he said nowt. Unity over at the Ministry of Truth has written a book on the subject, and plagiarised my intended title for my first post, great minds think alike, and Chris Paul is on form with his post on the affair. And, kicks the man whilst he is down.
Derek Conway has said: "I have let my family down very badly indeed and no judgement from any quarter could be more harsh than that which I apply to myself". You didn't let your family down, they have fared very well on the proceeds of your crimes. You let the electorate down. You honestly think we intend to let the matter drop because you claim that you will punish yourself more severely than we can? I want to see Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less paid back into the public purse even if it means you have to sell one or both of your houses. In addition, I would like to see you serve a lengthy prison sentence as a deterrence to other MPs to keep them on the straight and narrow path.
Trials of a prison whistleblower
Trials of a prison whistleblower
Three years ago, the director general of the Prison Service vowed the "indefensible" way one of its prison officers was treated for whistleblowing would never happen again.
Yet, at a tribunal in Leeds earlier this month, it appeared the Prison Service had failed to keep that promise.
Three years ago, the director general of the Prison Service vowed the "indefensible" way one of its prison officers was treated for whistleblowing would never happen again.
Yet, at a tribunal in Leeds earlier this month, it appeared the Prison Service had failed to keep that promise.
In the media spotlight...again
In the media spotlight...again
I am expecting a camera crew from BBC 1 Look North to arrive at Myhaven in about an hour's time. The subject is the recent price hike for energy supplies. It has emerged that the big 3 suppliers have been accused of price fixing. All I know is that I spend 50% of my jobseekers allowance each week on gas and electric. Last year, N Power put a 25% increase on my bills twice within a few weeks. And recently, they put another 17% on my bill. That's an increase of 67% in less than a year, and yet we are told that inflation is at 2%. Not only have they increased it by 17%, but they have also increased the amount they claw back on my debt. This went up from £3.40 per week to £5.00. In effect, they have increased the price of the gas I have already used which was supplied at a cheaper rate.
UPDATE: There will be a brief piece on the 1 O'Clock News at lunchtime and a bigger piece on the 6.30 Look North tonight.
I am expecting a camera crew from BBC 1 Look North to arrive at Myhaven in about an hour's time. The subject is the recent price hike for energy supplies. It has emerged that the big 3 suppliers have been accused of price fixing. All I know is that I spend 50% of my jobseekers allowance each week on gas and electric. Last year, N Power put a 25% increase on my bills twice within a few weeks. And recently, they put another 17% on my bill. That's an increase of 67% in less than a year, and yet we are told that inflation is at 2%. Not only have they increased it by 17%, but they have also increased the amount they claw back on my debt. This went up from £3.40 per week to £5.00. In effect, they have increased the price of the gas I have already used which was supplied at a cheaper rate.
UPDATE: There will be a brief piece on the 1 O'Clock News at lunchtime and a bigger piece on the 6.30 Look North tonight.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Derek Conway: Keeping it in the family just like the Mafia
Derek Conway: Keeping it in the family just like the Mafia
Why do we have such as the Fraud Act 2006 which describes and defines and interprets specific conduct which constitutes criminal conduct, just for the likes of Derek Conway to come along and call his conduct "administrative shortcomings" and "misjudgments"?
Derek Conway and his son Frederick are criminally liable for fraud.
"1 Fraud
(1) A person is guilty of fraud if he is in breach of any of the sections listed in subsection (2) (which provide for different ways of committing the offence).
(2) The sections are—
(a) section 2 (fraud by false representation),
(b) section 3 (fraud by failing to disclose information), and
(c) section 4 (fraud by abuse of position).
(3) A person who is guilty of fraud is liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or to both);
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to a fine (or to both).
(4) Subsection (3)(a) applies in relation to Northern Ireland as if the reference to 12 months were a reference to 6 months.
2 Fraud by false representation
(1) A person is in breach of this section if he—
(a) dishonestly makes a false representation, and
(b) intends, by making the representation—
(i) to make a gain for himself or another, or
(ii) to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.
(2) A representation is false if—
(a) it is untrue or misleading, and
(b) the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading.
(3) “Representation” means any representation as to fact or law, including a representation as to the state of mind of—
(a) the person making the representation, or
(b) any other person.
(4) A representation may be express or implied.
(5) For the purposes of this section a representation may be regarded as made if it (or anything implying it) is submitted in any form to any system or device designed to receive, convey or respond to communications (with or without human intervention).
3 Fraud by failing to disclose information
A person is in breach of this section if he—
(a) dishonestly fails to disclose to another person information which he is under a legal duty to disclose, and
(b) intends, by failing to disclose the information—
(i) to make a gain for himself or another, or
(ii) to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.
4 Fraud by abuse of position
(1) A person is in breach of this section if he—
(a) occupies a position in which he is expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of another person,
(b) dishonestly abuses that position, and
(c) intends, by means of the abuse of that position—
(i) to make a gain for himself or another, or
(ii) to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.
(2) A person may be regarded as having abused his position even though his conduct consisted of an omission rather than an act".
It may well be that Mrs Conway and their elder son, Henry, are also liable. And, if this is the case, the sum of money involved could well be in the region of £500,000. Robert Winnett makes the point that MPs must now be forced to disclose and justify their expenses claims. Obviously, they have shown that they cannot be trusted to be honest. As MPs are ultimately responsible to the electorate, they cannot dip into the public purse and state that the public have no right to know how much they are taking and why.
This matter must now be the subject of a police investigation.
UPDATE: One minute in politics is a long time.
"[A]lmost everyone at Westminster knows there is significant abuse of the system".
Why do we have such as the Fraud Act 2006 which describes and defines and interprets specific conduct which constitutes criminal conduct, just for the likes of Derek Conway to come along and call his conduct "administrative shortcomings" and "misjudgments"?
Derek Conway and his son Frederick are criminally liable for fraud.
"1 Fraud
(1) A person is guilty of fraud if he is in breach of any of the sections listed in subsection (2) (which provide for different ways of committing the offence).
(2) The sections are—
(a) section 2 (fraud by false representation),
(b) section 3 (fraud by failing to disclose information), and
(c) section 4 (fraud by abuse of position).
(3) A person who is guilty of fraud is liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or to both);
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to a fine (or to both).
(4) Subsection (3)(a) applies in relation to Northern Ireland as if the reference to 12 months were a reference to 6 months.
2 Fraud by false representation
(1) A person is in breach of this section if he—
(a) dishonestly makes a false representation, and
(b) intends, by making the representation—
(i) to make a gain for himself or another, or
(ii) to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.
(2) A representation is false if—
(a) it is untrue or misleading, and
(b) the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading.
(3) “Representation” means any representation as to fact or law, including a representation as to the state of mind of—
(a) the person making the representation, or
(b) any other person.
(4) A representation may be express or implied.
(5) For the purposes of this section a representation may be regarded as made if it (or anything implying it) is submitted in any form to any system or device designed to receive, convey or respond to communications (with or without human intervention).
3 Fraud by failing to disclose information
A person is in breach of this section if he—
(a) dishonestly fails to disclose to another person information which he is under a legal duty to disclose, and
(b) intends, by failing to disclose the information—
(i) to make a gain for himself or another, or
(ii) to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.
4 Fraud by abuse of position
(1) A person is in breach of this section if he—
(a) occupies a position in which he is expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of another person,
(b) dishonestly abuses that position, and
(c) intends, by means of the abuse of that position—
(i) to make a gain for himself or another, or
(ii) to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.
(2) A person may be regarded as having abused his position even though his conduct consisted of an omission rather than an act".
It may well be that Mrs Conway and their elder son, Henry, are also liable. And, if this is the case, the sum of money involved could well be in the region of £500,000. Robert Winnett makes the point that MPs must now be forced to disclose and justify their expenses claims. Obviously, they have shown that they cannot be trusted to be honest. As MPs are ultimately responsible to the electorate, they cannot dip into the public purse and state that the public have no right to know how much they are taking and why.
This matter must now be the subject of a police investigation.
UPDATE: One minute in politics is a long time.
"[A]lmost everyone at Westminster knows there is significant abuse of the system".
McCrap burgers offer crap A-levels
McCrap burgers offer crap A-levels
Some students find their A-level results as hard to swallow as a Big Mac.
More Tory Sleaze
More Tory Sleaze
Derek Conway, a senior Tory MP, has been found guilty of stealing £12,000 per year from the taxpayers which he claimed in expenses and used to pay for his son's university education.
Story in the Daily Telegraph.
I think that this matter should be referred to the police. No ifs no buts. The ordinary working man would have been prosecuted for fraud and deception. Why should this crook get off with a mere 2 week suspension from the House of Commons?
A solution to prison overcrowding
A solution to prison overcrowding
There is a sound economical argument for sending criminals normally held in custody in police stations over night on a weeks holiday in a villa in the Canaries.
Cough, splutter, gasp, from the Tories.
There is a sound economical argument for sending criminals normally held in custody in police stations over night on a weeks holiday in a villa in the Canaries.
Cough, splutter, gasp, from the Tories.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Graeme Archer's arrow misses the target by at least a mile
Graeme Archer's arrow misses the target by at least a mile
This toffee-nosed Tory twat cannot even spell his own name correctly. At least the disgraced Geoffery Archer can, even if I can't. Apparently, he also suffers from acne. It's a part of London, and as you know, those from darn sarf drop their aitches and don't know how to speak proper. The idiot even spells East London with a small east. It's a point of the compass, numpty, and a place name like East Yorkshire, therefore it requires a capital E. He states:
"Jacqui Smith MP annoyed me this week, with her casual denunciation of Hackney as a place where no Home Secretary would dare tread after dark, no matter how desirous she may be of her nocturnal appointment with a kebab (nutritional sustenance, apparently, for those of you reading in the Home Counties, and not, as I had feared, something disreputable to do with premiership footballers).
