The changing face of probation

The changing face of probation

By: Charles Hanson

Lifer Charles Hanson challenges an assertion in his prison file that he has an unrealistic expectation of the criminal justice system, and considers that flexibility and discretion has given way to the language of compliance and rigidity.

Following an interview with a probation officer several months ago, I studied the report which followed with some interest and filed it for future reference. There it remained until now, as I study it more closely in readiness for the next interview, which is now imminent, to enable me to measure any discrepancy or ambiguity.

With the changing face of probation work, and its move away from social work and social inclusion to one of public protection, enforcement, coercion, the notion of `tough cure' with offending behaviour programmes and the probation service's rigid reliance on implementing punishment, it seems to me to make sense to monitor my own progress as seen through the eyes of probation staff and of course any risks which they perceive to be apparent.

As a regular contributor to Inside Time and elsewhere, I was therefore taken aback to note a reference in the report to my allegedly having ‘concrete and rigid thinking’ followed by a comment that ‘it appears to me from general observation that Mr Hanson is someone who holds an unrealistic expectation of the criminal justice system even in everyday matters'. It appears this has its origins in an article I wrote for Inside Time in June 2005 entitled ‘Inconsistency’, which has duly been inserted into my prison file.

Have I therefore hit a sore point, for I readily acknowledge that I do have expectations of the criminal justice system and far from being unrealistic, they are expectations shared not only by offenders and other contributors to Inside Time like myself but also by politicians and academics. Indeed by those probation officers who still hold dear the traditional practice of probation work.

Certainly I do not expect prisons to be revolving doors of waste management, or for them to exist solely for the purpose of recycling offenders that they should become professional prisoners; neither do I expect the criminal justice system to imprison people on the basis of not what they have done but what they might do.

I have an expectation that the criminal justice system will one day find ways of diverting women low risk offenders, who are the majority of female offenders, and also mothers in prison, away from what has become human warehouses and dustbins with no apparent value in the reduction of their offending behaviour and certainly not in the treatment of mental illness, which is evident in many female and indeed male offenders.

I also have an expectation that prisoners should not become the victims of such a low level of lack of duty of care that they kill themselves; some 750 since 1997.

Perhaps I should have an expectation that prison does not become an interlude in an offender's lifestyle, an interruption in his criminal career, and that the function of all prisons should be resettlement and a reduction in one's offending behaviour.

In this area, prison has a poor record for reducing offending behaviour – 65 per cent of adult prisoners are reconvicted within two years of being released from prison - for young men (18-20) it is 75 per cent. In 1992 the reoffending rate was 50 per cent for all offenders.

There are many expectations which I share with other offenders and it would be difficult to know where to start, however one expectation might be that probation officers should be seen to be supportive of all that which would further the end of a reduction in offending behaviour through rehabilitation, resettlement and reintegration, and less critical of those who demand it and disapprove of current practices.

Perhaps if I am more certain about what to expect and will rely on factual evidence to support my case objectively, some members of the probation service seem less confident and rely on subjective and emotive language, indeed guesswork, speculation, value judgement and, who knows, even resentment at what I have written and where I stand? An opinion, I am told, is merely that - an opinion, but for it to have any merit or currency it is usual to support it with evidence and since when, I ask myself, can prisoners have a valid and acceptable opinion without it being misinterpreted or considered to be in conflict with the aims of those interested in the pursuance in the reduction of offending behaviour, rehabilitation and reintegration? In any event, freedom of expression should be very much part of what we ought to expect in a democratic society and is clearly enshrined in the 1998 Human Rights Act (Article 10) which states that this right shall include the freedom to hold opinion and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority; and how does the Act define a public authority?

A public authority is any person whose functions are of a public nature, and without doubt the probation service meets that criteria. Is my right to express views therefore being interfered with? I would argue that if I am to be criticised for holding views which a probation officer finds unacceptable, and reference is made to those views in a report in a critical manner which might have the capacity of casting doubt on my suitability for release, then yes, that might amount to interference with freedom of expression.

Of course, facts are discernible and less open to challenge than an opinion on which the probation service relies, which is seemingly so bound up in risk assessments and in particular the OASys box-ticking exercise by a probation officer who will often have had little or no direct experience with the offender and which to date has lacked any evaluation of their predictive powers; even though it is being used daily to justify indefinite incarceration. Indeed, so unscientific and inexact is OASys that risk inflation leading to increased periods of custody is commonplace by the simple tick of a box which might have no relevance to the offender.

With most offenders released from prison on licence, there is also the worrying trend of an increase in the number of offenders being recalled to prison by probation officers for apparent breaches of their licence. Between 2000 and 2005, there was a 250 per cent increase in recalls despite the fact that there had been only a 15 per cent increase in the number of ex-prisoners being released on licence. Recalled prisoners now make up nearly 11 per cent of the population of local prisons.

Between April and June 2005, some 2,100 people were recalled to prison for breaches of their licence, the majority for being out of touch with their probation officer or breaking their residency condition. Less than a quarter were recalled to prison to face further criminal charges. For lifers the figures are just as bleak, with 26 recalls for the years 20002001 and 140 for the years 2005-2006.

They are not impressive figures yet they are wholly consistent with a country that imprisons far more people than any country in Europe, and for longer terms, and is obsessed with imprisoning women and children. It also imprisons far more under 18s than any other European country, which I suspect has less to do with innate criminality and more with a vindictive judicial system.

Certainly, even the shortest of sentences is enough to wreck a marriage, a family, a career and a life, and provide the recipe for further offending which seems to demonstrate that the managerialism and bureaucracy of probation work and administrative recall is wholly unconcerned with re-offending.

The flexibility and discretion once allowed to probation officers in their dealings with ex-offenders on licence has now given way to the language of compliance and the national standards laid down by the National Probation Directorate, which compels probation officers to be more rigid in the non-compliance of conditions of parole licences. Being rigid of course means further custody for the offender, which makes it difficult to make sense of its compatibility with rehabilitation.

Probation's greatest strength in years gone by was the belief that they could make a difference with the help they could give with an offender's employment, family, relationships and the community, and an empowerment of that person which is at odds and incompatible with current practice that has signed up with the rest of the oppressive and failing penal system with mixed and ambiguous values and all steered by public, media and political responses to crime, which the probation service seem only too keen to ride with.

Yes, I do have expectations which might be interpreted as concrete and rigid thinking but I also acknowledge that I too have responsibilities, and if my opinions are at odds with a probation officer's ideology it is there because they have been shaped by the prison experience. Clearly, it would be advantageous if all parole review interviews by probation staff could be recorded to reduce the risk of misinterpretation, ambiguity, misquoting and unsubstantiated claims, and in other cases inventiveness, speculation and guesswork. This would have the capacity of protecting both the interviewer and interviewee and prevent offenders from becoming embroiled in disputes over the content of reports.

Certainly, the police record interviews with suspects when investigating crime and it seems reasonable to argue that if the taped interview is part of the evidence against that suspect, and the outcome is a sentence of imprisonment, that when release is being considered a similar measure ought to be in place to accurately record what was said and by whom in interviews between probation staff and offenders. After all, if it is an acceptable part of evidence gathering in the early stages which might put the suspect away in some cases for many years, it ought to be acceptable for the same to apply when he or she is seeking to be released, and perhaps even more so as probation officers take on a semi-prosecutorial role with public protection, enforcement and compliance being the main vocabulary of their everyday language.

As far back as 2002, the Prison Service recognised that prisoners are all too often on unequal terms with the prosecuting authorities and courts when preparing appeals and legal applications which demand typed and printed documents, and introduced a Prison Service Order permitting the use of personal computers for the purpose of legal work. I believe that it should go one step further and allow for tape recorded interviews between offenders and probation staff, especially so where crucial reports which might mean the difference between custody and freedom, and for the benefit of solicitors, who all too often find themselves challenging the contents of reports.

