Tag: UK

Midland MP launches petition demanding national child abuse inquiry

Theresa May David Cameron

A Midland MP has launched a petition calling on the Prime Minister to “make amends for historic failures” by establishing a national inquiry into allegations of organised child sex abuse.

Tom Watson, Labour MP for West Bromwich East, stated “many survivors of child abuse believe they have been let down by the system of child protection in the UK”.

The petition’s launch followed the Home Office’s disclosure that 100 official files relating to historic abuse allegations had gone missing.

Mark Sedwill, permanent secretary to the Home Office, said the files relating to a 20-year period between 1979 and 1999 were “presumed destroyed, missing or not found”.

In a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron, he also said he was appointing a senior legal figure to review how the Home Office dealt with a dossier alleging paedophile activity at Westminster in the 1980s.

Launching the petition today, Mr Watson said: “Many survivors of child abuse believe they have been let down by system of child protection in the UK.

“Thousands had nowhere to turn.

“Nobody listened and nobody helped.

“The missing Home Office files and the failure of previous police and local authority inquiries has meant that MPs from all the political parties have supported calls for an overarching national inquiry.

“Government should make amends for historic failures to act by establishing an independent national inquiry into organised child abuse.

“We owe it to the survivors – they expect nothing less.”

Sign: https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/david-cameron-and-theresa-may-establish-a-national-inquiry-into-allegations-of-organised-child-abuse

July 6, 2014
UK Fast-Track Reforms For Senior Police Positions

The Home Secretary is expected to unveil a shake-up of police recruitment that will allow new starters to escape the compulsory two years on the beat.

Under current rules all police must enter at constable rank, but the proposals to be unveiled by Theresa May later are understood to include direct entry at superintendent level.

Ms May is also believed to be planning to change the law so foreign police chiefs will be able to run British forces for the first time.

The overhaul is part of a package of reforms that were drawn up by ex-rail regulator Tom Winsor in the most wide-ranging review of police pay and conditions in more than 30 years.

Under his proposals, “exceptional” applicants would have the chance to rise from civilian to inspector in just three years.

Successful businessmen and women, along with members of the armed forces and the security services, should all be encouraged to apply to the fast-track scheme, Mr Winsor said.

Mr Winsor, who is now Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary , previously said he wanted to end the notion of policing as an intellectually undemanding occupation.

He added that the “brightest and best” applicants with skills “distinctly above those of factory workers” were needed.

Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe told a policing conference earlier this month that it was time to “consider and support” direct entry.

He added that he would like to see one in 10 senior officers recruited from outside the police force.

In addition, a proposal to allow candidates from the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, among others, to front up forces in England and Wales is expected.

Current legislation prevented US “supercop” Bill Bratton, former head of the New York police, applying to take charge of the Metropolitan Police in 2011.

Mr Bratton gained a reputation for introducing bold measures to reduce crime, heading police departments in New York, Boston and Los Angeles.

In his first two years at the helm of New York Police Department, reports of serious crime dropped 27%.

But Mrs May dashed any chances of him becoming Britain’s top police officer when she underlined the importance of the Scotland Yard commissioner being a British citizen for national security reasons.

Sky News

January 30, 2013
The secret service of the UK is directing the PKK

Adnan_Oktar_Harun_Yahya

Turkey’s Adnan Oktar, aka Harun Yahya, a Muslim young earth creationist who has led a crusade against evolution : The Secret Service of the UK is directing the PKK.

Watch The Video:

January 19, 2013
UK Letter Bomb: Viable Device Sent To NI Officer

Postal workers have intercepted a letter bomb addressed to a senior police officer in Northern Ireland.

The suspicious package, meant for Chief Inspector Andy Lemon, was discovered in a sorting office in Strabane, Co Tyrone.

Bomb disposal experts examined the package and said it was “a small viable device”, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said.

The device was made up of a battery pack and accelerant and was packed into a brown envelope. It was taken away for further examination.

Six roads around the sorting office were closed for several hours this morning but all have since been reopened.

Chief Inspector Lemon said the vigilance of postal staff had saved lives.

“This was a very dangerous device and I would like to praise the Post Office staff for noticing it. One of them, or one of my officers, could have been injured had they opened it,” he said.

He added: “I do not believe this is a personal attack but more a general attack on the police.

“Because I am area commander, a lot of mail would come into the police station addressed to myself, but I do not open any of it. That is done by other members of staff.

“This was an attempt to kill or injure police.”

Chief Inspector Lemon said the PSNI was keeping an open mind about who was responsible but said dissident republicans were the most likely suspects.

Northern Ireland’s first minister Peter Robinson and his deputy Martin McGuinness condemned the attempted attack.

“There can be no justification for this calculated and callous behaviour,” they said in a joint statement.