Any problems that Hackney has can be connected in a straight line with the maladministration of Labour at a local and a national level. If you’re so concerned about our safety, Ms Smith, stop releasing violent prisoners early and stop demanding bail for thugs".
When I heard that Jacqui Smith had made this remark, I thought, 'wait for it, therefore we need to bring in more repressive and oppressive legislation to increase freedoms by removing more liberties'. She was not referring to Home Secretaries you dimwit! She was speaking as a woman. Home Secretaries are bodyguarded up to fuck. Although I did laugh when Douglas Hurd scurried away like a scared rabbit during the Bristol riot when bricks and petrol bombs were lobbed his way.
The whole concept of public protection is bollocks. It is based upon incapacitation theory. Part of this states that we lock people up now and/or keep them in jail for longer on the basis that they might commit a crime in the future. Where is your evidence that violent prisoners are being released early? As I understand it, prisoners are released on time. And, where do you get this notion that they are violent prisoners? Any prisoners caught being violent are kept in longer. Those convicted of violent crimes are often model prisoners inside. As for bail, those deemed to pose too high a risk are refused bail. Rarely, the system gets it wrong. And when they do the tabloid media scream like a demented child, and feed those who buy such trash with media hype.
Conservativehome by publishing such crap means that it has sunk to the gutter level of that pseudo-blogger Guido who has often been equated as the blogosphere's equivalent of The Sun.
This toffee-nosed Tory twat cannot even spell his own name correctly. At least the disgraced Geoffery Archer can, even if I can't. Apparently, he also suffers from acne. It's a part of London, and as you know, those from darn sarf drop their aitches and don't know how to speak proper. The idiot even spells East London with a small east. It's a point of the compass, numpty, and a place name like East Yorkshire, therefore it requires a capital E. He states:
"Jacqui Smith MP annoyed me this week, with her casual denunciation of Hackney as a place where no Home Secretary would dare tread after dark, no matter how desirous she may be of her nocturnal appointment with a kebab (nutritional sustenance, apparently, for those of you reading in the Home Counties, and not, as I had feared, something disreputable to do with premiership footballers).
Any problems that Hackney has can be connected in a straight line with the maladministration of Labour at a local and a national level. If you’re so concerned about our safety, Ms Smith, stop releasing violent prisoners early and stop demanding bail for thugs".
When I heard that Jacqui Smith had made this remark, I thought, 'wait for it, therefore we need to bring in more repressive and oppressive legislation to increase freedoms by removing more liberties'. She was not referring to Home Secretaries you dimwit! She was speaking as a woman. Home Secretaries are bodyguarded up to fuck. Although I did laugh when Douglas Hurd scurried away like a scared rabbit during the Bristol riot when bricks and petrol bombs were lobbed his way.
The whole concept of public protection is bollocks. It is based upon incapacitation theory. Part of this states that we lock people up now and/or keep them in jail for longer on the basis that they might commit a crime in the future. Where is your evidence that violent prisoners are being released early? As I understand it, prisoners are released on time. And, where do you get this notion that they are violent prisoners? Any prisoners caught being violent are kept in longer. Those convicted of violent crimes are often model prisoners inside. As for bail, those deemed to pose too high a risk are refused bail. Rarely, the system gets it wrong. And when they do the tabloid media scream like a demented child, and feed those who buy such trash with media hype.
Conservativehome by publishing such crap means that it has sunk to the gutter level of that pseudo-blogger Guido who has often been equated as the blogosphere's equivalent of The Sun.
This and that
This and that
This morning after a shit I am sat in the lounge having a cup of tea and a roll up, before taking Rocky for a walk, and flick on BBC 1 to keep my mind occupied. Countryfile had just started and there was a report on Auschwitz because today is Holocaust Memorial Day. My mind thinks of Lest We Forget. Then goes to dodgy donations or at least the failures to declare them. I think it is rather convenient that those who have failed to declare them do not fail to accept them.
When Thursday came, I had just over a pound in loose change in the purse section of my wallet and had spent a few days believing that that was all I had to my name. Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise when I went to put the notes from the cash point in my wallet that I discovered there was £15 already in there. I really will have to get a grip of my senile dementia!
At 2pm, I had just switched off my computer in readiness to take Rocky for his afternoon walk and there was a knock on the front door. It was Father Ted and his wife Kate, two of my support network, and they had brought me a £100. I topped the gas and electric meters up, with £20 and £10 respectively, and bought a padded work shirt and padded sleeveless work jacket, and a cheap bottle of whisky from Aldi. As I browsed around the store, I noticed quite a few chocolate products with foreign names but the picture on the packs were clearly Mars, Twix and Snickers (formerly Marathon). I looked for the manufacturers name to verify the brand name makers, but all I could find was the information that the product had been specially selected for Aldi. More and more of the stores now stock products from Eastern Europe, and there are several shops which are owned by Eastern Europeans. As I walked home, a couple walking towards me surprised me that they spoke perfect English. This is getting rarer in my neighbourhood. I am beginning to feel like a foreigner in my own country. I am not complaining, merely making an observation.
This morning after a shit I am sat in the lounge having a cup of tea and a roll up, before taking Rocky for a walk, and flick on BBC 1 to keep my mind occupied. Countryfile had just started and there was a report on Auschwitz because today is Holocaust Memorial Day. My mind thinks of Lest We Forget. Then goes to dodgy donations or at least the failures to declare them. I think it is rather convenient that those who have failed to declare them do not fail to accept them.
When Thursday came, I had just over a pound in loose change in the purse section of my wallet and had spent a few days believing that that was all I had to my name. Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise when I went to put the notes from the cash point in my wallet that I discovered there was £15 already in there. I really will have to get a grip of my senile dementia!
At 2pm, I had just switched off my computer in readiness to take Rocky for his afternoon walk and there was a knock on the front door. It was Father Ted and his wife Kate, two of my support network, and they had brought me a £100. I topped the gas and electric meters up, with £20 and £10 respectively, and bought a padded work shirt and padded sleeveless work jacket, and a cheap bottle of whisky from Aldi. As I browsed around the store, I noticed quite a few chocolate products with foreign names but the picture on the packs were clearly Mars, Twix and Snickers (formerly Marathon). I looked for the manufacturers name to verify the brand name makers, but all I could find was the information that the product had been specially selected for Aldi. More and more of the stores now stock products from Eastern Europe, and there are several shops which are owned by Eastern Europeans. As I walked home, a couple walking towards me surprised me that they spoke perfect English. This is getting rarer in my neighbourhood. I am beginning to feel like a foreigner in my own country. I am not complaining, merely making an observation.
Something to be sniffed at
Something to be sniffed at
The universially challenged Jeremy Paxman is exposing himself as something of a dimwit in his choice of nappies to wear. He cannot seem to grasp that if he buys large boxer shorts then his small penis will not get the same kind of support as those made to measure. I don't buy boxer shorts because they are not designed for support, rather I buy briefs. Why he pays Marks and Sparks £15 for a pack of 3, which are manufactured by slave child labour in China is beyond me. Surely, a pack of 5 for £5 Donnay nickers would do the job better and save himself some money?
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Dizzy has them in a tizzy
Dizzy has them in a tizzy
Red faces all around here.
UPDATE: Following the query from James, I have decided not to wait until someone makes a request under the Freedom of Information Act, and supply this link to clarify this post somewhat. Thanks to Norfolk Blogger.
Red faces all around here.
UPDATE: Following the query from James, I have decided not to wait until someone makes a request under the Freedom of Information Act, and supply this link to clarify this post somewhat. Thanks to Norfolk Blogger.
Roll up roll up roll up your trouser leg
Roll up roll up roll up your trouser leg
The funny handshake brigade have been at it again. A bent copper and a corrupt judge who are both free masons have decided to show contempt for the law. The bent copper had a suspended jail sentence hanging over his head, and instead of implementing it when he broke the law again, the corrupt judge decided to let him off again with another suspended sentence.
I trust that the CPS will be appealing against the undue leniency of the sentence and that Jack Straw, the Minister of Justice, will be carrying out an investigation into the activities of this corrupt judge?
The funny handshake brigade have been at it again. A bent copper and a corrupt judge who are both free masons have decided to show contempt for the law. The bent copper had a suspended jail sentence hanging over his head, and instead of implementing it when he broke the law again, the corrupt judge decided to let him off again with another suspended sentence.
I trust that the CPS will be appealing against the undue leniency of the sentence and that Jack Straw, the Minister of Justice, will be carrying out an investigation into the activities of this corrupt judge?
Buffoon Boris involved in Tory Sleaze
Buffoon Boris involved in Tory Sleaze
Before he has even been voted in as Mayor of London, Buffoon Boris has become involved in Tory Sleaze. A Japanese property company has bribed him with a free office space in London as part payment to push through a planning application blocked by Ken Livingstone.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Jailhouselawyer v Guido Fawkes/Paul Staines
Jailhouselawyer v Guido Fawkes/Paul Staines
This post does not mess about, the blog author clearly feels that in the jailhouselawyer v Guido Fawkes/Paul Staines contest for the best MSM performance yesterday, Guido came off second best.
Judge for yourselves: Jailhouselawyer's performance and somewhere in here is Guido's little one.
This post does not mess about, the blog author clearly feels that in the jailhouselawyer v Guido Fawkes/Paul Staines contest for the best MSM performance yesterday, Guido came off second best.
Judge for yourselves: Jailhouselawyer's performance and somewhere in here is Guido's little one.
An open letter to the McCanns and Clarence Mitchell
An open letter to the McCanns and Clarence Mitchell
Gerry's Blog/Diary
Day 262 - 20/01/2008
Today we have released drawings of a man who needs to be eliminated from the investigation to find Madeleine. A witness, Gail Cooper, who was holidaying in Praia da Luz shortly before we arrived, saw him on several occasions. She found the man, who claimed to be collecting for an orphanage, very intimidating. After interviewing Gail, our private investigators commissioned a forensic sketch by a FBI trained artist. The man has many similarities in looks and clothing he was wearing to the description of the man given by Gail Cooper. Click Here to see the drawings.