In the final analysis, I would simply state what De Tocqueville once remarked in that ‘a nation's prisons were the best test of its advance down the road of civilisation’. To that I would also add so is the treatment of and justice for those within them.

Charles Hanson is currently resident in HMP Blantyre House.

Newspaper for Prisoners to be launched in Australia

Newspaper for Prisoners to be launched in Australia

By: Eric McGraw

In Australia, prisoners have lost the vote – a right established in 1902 for a limited number of prisoners. By 1938, voting rights were expanded to include prisoners sentenced to less then 5 years and in 1995 legislation was passed which gave thousands of additional prisoners the right to vote and portable voting booths had to be placed in prisons across the country.

This small gain for prisoner’s rights was unfortunately short lived. In 2004, legislation was changed so that only those imprisoned for less than three years had a right to vote. Although this was a major step backwards it was nothing compared to what was to come next; in June 2006, legislative changes officially banned all convicted prisoners from voting.

Eric Abetz, the government minister responsible, told the media….’if you are not fit to walk the streets…then chances are you’re not a fit and proper person to cast a vote in relation to the future of your country’. Prisoners are of course more likely to vote Labour then Liberal - which means that John Howard’s ‘Liberal’ government has stopped all prisoners from casting their votes.

It is ironic that prisoners in Australia lost their voting rights at roughly the same time as the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the UK voting ban on convicted prisoners was a breach of their human rights.

Brett Collins, the director of Justice Action in Sydney, told Inside Time: ‘prisoners should be supervised and managed with an emphasis on their continuing part in the community not their exclusion from it…. We are currently gathering material to confront the Australian government in the coming months.’

Inspired by Inside Time, Justice Action launched a tabloid newspaper called JUST US - A VOICE FOR PRISONERS which will go to its third edition shortly. They had circulated 47 editions of their earlier prisoner publication “Framed” over 15 years until it was banned, and ran a constitutional court challenge to force an election special into the prisons. Lawyers are poised to defend the right of Australian prisoners to receive the latest edition of JUST US. It will, they say, be the only arena left in which prisoners can express themselves.

Russia declares its dissidents are mad...yet again

You are mad if you dare to criticise the Kremlim, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. This had me reaching for my bookshelves where I have a copy of Soviet Psychoprisons by Harvey Fireside published in 1979, in which it tells about those dissidents who were declared mad by the Soviet regime in the early and mid 1970s for daring to speak out about the regime.

It is disturbing that 30 years on, under the so-called democracy of President Putin, Russia has seen the need to return to the methods used by Nikita Khrushchev in the Soviet Union.

Madeleine: The McCanns leave stones unturned

You're a British middle class, professional, couple in your late 30s, on holiday abroad with your 3 year old daughter, and 2 year old twins, at the Mark Warner resort in Praia da Luz in Portugal. You're holidaying with a group of friends. You all decide to have an adults only evening, drinking and eating and engaging in a quiz in a Tapas Bar. Mark Warner offers a creche facility where you can leave your children in a safe environment up to 11.30pm, whilst you enjoy yourselves. But, you choose not to use this facility. Mark Warner offers you a baby monitor instead, but you choose not to use this either. Another alternative is a private baby sitting service offered at 10 Euros (approx £7) per hour, again this is not used. Instead, it is claimed, that you decide with your friends that you will all, at regular intervals, take it in turns to go and check upon the children yourselves. Given the options available, this would appear to be the least safe option. And, yet, Kate McCann has said, if she for one minute thought it was not safe to leave the children home alone she wouldn't have done it. And, Gerry McCann has said, that they left the patio doors unlocked in case of fire, and to enable entry to the apartment for those checking up on the children. To be aware of fire danger is surely one reason not to leave the children alone?

I don't know what the law is in Portugal about leaving young children unattended by adults. Certainly, in the UK, it is illegal to neglect and or abandon young children for between 2-3 hours.

The Portugese police are saying that they believe Madeleine to be dead. The McCanns are saying that Madeleine has been abducted, and they have a find Madeleine fund which has managed to get almost a £1M in donations. This fund is dependent upon Madeleine still being missing, who would continue to donate if the McCanns stated that they believed that Madeleine was dead?

The McCanns are aware that under Portugese law they cannot talk about specifics because of the police investigation. So, they dodge awkward questions why they left their children in the first place. And, why there is inconsistencies in their groups accounts about who checked up on who and at what times, and who claimed to see what at what times does not appear to hold up to scrutiny. Kate McCann accepts that staying in Portugal appears to be illogical, and yet the McCanns intend to stay there in spite of growing unfriendliness amongst the locals. They want an end to the circus. If the McCanns returned to the UK, they would be free to answer questions and not be bound by Portugese law. It is doubtful that the police and social services would see the McCanns as responsible parents as the McCanns appear to think they are.

The threat of terrorism from the law and order brigade

I can understand that the British Airport Authority (BAA) does not want its passengers and flights at Heathrow Airport being disrupted by climate change protesters. However, it's initial injunction to stop protesters at the High Court was too widely drafted and would have affected Uncle Tom Cobbly and all. The High Court granted an injunction which only affects Plane Stupid and those who engage with the organisation in any unlawful activity during any protest into climate change.

What is disturbing is that the police have been told to abuse their powers and use anti-terrorist legislation against peaceful climate change protesters who they know perfectly well have got nothing whatsoever to do with suspected terrorists.

I am reminded of this quote from Foulkes Administrative Law: "There is a need for public power and its efficient exercise: there is a need for protection against abuse of power".

The threat to democracy here is not terrorists, nor is it climate change protesters. The treat to democracy comes from the forces of law and order. Unless their powers are curbed, I can see anti-terrorist legislation soon being used against people who drop litter or people who allow their dogs to foul the pavement.

Is this prison reform?

TFI Friday, party time. What a Thriller...



Hat-Tip to Mousethinks for the video.

Lord Nelson of Trafalgar Square, betchewhedidn'tbuyhispeerage...

Whichendbites has done this very amusing post If Nelson was alive today.

Prisoner wins Death Row appeal

A British prisoner who has spent 20 years on Death Row in the US has had his death sentence overturned today by the Sixth Circuit federal court of appeal in Cincinnati, according to Amnesty International. Ken Ritchie, a former marine, may be released soon if the State of Ohio decides not to retry his case within 90 days.

Captain Britain to be the next Tory Leader?

I wouldn't normally link to Dizzy Thinks, however, he does have an exclusive which might just solve the Tory Party woes about who their next leader ought to be...Captain Britain!

Hat-Tip to Norfolk Blogger.

Madeleine 100 days: I won't forget about you nor what your parents did

I cannot believe that I am reading this. "Madeleine McCann's parents have called on police to tell them about evidence that reportedly contradicts the belief that their daughter was abducted". What arrogance! The McCanns are well aware that "Under Portuguese law, police are not allowed to speak publicly about the details of an investigation". So, why are they appealing to the BBC in an attempt to get the Portugese police to break their own National law? Furthermore, even if this was not the case, it is a bit rich coming from suspects demanding that the police give them details of their investigations into their own wrongdoing. It is misplaced that the McCanns demand that the police present evidence to them which contradicts their belief that Madeleine was abducted. For one thing, the McCanns are not in charge of the police investigation, the police are. For another, the police have checked the McCanns belief that Madeleine was abducted and have rejected this belief on the grounds that the police have evidence to the contrary. There was no evidence of the break-in which the McCanns claimed took place, and the Mark Warner staff also checked for signs of a break-in and they could not find any evidence either. Perhaps, there is evidence that the McCanns are in denial?

From the outset, the McCanns have not played their cards straight. And, they have the cheek to claim that the police are not putting all their cards on the table. Gerry McCann states: "I had a fairly strong belief that there was a lack of evidence, certainly initially, that there was no evidence of serious harm and I do not know of any specific evidence now that alters that.

