Breaking up the NHS

In March 2017 it was reported that "Virgin Care, part of Sir Richard Branson’s business empire, [was] suing the National Health Service after the healthcare group lost out on a contract to provide children’s services in Surrey. "

"The three-year, £82m deal covering health visitors, school nurses and speech and occupational therapy for children was awarded to a consortium formed by in-house NHS providers and a social enterprise."

https://www.ft.com/content/297e7714-089f-11e7-97d1-5e720a26771b

Review of student grants in Scotland

From Adventures In Evidence

"The review has proved itself to be rather fonder of making superlative comparative claims about the funding position in Scotland than in presenting the evidence needed to support them..."


"Whatever explains it, the result is the same: a mild air of triumphalism which obscures hard-to-defend elements of the system, in this particular case, that some of the most financial vulnerable and disadvantaged students in Scotland are given even less grant and more debt than others..."

"Thus, to repeat, we give those coming into HE from the lowest income households only £1,875, or even just £875, in non-repayable grants and ask them to borrow the rest of what they need to live on. We could easily give them more grant, but we prefer to use that money to keep the children of the professional classes out of any debt whatsoever for fees (and often, therefore, any debt at all). And we use UK comparisons to reassure ourselves – apparently – that that’s OK. `Best`, even."

https://adventuresinevidence.com/2017/12/03/student-support-review-7-more-trouble-with-comparisons/

Should privacy trump accountability ?

Published on 9 Dec 2017

A debate hosted by The Transparency Project on 5 December 2017 in Bristol.

`The Family Court Debate - should privacy trump accountability?`

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=328LhinUKJE

Fracking sites are a risk to babies` health

"Babies born less than two miles from a fracking site are at risk of health problems that could hamper them later in life, new research has found."

"Mothers who lived within 1km (0.6 miles) of a fracking site saw a 25 per cent increase in the likelihood that their child would be born at low birth weight, be born prematurely or have other congenital issues, the study found. "

"Being born at low birth weight (less than 5.5lbs) has been linked to a number of future health risks, including higher risks of asthma and ADHD, as well as poorer education attainment and future professional success."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/babies-negative-health-impacts-fracking-sites-born-shale-gas-a8107786.html

Caged children cause twitter storm

Max Clifford dies before giving evidence

"Convicted elite pedophile Max Clifford has been found dead after he was preparing to turn evidence against a massive pedophilia network, according to police. Clifford, who was serving 8 years for historic child sex offenses, was found unconscious and `foaming at the mouth` in his prison cell before he was rushed to the hospital where he later died of a `cardiac arrest.`..."

"According to detectives in Scotland yard, the investigation ... into his death was shut down `from above` before it had even started. One officer said the death looks `suspicious,` saying: `There was nothing to suggest it was a suicide - no note, no sign of unusual behavior before the death. The 'foaming at the mouth' symptoms don't seem like it was natural causes either. Typically, we'd look at this as a suspicious death, possibly a murder. But the orders came from above that he was a 'witness' and to just mark it down that he 'died of a heart attack'."

Read more at: http://www.neonnettle.com/news/3353-police-max-clifford-was-murdered-before-he-could-expose-elite-pedophile-ring
© Neon Nettle

Empty legislation ?

"Our politicians have gorged themselves on bringing forward empty and self-indulgent legislation that hints at a pernicious obsession with social control. In doing this, they seek to convey a sense of getting things done; doing the day job, when all that they achieve is to detach themselves further from the everyday reality of people’s lives. John Swinney, the education secretary, is still trying to peddle his ridiculous and illiberal "named person" legislation, which has been universally exposed as another scam aimed at blacklisting Scotland’s most hard-pressed families."

"Similarly, the proposed ban on smacking is further proof of Holyrood’s obsession with the way ordinary people manage their families. They would rather seek to criminalise than offer anything resembling a radical idea. This insincere collection of political confidence-tricksters is less concerned with the welfare of Scotland’s children than they are with disguising their wholesale betrayal of our poorest communities while blaming it all on the Tories."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/03/scotland-sink-blame-it-on-brexit

`It blacklists Scotland`s most hard-pressed families` is a consequence.

The motivation behind the legislation is to feed `Big Data.`

For example: Nesta: `Making the most of data in schools`
"Across sectors and across industries, data is fundamentally changing the way organisations and individuals operate, from shopping to relationships, from transport to advertising, from finance to politics. While the public sector has in some cases been slow off the mark, it is now catching up quickly; the UK is now world-leading in areas like opening up government data. "
https://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/making_the_most_of_data_in_schools.pdf

Many Grenfell families still not rehoused

"Jeremy Corbyn has accused the Prime Minister of `failing` Grenfell Tower survivors, most of whom remain homeless six months on from the blaze."

