British police seize flimsy excuses not to investigate a violent attempted rape
Under the influence of their Leftist government, they are on the side of the crooks so it is no surprise. It is only successful rapes that interest them, apparently. If the woman fights off the attacker it’s just a yawn. It’s everyone for themselves in Britain today. The police are only of use if they are in the mood. They do all they can to fob off complaints. They only thing they take seriously is if you inconvenience a crook when he attacks you. In such cases the crook gets let off and you get prosecuted. Typical Leftist inversion of healthy values
Traumatised by a sex attack in a park, a teenage girl [above] was at least comforted by the likelihood the man would be identified by DNA. Priya Francome-Wood, 17, had kicked and struggled free after he lay on top of her. Police said they were in no doubt she had managed to escape a serious sex attack. They took away her skirt and T-shirt, telling her ‘a surprising amount of DNA’ can be transferred in such cases. But five days later Miss Francome-Wood’s hopes were shattered by a phone call from police in Bournemouth, where she was attacked during a weekend visit to a friend. To her horror, they said they could not justify spending £500 on DNA testing.
Bizarrely, part of the reason was that she had fought the man off. That meant the crime was classed as a simple assault, rather than a sex attack which would have been fully investigated.
Miss Francome-Wood, from Milton Keynes, said she was shocked by the decision. The A-level student added: ‘It was the most terrifying thing I have ever gone through. ‘I can understand the funding issue but there is still an attacker out there. I am convinced he will do this to another woman – and they may not be as lucky as I was.’
Her father Christopher Wood said: ‘We are disappointed and unhappy about this. Priya was told that because it was an assault it didn’t warrant doing DNA testing. ‘But it was only an assault and not a sexual assault or rape because Priya managed to escape. I know the police have to work within a budget but the fact is there is a dangerous man out there who has done this once and there is nothing to stop him doing it again.’
The 51-year-old IT manager added: ‘We were disappointed that the police didn’t seem to take it seriously. ‘It seems crazy that they are not going to pursue DNA when clearly it could happen to another young woman.’
Since the assault Miss Francome-Wood has suffered a panic attack while walking at night near her family home.
Forensic experts said the cost of testing a DNA sample on a piece of clothing can be as little as £500, but increases depending on the number of samples examined. According to DNA Worldwide, a forensic testing laboratory in Somerset, it costs the police about £2,000 to carry out DNA tests on an item of clothing.
Dorset Police would not comment on funding procedures for DNA testing, but Inspector Mike Claxton of Bournemouth police said: ‘The decision to use DNA testing is based upon the seriousness of the crime, together with the probability of a positive result. ‘In this case, our forensic officers have advised us that the chances of retrieving a DNA profile of the offender from the victim’s clothing – a profile good enough for a national DNA database comparison – were slim to nil. ‘This is especially true because this crime was not reported to the police for around 24 hours.’
Parents seek £1m for hammer attack on white son at racist British school
Muslim racism is just fine, apparently, no matter who gets hurt
A white pupil was battered with a hammer at a school where politically correct teachers were afraid to deal with racial tensions, the High Court heard yesterday. Henry Webster, 15, suffered a fractured skull and brain damage after being set upon by a gang of Asian [Muslim] youths. Twelve people were jailed over the 2007 attack, but Mr Webster’s parents have now brought a civil action against Ridgeway Foundation School near Swindon. They claim there was a negligent failure to maintain proper discipline and deal with racial tension and are seeking compensation of up to £1million.
The family’s lawyers told the court a ‘culture of racist bullying and harassment’ built up around a 30-strong gang called the ‘Asian Invasion’. Teachers were too anxious about being seen as bigoted to intervene, but white pupils were branded ‘racist’ by the acting headmaster and given harsher punishments.
Robert Glancey, QC, representing the family, said tensions escalated after the July 7 London bombings in 2005 and when more Asian pupils joined the school, some of whom were ‘radicalised and hostile’. Racial intimidation and violence became a ‘feature of the life of the school’ with eruptions of ‘extreme acts of violence’, it was alleged. Asians were ‘encouraged’ to separate from white pupils and formed a gang that would laugh at and abuse them. Serious incidents included a riot on the playing field in May 2006, which led to armed police attending the school.
At the same time, white pupils received unfair treatment, the court was told. One boy was disciplined for wearing an England shirt. Mr Glancey said: ‘There were a large number of incidents, events, complaints and warnings which would or should have made any school which was being reasonably competent realise there was a serious problem with racism, violence security, discipline and misbehaviour.’
Mr Webster was attacked after being told an Asian youth wanted a one-to-one fight. But reinforcements from outside the school were called in by mobile phone.
Ridgeway School disputes the allegations against it and says blaming it for the attack, carried out by a non-pupil outside school hours, is ‘unprecedented and far-fetched’.
The case is being brought by Mr Webster, now 18, his mother Elizabeth Walker, 46, who has her own nanny recruitment business, his younger brother Joseph, 14, and his step-father Roger Durnford, 44, who runs a building company. They are also seeking damages, saying they were traumatised by witnessing his injuries and his suffering.
Mother-of-two dies after NHS surgeon punctures heart during back operation
Another poorly trained Indian doctor by the sound of it
A 51-year-old finance assistant, Christie Burgess, bled to death after a surgeon punctured her heart three times during a routine back operation. Miss Burgess had been sent to Salford Royal Hospital for emergency surgery on a prolapsed disc but during the operation, Tarek Jallul, a temporary surgeon, pierced her heart.
The blunder wasn’t spotted until Mrs Burgess, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, became seriously ill. Although a specialist heart surgeon from the Manchester Royal Infirmary tried to correct the damage she died a few hours later.
Her partner, Kevin Jones, 58, has been awarded an undisclosed settlement from the NHS trust after a three-year legal battle. [There had to be a battle??? Insult added to injury!]