"I think, as parents, if there is evidence then we need to know about it."

The couple have met detectives twice this week but are understood to be frustrated by a lack of clear information.

It is obvious that the McCanns are prime suspects. If and when the police are ready to arrest and charge the McCanns, then they will find out the case they have to answer.

"When Madeleine first went missing, reaction to the fact that her parents were not in the apartment that night was muted. It was perhaps felt that it would be in bad taste to criticise parents at such an awful time". However, as this article shows, criticisms are valid because the McCanns were not able to keep an eye on their children in the apartment from the Tapas Bar. Therefore, it is pure nonsense to read this: "For us it just felt like we were dining in the garden," said Gerry. A holiday resort in Portugal open to all and sundry, and Gerry McCann likened it to his private garden in Leicestershire where it only measures a few yards?

"There has been criticism in some quarters that the couple's media campaign has been too slick, but the McCanns point out that less than £70,000 has been spent so far on staff, accommodation, transport and communications. McGuinness is being paid. So too are two others fielding thousands of media calls in the UK".

The McCanns latest gimmick is linking up with "Google, YouTube and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) in the US to set up what they believe will become a global central database of missing children". If the McCanns were in the clear it would be laudable that they are getting involved in trying to find missing children. The YouTube site is called don'tyouforgetaboutme. I cannot forget, at least, how negligent the McCanns were in the disappearance of Madeleine. But, all this setting up a business appears as though they are exploiting the missing Madeleine.

Kate McCann has made another nonsense statement: "This speculation and the actions of the Portuguese press has been hurtful, intrusive and disrespectful to our other two children. The press here have badly overstepped any reasonable line". I don't think that the two year old twins feel that at all. It's a cover to try and hide behind the 2 year olds. What is really needed is for Gerry and Kate McCann to come out into the open and start being truthful about what they really know about the disappearance of Madeleine.

Mother guilty of the brutal murder of her 4 year old daughter.

Iain Dale caught out telling another whopper

Iain Dale's Diary claims that his blog is rated thus:



However, sfie commented on Dale's blog: " when i just did a check on your blog it now comes up 'restricted'!". So, I tested it myself and lo and behold Iain Dale comes up restricted. It's a pity that is not restricted to telling the truth...

August 10, 2007 10:35 AM

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Mingle² - Indianapolis Singles

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Don't do as I do, do as I say...

Susan Ryan a Humberside Probation Officer who ran rehabilitation courses for drink drivers, has been sentenced to a 12 month supervision order after twice being caught drunk at the wheel. She now has to undertake a drink driving rehabilitation course.

Where next for the McCanns after this PR disaster?

Gerry and Kate McCann were advised by their new PR man not to exclude the Portugese media from their next media circus performance. However, they decided not to take that advice and only performed in front of Sky News, BBC News and ITV News. Their tour of Portugal was called off because of the growing hostility towards them in Portugal, people in the street have been calling them murderers, and the Portugese media has been attacking them, and now Robert Murat's lawyer has attacked the McCanns.

What normally happens when someone overstays their welcome they take their leave. The host country is saying enough is enough, but it appears as though the McCanns are not listening. Gerry McCann who normally updates his website every day, has not been able to write anything positive for two days. Perhaps, tomorrow, he will write and tell us how well the media interviews went with Sky, BBC and ITV? In any event, I feel that it is a PR disaster to exclude the media of the host country. If the McCanns don't fancy returning to Britain, and they have outstayed their welcome in Portugal, I wonder where they will go next?

How not to track criminals but waste taxpayers money

First there was the NHS computer fiasco, and now we have the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) computer fiasco. Naturally, the estimated cost has gone up from £234M to £950M. Amazingly, "The system has been tested in three Isle of Wight prisons at a cost of £69M", and if the system has to be scaled down, it will cost a further £50M penalty if NOMS has to breach its contract.

Tracking criminals is a failure, wasting taxpayers money is a success.

China wins Olympic Gold Medal for Human Rights abuse

I used to get between 6-8 visits a day from China on my blog until the Chinese authorities took exception to this and banned me via The Great Firewall of China. Therefore, I have great pleasure in embarrassing them in the countdown to the Beijing Olympics. The Chinese authorities arrested 8 Free Tibet activists, 6 of whom had unfurled a banner on The Great Wall of China, before releasing and deporting them.

Baa baa blacksheep pulls the wool over the eyes of a jury

I feel that this jury should be lined up against a wall and shot. Surely, this case demands that the CPS lodges an appeal? The detective (or should that be defective?), decided to overtake 4 cars on a bend just because he wanted to, doing over 80mph on a stretch of road where the legal limit is 60mph, causes a head on crash which killed the other driver, and the "jury rejected a more serious charge of causing death by dangerous driving". Unbloodybelieveable that he was only convicted of driving without due care and attention, and banned from driving for a year and has to pay a £2,000 fine. What is even worse, the sheep-shagging constabulary, Dyfed-Powys Police, intend to allow the defective to return to driving duties! The man should be sacked!

Daily Mail names suspects in Madeleine's disappearance

Rachael Oldfield and Fiona Payne who were with the McCanns in Portugal

Does the Daily Mail know something that we don't? The file name for the above photo states that they are suspects: http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/08_01/suspectsES_468x604.jpg

Hat-Tip: ElmerQGooseburger

UPDATE: The BBC reports
Kate McCann 'coping with guilt'

The face of Kate McCann, mother of missing four-year-old Madeleine, stares from the front of the Daily Mirror.

The paper describes her appearance as "tormented", although its headline says she is "coping with the guilt".

But the focus of other papers is on the recent surge of speculation about the search for her daughter.

The Times says friends of the parents fear they are "being set up" by the Portuguese police. The Independent sums up recent coverage as "lurid claims".

News and blog round up

Two prisoners have been arrested in connection with the murder of Jesse James.

BAE claims that its corruption is ethical.

Nazi tactics in Germany has led to journalists facing being prosecuted for reporting that the government was involved in US CIA flights of rendition.

Tories seek a European-wide boycott of the Beijing Olympics on the grounds of China's poor human rights record.

Mousethinks is a rising blogger.

Maneatingeatingcheesesandwich chokes on his possible fate owing to privatisation.

Police have evidence Madeleine was murdered - it is claimed

One of the Tapas Bar 9 has spoken out for the first time, breaking the Gerry McCann "omerta" the Mafia code of silence, to complain about alleged police leaks and the "smear" campaign in the Portugese media, "which has labelled them as suspects in the disappearance of" Madeleine McCann. The weakness in the Tapas Bar 9s "Madeleine was abducted" claim, is the narrow window of opportunity offered to anyone who may have been watching their movements, given their claim that they regularly checked upon the children.

"According to police statements leaked to Spanish magazine, Sol, Mr McCann checked the children at 9.05pm.

His friend Jane Tanner said that ten minutes after he returned to the table, it was her turn to check the rooms.

A few minutes later Dr Oldfield checked, entering the room and seeing the McCann children asleep.

An aerobics teacher from the resort who joined the table at 9.30pm said there was a vacant seat.

It was at 10pm that Mrs McCann discovered Madeleine had disappeared, and the twins remained sound asleep".

It would appear that they were up and down like Yo-Yos. Surely, all these interruptions would have spoiled a good evening out? What is strange is that non of the group made use of "Mark Warner offers families a baby-sitting service where they can drop off their children for the night.

“Those facilities were available but for whatever reason they were not being used,”. In the recent radio interview on Woman's Hour on Radio 4, Kate McCann said that she thought the children were safe. Surely, they would have been safer had they used the baby-sitting facilities? She did not answer the question why they did not use these services, instead she said that hundreds of people had told her that they would have done the same, that is, leave their young children unattended for a lengthy period. Between the McCanns apartment and the Tapas Bar is a swimming pool, I would not have thought that it was safe to risk the children being unattended.