The man Jane saw walking away from the apartments where we were staying was carrying a child, around 9.10pm on the night Madeleine was abducted. Jane described pyjamas matching those Madeleine was wearing without knowing what she had on that fateful night. We are convinced that this was when Madeleine was taken. Jane has been shown these sketches of the man. She feels he has a strong resemblance to the man she saw on May 3rd.carrying the child away.
It is essential that he be traced. We believe many people must know who this individual is. We appeal to anyone who knows him, or may have seen him to contact our private investigators on +34 902 300 213 or investigation@findmadeleine.com. If you are this man please make contact with the investigators or your local police. All of this information has been passed on to the Portuguese and British police and Interpol has been informed. This man may have key information that will help us locate Madeleine.
"A man with a similar appearance to that of a suspected abductor of Madeleine McCann - whose "scruffy" image appeared in two sketches released by her parents - has been traced and ruled out of the police investigation, it has been claimed".
"The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have been accused of wasting money raised by public donations on searching for their daughter in Morocco, despite no firm evidence she was taken there".
Dear Gerry, Kate and Clarence Mitchell
Gerry has stated on his blog the man "needs to be eliminated from the investigation to find Madeleine". However, the man has already been eliminated from the investigation being carried out by the relevant authorities. Your private investigation is irrelevant, because, let's face it, both Gerry and Kate are prime suspects in the disappearance of their 3 year old daughter. Moreover, it is these two who need to be eliminated from the official investigation. I feel that had Clarence not tipped them off that the police were monitoring them, whilst he was working for the British government, then this case might well have concluded by now.
All this nonsense of an abductor carrying Madeleine off whilst Gerry was talking to Wilkins outside the apartment, allegedly seen by Jane Tanner, but she was not seen by either Gerry or Wilkins at the time. One of the first questions that would have been asked when Kate alleged that Madeleine had been abducted would have been "what was she wearing?". Once again, it is nonsense to claim that Jane Tanner did not know that Madeleine was wearing pink pyjamas.
Don't you think it should now be game over? All those people donated money for what they believed was a genuine search for Madeleine. Admit it, it has all been a wild goose chase. Not only have you wasted police time, you have also wasted honest, decent folks money at £50,000 per month to a private detective agency. Gerry and Kate, you both know what happened to Madeleine in the apartment and what happened to her body afterwards. Metodo 3 are being paid to lay a false trail away from your door. I will let you into a little secret. The trick is to backtrack. This is where the scent is the strongest. You have not been able to throw me off your scent.
You may feel that you have gone too far now to hold your hands up to your misdeeds. It's not too late. Of course the MSM will crucify you both for the deception. Face justice and throw yourselves on the mercy of the court. Only those with something to hide employ a spin doctor. Clarence Mitchell did not resign he was sacked by the British government for tipping you off. The PJ have the goods on him and he became a political embarrassment. He needed a job, and you saved his skin. But, he really knows that you are both guilty for the same reason that I do, otherwise why would you need him. The truth does not require twisting. It stands up for itself.
What ever respective sentences you receive, it will not be the death penalty. In that sense you are in a better position than Madeleine. How about it?
Yours sincerely,
Jailhouselawyer.
Gerry's Blog/Diary
Day 262 - 20/01/2008
Today we have released drawings of a man who needs to be eliminated from the investigation to find Madeleine. A witness, Gail Cooper, who was holidaying in Praia da Luz shortly before we arrived, saw him on several occasions. She found the man, who claimed to be collecting for an orphanage, very intimidating. After interviewing Gail, our private investigators commissioned a forensic sketch by a FBI trained artist. The man has many similarities in looks and clothing he was wearing to the description of the man given by Gail Cooper. Click Here to see the drawings.
The man Jane saw walking away from the apartments where we were staying was carrying a child, around 9.10pm on the night Madeleine was abducted. Jane described pyjamas matching those Madeleine was wearing without knowing what she had on that fateful night. We are convinced that this was when Madeleine was taken. Jane has been shown these sketches of the man. She feels he has a strong resemblance to the man she saw on May 3rd.carrying the child away.
It is essential that he be traced. We believe many people must know who this individual is. We appeal to anyone who knows him, or may have seen him to contact our private investigators on +34 902 300 213 or investigation@findmadeleine.com. If you are this man please make contact with the investigators or your local police. All of this information has been passed on to the Portuguese and British police and Interpol has been informed. This man may have key information that will help us locate Madeleine.
"A man with a similar appearance to that of a suspected abductor of Madeleine McCann - whose "scruffy" image appeared in two sketches released by her parents - has been traced and ruled out of the police investigation, it has been claimed".
"The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have been accused of wasting money raised by public donations on searching for their daughter in Morocco, despite no firm evidence she was taken there".
Dear Gerry, Kate and Clarence Mitchell
Gerry has stated on his blog the man "needs to be eliminated from the investigation to find Madeleine". However, the man has already been eliminated from the investigation being carried out by the relevant authorities. Your private investigation is irrelevant, because, let's face it, both Gerry and Kate are prime suspects in the disappearance of their 3 year old daughter. Moreover, it is these two who need to be eliminated from the official investigation. I feel that had Clarence not tipped them off that the police were monitoring them, whilst he was working for the British government, then this case might well have concluded by now.
All this nonsense of an abductor carrying Madeleine off whilst Gerry was talking to Wilkins outside the apartment, allegedly seen by Jane Tanner, but she was not seen by either Gerry or Wilkins at the time. One of the first questions that would have been asked when Kate alleged that Madeleine had been abducted would have been "what was she wearing?". Once again, it is nonsense to claim that Jane Tanner did not know that Madeleine was wearing pink pyjamas.
Don't you think it should now be game over? All those people donated money for what they believed was a genuine search for Madeleine. Admit it, it has all been a wild goose chase. Not only have you wasted police time, you have also wasted honest, decent folks money at £50,000 per month to a private detective agency. Gerry and Kate, you both know what happened to Madeleine in the apartment and what happened to her body afterwards. Metodo 3 are being paid to lay a false trail away from your door. I will let you into a little secret. The trick is to backtrack. This is where the scent is the strongest. You have not been able to throw me off your scent.
You may feel that you have gone too far now to hold your hands up to your misdeeds. It's not too late. Of course the MSM will crucify you both for the deception. Face justice and throw yourselves on the mercy of the court. Only those with something to hide employ a spin doctor. Clarence Mitchell did not resign he was sacked by the British government for tipping you off. The PJ have the goods on him and he became a political embarrassment. He needed a job, and you saved his skin. But, he really knows that you are both guilty for the same reason that I do, otherwise why would you need him. The truth does not require twisting. It stands up for itself.
What ever respective sentences you receive, it will not be the death penalty. In that sense you are in a better position than Madeleine. How about it?
Yours sincerely,
Jailhouselawyer.
Army 'doesn't know how to treat prisoners'
Army 'doesn't know how to treat prisoners'
"British troops sent to Iraq received inadequate training on how to deal with civilian prisoners, a damning report into allegations of abuse against Iraqi detainees has said".
This is hardly surprising given that the government, Minister of Justice, and the Prison Service haven't got much of a clue either.
"British troops sent to Iraq received inadequate training on how to deal with civilian prisoners, a damning report into allegations of abuse against Iraqi detainees has said".
This is hardly surprising given that the government, Minister of Justice, and the Prison Service haven't got much of a clue either.
Clearsprings or clear as mud?
Clearsprings or clear as mud?
I have reservations about the private sector making money out of justice.
Daily Telegraph story here.
HMPS Instruction in relation to Clearsprings.
Clearsprings website.
I have reservations about the private sector making money out of justice.
Daily Telegraph story here.
HMPS Instruction in relation to Clearsprings.
Clearsprings website.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Newsnight: Guido Fawkes/Paul Staines
Newsnight: Guido Fawkes/Paul Staines
What a total waste of time and space. Steve Richards stole the show. The fat, beer-bellied, bespectacled former Hull BNP waller should stay in the shadows unless he has something positive to contribute. So much for Iain Dale's plug. Time to pull it and let that scum go down the plug hole. Or, better still, let Peter Hain go a round with him in a boxing ring because he couldn't last more than that.
UPDATE: Iain Dale and Dizzy Thinks notice that even The Morning Star outshone the dull Guido. Nice try at a diversion lads. Where is the honesty in politics? Admit it, he was crap! Had it been Tom Watson or Bob Piper you would have savaged them.
Why did the two Tory chickens cross the road?
UPDATED UPDATE: Guido or one of his sock puppets attempts to distort the truth with this pathetic comment on Guido's highly censored blog:
"jeremy said...
Good understated performance from you on Newsnight tonight Guido. Well done lad! Enjoy the fame, you deserve it for nailing that spiv Hain.
I wasn't at all impressed by Steve Richards from the Indie. What's his h-dropping and fake estuary English all about? Everyone knows he's a posh twat. He also made it obvious he's jealous as hell of the sucess of the blogs compared to his rancid little cock-sucking newspaper. What a sad tosser that guy is and such a crap wig already!
12:32 AM, January 25, 2008".
As the Newsnight blog appears not to be accepting comments since 12.30pm, I will put on here what I was going to say on there.
I can understand why you had Steve Richards on Newsnight because he had quite a bit to say on Haingate and said it well.
On the other hand, I am at a loss as to why you invited Paul Staines/Guido Fawkes onto the programme unless it was to fill a space on the sofa.
I note that both Iain Dale's Diary and Dizzy Thinks employed a diversionary tactic by raising the issue of the Morning Star featuring on the programme.
I think it was a bit rich for Guido to use the dithering donkey analogy when it was obvious to all concerned he made a complete ass of himself.
