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TAGGING
MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE A CRIMINAL
DVD pirate Joanne Dunn escaped being
tagged by a court after claiming it would make
her look like a criminal. She moaned that the
electronic device on her ankle would prevent her
going out in a skirt... even though she turned up
for the hearing in trousers. Euro MP Martin
Callanan responded, "There should be no
discrimination in sentencing just because
somebody wears a skirt instead of trousers.
Nothing stops a woman wearing trousers. If you
were Scottish would you not be tagged because you
wore a kilt? If the woman was that keen not to
wear a tag she should not have committed the
offence in the first place." Dunn admitted
12 charges of DVD piracy and was fined £500 with
£5,000 costs, to be paid at £25 a week.
(Source: Daily Mirror, Feb/06)
DANGEROUS
PAPER SHREDDERS
The journal Paediatrics reports that
home paper shredders are creating a danger for
young children. It claims some children are badly
injuring their fingers, sometimes resulting in
amputation. Most of the injured children are
under the age of six. Either they stumble on to
the machine or put their fingers into the
mechanism, triggering the cutting action, as they
try to imitate their parents' use of it. One of
the main suppliers of shredders in Britain has
started sending safety warnings to customers.
Manufacturers have been called upon to make
shredders safer and to display clear warnings on
them. They said parents should keep shredders
unplugged and out of reach and never allow
children to use them even under supervision. What
happened to common-sense? (Source: Daily Telegraph, Feb/06)
A
PARTING GIFT
Sacked Walkers factory workers got a
leaving gift from bosses, a bag of the
firm’s product worth 36p. Most of the 250
staff axed by Walkers binned the crisps in
disgust and one said, “I couldn’t
believe they could be so insensitive. It’s
bad enough being out of a job and this rubbed
salt into the wound.” (Source: The Sun, Feb/06)
PERVERTED
SYSTEM
After being beaten unconscious in his shop, Brian
Conn provided the name, address and a picture of
the thug from his computer records. One would
think that the police would have been grateful
and that the culprit would now be awaiting a
prison sentence. Instead he is still free, while
Mr Conn faces possible prosecution for breaching
data protection laws. Little wonder that the
public demands a 'Tony Martin' law to give a
householder the right to defend what is his. Not
a system that perversely prosecutes the victim
instead of the perpetrator of crime.
A
FAIRER FUTURE?
Launching a major consultation exercise
about the challenges facing the country, Tony
Blair said that there is a limit to the burden
that taxpayers can bear (like £6MILLION a year
to subsidise the bar in Parliament), and that
people may have to accept they will need to pay
for the services they choose to use (don't they
now?). The move could pave the way for a
nationwide system of road pricing, under which
motorists could be charged for every mile they
drive on motorways at peak periods and a
flat-rate fee for entering town and city centres.
In a speech to Labour's national policy forum, Mr
Blair said, "In today's world, the
Government can't do it all. What governments
should do is be honest about what the choices
are." Downing Street sees widening the scope
for charging consumers of public services as a
way of meeting the growing pressures for
improvements and avoiding a black hole in the
Government's finances in the next few years. But
ministers have admitted privately that extending
charges could provoke a backlash from
middle-class taxpayers.
A document published, called 'A Future Fair For
All - The Big Conversation', says that the
Government will not bring in user charges for
health and education. The document lists more
than 100 questions for voters, and surveys to
find out people's priorities will be sent to
500,000 homes. The public can take part via a
website (www.bigconversation.org.uk) and by
sending e-mails and text messages.
The questions listed in the document include how
to rebalance the criminal justice in favour of
victims and witnesses (they don't know?), whether
the sick and disabled should have more
responsibility to find work and whether single
parents should be offered better child care,
training and family-friendly hours in return for
more responsibility to work.
NOT
VERY GROWN-UP
Businessman Alby Tebbutt was furious
when fellow councillor Joe Webster pointed the
pencil at him during heated talks, and tried to
knock it out of his hand. He caught Mr Webster's
face, leaving HIM so angry that he has complained
to police about the clash over school closure
plans at a private meeting. Mr Tebbutt, a member
of Tory controlled Havering Council, Essex, for
21 years, said, "In my view, a pencil
pointed at my face is an offensive weapon. I
didn't mean to hit him but as I knocked the
pencil from his hand the end of my fingers caught
his face. I believe this altercation has led to
Joe Webster making a formal complaint to
police."
The bust-up between the senior and respected
Tories of Havering Council, Essex, has left party
members reeling. One Conservative source said,
"Things were really hotting up at the
meeting and there was a lot of shouting.
Everything then exploded and got out of
hand." Tempers flared when Mr Tebbutt, a
member of the council for 21 years, went against
Tory cabinet members on the council by saying he
was prepared to join a protest march to keep open
a local school. Mr Tebbutt, who gets a special
responsibility allowance of £27,900, is now
thought to face moves to strip him of his powers
as chairman of regulatory services.
But the veteran Tory, who is also deputy
president of Romford Conservative Association,
said, "I will not be resigning over this
issue. Local children are too important to allow
a simple disagreement between two members to
interfere with their future." Mr Webster,
who speaks on education in the council's cabinet,
said he had written to local government watchdogs
about the incident. "Because I have done
this I cannot say anything else," he added.
Chief Supt Andrew Kay said, "Police are
investigating an incident at Havering town hall.
There are a number of witnesses to be interviewed
and the investigation is being carried out
expediently."
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