UPDATE: Portugese want these bloody McCanns to leave Portugal because they are given the place a bad name. As a result, the McCanns have abandoned their latest publicity stunt intending to tour Portugal this weekend.

Hat-tip to zinzin.

McCanns from this morning have stopped using the kids day centre at the Ocean Club in the Mark Warner complex.

Madeleine parents 'should leave Portugal'

McCanns plan more publicity stunts

The Gerry and Kate McCann show intend to mark the one hundredth day of Madeleine's disappearance, this Saturday, with a series of events, starting with a collective media interview this Friday, according to the McCanns PR agent David Hughes. For series of events, this may be translated to read publicity stunts. It would appear that the British government has withdrawn its public relations officer from assisting the McCanns any further. The problem with PR is that it is designed to put a spin on things. However, you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. I suspect that the McCanns are now facing an uphill struggle to maintain credibility in the eyes of the public and the media.

The British media has been a lot slower than the Portugese and German media in criticising the McCanns. It would appear that the McCanns have been advised not to exclude the Portugese media from the forthcoming media event, even though the McCanns have criticised the Portugese media for its relentless refusal to go along with McCann message which has been swallowed by the British media for too long.

Astro has once again translated from the Portugese newspaper Sol on line.

Binge drinking Fat cats

The government is set to tighten up the law after several Fat cats have been discovered binge drinking...

Oxford University guilty of being old fashioned

I reported here that Oxford University accused students of unacceptable conduct. It has just emerged that Oxford University's own conduct has been deemed to be unacceptable.

Sex for fuel

I thought I had heard everything until I came across this report of a man selling a woman to lorry drivers for fuel.

I cannot understand why the judge did not impose a discretionary life sentence given that he was in a position to do so as rape carries a maximum sentence of life. Instead he chose to pass the discredited Indeterminate Public Protection sentence (IPPs) with a tariff that he serve a minimum of 5 years.

Leave no stone unturned

Gerry and Kate McCann have extended their week's holiday in Portugal into a 3 months compassionate leave from their jobs. I don't know if this is paid or unpaid compassionate leave. Personally, I feel no compassion towards the couple. It is not that I am devoid of feelings. Yesterday, when the media attention took a different twist and intensified, and the focus was upon traces of blood found and Madeleine's possible death in the apartment. Gerry McCann recorded in his diary on his website "Kate and I managed an early morning run today. It was pleasantly cooler, with a refreshing breeze, which made a nice change...I spent a couple of hours this afternoon working on forthcoming events but did manage to squeeze in a much-needed haircut!".

Given that the resort offered in room babysitting service, I cannot help wondering why the McCanns did not make use of this facility? Gerry McCann specifically chose this place because of its family friendly facilities. Being responsible parents, and a professional couple, it makes sense to be on the safe side and ensure that such young children would not be left alone for several hours. It was an error of judgment to neglect the children for the sake of some drinks and a meal in a tapas bar.

By his own admission, Gerry McCann has stated that he was the last person to see Madeleine alive. It is quite understandable that the police would view him as a prime suspect. And yet, the McCanns are claiming that they are upset that the finger of suspicion is pointing towards them. They have lied to the media, and refused to answer pertinent questions claiming that to do so would damage the police investigation. It was the McCanns who came up with the "leave no stone unturned" in the search for Madeleine.

We may never find Madeleine. We ought to find out what happened to her and who was responsible for her disappearance.

When tragedy is turned into show business.

DNA from Belgium not Madeleine's.

Should the boring old arse fart exit?

Menzies Campbell appears to be suffering from senile dementia, or he has got his knickers in a twist sitting on the barbed wire fence surrounding China. He may even be entering for the Zimmer Frame 100M sprint in the Olympics in Beijing in 2008. I wasn't convinced that China's human rights record is improving as the countdown begins. Ming was looking for signs. I think I have found a sign for him...

Britain threatens to invade US

The headline is a slight exaggeration. David Milliband, the Foreign Secretary, (why we couldn't get a British one I don't know) has written to the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, to request that the US hands over 5 detainees held in Guantanamo Bay who had been granted asylum or refugee status in Britain before they were detained. I would rather that the Firebrand demanded their release than asking pretty please.

BBC story here.

Eye-eye ga-ga

As I suffer from glaucoma, I found this report a bit worrying in the Daily Telegraph. Apparently, it has been discovered that those suffering from glaucoma are more likely to later suffer from Alzheimer's disease. I wondered why I was going a bit ga-ga as I get older. At the rate it is going, if they don't come up with a cure soon, I could suffer from dementia in 10 years time. I don't think I am looking forward to the future...

Madeleine: Parents now treated as suspects by police

The Guardian this morning still refers to Madeleine's disappearance as a kidnapping. I think that this is an unfortunate choice of term. And, still refers to Madeleine as being 4 years old. She was 3 years of age at the time of her disappearance. I found this bit interesting: "The McCanns, who are still in Portugal, are planning a media event on Saturday to mark 100 days since Madeleine's disappearance". I trust that the media are planning to ask the McCanns some very probing questions, along the lines of the German journalist who was criticised for daring to seek the truth? Unfortunately, the link to the Marie Claire website did not produce the interview with Kate McCann, however, "She told the Marie Claire website of her frustration that time was passing without a major breakthrough by police". I hope your frustration will be remedied, Kate, but I suspect that the breakthrough by the police will not be the kind that you were looking for.

I know I shouldn't laugh, but Obsolete led me to this parody of Gerry McCann's diary.

Gerry and Kate McCann are now suspects it is claimed. Hat-Tip to Matthew for this link.

UPDATE: McCanns react to allegations in BBC video. They say that they are not naive. Neither are we. They say that they believe that Madeleine is still alive. However, Gerry appeared to gulp as though even he had difficulty swallowing that lie, that is, that Madeleine was alive when she left the apartment.

Police to question Gerry and Kate McCann separately.

Blood samples to be tested at British laboratory tomorrow. Hat-Tip to zinzin for this snippet.

BBC report on Madeleine is factually inaccurate

The BBC are reporting this. Far be it for me to tell the BBC how to do its job. However, I challenge the report. I find nothing wrong with the headline, nor with the opening paragraph. Full marks for reporting missing rather than abducted. However, "four-year-old vanished in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on 3 May". This is incorrect, Madeleine was only 3 when she vanished. If, for example, she died on that day, or even sometime the day before, then Madeleine would still only be 3. It was the McCanns who added the extra birthday, making Madeleine 4, had she been alive to celebrate it. The reports of the sniffer dogs smelling death, if correct, would rule out this. So, for the sake of clarity, can the BBC and all other media organisations please stick to the factual age when Madeleine went missing?

"Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, went missing from the Algarve holiday apartment while her parents ate in a nearby restaurant". We do not know that Madeleine went missing at that time. All we do know is that Madeleine is missing. It was Kate McCann who declared that Madeleine went missing during that time. Can the BBC please not keep misleading people?

"The McCanns have backed a scheme aimed at letting parents and staff know what steps to take as soon as a child goes missing on holiday.

Code Madeleine is based on Code Adam in the US, named after abducted six-year-old Adam Walsh".

This appears as though the BBC endorses not only what the McCanns are doing but also the scheme. Until the McCanns are in the clear, I feel that the BBC should make it clear that it does not endorse this. A Code Madeleine at this time is not appropriate, simply because it has been suggested by the McCanns and would be tainted if the McCanns are themselves suspects. By this term suspects, I do not refer to them as police suspects, that is a matter for the police. I refer to them as suspects based purely on the facts. Surely, the McCanns have some explaining to do?

Hat-Tip to Zinzin for the BBC report.