What a total waste of time and space. Steve Richards stole the show. The fat, beer-bellied, bespectacled former Hull BNP waller should stay in the shadows unless he has something positive to contribute. So much for Iain Dale's plug. Time to pull it and let that scum go down the plug hole. Or, better still, let Peter Hain go a round with him in a boxing ring because he couldn't last more than that.
UPDATE: Iain Dale and Dizzy Thinks notice that even The Morning Star outshone the dull Guido. Nice try at a diversion lads. Where is the honesty in politics? Admit it, he was crap! Had it been Tom Watson or Bob Piper you would have savaged them.
Why did the two Tory chickens cross the road?
UPDATED UPDATE: Guido or one of his sock puppets attempts to distort the truth with this pathetic comment on Guido's highly censored blog:
"jeremy said...
Good understated performance from you on Newsnight tonight Guido. Well done lad! Enjoy the fame, you deserve it for nailing that spiv Hain.
I wasn't at all impressed by Steve Richards from the Indie. What's his h-dropping and fake estuary English all about? Everyone knows he's a posh twat. He also made it obvious he's jealous as hell of the sucess of the blogs compared to his rancid little cock-sucking newspaper. What a sad tosser that guy is and such a crap wig already!
12:32 AM, January 25, 2008".
As the Newsnight blog appears not to be accepting comments since 12.30pm, I will put on here what I was going to say on there.
I can understand why you had Steve Richards on Newsnight because he had quite a bit to say on Haingate and said it well.
On the other hand, I am at a loss as to why you invited Paul Staines/Guido Fawkes onto the programme unless it was to fill a space on the sofa.
I note that both Iain Dale's Diary and Dizzy Thinks employed a diversionary tactic by raising the issue of the Morning Star featuring on the programme.
I think it was a bit rich for Guido to use the dithering donkey analogy when it was obvious to all concerned he made a complete ass of himself.
Jailhouselawyer joins the BBC World Service
As a result of Nich Starling/Norfolk Blogger asking Is madness ever an excuse for murder?, and me leaving a comment, the BBC World Service emailed me to ask whether I would take part in their programme at 6pm tonight which covers the story that has Nich all hot under the collar.
I don't suppose verity or geoff (two numpties who post comments on Iain Dale's Diary) will be listening?
UPDATE: I thought the programme went well, however, I would like to listen to it again because when you are in the middle of it there are bits that could be missed. The producers said that they were happy about the programme, and received a lot of emails as it was going out live and received some feedback shortly afterwards. The World Have Your Say blog has received 80+ comments and can be read here. As one commenter observes there are quite a few from people who display ignorance of the subject, however, there are also those who provide food for thought.
Listen to the podcast here.
I don't suppose verity or geoff (two numpties who post comments on Iain Dale's Diary) will be listening?
UPDATE: I thought the programme went well, however, I would like to listen to it again because when you are in the middle of it there are bits that could be missed. The producers said that they were happy about the programme, and received a lot of emails as it was going out live and received some feedback shortly afterwards. The World Have Your Say blog has received 80+ comments and can be read here. As one commenter observes there are quite a few from people who display ignorance of the subject, however, there are also those who provide food for thought.
Listen to the podcast here.
Peter Hain resigns after donations row referred to police
Peter Hain resigns after donations row referred to police
Given that Peter Hain resigned once the matter was referred to the police. Why didn't those other crooks resign who were involved in the cash for honours scandal?
Cameron's a right plonker
Cameron's a right plonker
"TORY leader David Cameron was accused of a blunder yesterday after comparing the PM to telly’s Del Boy Trotter.
Mr Cameron said Gordon Brown had acted like the Only Fools And Horses wideboy in a Commons bust-up over the cost of saving Northern Rock.
He said: “It’s like a used car salesman who won’t tell you the price, won’t tell you the mileage, won’t give you a warranty. You’ve gone from prudence to Del Boy.”
But Labour MPs pointed out that Del did not flog used cars".
That was, of course, Boycie played by John Challis in the series. Perhaps, if Dave did not addle his brain with cocaine he might not become so befuddled?
Hat-Tip to conservativehome
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
BBC lawyers to pursue dishonest Mark Leech
BBC lawyers to pursue dishonest Mark Leech
The BBC lawyers are to pursue the con man Mark Leech who features in this post, because it has emerged that not only has Mark Leech plagiarised a story from the BBC, the whole front page of Converse has been plagiarised from the BBC!
The cheek of the man! It is understood that Mark Leech has threatened to sue John Roberts of Inside Time for defamation of "good character". Do people of good character steal the words that someone else has written, and the copyright is owned by the BBC? I note that Mark Leech has not claimed authorship of the articles, nevertheless as the owner and editor of ConVerse he is legally liable for its content.
In the first edition in December, Mark Leech writes "Welcome to ConVerse...it will chart a whole new era of honesty and relevance in the field of prison publishing". Are you having a laugh? And more of the same bollocks here "Welcome to ConVerse, the only national monthly prisons legal newspaper, which will change the way that things are done, and introduce an honesty and truthfulness into prisons and those who write about them which has been sadly lacking".
Mind you, perhaps it is me that is old fashioned? Given that David Cameron has stated that it is alright for parents to lie to the education authorities to try and get their kids in the best schools. What kind of example is he setting? Perhaps, Mark Leech can plagiarise material for the speeches given by the Nasty Party?
I do like a man of his word, my word is my bond kind of thing. "My Personal Pledge:– “If I wouldn’t send a member of my family to a particular law firm for their advice, I promise I will not advertise that law firm to you – period”". He forgot to add, unless of course I collect my 30 pieces of silver from that law firm to pay for the advert.
The BBC lawyers are to pursue the con man Mark Leech who features in this post, because it has emerged that not only has Mark Leech plagiarised a story from the BBC, the whole front page of Converse has been plagiarised from the BBC!
The cheek of the man! It is understood that Mark Leech has threatened to sue John Roberts of Inside Time for defamation of "good character". Do people of good character steal the words that someone else has written, and the copyright is owned by the BBC? I note that Mark Leech has not claimed authorship of the articles, nevertheless as the owner and editor of ConVerse he is legally liable for its content.
In the first edition in December, Mark Leech writes "Welcome to ConVerse...it will chart a whole new era of honesty and relevance in the field of prison publishing". Are you having a laugh? And more of the same bollocks here "Welcome to ConVerse, the only national monthly prisons legal newspaper, which will change the way that things are done, and introduce an honesty and truthfulness into prisons and those who write about them which has been sadly lacking".
Mind you, perhaps it is me that is old fashioned? Given that David Cameron has stated that it is alright for parents to lie to the education authorities to try and get their kids in the best schools. What kind of example is he setting? Perhaps, Mark Leech can plagiarise material for the speeches given by the Nasty Party?
I do like a man of his word, my word is my bond kind of thing. "My Personal Pledge:– “If I wouldn’t send a member of my family to a particular law firm for their advice, I promise I will not advertise that law firm to you – period”". He forgot to add, unless of course I collect my 30 pieces of silver from that law firm to pay for the advert.
Another breakdown in communications...
Another breakdown in communications...
ISP has been down all day, save for the odd few minutes here and there.
ISP has been down all day, save for the odd few minutes here and there.
ConJob
ConJob
Mark Leech the Thailand-based Director of Prisons.org.uk Ltd, has recently set up a newspaper for prisoners. When I heard that he was now based in Thailand, I could not stop myself from chuckling. I asked a friend, "Why would anybody base themselves in Thailand?". He replied, "Drugs or underage sex". I don't think Mark Leech who is openly gay and is HIV positive, is into drugs. I still tap my foot when I hear a Gary Glitter (Paul Gadd)song, and I posted on the swirly-faced teacher who went abroad to escape the laws of under-aged sex over here. But, I digress.
The newspaper is called ConVerse and in its header it proclaims "The Monthly Paper on Your Side of the Door!". It also proclaims "The Quality National Newspaper For Prisoners". It boasts "50,000 COPIES EVERY MONTH!". And states "More than ANY other monthly prisons paper!". (This is clearly a swipe at Inside Time - The National Newspaper for Prisoners which refused to publish an advert from Mark Leech which contained his OK logo).
In the January 2008 edition on page 1, I saw an article with the title "Jails Awash With Drugs". As I began to read the first paragraph, not only was I struck by the quality of the writing, but also my Aspergers Syndrome kicked in and my attention for detail informed me that I had already read this somewhere before, and recently at that. Even though the title was different I was not thrown off the scent. My previous probation officer, Nick Mitchell, said to me, "You have a phenomenal memory". The thing is, I'm getting lazy in my old age, and when I was growing up and in prison I didn't have a computer. So, I simply Googled the first paragraph and it saved me using brainpower.
"The public is being put at
risk from drug addicts and
mentally ill offenders
released from jail without
treatment, leading prison
doctors have said".
BBC Report: "Jails 'failing to treat inmates'". The first paragraph reads: "The public is being put at risk from drug addicts and mentally ill offenders released from jail without treatment, leading prison doctors have said".
The remainder of the ConVerse article is word for word the same as the BBC article. Now, on this blog I sometimes copy and paste whole articles. Sometimes I use the original title, and at other times I think up my own. What I don't do is copy someone else's literary work and simply change the title without crediting the original source. According to my dictionary: "To steal from the writings of another" is defined as plagiarism. Mark Leech has been caught bang to rights as a plagiarist. And what does it say about leech? "A grasping, parasitic person". That's the second choice, the first states: "A small blood-sucking worm formerly much used by doctors for letting blood".
If Mark Leech thinks he has carried off a bloodless coup he can think again. I predict that in the prison law war he is on the losing side.
Mark Leech the Thailand-based Director of Prisons.org.uk Ltd, has recently set up a newspaper for prisoners. When I heard that he was now based in Thailand, I could not stop myself from chuckling. I asked a friend, "Why would anybody base themselves in Thailand?". He replied, "Drugs or underage sex". I don't think Mark Leech who is openly gay and is HIV positive, is into drugs. I still tap my foot when I hear a Gary Glitter (Paul Gadd)song, and I posted on the swirly-faced teacher who went abroad to escape the laws of under-aged sex over here. But, I digress.
