Crowding ‘makes prison tougher’
The Lord Chief Justice urged judges yesterday to take into account that
overcrowding is making prison life more punitive when they sentence
offenders (Richard Ford writes).
He said it was proper that when considering how long someone should spend in
jail, the courts should consider the type of prison regime caused by
overcrowding.
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers made his comments as he halved the six-month
jail term of a bigamist and released a second man who had been imprisoned
for injuring a female friend with a glass.
He said: “When considering the length of custodial sentences the court should
properly bear in mind that the prison regime is likely to be more punitive
as a result of prison overcrowding.”
Rush-hour chaos
Rush hour traffic was plunged into chaos in East London yesterday when a
building collapsed, forcing road closures. The building in Commercial Road,
which was undergoing renovations, collapsed shortly before peak hour. Eight
adults and one child were treated for shock at the scene. No one was injured
walking past. Police urged motorists to avoid the area, putting a 100m
(330ft) safety cordon in place around the scene. Ali Morris, landlady of The
Castle pub in Commercial Road, said the building was destroyed by the
collapse.
Olympics warning
The voluntary sector fuelled the row over the costs of the 2012 Olympics by
warning Tessa Jowell not to divert lottery funding for the Games. The London
Civic Forum wrote to the Culture Secretary arguing that the Games should not
be funded at the expense of the vulnerable and those in need.
Jail more punitive
The Lord Chief Justice urged judges to take into account that overcrowding was
making prison life more punitive when they sentenced offenders. Lord
Phillips of Worth Matravers made the comment as he halved the six-month jail
term of a bigamist and released a man who had been jailed for injuring a
friend with a glass.
GPs’ age bias
Many doctors discriminate against older patients, giving them poorer advice
and worse treatment than younger people who complain of the same symptoms. A
survey, published in the journal Quality and Safety in Health Care,
found that patients aged over 65 were given different care from younger
people.
Clarification
Our report (“Inquest clears hospital doctors”, January 10) should have made
clear that the coroner found that Mrs Olive Nockels’s care, under David
Maisey, a consultant at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, was managed in a
competent, conscientious, caring way, was well within appropriate clinical
discretion and was fully in accordance with General Medical Council
guidelines. The coroner found that Mrs Nockels, who was unable to take food
or drink in the normal way because of her stroke, did not die of dehydration
or starvation.
Young nurses take unpaid contracts
Newly qualified nurses who are desperate for a job are working for nothing or
for less than the minimum wage (Nigel Hawkes writes).
Two hospital trusts in North East England are offering “honorary”
preceptorship contracts to nurses unable to secure other employment, the
Royal College of Nursing said.
But there is no guarantee of a job at the end of the four-month contracts
which are being run in conjunction with the University of Teesside,
according to a report in Nursing Standard.
Nurses on the scheme at the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust are paid
nothing. Aidan Mullan, the trust’s director of nursing, said: said: “We were
unable to offer places to every newly qualified nurse.” Peter Carter,
general secretary of the RCN, said: “Trusts are struggling to balance their
books because of NHS deficits.”
Collapse halts trial
A trial at Reading Crown Court was halted after a pensioner who allegedly bit
off a neighbour’s finger in a long-running feud collapsed in the dock.
Pamela Fox, 65, who denied causing grevious bodily harm, became ill when
Marija Andric, 50, described her injuries in detail. The hearing will resume
later this year.
Flight refusal
A family was forced to leave a flight when a pilot would not let a
three-month-old baby sit on a stranger’s knee. A fellow passenger offered to
look after one of Ann Jordan’s babies on a Bristol to Newcastle flight but
the pilot refused to allow this, citing child protection laws. EasyJet said
the pilot was “complying with policy”.
Archer statues back
Valuable statues stolen from the country home of Lord and Lady Archer of
Weston-super-Mare at Grantchester, Cambridgeshire, have been found after the
couple offered a cash reward for their return. The lifesize bronze statues
of a shepherd and his flock and a girl doing a handstand were recovered on
Monday.
How white is snow?
Two explorers are aiming to measure the colour of snow while attempting to
complete the longest Arctic trek ever made. Alain Hubert and Dixie
Dansercoer, who are sponsored by Rolex, will aim to walk 2,800 miles across
the frozen Arctic from Siberia to Greenland. Scientists say that snow is not
perfectly white.
Taxing the dead
A man took his dead father’s ashes to the town hall when his local authority
continued to send council tax bills. John Quinn, from Tulse Hill, South
London, had previously sent Lambeth Council a copy of his late father’s
death certificate, but the bills kept arriving. The council has now
apologised for the mistake.
Plan to lure skilled migrants to EU
Immigrants who want to come to Europe will have to compete for a “blue card”
that will rival the United States green card system for attracting the
brightest brains from the developing world, the European Commission said. A
European blue card would probably allow the holder to travel freely in the
EU, officials added.
The card, which will be formally proposed this year, is intended to ensure
that countries with falling birthrates and ageing populations can attract
the skilled workers they will need. It is part of measures aimed at
reforming immigration to the 27-member EU. The number of illegal immigrants
in Europe is estimated at four million to seven million.
Anger at BA bag rule
British Airways passengers reacted with anger yesterday as the airline
introduced charges of up to £240 to carry an extra bag on return flights.
Some travellers resorted to throwing away belongings valued at less than the
charges they faced after being told that they could no longer take
additional luggage on flights free.
Travellers face charges of £30 each way on domestic routes, £60 on European
flights and £120 on some long-haul routes if their luggage weighs more than
23kg (50lb). The airline insisted that the policy would affect only a small
percentage of passengers.
Nurturing success
Breast-fed babies are more likely to lead successful lives than those who are
bottle-fed, research has suggested.
A lifetime study followed more than 1,400 people who were babies in the 1920s
and 1930s. Most were breast-fed. A follow-up team from the University of
Bristol found no link between breast-feeding and income, spending on food,
number of siblings, birth order or social class. They did find that
breast-fed babies were 41 per cent more likely to move up a social class.
However, the study, in Archives of Disease in Childhood, said it was
possible that the bottle had been reserved for sickly babies destined not to
do so well.
Senior MP dropped
Sir Patrick Cormack, one of the longest-serving MPs and the Conservative who
secured the biggest swing for his party at the last election, failed by a
narrow margin to be readopted at a meeting of his Staffordshire South
constituency association. Sir Patrick, 67, an MP since 1970, is expected to
appeal to a full meeting of his 500-strong constituency party to overturn
the executive decision. His majority is 8,847.
Sir Patrick’s views have not always gone down well with the Tory Right. He
supports the Iraq war and tried to build consensus on contentious issues,
leading cross-party delegations to ministers.