I believe that Madeleine deserves justice

The disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Madeleine is missing. Madeleine has not been abducted. Only the first two statements are true. The last statement, the claim that Madeleine had been abducted was a fabrication. The version of events that we were given, by Gerry and Kate McCann, is that on the 3rd of May, they put their three children to bed, to sleep, and at 7pm went for a meal and drinks at a tapas bar. At 10pm, Kate McCann “discovers” that Madeleine is missing, and “knows” that Madeleine has been “abducted”, and goes back to the tapas bar to break the “news”. The McCanns allow the crime scene to get contaminated. And, at 10.40pm the police are informed. Sometime later, the media is informed. Gerry McCann desires to control the media, and the media is given the “news” as reported by Kate McCann, that is, that Madeleine has been “abducted”. The media accepts this story as fact.

Now, on the 6th of August, yesterday, the media has accepted that Madeleine has disappeared. The media has dropped its Madeleine was “abducted” storyline. It is now official, Madeleine was not abducted.

So, what has happened to Madeleine?

Gerry and Kate McCann know the answer to that question.

I don’t believe in trial by media. However, I do believe that newspapers should report news. And, I do believe that the media should report the facts. In the McCanns case, the media published versions of events that were not fact. I believe that the media now owes us a search for the truth. I believe that Madeleine deserves justice.

Robert Murat to sue once he is officially cleared by police

Briton Robert Murat, 33, who denies any involvement with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, intends to sue the Portugese State when the police declare in the next few days that he is no longer a formal suspect.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he then goes on to sue some of the media organisations.

The Portugese police have increasingly been focusing their attentions on the McCanns. It is understood that they are not looking at an accident as the cause of Madeleine's death which they now believe occurred in the McCann's bedroom. English sniffer dogs have detected the signs of Madeleine's death, and blood traces on one of the walls, in the McCanns bedroom.

UPDATE: Source, Logic Man, Link.

Madeleine's blood found in apartment - it is claimed

The usually media hungry Gerry McCann has been very quiet firstly at the news that Madeleine died in the apartment, and now that it has emerged that traces of blood, believed to be Madeleine's, has been found on the walls of the apartment. Evidence suggests that an attempt has been made to disguise this fact. The police are still not treating this as a murder inquiry, as yet, because there may well still be an innocent explanation.

It is not just Gerry McCann who is keeping quiet about these recent discoveries, but also the British media. I think it is time that the British media holds its hands up and admits that Gerry McCann gave them the run around, and they about turn and give him the savaging that he deserves.

UPDATE: Daily Telegraph now has blood on flat wall story, here.

Prison politics

A draft (or should that be daft?) proposal how the Prison Service might cut £60M per annum from its budget, written by the Deputy Director General of the Prison Service, Michael Spurr, for the attention of prison managers, has been leaked to the media by a prison governor. The Observer reports that daily cell searches are to be scrapped. However, I fail to see how that will save any money because they are conducted by prison officers who are already being paid a wage. The only way money could be cut like this is to reduce the size of the staff force. These searches are not "cell searches" as such, whereby the cell and prisoner(s) are searched for contraband, but instead merely entail a prison officer checking the cell door to see if the lock and bolt, and window bars, have been tampered with.

Cutting the number of voluntary and mandatory drug tests, on the other hand, would save money, as the kits cost between £10-30 each, and the laboratory analysis of samples may cost as much as £600 each. I can see why the Prison Officer's Association (POA) is up in arms over this, because it is a nice cushy number for their members to be involved in taking the piss rather than having to work for their money.

Madeleine lay dead in apartment between 2-4 hours it is claimed

Most of the Sunday newspapers are running reports of an interview which Kate McCann gave last week and stated that she wanted the story to emerge in the Sunday papers. How very obliging of the British media to allow themselves to continue to be manipulated by the McCanns. I note that they are still reporting Madeleine's disappearance as an abduction. As though this was a fact, rather than stick to the truth which is that it was Kate McCann who first made the claim that Madeleine had been abducted. The Portugese police have not found any evidence to support this claim.

Yesterday, I reported that the Portugese police are concentrating their investigations upon the McCanns and their circle of friends in an attempt to discover the facts about Madeleine's disappearance. According to this report, hopefully a better translation will be available soon, Madeleine lay dead in the McCann's apartment for between 2-4 hours. If this is the case, it would seem pointless that an abductor would bother taking away her dead body. A more likely explanation would be Gerry McCann disposing of her body, to hide a crime, and the child abduction story developed to explain her disappearance.

I note that Kate McCann is saying that they have not committed any crime. I have already posted that in my view child neglect and/or abandonment is a crime under English law. I also note that Kate McCann is sticking to the lie that the children were checked every half hour, during their 3 hour drink and meal session at the tapas bar. The staff at the tapas bar state that they did not leave the table once until 10 O' Clock. I also note that the distance between their apartment and the tapas bar has now shrunk down to 20 yards. It must have something to do with erosion of the coastline. Why doesn't some investigative journalist simply take a tape measure and measure the distance?

According to Kate McCann, she knew instantly that Madeleine had been abducted by the state of the apartment. However, she fails to illuminate us as to what exactly she meant by the state of the apartment. What were these clues? Certainly, neither the Portugese police nor the resort's owners support any break-in theory. The odds are that it is an inside job. Madeleine is missing and so is a blanket from the apartment. What a pity that the two main suspects, Gerry and Kate McCann, allowed a crime scene to become contaminated. Unfortunately for them, it has not thrown the sniffer dogs off the scent.

UPDATE: A better translation from astro here.

Something which has been bothering me for a long time is, who was the last person other than the McCanns to see Madeleine alive?

As Mrs McCann tucked Madeleine into bed after a fun-filled day at the Algarve apartment where the family was on holiday, the little girl told her: "Mummy, I've had the best day ever. I'm having lots and lots of fun." It was the last time Mrs McCann saw her daughter.

The creche was open that Thursday May 3rd. My reading of what Kate McCann is saying is that instead they spent the day in the apartment. If I was writing the report, and it was different, I would write "tucked Madeleine into bed, after a fun-filled day, at the Algarve apartment". Therefore, the fun-filled day could have been spent elsewhere. If they did spend the day at the apartment, nobody other than the McCanns would have seen Madeleine alive on the day she disappeared. And, if the sniffer dogs scent is anything to go by, Kate McCann was tucking up Madeleine's corpse. I suspect that only the twins were in bed at 7pm.

Madeleine is dead - claim Portugese police

in Sol on August 4, 2007:

a report by Felicia Cabrita with Margarida Davim
translation by astro


Looking for Maddie’s body

The investigations have returned to their initial course. Portuguese and british police search for the body of the child in the surroundings of Praia da Luz

“There are strong signs” that Madeleine, the english child that disappeared from Praia da Luz almost one hundred days ago, “is dead”, police sources have told Sol.

The 180º turnaround that the investigation by the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) from Portimao seems to have done in the past few days, even led the Attorney General, Pinto Monteiro, to postpone the making of an interview that had been requested by british media chain BBC – an interview that would be focusing on the fact that, so long after Maddie’s disapperance, the authorities still remain without real clues concerning her whereabouts.

Although an official source from the PGR justified the postponing of the interview with “agenda issues”, the moves by the PJ and some elements from the british police during these last days – accompanied by two dogs, in Praia da Luz – seem to indicate that the investigation is now centered on the McCann family and their group of friends.

Sol could find out that the english dogs are trained for different tasks. One, to detect human remains originating from dead flesh, and the other one to detect human blood or fluids. A specialist that was contacted by Sol explains that the technique of these animals rests on scientific bases, and that while “one of the dogs can distinguish between natural death or death by accident that does not involve bloodshed, the other one can diagnose whether someone died a violent death, with bloodshed or other spilled fluids”.