The newspaper is called ConVerse and in its header it proclaims "The Monthly Paper on Your Side of the Door!". It also proclaims "The Quality National Newspaper For Prisoners". It boasts "50,000 COPIES EVERY MONTH!". And states "More than ANY other monthly prisons paper!". (This is clearly a swipe at Inside Time - The National Newspaper for Prisoners which refused to publish an advert from Mark Leech which contained his OK logo).
In the January 2008 edition on page 1, I saw an article with the title "Jails Awash With Drugs". As I began to read the first paragraph, not only was I struck by the quality of the writing, but also my Aspergers Syndrome kicked in and my attention for detail informed me that I had already read this somewhere before, and recently at that. Even though the title was different I was not thrown off the scent. My previous probation officer, Nick Mitchell, said to me, "You have a phenomenal memory". The thing is, I'm getting lazy in my old age, and when I was growing up and in prison I didn't have a computer. So, I simply Googled the first paragraph and it saved me using brainpower.
"The public is being put at
risk from drug addicts and
mentally ill offenders
released from jail without
treatment, leading prison
doctors have said".
BBC Report: "Jails 'failing to treat inmates'". The first paragraph reads: "The public is being put at risk from drug addicts and mentally ill offenders released from jail without treatment, leading prison doctors have said".
The remainder of the ConVerse article is word for word the same as the BBC article. Now, on this blog I sometimes copy and paste whole articles. Sometimes I use the original title, and at other times I think up my own. What I don't do is copy someone else's literary work and simply change the title without crediting the original source. According to my dictionary: "To steal from the writings of another" is defined as plagiarism. Mark Leech has been caught bang to rights as a plagiarist. And what does it say about leech? "A grasping, parasitic person". That's the second choice, the first states: "A small blood-sucking worm formerly much used by doctors for letting blood".
If Mark Leech thinks he has carried off a bloodless coup he can think again. I predict that in the prison law war he is on the losing side.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Police State: Only we can photo you...
Police State: Only we can photo you...
Reported on Ceefax: "Police Seize Photographer's Film
An amateur photographer has told how police seized his film as he was out taking snaps in a Hull shopping centre.
Steve Carroll, of Kent, was visiting relatives in Hull in December when he decided to do some 'street photography' in the city's Prospect Centre.
Shoppers reported him to the police, who took his film because he seemed to be operating in a 'covert manner'.
Mr Carroll lodged a complaint against Humberside Police but an investigation concluded its officers acted correctly".
Click on Photographer's Complaint or put words in search box Look North report here.
Rossinisbird picked up a similar post by Curly and blogged that he had picked up a similar post on my blog.
Reported on Ceefax: "Police Seize Photographer's Film
An amateur photographer has told how police seized his film as he was out taking snaps in a Hull shopping centre.
Steve Carroll, of Kent, was visiting relatives in Hull in December when he decided to do some 'street photography' in the city's Prospect Centre.
Shoppers reported him to the police, who took his film because he seemed to be operating in a 'covert manner'.
Mr Carroll lodged a complaint against Humberside Police but an investigation concluded its officers acted correctly".
Click on Photographer's Complaint or put words in search box Look North report here.
Rossinisbird picked up a similar post by Curly and blogged that he had picked up a similar post on my blog.
The prison law war: When is ok not ok?
The prison law war: When is ok not ok?
I first came across the name of Mark Leech sometime during 1988-89 when I was in Wakefield Prison. A fellow prisoner had painstakingly copied verbatim into a prison notebook in longhand, Mark Leech's article in the Left wing newspaper Fight Racism, Fight Imperialism. The article concerned advice how to sue the Prison Service in the County Court for damages for prisoners lost property. Although well written, the article failed to take into account that different rules applied to Category 'A' prisoners compared with those prisoners in categories 'B', 'C' and 'D'. Therefore, when I tried to implement Mark Leech's advice I came across an obstacle to gaining access to court. Namely, security. The Home Secretary refused to allow me access unless I paid for the security arrangements. In an attempt to surmount the obstacle I contacted a solicitor for advice, who gave me a Legal Aid Green Form to sign. As I did not get the advice which the taxpayers paid for, I contacted 5 more solicitors all to no avail, and they all collected their money and gave me nothing in return. Finally, I got hold of a solicitor called Humphrey Forrest, via a friend called Lucy Vulliamy, who worked at the Humberside Law Centre. He said, "forget about the Legal Aid Green Form". When I was outlining the case, he said, "I don't know anything about prison law, teach me". By admitting his ignorance of the subject, it dawned upon me that the previous 6 solicitors were also ignorant of the subject, however, they did not have the guts to admit this. I noted in Humphrey's Instructions to Counsel that he stated "Instructing Solicitor has relatively little knowledge of prison law, but he is fast learning it under Mr Hirst's expert tuition". The barrister, Tim Owen, went on to write a book with Stephen Livingstone called Prison Law - Text and Materials. In it he states: "Yet most lawyers, even those whose work in criminal practice frequently involves them in decisions about who should go to prison, know comparatively little about the law relating to prisons". That was back then. The situation has improved to a certain extent. Even so, some law firms are advertising to prisoners that they possess an expertise in prison law, when it is arguable that they still possess relatively little knowledge of the subject. The losers here are the prisoners, and the public who pay good money for a poor service.
Mark Leech believes he has come up with the solution, that is, he has devised an OK logo which he gives to solicitors to put on their letterheads and in adverts once they have passed his course to show that they are competent. This has caused uproar amongst those solicitors who believe that they are competent and have had no dealings with Mark Leech and do not possess his logo.
Like me Mark Leech is a former prisoner. He has convictions for being a con man. There is a saying in prison 'Once a con man, always a con man'. In any event, at the end of his article it was signed Mark Leech LLB (Hons). Mark Leech did not at that time and does not now possess a law degree let alone with honours! This is not to say that someone without a law degree cannot be an expert in prison law. I have not got a law degree, but I am still a recognised expert in the subject. Mark Leech set up what he calls the Institute of Prison Law, and offers what he calls a 10 month course in prison law. However, this amounts to 1 day per month for 10 months, in my book that makes it a 10 day course. Part of the course involves visiting 2 prisons for which the students pay for this privilege, a service which the Prison Service provides for free. Personally, I don't think that Mark Leech's word is good enough when it comes down to his recommendation that a solicitor is OK at prison law.
Short changing - Barrister Stanley Best advises prisoners not to be ‘caught off
guard’ when seeking legal representation
A contradiction in terms
STANLEY BEST - BARRISTER, BARNSTAPLE CHAMBERS
I have had two letters recently concerning my September issue article
Short Changing. One comes from a prisoner who, of course, cannot
be identified. The other comes from a solicitor, John Atkins of Atkins
Law, Exeter, enclosed, rather oddly you may think, in an envelope
with a rubber stamped injunction, ‘Rule 39 applies'!
The letter from the prisoner says of his former solicitor that ‘he (said)
to me you don't need a barrister at all, I do all my (own) hearings'.
The prisoner asks for help in finding another solicitor who, by necessary
implication, will instruct Counsel as he wished the original
solicitor to do.
By contrast, solicitor John Atkins, in a four page letter, is very indignant
and speaks of 'firms such as this' (meaning Atkins Law) moving ‘to
a highly professional model involving non-qualified lawyers …’ This
seems to me, however good the non-qualified staff are, to be a contradiction
in terms. You are either a member of the legal profession
or you are not. Mr Atkins also claims that the article is 'defamatory
of (his) and other firms'. This is complete nonsense. There was no
express or implied reference in my article to Atkins Law, nor was
any other firm identified.
Let me make abundantly clear that my article was not directed against
Mr Atkins or his firm, with whom I have had no dealings whatsoever
and of whose approach to his work and his clients I know nothing.
The examples given in my article are, however, based on fact, relating,
as I was careful to say in the article, to only a few firms of solicitors.
I am happy to think that Mr Atkins is not guilty of any of the failings
listed in my article and that, e.g. his firm always makes clear (as the
Law Society requires) to each and every one of his clients (prisoners
or others) that their cases are to be dealt with (when it is so) not by
a solicitor, but by one of his acolytes, i.e. ‘non-qualified lawyers'
and that when any client wishes to be represented by Counsel, the
client's wishes are always complied with. In the case of a few firms,
that is sadly not the case and at times a client's best interests are
ignored. That is something which, I suggest, ought to be made public
in the interests of clients and of the generality of solicitors alike.
The newly elected President of the Law Society said that ethical
standards are of the highest importance to the profession. With
that I entirely agree and look to him to see that they are made well
known to all in the profession and enforced, when necessary, in the
interests both of all clients and the majority of solicitors.
Unqualified representatives
From: Flo Krause, Barrister, Meritz Chambers
Unqualified representatives cont...