"Labour rounded on the Government for the slow progress in rehousing displaced families despite early pledges to have everyone out of hotels within three weeks."

"In a letter to Theresa May, shadow housing minister John Healey sets out five areas where he claims Grenfell survivors and tower residents more widely continue to be let down."

"He backed calls made in a petition for the Grenfell Tower public inquiry to be overseen by a diverse panel of experts, rather than just one judge."

"Safety concerns in other high-rise blocks were still not being properly addressed, he said, after a nationwide audit found hundreds wrapped in flammable cladding."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/grenfell-tower-fire-victims-jeremy-corbyn-john-healey-a8102711.html

Plant based meals to be introduced into schools

"Plant-based eating could be sweeping through a most unlikely school system. In a recent interview with publication L’Obs, French Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot stated that French schools should implement a 100% plant-based menu at least once a week."

"He revealed that he intends to introduce the policy shortly, as he considers meat-free eating a `matter of education`."

"French publication Club Sandwich reports that some schools in the South West of France have already tested plant-based menus, which opens `the possibility of choosing a menu without meat every day`. According to the publication, these movements follow a pledge taken by the city of Paris to reduce meat in restaurants by 20%."

"The idea of meat-free eating in schools is a promising one. As information on the negative effects of meat and dairy continues to grow, more organizations are leaning toward veganism as a solution. This year, a US children’s hospital removed hotdogs from its menu due to health risks associated with meat consumption."

https://www.livekindly.co/france-vegan-school-lunches/

The push for more vaccinations

Dr Graham Downing on UK Column News discusses the World Health Organisation `s article Why is vaccination important for addressing antibiotic resistance ? Dr Downing believes this is a very one-sided view and that vaccinations may reduce immunity.

He also talks about the flu vaccine: If these vaccines are so successful why are the outbreaks going up in schools ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78ZOlKfo0C0

Saving the world`s Children

"Since the 1980s, Britain has been at the cutting edge of experiments with child protection laws – it was one of the first countries to introduce public-private partnerships in child protection, and today its child protection system is heavily commercialised. Britain has also been a leading proponent of `forced adoption` which is the adoption of children to non-related third parties even when they have parents or other family willing, indeed begging, to raise them. Britain is also the first country to propose a law against unloving parents – a Bill, popularly called `Cinderella’s Law`, was introduced in the British Parliament about two years ago that would make parents criminally liable for such things as ignoring a child, making it feel unloved and comparison with siblings."

"Many questionable theories of medical diagnosis of abuse, such as Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy, where children falling ill repeatedly for no apparent reason, are diagnosed as `abused` by their parents, or `Non-Accidental Injury`, where parents are blamed for unexplained injuries or deaths of their infants, have either originated in Britain or found wider acceptance there than in any other developed country. In this essay, the well-known English journalist Christopher Booker surveys the dark consequences of these experiments with child protection. India, as a country that is in the process of implementing a Western-inspired child protection programme, has much to learn about the dangers of this system."

"A version of this article was originally published on 2 December 2017 by the Sunday Guardian under the heading Corrupt practices disguised as child-welfare campaigns ... part of [the] weekly series called Global Child Rights and Wrongs."

Read Christopher Booker`s article here: http://saveyourchildren.in/governments-removing-children-from-families-on-inadequate-and-fraudulent-grounds-by-christopher-booker/

Named Person needs an `authoritative draft` of code of practice

"A Holyrood committee has warned it will not be able to recommend parliamentary approval for key named person legislation until ministers provide details of crucial guidance for professionals. The Education Committee has called for the Scottish Government to provide `an authoritative draft` of the code of practice accompanying the Children and Young People (Information Sharing) (Scotland) Bill, before it recommends the Bill is passed at its first stage..."

"[T]he committee was only provided with a draft and illustrative code, compiled without the necessary consultation - a move Education Secretary John Swinney admitted had `created some confusion and uncertainty amongst stakeholders`."

"Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: `With yet more questions to be answered, a clear failure to address the committee’s concerns and no tangible progress in building public trust, there have to be questions now as to whether this policy is savable at all.` Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said: `The best way out of this mess is for the Scottish Government to ditch the bill and completely rethink how we should be supporting our most vulnerable children`..."