Tuesday night, a black and white cocker spaniel that is trained to detect death, spent several hours in the apartment that the McCann family occupied in the Ocean Club resort, and from where Maddie disappeared on May 3. According to sources within the investigation, the dog marked the death of the child inside the apartment.

On the dogs’ trail

The english dogs do not contradict the clues that were detected by the sniffer dog that GNR sent to the location, on the day following the english girl’s disappearance. It’s an animal that only follows odours, and that “detected the movement of the child from the room to another point inside the apartment”, according to a source with the Guarda.

The same source said that “based on that signal, it was not possible to conclude whether the child was alive or dead – because a sniffer dog will smell both the living and the dead”.

Yet, outside the house, both through the windows that faced the Tapas restaurant – where the McCanns had dinner with their seven friends – and through the main door, “the dog lost the trail, as if the child had exited, for example, rolled up in a blanket”, that source said.

A team from Sol, on the terrain for the last two weeks, could observe the work of the cocker spaniel from the british police, performing several diligences along the water in Praia da Luz and in a nearby valley.

The animal’s path, on Wednesday night, seemed to test the deposition from several witnesses that were heard by the PJ in late May – namely an irish family that have been living in Luz, and who, on the day that Maddie vanished, reportedly crossed ways with a man that carried a child that seemed to be asleep.

According to their deposition to PJ, Martin Smith, his wife and his children, after leaving the Kelly bar, which is located approximately 400 metres from the Ocean Club, around 9.50 / 10.00 p.m., saw an individual described as caucasian, measuring 1.70 – 1.75 m, walking towards the beach.

The irish man told Sol that he knew Robert Murat (the only arguido in the process) visually for years – and also remembered seeing the anglo-portuguese man in a bar that evening, “already a bit intoxicated”. Therefore, the irish dismissed the possibility that the person he saw carrying a child could be Murat: “If it was him, I guarantee to you that I would have recognized him”.

Concerning the clothes the man he saw on that night was wearing, Smith only refers the “beige trousers”, given the fact that his upper body was hidden by the child’s body, which was not covered. It is curious that one of the elements that formed the group of Maddie’s parents’ friends, guaranteed to PJ several days before Smith was heard, that - at a moment when she left the table to check on the group’s children - she had crossed ways with a man that was wearing trousers that fit the description that was also made by the irish man.

That individual was also carrying a sleeping child. And the witness, who even managed to see what pyjamas the child was wearing, just “thought it was strange that the child was barefoot and uncovered”. This witness said it would be 9.15 p.m.

Direct access to the PM

According to the course the PJ from Portimao is now conducting the investigation, and considering the trail that the british police’s cocker spaniel tracked along the sea shore, the individual would have descended to Praia da Luz, where he could have disposed of Maddie’s body. Sol knows that the english team contacted Joao Alveirinho Dias, a professor at the University of Algarve and a specialist in oceanography, in order to collect information about the sea’s dynamics and the beach area where everything may have happened. The investigator, who was not briefed about the context of the police inquiries, told Sol that he was consulted on “the sand movements, where they come from and where they go to”.

The police investigation has therefore, and according to our sources, returned to its initial course, and it becomes increasingly clear, as Sol had reported previously, that there is no proof against Murat.

Yet, the british media continue to point a finger at the anglo-portuguese man, although the criminal investigation has returned to clues that relate to the group of friends of Madeleine’s parents.

A journalist with the Daily Express – who has repeatedly contacted Sol searching for new information on this case – recognized this week that it is “difficult for an english newspaper to adopt a critical tone concerning Madeleine’s parents”.

The Daily Express cited, in one of its last reports, the news that have been published by Sol, describing them as a “hate campaign” against the McCanns. The same journalist ended up confessing that “it’s the only way we can transmit your data”.

Sol knows that Gerry McCann has regular contact with Gordon Brown, the british Prime Minister. Clarence Mitchell – who was the first spokesman for the McCanns and is now in the press cabinet at Nr. 10, Downing Street – confirms those contacts. “I know there is a communication line between Gerry and Gordon Brown. I know they talk. But I don’t know what they talk about, because those are informal conversations”, he clarified, further adding: “The Madeleine case is treated whenever there are bilateral meetings between Portugal and the United Kingdom. Gordon Brown is sensitive to the case and wants it solved quickly”.

UPDATE: The BBC has a different take on the story to that of the Portugese newspaper Sol.
Telegraph report here.

It is interesting to note that the British media reports differ somewhat widely from the Portugese newspaper report in the Sol.

Some news, views, and a blog post

Watching the BBC 1 10 O' Clock News last night there was a brief mention of this story and a brief video clip, if you blinked or coughed you would have missed it. And yet, several minutes were devoted to the bridge collapse in the US which was already a couple of days old, and the death toll and devastation was nowhere near as bad as the South Asia flood disaster. I couldn't help wondering who decides what is news at the BBC, and who decides which particular stories get how much coverage? We do have a closer link politically with the States than South Asia, but still I don't feel that this should have been reflected in the BBC News coverage.

No doubt David Cameron today is wishing that Simon Heffer had got struck down with foot and mouth disease, because his article in the Daily Telegraph clearly sticks another nail in David Cameron's coffin. "While the Tory leader is building sand castles in Brittany with his family...", Gordon Brown is returning from his holiday in Dorset to deal with the foot and mouth crisis. Once again David Cameron is in the wrong place at the wrong time.

That's the news.

And now an amusing blog post. And, this amusing update.

Road rage and the missing girl and a pair of "paedophiles"

About 7pm tonight I took Rocky for his evening walk, normally I would go into Pearson Park but at the moment I don't feel that it is safe. By this I mean a couple of times recently there has been a group of Kurdish, and once one of the dirty bastards spat on Rocky's back, and on another occasion one flicked his cigarette end at Rocky. I think that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable, and I said as much. They seemed to think that this was amusing. What I wanted to do was cave their fucking skulls in with a masonry hammer. However, I am trying to stay out of prison. So, I am trying to avoid conflict and varied my routine and took Rocky for a different walk.

The (A1079) Beverley Road is notorious for its accidents. And, the crossroads near my house is like trying to negotiate a minefield. The traffic lights are three-way in that the Hull to Beverley and Beverley to Hull are the same, but Queen's Road and Sculcoates Lane are opposites. The change sequence is very short, and does not allow for red light jumpers and pedestrians to cross at the same time. I am stood in front of the stationary traffic from Sculcoates Lane, and notice that a car is waiting to turn right from Hull and as he is on the yellow squares I give way to him. Just as he passes me I start to cross and see that the car which had been behind the white line make a dash for it and had I not pulled up in time he would have hit myself and Rocky. I shouted "cunt" at him as he passed, and I noticed the traffic from Queen's Road already coming. I was seething. I noticed that he had stopped a bit further down and that his reversing lights came on. So I thought, 'yes, you want some?' and ran towards him. He reversed into a side road and the driver's window was down. Rocky leapt up and barked close to his face. "Cunt, cunt, fucking bastard cunt, you jumped a red light and nearly knocked me over". He claimed that he didn't. And, asked what I had said to him. So I repeated myself. And said, "Come on then". I was in a rage, a controlled rage, and wanted him to try and have a go at me. He chose not to. He was either Asian, Kurdish or whatever, I didn't give a damn what his race or religion is. I do give a damn about somebody taking a liberty with me. As he wasn't prepared to face my onslaught I walked off cursing and muttering.

At the corner of Fitzroy Street a young girl of about 12 years, who I call "Princess" approached me in tears and said that her 10 year old sister was missing, I cannot remember her name but it was German sounding, and that she had been gone half an hour. I know her parents are skagheads, but they do care and love them, so I was trying to help her. Someone else who I know vaguely from when I lived in the same house as him, but a different flat, came up to "Princess" and said that her dad was looking for her. She explained that it was her sister that was missing. And she and her "boyfriend", and another girl about the same age as "Princess" started to retrace their steps in an effort to find her sister. The man walked back toward his flat up Beverley Road and I noticed "Princess's" father looking out of his flat window in the house on the corner of Fitzroy Street.