From: Manchester Prison Law Practitioners Group
I first came across the name of Mark Leech sometime during 1988-89 when I was in Wakefield Prison. A fellow prisoner had painstakingly copied verbatim into a prison notebook in longhand, Mark Leech's article in the Left wing newspaper Fight Racism, Fight Imperialism. The article concerned advice how to sue the Prison Service in the County Court for damages for prisoners lost property. Although well written, the article failed to take into account that different rules applied to Category 'A' prisoners compared with those prisoners in categories 'B', 'C' and 'D'. Therefore, when I tried to implement Mark Leech's advice I came across an obstacle to gaining access to court. Namely, security. The Home Secretary refused to allow me access unless I paid for the security arrangements. In an attempt to surmount the obstacle I contacted a solicitor for advice, who gave me a Legal Aid Green Form to sign. As I did not get the advice which the taxpayers paid for, I contacted 5 more solicitors all to no avail, and they all collected their money and gave me nothing in return. Finally, I got hold of a solicitor called Humphrey Forrest, via a friend called Lucy Vulliamy, who worked at the Humberside Law Centre. He said, "forget about the Legal Aid Green Form". When I was outlining the case, he said, "I don't know anything about prison law, teach me". By admitting his ignorance of the subject, it dawned upon me that the previous 6 solicitors were also ignorant of the subject, however, they did not have the guts to admit this. I noted in Humphrey's Instructions to Counsel that he stated "Instructing Solicitor has relatively little knowledge of prison law, but he is fast learning it under Mr Hirst's expert tuition". The barrister, Tim Owen, went on to write a book with Stephen Livingstone called Prison Law - Text and Materials. In it he states: "Yet most lawyers, even those whose work in criminal practice frequently involves them in decisions about who should go to prison, know comparatively little about the law relating to prisons". That was back then. The situation has improved to a certain extent. Even so, some law firms are advertising to prisoners that they possess an expertise in prison law, when it is arguable that they still possess relatively little knowledge of the subject. The losers here are the prisoners, and the public who pay good money for a poor service.
Mark Leech believes he has come up with the solution, that is, he has devised an OK logo which he gives to solicitors to put on their letterheads and in adverts once they have passed his course to show that they are competent. This has caused uproar amongst those solicitors who believe that they are competent and have had no dealings with Mark Leech and do not possess his logo.
Like me Mark Leech is a former prisoner. He has convictions for being a con man. There is a saying in prison 'Once a con man, always a con man'. In any event, at the end of his article it was signed Mark Leech LLB (Hons). Mark Leech did not at that time and does not now possess a law degree let alone with honours! This is not to say that someone without a law degree cannot be an expert in prison law. I have not got a law degree, but I am still a recognised expert in the subject. Mark Leech set up what he calls the Institute of Prison Law, and offers what he calls a 10 month course in prison law. However, this amounts to 1 day per month for 10 months, in my book that makes it a 10 day course. Part of the course involves visiting 2 prisons for which the students pay for this privilege, a service which the Prison Service provides for free. Personally, I don't think that Mark Leech's word is good enough when it comes down to his recommendation that a solicitor is OK at prison law.
Short changing - Barrister Stanley Best advises prisoners not to be ‘caught off
guard’ when seeking legal representation
A contradiction in terms
STANLEY BEST - BARRISTER, BARNSTAPLE CHAMBERS
I have had two letters recently concerning my September issue article
Short Changing. One comes from a prisoner who, of course, cannot
be identified. The other comes from a solicitor, John Atkins of Atkins
Law, Exeter, enclosed, rather oddly you may think, in an envelope
with a rubber stamped injunction, ‘Rule 39 applies'!
The letter from the prisoner says of his former solicitor that ‘he (said)
to me you don't need a barrister at all, I do all my (own) hearings'.
The prisoner asks for help in finding another solicitor who, by necessary
implication, will instruct Counsel as he wished the original
solicitor to do.
By contrast, solicitor John Atkins, in a four page letter, is very indignant
and speaks of 'firms such as this' (meaning Atkins Law) moving ‘to
a highly professional model involving non-qualified lawyers …’ This
seems to me, however good the non-qualified staff are, to be a contradiction
in terms. You are either a member of the legal profession
or you are not. Mr Atkins also claims that the article is 'defamatory
of (his) and other firms'. This is complete nonsense. There was no
express or implied reference in my article to Atkins Law, nor was
any other firm identified.
Let me make abundantly clear that my article was not directed against
Mr Atkins or his firm, with whom I have had no dealings whatsoever
and of whose approach to his work and his clients I know nothing.
The examples given in my article are, however, based on fact, relating,
as I was careful to say in the article, to only a few firms of solicitors.
I am happy to think that Mr Atkins is not guilty of any of the failings
listed in my article and that, e.g. his firm always makes clear (as the
Law Society requires) to each and every one of his clients (prisoners
or others) that their cases are to be dealt with (when it is so) not by
a solicitor, but by one of his acolytes, i.e. ‘non-qualified lawyers'
and that when any client wishes to be represented by Counsel, the
client's wishes are always complied with. In the case of a few firms,
that is sadly not the case and at times a client's best interests are
ignored. That is something which, I suggest, ought to be made public
in the interests of clients and of the generality of solicitors alike.
The newly elected President of the Law Society said that ethical
standards are of the highest importance to the profession. With
that I entirely agree and look to him to see that they are made well
known to all in the profession and enforced, when necessary, in the
interests both of all clients and the majority of solicitors.
Unqualified representatives
From: Flo Krause, Barrister, Meritz Chambers
Unqualified representatives cont...
From: Manchester Prison Law Practitioners Group
3 into 1 doesn't go
3 into 1 doesn't go
Originally, I missed this story when I scanned my usual media haunts this morning but picked it up at Barnacle Bill's place.
At first glance, it appears that a Titan jail will be created out of 3 existing prisons. However, upon closer inspection, it emerges that what we have here is a Prison Service cost cutting exercise. We are assured that it will improve service. I suspect that pretty much in the same way that releasing the brake on a car parked on a hill will prevent it from rolling down the hill.
My understanding is that an Area Manager is already in charge of the 3 jails mentioned, so I cannot see the point of the merger for increasing effectiveness. What this proposal will do by having 1 prison governor in charge of 3 distinct prisons under 1 name is remove 2 prison governors and thereby save the money that would be paid to them in wages.
At a time when the Prison Service is in need of a bigger budget the government makes a decision to reduce the existing budget. I feel that this will be a false economy and will only lead to a disaster.
Originally, I missed this story when I scanned my usual media haunts this morning but picked it up at Barnacle Bill's place.
At first glance, it appears that a Titan jail will be created out of 3 existing prisons. However, upon closer inspection, it emerges that what we have here is a Prison Service cost cutting exercise. We are assured that it will improve service. I suspect that pretty much in the same way that releasing the brake on a car parked on a hill will prevent it from rolling down the hill.
My understanding is that an Area Manager is already in charge of the 3 jails mentioned, so I cannot see the point of the merger for increasing effectiveness. What this proposal will do by having 1 prison governor in charge of 3 distinct prisons under 1 name is remove 2 prison governors and thereby save the money that would be paid to them in wages.
At a time when the Prison Service is in need of a bigger budget the government makes a decision to reduce the existing budget. I feel that this will be a false economy and will only lead to a disaster.
Jack Straw fails to do his duty
Jack Straw fails to do his duty
Speaking at a special event on the future of human rights legislation, Mr Straw indicated the Government should do more to encourage people to vote.
Funny you should state that Jack, because if you drafted the Bill to legislate to allow convicted prisoners to vote they would not need any encouragement to vote they would simply cast their vote. It is pure hypocrisy to claim that people need encouragement to vote when in truth it is the government which is preventing them from exercising their human, legal and civil right.
You state that using the right to vote is an important duty of citizenship. If you did your duty, then convicted prisoners can do theirs.
Speaking at a special event on the future of human rights legislation, Mr Straw indicated the Government should do more to encourage people to vote.
Funny you should state that Jack, because if you drafted the Bill to legislate to allow convicted prisoners to vote they would not need any encouragement to vote they would simply cast their vote. It is pure hypocrisy to claim that people need encouragement to vote when in truth it is the government which is preventing them from exercising their human, legal and civil right.
You state that using the right to vote is an important duty of citizenship. If you did your duty, then convicted prisoners can do theirs.
Monday, January 21, 2008
US agents insured against 'terror' lawsuits
US agents insured against 'terror' lawsuits
By Tom Leonard in New York
Last Updated: 1:13am GMT 21/01/2008
Thousands of CIA, FBI and Secret Service agents are taking out insurance policies to cover them against the growing risk of being sued in the line of duty.
With the United States government's controversial post-September 11 crackdown producing a series of lawsuits and criminal prosecutions, those on the front line of the "war on terror" are finding themselves vulnerable.
Wright & Company, a Virginia-based law firm specialising in insuring such government employees, said its federal client list had grown from 17,000 to 32,000 since the 2001 attacks.
The firm, founded by a former FBI agent, said much of its new business was prompted by official investigations over the prisoner treatment at Guantanamo Bay, immigration crackdowns and other consequences of 9/11.
"The things that help us are any negative events related to the federal government, and there have been plenty," Bryan Lewis, Wright's chief executive, told The New York Times.
The government pays half the insurance premium for "high-risk" employees, including hundreds of CIA staff.
Comment: Are the vultures circling overhead? Bush's foreign policy has become a stinking corpse.
By Tom Leonard in New York
Last Updated: 1:13am GMT 21/01/2008
Thousands of CIA, FBI and Secret Service agents are taking out insurance policies to cover them against the growing risk of being sued in the line of duty.
With the United States government's controversial post-September 11 crackdown producing a series of lawsuits and criminal prosecutions, those on the front line of the "war on terror" are finding themselves vulnerable.
Wright & Company, a Virginia-based law firm specialising in insuring such government employees, said its federal client list had grown from 17,000 to 32,000 since the 2001 attacks.
The firm, founded by a former FBI agent, said much of its new business was prompted by official investigations over the prisoner treatment at Guantanamo Bay, immigration crackdowns and other consequences of 9/11.
"The things that help us are any negative events related to the federal government, and there have been plenty," Bryan Lewis, Wright's chief executive, told The New York Times.
The government pays half the insurance premium for "high-risk" employees, including hundreds of CIA staff.
Comment: Are the vultures circling overhead? Bush's foreign policy has become a stinking corpse.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The secret world of prison: Issue 1
The secret world of prison: Issue 1
This article raises the question whether the conduct of a member of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) was too independent for the liking of the Home Secretary and now the Minister of Justice? The whole purpose of the independent is to display conduct which is independent of the Prison Service to ensure fair monitoring. Mr Ray Bewry was only doing his duty. It is a disgraceful state of affairs that he has, in effect, been punished for this; and that a prisoner has suffered an abuse as a result. In my experience, too many so-called independent members are merely rubber stamps for the system. Finding a member who takes the word independent literally is a rarity. I would argue that there should be more former prisoners upon the IMB. They would be less likely to have the wool pulled over their eyes.