Read more at: https://www.scotsman.com/news/named-person-scheme-stalls-as-committee-calls-for-more-details-1-4626674

Judge refuses to see evidence of child abuse

[UK Column News 23.11.2017 with Brian Gerrish, Mike Robinson and Alex Thomson]

Brian Gerrish: "Now this is what we covered yesterday: Very quickly, a case going back to November 2015 where three Hampshire county council social workers were found wanting by a judge; lying on oath; altering basically reports that were taken through as evidence; and withholding evidence from the court. So these were serious charges that the judge made in his judgment. The judge`s opinion was then overturned by Hampshire council working with an organisation looking after professional standards for social workers.  And so our first point was that this is quite amazing that it doesn`t matter what a judge says in court: If you`re in the right organisation you simply overturn his judgement."

 

"Well this one just beats everything. because today somebody has contacted us talking about what`s been going on in the family courts. And this relates to a case which we believe is going on in the Midlands. We believe it`s to do with an immigrant community We`ve had reports of women in immigrant communities, in the Sheffield area particularly, coming forward and trying to protect their children against abuse. Authorities then release their names back into the community and the women are raped, beaten up or both."

"What`s going on here is a court case where the judge is refusing to accept video evidence of child abuse. So the evidence is there to show what is going on in this particular case but the judge is simply saying `No. My eyes don`t want to see this evidence, so it can`t be brought into court.` So therefore the court is running a completely alternative court case."

"This situation was challenged. You can obviously freeze the screen to look at the detail of the excerpt that I`ve given you. I can only give you so much."

 

"But this is the utterly astonishing thing that we`ve got here because this is the response from Sir James Munby`s office, President of the family law division."

"The President can only deal with the cases that comes before him in a judicial capacity. He cannot investigate, comment or give advice on the decisions made by other judges. This is not out of any lack of concern, but because to do so would undermine the principle that judges are free to decide how cases should be conducted. He does not intervene on behalf of a party in any case and accordingly, it would not be appropriate for him to comment on the matters you raise. If you are unhappy with a judge`s decision, order or ruling then you must follow the appeal process, although it is not guaranteed that there would be a right of appeal."
"The President cannot assist you further."

"What we`re essentially saying is where there is video evidence of child abuse family court judges can simply say `NO no no. I don`t want to see that. I`m going to make my judgment without seeing the evidence of the actual child abuse.` This is astonishing ... and shows that we cannot trust family court decisions in any shape or form..."

Mike Robinson: "So to do so would undermine the principle that judges are free to decide how cases should be conducted. So if you have a corrupt judge - and nobody can deny that such a thing exists - if you have a corrupt judge what this email seems to be saying is the President of the family law division, the head of the department as it were,  has no power to investigate or deal with the corruption of a judge."

"That`s absolutely right. And I come back to the fact that what we`re dealing with here is not some sort of hearsay; we`re dealing with video footage of child abuse. So just a remarkable admission by Sir James Munby`s office. Now it has come from his office; it`s possible that Sir James isn`t really aware of this reply. But it has come from his office..."

Alex Thomson: "Yes we keep talking about Sir James because he`s a very conflicted character and he had some good in his life before, I think; so what`s happening with him now is anyone`s guess. It`s the same with anyone in high authority...The creation of the family division and the removal of juries allows these prima facie mis-trials .. to occur because judges are acting as juries... "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ighsX0syYgE

The battle for seeds

Capturing Indian street performers

[Sunday Guardian Live]

"Violating child rights on the pretext of ‘rescue’ operations`"

"Children who belong to the Nat community are often captured by child-welfare authorities and NGOs on the spurious grounds that their street performances amount to child labour... "

"If, despite active and high-quality legal help from a well-known organisation like MANUSHI, these Nat families face such obstacles regaining their children, readers can imagine what nightmares they go through when facing the system on their own."

"The system sees Nat parents as exploitative. But would Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) or the police ever dare to capture children of well-off families who perform in TV serials or films?"

"The CWCs and NGOs that capture Nat children off the streets term it as `rescue operations`. But neither do the children want to be `rescued` nor do their parents treat them as unwanted. In fact, every time a Nat family loses its children to such `rescue` operations, they work tirelessly, and spend thousands of rupees on lawyers and sundry touts who operate around the `protection homes` of the NGOs to regain their children."

Read more http://www.sundayguardianlive.com/lifestyle/11735-violating-child-rights-pretext-rescue-operations

The Wellbeing Web

"The web allows the practitioner to build up a picture of the progress being made in addressing wellbeing worries over the course of time. This provides a clear, visual picture of the child’s wellbeing development. "

"The wellbeing web can be incorporated into the child’s Personal Learning Plan. This ensures that you are incorporating the child’s voice into their development plan."

----------------------------

"It lets us work together with parents on different aspects of children`s wellbeing.."