I continued my walk along Fitzroy Street, cut through the "Ten Foot" and came out on Sculcoates Lane where the driver had previously reversed into. I walk across and we have a quick walk around Fenchurch Street Park which is at the back of my house. As we come back to the street in front of my cul-de-sac, I hear someone behind me shout "John". It's a common name, but I stopped and backtracked around the corner and recognised a couple of faces from when I stayed at the Approved Premises on Queen's Road. I haven't seen their police records, and cannot say for certain, but I suspected that they are paedophiles. It is not as if we are old friends so I bade my leave. I did not want them to know where I lived exactly, and I thought about the missing sister of "Princess" so I continued the walk towards Pearson Park.

On the way back I saw a pair of Community Officers and one of them said "Hello John, are you alright?". I replied that I was, and just thought I would mention my meeting with "Princess" and what she had said. I was conscious of Madeleine and Robert Murat, still I felt I ought to say something. He said, that there had not been a report of a missing child. And, then I said, "I know of her because we have the same landlord". He asked whether it was the family at the corner of Fitzroy Street, I said "Yes". He said they were going up that way and would call in.

Halfway down the street in front of the cul-de-sac, I see the two I had seen earlier at the entrance to where I lived. Too late to go back. I thought 'fuck it', and carried on, and said "alright?" as I passed them, I was in no mood for socialising any further with them. Inside, I watched them on the CCTV for awhile and wondered what they were doing in the neighbourhood. Their body language and demeanor did not appear alright. My alarm signals said that they were up to something. What, I don't know. I wasn't going to let worrying about them spoil my evening. I intended to hit the whiskey, coke and ice. It's Friday night...

Sir Ian B Liar

Tory comedians in double act

There are a couple of rather amusing articles in the Daily Telegraph comment section today. The first is by reformed Tory Party jailbird Jonathan Aitken which claims that a new Tory jail policy shows the way ahead out of the prison crisis. I popped into conservativehome and left this comment:

"What Tory prisons policy? David Davis (Dumb), Edward Garnier (Dumber), and Nick Herbert (even Dumber still).

Jonathan Aitken's article is well written, but it is totally meaningless.

Gordon Brown was not wrong-footed by David Cameron at PMQs, as one commenter has pointed out GBs statement referred to serious violent offenders, whereas DCs statement referred to violent offenders, the spin was the removal of the word "serious" to create a false impression.

"Davis's ideas for building drug rehab units inside enlarged prisons are already working at Mexico's Chihuahua jail, where recidivism has been cut from 90 to nine per cent since 2002". We have had drug rehab units in British prisons since 1995.

"The credibility that underpins the Tories' new prison policy is strong because of three key elements - hard work, collegiality and minimal spin".

The Tory Party has lost any sense of credibility with the electorate. The Labour government is aware what it must do to end the prison crisis, however, it is also aware that to implement it will not be well received by the electorate and is too scared to act.

The key element is neither hard work, collegiality, nor minimal spin. Jonathan Aitken is no expert in this field. It is laughable that Edward Garnier's "voyage of discovery" entailed taking "him to 25 prisons and more than 150 meetings with every imaginable category of prison specialists". It reminds me of the party going on a hike and the map reader holding the map upside down. All he needed to do was make two telephone calls".

The second article is by failed Tory "A" List candidate Iain Dale, advising the failed Tory Party, that it should use the failed ex-Tory Leader William Vague as the Deputy Leader of the Tory Party. Iain needs to be careful that he doesn't pee on his shoes whilst he is busy Willy watching...

Hate 'Em All Hari and The Great Firewall of China

According to Dizzy Thinks Johann Hari and the lawyers from The Independent have tried to censor this from Harry's Place.

Click on the image to enlarge.

How did your trip to the US go Gordon?

Facebook advertisers pull out over BNP link

Facebook advertisers pull out over BNP link.

BNP spokesman Phill Edwards said: "There is no reason at all why anyone should avoid the BNP. There's nothing wrong with the BNP.

"Unfortunately the media have created a bogeyman and really the fault lies with the media, who for some reason have vilified the BNP, and it has scared these people off."

I can think of a reason, Phill, the plague. As you say, nothing wrong with the BNP. They are so far right it is unbelievable. I thought that the bogeyman is Gordon Brown? Yes, you need to watch out for the feral media. That warmonger Tony Blair also blamed the media for his wrongdoings. You haven't scared these people off, they just don't want to be associated with Nazis.

UPDATE: Judge for yourselves about Phill Edwards and the BNP below...

The Thick Of It is that Chris Langham is a paedophile

The paedophile Chris Langham has been convicted for downloading child pornography from the internet on to his computer. The jury rejected his claims that he had downloaded it as part of his research for a TV programme that he had written. Langham was found not guilty of indecent assault against the 14 year old girl, who had alleged that he had raped her. He has been remanded into custody to await pre-sentence reports. And, the judge ordered him to sign the sex offender register.

Langham had pleaded not guilty to the charges of downloading child pornography, even though he admitted downloading it, because he did not want to be labelled as a paedophile, as he claimed that he wasn't one. Well, Chris, you are, and the label is appropriate.

Oddly, the judge said: "In my judgment, and I have thought long and hard about this, it would [be] a misplaced kindness to give you bail at this stage". I wish the judge had explained why he reached this view. Could it be that he is giving Langham a taster of prison as a short, sharp, shock, before imposing a non-custodial sentence? I doubt that it is to protect him from the media pack.

Rupert Murdoch's mouth piece demands more prisons be built

For Gordon Brown, as leader of the Labour Party, it is true to say "This is your prison scandal, Prime Minister". It may be argued that Camilla Cavendish is involved in the game of Trivial Pursuit by trying to minimalise a serious subject with an analogy to Monopoly. She has erred in the same way that TV companies have recently been criticised for portraying a false impression to deceive viewers, only that she is trying to deceive readers of The Times. It is not true that prisoners have been given get out of jail free cards by the government. The prisoners have paid their debt to society. It is true that the jails are full. And that the government is employing schemes to ease the overcrowding. However, it is not true that "ministers seem more interested in interning terror suspects without charge than incarcerating convicted thugs". Although it is true that they do appear to be paying to greater attention to depriving certain people of their civil liberties. I suppose that Camilla Cavendish really means human beings when she refers to "thugs"?

The principle of proportionate has evolved from the EU and was not a fundamental principle of British justice. Although time for the crime which came over from the US has been with us for longer. I don't know where Camilla Cavendish found these so-called "reasonable people", but prisoners do serve the sentences that they have been given. She refers to the CJA 2003 and prisoners serving 4 years and over being eligible to serve half that time with parole. However, she fails to point out that being eligible is not the same as parole being granted. Moreover, since the present system of parole came into being in 1967, judges have doubled their sentences in the belief that the prisoner will automatically get parole. Less than 20% actually do get parole. She goes onto say that by releasing 25,000 prisoners to ease the prison overcrowding is not justice as we used to know it. She is talking out of her arse. Justice is the process of sentencing and the prisoner serving that sentence and being released from custody.

It is nonsense to claim that sentences have become meaningless, and state that the reason why is because the government has not embarked on a prison building programme. The sentence is imposed to show the offender that the public is not best pleased with his or her conduct, and to act as a deterrent against future re-offending. This should not be confused with the government's cock-up in relation to the CJA 2003 and the IPPs which has led to 3,000 prison places being taken up by lifers who should have received determinate sentences.

Camilla Cavendish states: "There are famously no votes in prisons". Now, if you really want to write an interesting and informative piece, why do you not look at this issue? Given the ECtHR decision that there should be votes in prison, I would be interested in the government's response.