Prisoner F was entitled by law to know the gist of why he was transferred backwards in the system from a category C medium secure prison to a category B high security prison. I know because I took the case to establish the legal point after I was subjected to a retrograde transfer. If you don't know the reason then you are unable to challenge it to determine whether the reason can be justified. The same applied for decategorisation decisions.
When I was sentenced the decision to sentence me to life imprisonment was largely based upon a secret document prepared by the prosecution based upon a Detective Inspector's gut instinct that I was in reality a serial killer. There was no other bodies and no other evidence, that did not appear to count for anything. Therefore, I had two prison records. The one kept in the prison and another at the Home Office. There was nothing in the prison record to justify my Category A status. The secret document was contained in the record at Prison Service HQ. This cost me 10 years extra in prison. It has yet to be justified. It is dangerous to rely upon unsubstantiated information in a situation where the liberty of the subject is at stake. Time for the crime was set at 15 years, time for nothing turned this into 25 years. Even allowing for the index offence, this was a miscarriage of justice. At the very least, reasons should be explained in the prison record and the gist of it passed on to the prisoner.
If the security of the state is an issue then there should be a notification that the information is contained elsewhere, and how it may be accessed if certain conditions guaranteeing security are met.
Before the IMB it was called the Board of Visitors, and I appeared before them charged with assault upon an officer. One member was new and started questioning in the spirit of impartiality and this so incensed the chairman that she adjourned and when the hearing resumed there was only two members instead of the legal requirement for 3 members to sit upon disciplinary hearings. And, I have come across a couple of members over the years who acted independently and they were deemed to be troublemakers by the prison authorities. I have read a psychologist's report which stated that I was challenging legitimately, however, because prison officers had negative feelings about this, therefore I needed to attend a Thinking Skills course to address my behaviour. It was the conduct of the prison officers which needed addressing.
This article raises the question whether the conduct of a member of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) was too independent for the liking of the Home Secretary and now the Minister of Justice? The whole purpose of the independent is to display conduct which is independent of the Prison Service to ensure fair monitoring. Mr Ray Bewry was only doing his duty. It is a disgraceful state of affairs that he has, in effect, been punished for this; and that a prisoner has suffered an abuse as a result. In my experience, too many so-called independent members are merely rubber stamps for the system. Finding a member who takes the word independent literally is a rarity. I would argue that there should be more former prisoners upon the IMB. They would be less likely to have the wool pulled over their eyes.
Prisoner F was entitled by law to know the gist of why he was transferred backwards in the system from a category C medium secure prison to a category B high security prison. I know because I took the case to establish the legal point after I was subjected to a retrograde transfer. If you don't know the reason then you are unable to challenge it to determine whether the reason can be justified. The same applied for decategorisation decisions.
When I was sentenced the decision to sentence me to life imprisonment was largely based upon a secret document prepared by the prosecution based upon a Detective Inspector's gut instinct that I was in reality a serial killer. There was no other bodies and no other evidence, that did not appear to count for anything. Therefore, I had two prison records. The one kept in the prison and another at the Home Office. There was nothing in the prison record to justify my Category A status. The secret document was contained in the record at Prison Service HQ. This cost me 10 years extra in prison. It has yet to be justified. It is dangerous to rely upon unsubstantiated information in a situation where the liberty of the subject is at stake. Time for the crime was set at 15 years, time for nothing turned this into 25 years. Even allowing for the index offence, this was a miscarriage of justice. At the very least, reasons should be explained in the prison record and the gist of it passed on to the prisoner.
If the security of the state is an issue then there should be a notification that the information is contained elsewhere, and how it may be accessed if certain conditions guaranteeing security are met.
Before the IMB it was called the Board of Visitors, and I appeared before them charged with assault upon an officer. One member was new and started questioning in the spirit of impartiality and this so incensed the chairman that she adjourned and when the hearing resumed there was only two members instead of the legal requirement for 3 members to sit upon disciplinary hearings. And, I have come across a couple of members over the years who acted independently and they were deemed to be troublemakers by the prison authorities. I have read a psychologist's report which stated that I was challenging legitimately, however, because prison officers had negative feelings about this, therefore I needed to attend a Thinking Skills course to address my behaviour. It was the conduct of the prison officers which needed addressing.
Too ‘Independent’ for the Independent Monitoring Board?
Too ‘Independent’ for the Independent Monitoring Board?
Law change on undercover cons
A man who once spent time in prison and is now a member of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) at Norwich Prison, has forced the government to change the law – banning IMB members from having access to information, previously unknown to exist, which is
gathered by prisoners or staff who have been acting as under cover intelligence
gathering agents.
Ray Bewry, who once spent two months on remand at Durham jail before all charges against him were dismissed, has been on the Norwich Board for seven years. He is thought to be the only person with personal experience of being a prisoner ever to serve on an IMB.
In December 2006 Mr Bewry was investigating a complaint by a prisoner at Norwich jail (known only as Prisoner ‘F’) who wanted to know why he had been ‘ghosted’ from Highpoint prison to Norwich and why, on his arrival at Norwich, he had been recategorised from C to B without any explanation as to why he had been transferred or why he had been recategorised.
When Mr Bewry began to investigate Prisoner F’s complaint he was told by a governor at the prison that intelligence received from Interpol showed F had been convicted of a serious sexual offence in Germany. However, When Mr Bewry then went to check prisoner ‘F’s security file to confirm what he had been told he could find no evidence of any such information, from Interpol or anyone else, and in the absence of the prison providing any information to justify the Interpol claim Mr Bewry upheld the inmate’s complaint that he had been unfairly recategorised.
Following this Mr Bewry made repeated attempts to discover why prisoner F was being blocked from open conditions, but the prison placed restrictions on how Mr Bewry could access security information which says Mr Bewry prevented him from having sight of inmate security files or access to Security Information Reports (SIRs), not only in relation to prisoner F but in respect of all inmates at the jail.
Operating under the restrictions imposed by the prison Mr Bewry nonetheless managed to discover that prisoner F’s name appeared on a list of inmates who were believed to pose specific threats to females but he could not discover why that was.
Mr Bewry said, ‘The restrictions imposed on me by the governor effectively prevented me from investigating why F was placed on this security generated list of prisoners who apparently posed a ‘threat to females’ and which negated his move to open conditions – I knew something was not quite right and these restrictions were a disgraceful and unlawful attempt to prevent me from doing what is my clear duty as a member of the IMB – which is to investigate complaints – and I was not going to allow it to happen’.
IMB members are appointed by the Secretary of State to every prison and YOI in the country, their purpose to act as watchdogs of the public interest and ensure prisoners are treated properly and according to law. Mr Bewry sought to rely on Rule 79 of the Prison Rules 1999, which at the time stated that a member of the Board of Visitors – as IMB members were legally then known – were allowed access to all the ‘records’ of a prison.
However, when Mr Bewry tried to quote this rule as the basis for his legal authority to have unfettered access to Security Files and the SIRs, he was told he could not see them and was referred to as a ‘trouble-maker’.
‘There was a clear view held by some staff at the prison that just by exercising the legal rights which Parliament had given me to investigate the complaints of prisoners, and have access to all the records inside the prison as a part of that process, that I was not in some way ‘playing the game’. But I wasn’t there to play anyone’s game, to me the word ‘Independent’ in Independent Monitoring Board means exactly what it says, you hold the balance between the governor and the internal discipline and control of the prison on one hand, and the welfare of prisoners on the other.
‘Some staff at the prison called me a troublemaker, and I’m sure they hoped that if they prevented me from having access for long enough that I would just go away. I wasn’t about to do that – as a former prisoner I understand how important these things are”.
Eventually, after many complaints to the IMB Secretariat at the Home Office, the body which oversees the work of the 138 IM Boards around the country, Mr Bewry was finally told he could have access to the information he wanted.
‘They told me I could have access to all inmate Security Files and to all of the SIRs, but then added, perhaps by a fortuitous slip of the tongue, that while I could have access to these things I would not be allowed any access at all to what they called ‘CHIS’. To be honest I didn’t even know what ‘CHIS’ was, I’d certainly never heard of it before, but I was then, of course, absolutely determined to find out’.
CHIS (Covert Human Intelligence Source information) is intelligence information which is secretly gathered by either inmates or staff inside a prison to assist in the investigation of crime. It finds its legal focus in Part 2 the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). Section 26(8) of RIPA states that a person is a CHIS if they are authorised to establish and maintain a personal or other relationship with a person for the covert (secret) purpose of intelligence gathering. RIPA states a
relationship is based on CHIS ‘If, and only if, carried out in a manner calculated to ensure that persons subject to the surveillance are unaware it is taking place’.
According to RIPA, the CHIS information to which Mr Bewry was told he would not be allowed to have access, is that information which comes from ‘monitoring, observing, listening to persons, their movements, conversations, other activities or communications, recording anything monitored, observed or listened to in the course of surveillance, by or with the assistance of a surveillance device’.
‘I was absolutely astonished to discover that this was even going on. No other member of the IMB seemed to be aware that this CHIS intelligence gathering may have been happening inside the prison’, said Mr Bewry, adding, ‘but I still felt that if it was happening inside Norwich prison then the record of it amounted to a ‘record of the prison’ within Rule 79 of the Prison Rules and, as an IMB member I was by law allowed to have access to it’.
Mr Bewry requested access to any CHIS information inside the prison but this was categorically refused. ‘I sought legal advice and that advice was very clear – CHIS information held within the prison was a ‘record’ of the prison and Rule 79 meant that I could have access to it. So I launched a legal challenge to the Secretary of State’s refusal to permit such access’.