But Mr Jones says the hospital have never apologised for the mother-of-three’s death or fully explained what went wrong. He said: “I’m really, really angry. It would help me dramatically if I could get to the bottom of it and get some answers. “It would give me some kind of closure on Christine’s death.” Janet Lamb, her sister said: “She was the best sister anyone could ask for.” “”She should be here to enjoy her grandchildren.”
The hospital said it “deeply regretted” Mrs Burgess’s death and there is now a specialist heart surgeon constantly on call.
Mrs Burgess, a financial assistant for a chemical company Ciba, had suffered back problems but was the told the operation in May 2006 was a simple procedure. It’s understood locum consultant Mr Jallul, who was employed by the hospital on a temporary contract, now works overseas. The General Medical Council launched an investigation he was given a formal warning.
In a statement, the hospital said: “We deeply regret the death of Mrs Burgess. “Legal proceedings commenced earlier this year and both parties have agreed an-out of-court resolution.”
British Diplomas in science ‘cannot work’
Labour’s new diploma in science should be scrapped because it lacks academic rigour, according to leading scientists
In an embarrassing blow to the Government, highly-respected bodies including the Royal Society and the Institute of Physics said the flagship qualification “cannot work for the sciences”. They said the diploma – which combines classroom study with practical, work-based learning – was confused and failed to “satisfy this diverse range of requirements”.
Ministers have suggested that diplomas could eventually replace GCSEs and A-levels altogether, bridging the divide between academic and vocational qualifications. But in a letter to Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, scientists said it was disingenuous to suggest that courses could appeal to practically-minded pupils while preparing others for traditional degrees such as physics, chemistry, mathematics and medicine. It should be replaced by a more overtly vocational diploma in “applied sciences”, they said.
The comments strike at the heart of concerns over Labour’s diplomas which are being introduced in three academic subjects – science, languages and humanities. The Conservatives have already pledged to scrap the academic diplomas. Last year, the Confederation of British Industry said the new-style qualifications risked “undermining the integrity” of key subjects and could lead to fewer schoolchildren studying science and mathematics to a high standard.
In their letter to Mr Balls, it was claimed many scientists had “serious reservations” about the new diploma. “The science diploma under development apparently still aims to meet the needs of those students aspiring to the full range of science and mathematics courses at all universities while, at the same time, also addressing the needs of students preparing to enter the world of work at age 19,” it said. “We do not accept the view that a… science qualification with the structure of the current diplomas can satisfy this diverse range of requirements.”
Earlier this year the Government announced the science diploma would be delayed by 12 months because it needed “further work”. Pupils will now study it in 2012.
The letter – signed by leading figures at the Royal Society, the Society of Biology, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics, the Nuffield Foundation and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation – welcomed the move but insisted it was still dogged by the “confused thinking and bureaucracy that plagued the early development” of the qualification.
Diplomas are currently offered in 10 practical subjects, such as hospitality, hair and beauty, manufacturing and media studies. Four more vocational subjects will be introduced to the programme before academic diplomas are introduced in 2011 and 2012.
In the letter, sent last month, scientists said: “This is not to say that we reject diplomas outright, just that the current model cannot work for the sciences.” They added: “Our vision is for a science diploma which is explicitly an applied sciences qualification. To convey this appropriately to key stakeholders we believe the qualification should be renamed ‘diploma in applied sciences’. “Crucially, our vision is not one which includes an attempt to meet the needs of the majority of young people who aspire to study the sciences at university. It therefore differs significantly from what is currently being developed.”
Iain Wright, the Schools Minister, said: “The Royal Society letter represents the views of just some but not all of the science community. “Indeed there is strong support from both academics and industry who do see the potential value of this new and exciting offer for young people. These include universities, employers and practitioners, as well as influential members of the science community such as science academics from Oxford University, Imperial College, AstraZeneca and the NHS. It was and is being produced hand in glove with industry and higher education. “The diplomas have yet to be finalised and we continue to listen to all views. The Science Diploma Development Partnership is currently holding a series of focus groups with universities, employers and practitioners to hear directly from them what they want from the diploma. No final decisions will be taken until we have had an opportunity to hear all views including those expressed in the letter from members of the Royal Society.”
Some competition in Britain at last?: “Airport operator BAA has agreed to sell Gatwick, Britain’s second busiest airport, for 1.5 billion pounds (2.5 billion US dollars, 1.6 billion euros), the Financial Times reported. Citing people familiar with the matter, the FT reported on its website that the deal with Global Infrastructure Partners, which already own London City Airport, will likely be announced before markets open on Wednesday. The Competition Commission approved details of the sale late Tuesday, it said. In August last year, British regulators called for BAA to sell three of its seven airports in Britain — two in London and one in Scotland — in order to end a dominance they said hurts both passengers and airlines.”
Church of England to lose some of its real Christians to Rome: “The Roman Catholic Church today moved to poach thousands of traditional Anglicans who are dismayed by growing acceptance of gays and women priests and bishops. The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams admitted that he had been caught out after Pope Benedict XVI announced a new “Apostolic Constitution” to provide a legal framework for the many thousands of Anglicans and former Anglicans who wish “to enter into full visible communion with the Roman Catholic Church”. The announcement paves the way for thousands of Anglicans worldwide to join the Roman Catholic church while maintaining elements of their own spiritual heritage. The constitution, a canonical structure, will provide “personal ordinariates” that will allow Anglicans to “set up church” within the Catholic church while retaining elements of their former ecclesiastical identity, such as Anglican liturgies and vestments. Traditionalists, including up to six Church of England bishops, had visited and pleaded with Rome to provide some sort of structure inside the Catholic Church for their wing of the Church of England because of liberal moves towards women bishops and gay ordinations.”