Iain Dale: Testing, testing, 123 testing...

Iain Dale's Diary states: Link exchanges are really important in driving traffic to other sites. A big thank you to everyone who links to me. Remember, if you have a link to me and you don't see one to you on my blogroll, just let me know in the comments and I will rectify it".

I posted this comment in reply.

jailhouselawyer said...

Iain Dale says: "Link exchanges are really important in driving traffic to other sites. A big thank you to everyone who links to me. Remember, if you have a link to me and you don't see one to you on my blogroll, just let me know in the comments and I will rectify it".

As you know, I link to you, and as you know you used to link to me, until, that is, you objected to me linking to Iain Dale's Dairy in my blogroll, and demanded that I do not link to this site. I refused to comply with your unreasonable demand, as a result you decided to punish me by removing your link to my site even though I did not remove my link to your's in retaliation.

Given that Tim Ireland has now ceased to blog on the Iain Dale's Dairy site, I decided of my own free will to remove the link not at the behest of some bullying Tory blogger. Therefore, I can see no reasonable excuse for you not honouring the words which you have decided to make public.

For your information, my blog is http://prisonersvoice.blogspot.com

August 02, 2007 12:26 PM

Previously, I have called Iain Dale both a hypocrite and a liar. He took umbrage with these truths. I wonder how he will respond to this challenge?

Bum pincher makes the news

Guardian report here.

When the shit hits the fan...

The problem is not that the public seek protection from criminals. Sometimes this is a rational fear, and sometimes it is an irrational fear. The problem is that certain elements in the media play on the irrational fear, and this leads politicians to rush through irrational legislation in an attempt to calm the irrational fear. " Mr Blunkett was a hard-line, populist New Labour Home Secretary and the problems now besetting indeterminate sentences - which were created by the 2003 Criminal Justice Act to deal with violent and sexual offenders, and came into force in 2005 - are an archetypal Blair-era mess. The Government steamrollered onto the statute book a measure designed to persuade the public that dangerous people would be locked up for longer".

David Blunkett would have been advised at the time that this would not work. However, he gambled on short term gain for long term loss. He misjudged how quickly the shit would hit the fan, he predicted that it would be 10-15 years before the public became aware of the mess. As it transpires, the backlash occurred within 2 years. To my knowledge, in 2004, the Director General of the Prison Service, Phil Wheatley, sent a memo to the Home Office warning what would happen if Ministers did not act. They failed to act. In 2005, the Director of the Prison Reform Trust, Juliet Lyon, and Anne Owers, the Inspector of Prisons, warned the Home Office what would happen, and still there was no action from the Home Office.

Nick Herbert, the shadow justice secretary, said: "The problem is not the principle of indeterminate sentences, which are designed to protect the public, but the Government's culpable failure to provide sufficient prison capacity, which has left the Prison Service unable to provide basic rehabilitation and assessment."

Of course, the principle of indeterminate sentences is the problem. It is based upon incapacitation theory. It starts off with the false assumption of dangerousness. Just because someone commits a crime does not make them dangerous. Then a court sentences for the crime, the judicial element, this is not a problem per se. The problem occurs because the Executive has added the indeterminate element supposedly on the grounds of public protection. In effect, the offender receives a double punishment for one crime. This is an injustice. The situation is made worse because under criminal law the onus is upon the prosecution to provide the burden of proof, whereas with this sentencing by the Executive the offender has to prove innocence of being a risk to the public. With each knee-jerk response to tabloid headlines, the bar is raised and the standard of proof required becomes higher.

It is argued that the risk element attached to the sentence is not punitive but instead it comes under treatment. Such treatment entails undergoing courses within prison. However, the prisoner is still detained in a cell and subject to the punitive regime. Therefore, it is difficult not to claim that the treatment is not a further punishment. Then there is the psychological harm caused by the indeterminate nature of the sentence. This is exacerbated by the judge, say, giving a 15 month minimum tariff, and the prisoner not being able to achieve this minimum period of custody because of the overcrowded prisons and the too few courses being offered and too many prisoners deemed to be requiring this treatment.

The net result is that prisoners suffer from abuse, and public protection is still lacking. The solution is not to build more prisons and to cram more prisoners into them. The way forward is to reduce the size of the prison population, and reduce the size of the penal estate. Send less people to prison for longer periods, and fewer people to prison for shorter periods. This will create a more manageable prison system. It will allow for better resources for rehabilitation. Only then will the public be getting the public protection they are seeking.

UPDATE: For the benefit of David Blunkett who is apparently unaware that open-ended and indeterminate sentences are one and the same even if the latter has more syllables, I provide this from the Guardian "FAQ: IPPs

What are they?
The indeterminate sentence for public protection (IPP), introduced in April 2005, is a new kind of "life" sentence in that it is open-ended. The prisoner has no release date and does not get out until a parole board decides he or she is no longer a risk to the public.

Who gets them?
Offenders convicted of one of 153 specified sexual or violent offences which carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years or more, and who are considered to be a danger to the public.

How many have been imposed?
IPPs have proved highly popular with courts and, with their number rising by 30% in the last year to 3,010. They are a major driver of the shortage of prison space. Officials say there could be 25,000 people on IPPs by 2012".

Security breach at Houses of Parliament

It has emerged that there has been a breach in security at the Houses of Parliament. It is not the point that it has not been committed by a suspected terrorist, or a nutter with a knife or a replica gun. A breach of security is a breach of security whoever the perpetrator is. The guilty party in this case is Andrew Feldman, chief fundraiser to David Cameron. He has no business walking the corridors of power with a security pass that should not be in his possession. It is not clear whether the security pass has Andrew Feldman's name upon it, but he is "using a researcher pass allotted to a Conservative peer who has no parliamentary office and asks for no research". That alone should be cause for those in charge of security at the Houses of Parliament to require that he leaves what is supposed to be a secure area, if not call the police to arrest him. If evidence was needed that the Tory Party has not really cleaned up its act, this is it. A senior member of the Lords Privileges Committee said the news that a party fundraiser was using a parliamentary security pass shows how fundraising, "pollutes our politics".

The Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker said: "Researcher passes are exactly that: passes for researchers. They are not freebies to be handed out to those raising funds for political parties."

Breakdown in communications

At Hogwartsanall School, in the playground, a row breaks out between two children who used to be friends. In the Blue Corner is Dave Cameron, the leader of the Bullingdon Gang, and in the Black and Blue Corner is one of his former sidekicks Ali Miraj. As an independent observer, I cannot help wondering if what I am witnessing is a display from badly-behaved pupils who should be excluded?

After failing to become a Tory MP, and not being offered a safe seat, Ali Miraj sought a seat in the House of Lords, but instead ended up on his arse out in the street. He moans, "my chances would be much better in the Labour Party". I wouldn't count on it.

True, what he says about David Cameron being obsessed with PR and gimmicks. However, spot the deliberate error in the following statement. "He has displayed behaviour unbecoming of a prime minister, it's schoolboy, playground tactics". As David Cameron is not yet the Prime Minister, presently it is Gordon Brown for the Labour Party, and is looking unlikely that he will get that far, he cannot possibly be displaying behaviour unbecoming of a Prime Minister. I think that title went to Tony Blair.

If I was a bookie, I would lay down the red carpet for a punter like David Cameron who has a habit of backing losers. Besides Tony Lit and Ali Miraj, there was the trip to Rwanda (when Oxford was under flood). More importantly, Gordon Brown has completely wrong footed the Tory Party because it is Darfur which Gordon Brown has put on the political agenda and not Rwanda.

There is mutiny in the Tory ranks. Captain Dave has called for "send reinforcements we're going to advance". Iain Dale, just out of hospital, his finger on the pulse, queries the order, "send three and fourpence we're going to a dance?".