In October 2007, two weeks before Mr Bewry’s case was due to come to trial at the High Court in London, the Government changed the law. By way of a Statutory Instrument (Prison Amendment Rules 2007: SI: 2954) they changed Rule 79 of the Prison Rules 2000 with the following amendment – ‘A member of the [IMB] shall have access to the records of the prison, except that members of the board shall not have access to any records held for the purposes of or relating to conduct authorised in accordance with Part 2 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000’.
‘Its not been a wasted journey. At least we have obtained clarity of the powers which IMB Members possess,’ said Mr Bewry. ‘No longer can IMB Members be told they cannot see a Prisoner’s Security File or be prevented from having access to SIRs, and to that extent it has been very useful and has strengthened the IMB system’.
And what of Prisoner ‘F’, what became of his complaint? Mr Bewry explained. ‘Following an ongoing dispute with the IMB Secretariat with regard to my reappointment, I have been unable to carry out my duties as an IMB member at HMP Norwich since 31st December 2006. I have therefore been unable to complete my investigation into F’s complaint or report back to F.
‘On the basis of my investigations to date, I have serious concerns with regard to F’s treatment and care. I consider that far more could and should have been done for F by the Prison, the Probation Service, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman, the Parole Board and, last but not least, the Independent Monitoring Board.
‘I considered it my duty as a member of HMP Norwich IMB to whom F made his complaint to report these concerns to the Secretary of State and ask him to take the action he considers appropriate and, having done that, there is nothing more I can do’.
Almost a year after Mr Bewry was suspended, and almost six months after Parliamentary Under
Secretary of State, Gerry Sutcliffe, wrote a letter seen by ConVerse dated 5 June
2007 promising to send a ‘substantive reply in the next few weeks’, Mr Bewry is still suspended, still unable to return to his position on the IMB at Norwich prison, and still unable to complete the investigation he started for Prisoner F, over a year ago.
A Justice Ministry spokeswoman told ConVerse, ‘No decision has yet been made in respect of Mr Bewry’s reappointment’.
Mr Bewry will be telling his full story in an exclusive article for The Prisons Handbook 2008, which is published by Prisons.Org.UK Ltd, next month.
IMB: IS THE SYSTEM IN NEED OF REFORM?
There have been IMBs in our prisons, under one title or another, since the Prisons Act 1898 when they were created for local prisons, convict prisons already had Visiting Committees who were appointed by Magistrates at the local Quarter Sessions; when the Courts Act 1971 abolished Quarter Sessions, IMBs were created for all prisons.
Until a decade ago IMBs had substantial disciplinary powers and they were not afraid to wield those powers in disciplinary adjudications - after the Hull Riot in 1976, an event which gave rise to judicial intervention in the adjudication system for the first time with case of Ex.parte St Germain. the Hull IMB toured the country and sitting without a qualified clerk and with prisoners not having any legal representation they ordered that over 90 years worth of additional days (or lost remission as it was called then) should be added to prisoners’ sentences.
However following this, and sustained criticism from the High Court in a whole range of other disciplinary hearings where their decisions were quashed by the courts for unfairness, they were stripped of their disciplinary powers completely. Today IMBs have only a pastoral function with no disciplinary powers at all, and even their powers to renew segregation orders have been removed.
While members of the IMB are selected from the local community which surrounds the prison on whose Board they serve, they are not selected by that community and nor are they answerable to it; selection is by and their answerability is to the Secretary of State.
Ready salted and cheese flavoured...
Ready salted and cheese flavoured...
In mid 1971, I was 20 years of age (but looked 14), and had been transferred from Armley Prison in Leeds to Walton Prison in Liverpool enroute to Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire. That Leeds to Wakefield is only 10-15 miles, it was strange that the Prison Service goes via Liverpool. In any event, for me it was a case of bums to the wall. I had long wavy hair just like one of the 3 Muskateers (I didn't say musky queers). One day I was approached by a young lifer who said he wished to speak to me in confidence. I was expecting him to proposition me, as I knew he was a bit that way inclined. The Great Yorkshire Understatement. When he got to his cell he asked me if I would put my hand up his arsehole. He wished to retrieve about 12 inches of brush handle which had got stuck up there after it had been sucked in after it had broken off from the remainder. I was trying not to laugh at his plight. The problem is that when a brush handle snaps, it produces a pointy weapon which some prisoners use as a wooden knife to stab another prisoner. In this case, it had turned sideways inside and was protruding under the skin as though he was about to give birth to an Alien. I told him I didn't think I could do anything to assist him and he should go along to the prison hospital to get it removed. This is when I first learnt about the Black Museum kept at Walton Prison. It contains, amongst other things, objects removed from inmates rear ends. I tell you this because I was reminded of this bizarre incident when I read the following letter and the reference to empty crisp packets. Beyond the humour it raises a serious issue.
MICHAEL QUINN - OUT-SIDE-IN
In 1999, a High Court judge upheld a case allowing access
for gay inmates to condoms so as to prevent the spread or contraction of transmittable diseases. Almost eight years down
the road we are now facing the same type of ignorance and
bigotry from prison management and staff.
We have recently been contacted by inmates stating that
although they are in consensual relationships whilst ‘inside’,
on approaching medical teams for condoms they are being
refused on instructions of management. This is in clear violation
of Mr Justice Latham’s court decision. We have contacted the
prison management involved only to be ignored. We have also
contacted the various Home Office and prison ministers, similarly
to be ignored.
We have in our possession horror letters from inmates who have
resorted to using empty crisp packets, cling film or nothing at
all. This is totally unacceptable and flies in the face of every
safe sex instruction available, therefore I write to Inside Time
to ask for help in clarifying the current situation.
Matthew Lees, Offender Health, Department of
Health, writes:
Above all other considerations, prisons must maintain good
order and discipline for people in custody. They should not
therefore take any action that can be interpreted as encouraging
overt sexual behaviour by prisoners.
However the Prison Service recognises that sex in prisons is a
reality, which carries with it a public health dimension. Prison
doctors therefore have authority to prescribe condoms if, in
their clinical judgement, there is a risk of HIV infection or
transmission of any other sexually transmitted illness.
Richard Bradshaw, the Director of Prison Health in the
Department of Health, issued a Clinical Guidance Note in July
2006 which sets out the policy very clearly in order to ensure
that good clinical practice on issuing condoms is in place in all
establishments.
The letter leaves governors free to devise their own protocols.
It may be appropriate to attach conditions for the issue of
condoms in certain cases; the overriding principle must be the protection of the health of prisoners.
In mid 1971, I was 20 years of age (but looked 14), and had been transferred from Armley Prison in Leeds to Walton Prison in Liverpool enroute to Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire. That Leeds to Wakefield is only 10-15 miles, it was strange that the Prison Service goes via Liverpool. In any event, for me it was a case of bums to the wall. I had long wavy hair just like one of the 3 Muskateers (I didn't say musky queers). One day I was approached by a young lifer who said he wished to speak to me in confidence. I was expecting him to proposition me, as I knew he was a bit that way inclined. The Great Yorkshire Understatement. When he got to his cell he asked me if I would put my hand up his arsehole. He wished to retrieve about 12 inches of brush handle which had got stuck up there after it had been sucked in after it had broken off from the remainder. I was trying not to laugh at his plight. The problem is that when a brush handle snaps, it produces a pointy weapon which some prisoners use as a wooden knife to stab another prisoner. In this case, it had turned sideways inside and was protruding under the skin as though he was about to give birth to an Alien. I told him I didn't think I could do anything to assist him and he should go along to the prison hospital to get it removed. This is when I first learnt about the Black Museum kept at Walton Prison. It contains, amongst other things, objects removed from inmates rear ends. I tell you this because I was reminded of this bizarre incident when I read the following letter and the reference to empty crisp packets. Beyond the humour it raises a serious issue.
MICHAEL QUINN - OUT-SIDE-IN
In 1999, a High Court judge upheld a case allowing access
for gay inmates to condoms so as to prevent the spread or contraction of transmittable diseases. Almost eight years down
the road we are now facing the same type of ignorance and
bigotry from prison management and staff.
We have recently been contacted by inmates stating that
although they are in consensual relationships whilst ‘inside’,
on approaching medical teams for condoms they are being
refused on instructions of management. This is in clear violation
of Mr Justice Latham’s court decision. We have contacted the
prison management involved only to be ignored. We have also
contacted the various Home Office and prison ministers, similarly
to be ignored.
We have in our possession horror letters from inmates who have
resorted to using empty crisp packets, cling film or nothing at
all. This is totally unacceptable and flies in the face of every
safe sex instruction available, therefore I write to Inside Time
to ask for help in clarifying the current situation.
Matthew Lees, Offender Health, Department of
Health, writes:
Above all other considerations, prisons must maintain good
order and discipline for people in custody. They should not
therefore take any action that can be interpreted as encouraging
overt sexual behaviour by prisoners.
However the Prison Service recognises that sex in prisons is a
reality, which carries with it a public health dimension. Prison
doctors therefore have authority to prescribe condoms if, in
their clinical judgement, there is a risk of HIV infection or
transmission of any other sexually transmitted illness.
Richard Bradshaw, the Director of Prison Health in the
Department of Health, issued a Clinical Guidance Note in July
2006 which sets out the policy very clearly in order to ensure
that good clinical practice on issuing condoms is in place in all
establishments.
The letter leaves governors free to devise their own protocols.
It may be appropriate to attach conditions for the issue of
condoms in certain cases; the overriding principle must be the protection of the health of prisoners.
Madeleine: The Missing Link
Madeleine: The Missing Link
Metodo 3 the private detective agency employed by the McCanns have released an artist's impression of a suspect that they claim may have abducted Madeleine McCann.
Anthropologists are excited about this discovery as the leaving no stone age man unturned...
Metodo 3 the private detective agency employed by the McCanns have released an artist's impression of a suspect that they claim may have abducted Madeleine McCann.
Anthropologists are excited about this discovery as the leaving no stone age man unturned...