“This was not just a planned attack on a police officer but also on the postal workers involved and society as a whole.”

They urged anyone with information to contact police.

Last month, an explosive device was found under the car of a police officer in east Belfast.

Sky News

January 18, 2013
UK Jimmy Savile sex abuse spread far and wide

The Operation Yewtree report shows how Savile’s victims ranged from eight to 47 years old, including 174 females and 40 males.

Police have released a UK map outlining the horrific geographical range of Jimmy Savile’s ‘predatory’ sex offending.

A report released by the Met Police and NSPCC today details the huge extent of Savile’s sex abuse, which spread far and wide across

The Operation Yewtree report shows how Savile’s victims ranged from eight to 47 years old, including 174 females and 40 males.

It emerged that 50 of his attacks took place at hospitals, 33 at TV or radio stations, and 14 at schools.

But presenting the daunting range of facts and figures underlying the catalogue of offences, Britain’s biggest children’s charity, the NSPCC, said “behind every number is a person who suffered”.

The shocking police report also reveals that Savile was at his most prolific in the south east – he committed 43 offences in the Metropolitan Police area, and 30 in Thames Valley.

A further 34 of the Leeds presenter’s offences took place in the West Yorkshire, along with 14 in Great Manchester.

Here is a snapshot of victims who came forward to reveal their experiences:

1960 – A 10-year-old boy saw Savile outside a hotel and asked for his autograph. They went into the hotel reception where he was seriously sexually assaulted.

1965 – A 14-year-old girl met Savile in a nightclub. She later visited his home and was raped.

1972 – A 12-year-old boy and two female friends attended a recording of Top of the Pops. During a break in filming Savile groped the boy’s genitals and the breasts of his two friends.

1973 – A 16-year-old female hospital patient was befriended by Savile. He led her to an office where he kissed her, touched her inappropriately and then subjected her to a sexual assault.

1974 – Savile took a 14-year-old schoolgirl for a drive in his car and seriously sexually assaulted her.

2009 – A 43-year-old woman was sexually assaulted by Savile when he put his hand up her skirt while talking to her on a train journey between Leeds and London.

Yahoo News

January 11, 2013
UK: Bomb under policeman’s car

A viable bomb placed under a serving police officer’s car in Belfast was a murder attempt by dissident republican paramilitaries, the police have said.

The unexploded device was discovered on the Upper Newtownards Road at about 14:00 GMT on Sunday.

Army bomb disposal officers have been called to deal with the device and have carried out a controlled explosion.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the bomb was “clearly intended to kill the police officer”.

Evacuated

In a statement, PSNI Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton said: “It is very fortunate that this device was detected before it exploded and that no one was killed or seriously injured.

“Initial investigations would indicate that this was a viable device placed below an officer’s car sometime in the last 48 hours.”

ACC Hamilton added that the officer’s family and neighbours “were also put at risk of serious harm”.

A number of houses in the area have been evacuated. The nearby Stormont Presbyterian Church has been opened for residents forced to leave their homes.

The Upper Newtownards Road has been closed to traffic between the Knock Road junction and Cabin Hill Park.

ACC Hamilton added: “Our belief is that this attempted murder was carried by those opposed to peace from within dissident republicanism.

“They don’t care who they attack, they don’t care who they kill. They are simply anti-peace and determined to carry on bringing pain and devastation to families and communities by maiming and killing.”

Booby-trap

In recent years, dissident republican paramilitary groups have carried out a number of attacks on PSNI officers.

In April 2011, Constable Ronan Kerr was killed when a booby-trap car bomb exploded under his car in Omagh, County Tyrone.

The previous year, Constable Peadar Heffron lost a leg in a similar attack as he drove to work in Randalstown, County Antrim.

The SDLP’s spokesperson on policing, Conall McDevitt, condemned the latest attack, describing it as a “cynical and deplorable act”.

He said: “Those seeking to target police officers are undermining not only the stated will of the people of Ireland who have long since rejected violence, but also the desire for a new beginning for policing in the north, which is shared by the majority of citizens.”

Mr McDevitt urged anyone with information about the attack to contact the PSNI.

‘Cowardly act’

Robin Newton from the DUP said the attack was an attempt to murder.

“Those who placed this potential bomb have nothing to offer the community except heartache and sorrow,” the East Belfast MLA said.

“I pay tribute to the PSNI officers and the bomb squad officers who risked their lives to make the area safe, not only for the intended victim but all who live in close proximity,” Mr Newton said.

The Alliance MLA for the area, Chris Lyttle, said: “My immediate thoughts and prayers are with the officer and the family directly affected by this cowardly act.”

“I’d also give my full support to every serving PSNI officer working to uphold the rule of law at this difficult time,” he added.

BBC

December 30, 2012