Sikh PC’s £10,000 for discrimination
A Sikh policeman has been awarded almost £10,000 for racial discrimination
after Greater Manchester Police rejected 12 applications from him to
transfer into its ranks (Russell Jenkins writes).
PC Sangram Singh-Bhacker, 41, whose family lives in Fallowfield, South
Manchester, had tried to join GMP since 1990. The British Transport Police
officer has served with five other forces in England and has sixteen years’
service.
Val Cook, who chaired the employment tribunal in Manchester, awarded £5,000
for “injury to feelings” and £4,000 in “aggravated damages” after ruling
that the force had attacked Mr Singh-Bhacker’s honesty and integrity. She
was scathing that the force appeared to be deliberately evasive in its
responses to questions about a Race Relations Act questionnaire and noted
that Mr Singh-Bhacker had yet to be offered an apology.
The finding is damaging for GMP, which has been trying to recruit officers
from ethnic minorities after a television documentary revealed racist
behaviour among young white recruits.
Indefinite jail terms for ‘sadistic’ trio
Three teenagers who left a 16-year-old boy minutes from death and broke a
15-year-old’s cheekbone in what a judge called an “insatiable desire to
inflict injury” have been jailed indefinitely.
The three youths were 15 when they spent an afternoon hunting victims in
Boston, Lincolnshire. They set about the 16-year-old with such savagery that
he was left for dead, having fits on the ground and with blood spilling from
his mouth. The judge at Lincoln Crown Court said the medical services had
ten minutes to save the boy’s life. “Such sadism beggars belief,” the judge
said.
The youths later attacked the 15-year-old, who had to have a metal plate
inserted in his cheek, wrecking his lifelong dream of becoming an RAF pilot.
Each boy admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent and causing
grievous bodily harm in the attacks on November 4, 2006. They were given
indefinite sentences, with one told to serve at least four years, one 32
months and one 28 months before being considered for parole.
Hunt to reunite bus boy with his family
A nine-year-old boy who was found wandering alone at a bus stop told police
that he had been left there by his uncle, Scotland Yard said last night.
Gurrinder Singh, who speaks only Punjabi, was found at a clinic in Southall,
West London, at 4.30pm on Tuesday. Police are looking for family or friends
of the boy, who said that he had lived in a three-bedroom house with his
uncle in the Southall area for several years.
Gurrinder, a Sikh, described his uncle as a white man in his thirties, of slim
build and 5ft 8in. The boy was found wearing a yellow jumper with the words
“3 Game” on the front, jeans and red and beige trainers.
Litre of diesel record 7p dearer than petrol
The gap in price between petrol and diesel has risen to a record of more than
7p a litre on average, according to the AA.
Diesel is now an average of 114.25p a litre, up almost 5p on a month ago.
Petrol is 106.76p a litre on average, 2.74p more than a month ago. A litre
of diesel is now 7.49p more expensive than petrol, compared with 5.1p at the
start of the year.
For petrol car owners, this month’s average fuel price is 17.73p more
expensive than this time last year. The cheapest petrol at present is to be
found in Yorkshire and Humberside (106.7p a litre on average), while the
dearest is in London (107.6p).
Maundy service in Ulster is a first
The Queen distributed Maundy money in Armagh yesterday, the first time that
the ceremony has been held in Northern Ireland. Leaders of the four main
Churches — Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist —
were joined at the service by representatives of Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu
faiths. Meanwhile, the Bishop of Birmingham, right, the Bishop of Leicester,
the Dean of Peterborough and clergy from Coventry and Northampton ran
shoe-shine stalls, an activity intended to echo Jesus washing the feet of
His Disciples before the Last Supper.
New arthritis drug
A new drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis has shown promising results in
trials, according to a report in The Lancet. Tocilizumab targets a
signalling molecule in the joints of patients with this form of arthritis.
The disease is caused by the immune system turning against its host, causing
damage to the joints.
Gangmaster banned
Robert Taylor, the director of 247 Staff, an agency that provided 139 Polish
workers for British Bakeries, which produces a third of Britain’s bread,
lost his licence after staff received less than the minimum wage when
deductions for accommodation were taken and they were made to pay for
protective clothing.
Pratchett inspiration
Terry Pratchett’s £500,000 gift to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust has inspired
another £34,000 in donations. The author revealed his donation last week and
fans all round the world have responded. One said: “This is donated in
honour of Terry Pratchett and the glorious output of his brain.”
Viagra perks up dog
Viagra has given Talisker, a border collie, a new lease of life after vets
prescribed it to improve blood flow to the heart, correcting a potentially
fatal condition. Talisker’s owner, Lesley Strong, 58, a retired pub
landlady, said: “It causes great hilarity at the chemist’s when I pick up
the prescription.”
Marching orders
Almost half of army spouses (46 per cent) would prefer their husband or wife
to leave the forces, a survey by the Army Families Federation has revealed.
The survey, obtained by Channel 4 News, was conducted to establish the mood
among army families. The main reason for wanting a spouse to leave the Army
was the impact on relationships, followed by children’s education and
housing.
CIvil servant charged
A civil servant has been charged with the murder of Michael Jones, 18, the
Metropolitan Police have announced. Tony Paul, 45, of Enfield, North London,
will appear at Enfield Magistrates’ Court on Saturday. Mr Jones’s mother,
Kathleen Kirby-Jones, described her son, a student, as “considerate” and
“loving”. She discovered his body in the computer room of the house they
shared.
Jail for DVD terrorist
A Muslim man who possessed DVDs glorifying the 9/11 atrocities has become one
of the first people to be jailed under a section of the Terrorism Act. Bilal
Mohammed, 27, was sentenced to three years by Leeds Crown Court under
Section 2 of the 2006 Act. His case is the first for which the section has
been used independently. The court heard he sold the videos at stalls across
the country.
Guilty of pub murder
A 39-year-old man murdered a pub landlord hours after being released on bail
on a charge of assaulting him. Garry Varley was sentenced to life
imprisonment by Winchester Crown Court and told by Judge Michael Brodrick
that he would have to serve a minimum of 18 years. In July 2007 Varley went
to the Lions Head pub in Bournemouth and stabbed Steven Galsworthy, 41, five
times with a kitchen knife.
Long-lost cat is back
A cat that had been missing for six years has been reunited with his owner
thanks to a microchip tag with his name and address. RSPCA vets were freeing
the cat from a plastic bag and treating him for a dislocated hip when they
found the tag revealing his name as Beau. He was returned to his owner,
Nikki Baylis, of Waltham Forest, East London.