It does not matter that the different `aspects` of wellbeing are as ill-defined as `wellbeing` itself. It is anything to get that `clear, visual picture`. (personal data)

See Dear Experts: Quit Telling Us How to "Correctly" Bond with Our Kids

And the latest from NO2NP　http://no2np.org/postcards-fringe-families-give-evidence-named-persons/

Human Rights ?

[UK Column News 22 November 2017]

Mike Robinson does not understand why British people have forgotten 1500 years of history. "I do not understand why people have forgotten that the rights of British people are unalienable. They`re based on the notion that our rights cannot be removed and this is the problem with human rights. They start with the premise that you have no rights and this is the European model, a blank piece of paper and you start writing down what rights people have. Then of course they can be taken away. If your constitution is based on the idea that your rights are unalienable then they can`t be removed. And I do not understand why people, including many many campaigners go running off to Europe to uphold their rights when they have rights which are based on British law and British constitutional law and they should really be demanding those rather than this European model."

"Mike you say some people have forgotten about it. We`ve got the issue that many young people are not taught about it. This is not being discussed in schools. Matters of the constitution and our history around the constitution are simply wiped off the education syllabus. So many people not talking about it. And then of course we have our press and media, particularly the BBC who simply stamp out any notion that this country has a constitution and we`re led to believe particularly by the BBC that the only way to go is by these human rights."

"I`m going to follow that segment up with this story which was sent through to us. We`re going back to February of this year. This is one of the most incredible stories I think I`ve ever come across. I`m sure our viewers and listeners are going to pick up the significance of this very quickly. So the article was picked up in Community Care which is talking mainly about public sector and social work matters. And this is the article itself: "

"Three social workers who were named by a judge in an `exceptional` case which involved one of them lying on oath have been cleared of wrongdoing by the Health and Care Professions Council. (HCPC)"
"The social workers from Hampshire council - Sarah Walker-Smart, Kim Goode and Lisa Humphreys - were named by Judge Mark Horton in November 2015, after he found children had been illegally taken into care and a family`s human rights had been breached. He also found social workers had altered the report of another social worker to make it more negative and knowingly withheld evidence from the court."

"So this was all a `statement by the judge` about the actions of these particular social workers. But then we have this amazing situation:"

"In a statement to Community Care, the director of children`s services for Hampshire, Steve Crocker, said the HCPC had `vindicated` the council`s decision to back the social workers by exonerating them."

Mike Robinson: "I`m confused here Brian. These people committed a criminal act by lying in court. Is that what`s happened here ?"

"Yes."

"But the council has taken it upon itself to exonerate them."

"That is correct."

"It`s all fine now."

"Well it`s fine as far as these people are concerned but its not fine as far as the UK Column is concerned. Let`s follow the story through. Here`s Steve Crocker. This is what he had to say:"

"The judge agreed our applications for Care Orders. It was a very complex case, as evidenced in the findings involving very serious neglect to vulnerable children. The outcome of the court case at that time was consistent with the Local Authority`s application to the court - to safeguard very vulnerable children who were at risk of suffering significant harm as a result of neglect..."

"We are vindicated in this view by the Health and Care Professional Council`s (HCPC) findings in exonerating those social workers. The reason for publishing or not publishing their decision is a matter for the HCPC. We have no further comment to make..."

"Therefore whilst there was some criticism by the Judge determining the care orders there was no logic in appealing the outcome of the case which was made in the best interests of the children. Representations were made through other routes but we will not comment on those further ..."

"So a Judge picks up these social workers. He singles them out in a court case. That is sort of described as `comment by the Judge` and it`s overturned by Hampshire county council with the help of this professional standards body. Quite interesting isn`t it?"

 

"So if we have a look at this in a little bit of UK Column network form - wiring diagram form I often call it - we`ll remind ourselves: `The social workers were judged in court to have lied on oath, knowingly withheld evidence, altered reports to make them more negative .... Judge deemed children illegally taken into care and family`s human rights breached. But the court order the Hampshire county council were making went through.` This is the point."

"But this organisation - HCPC (Health & Care Professions Council) was brought in and it says:"

"We can confirm we were made aware of the Court`s comments and we investigated the concerns raised through our fitness to practise process. Our legislation requires that the earlier stages of this process are dealt with as private matters; therefore we cannot make public the detail of the information we received. However, we followed our usual approach and reviewed all the information obtained, including legal advice to assess whether the concerns met our Standards of Acceptance. The concerns did not meet them which meant we did not proceed to the next stage of the process."

Mike Robinson: "Wow ! "

"Wow. Thank you. And we`ll carry on. Somebody complained and then that complaint was taken to the Professional Standards Authority and the Professional Standards Authority responsible for HCPC said this:"

"I should let you know that the authority has no powers to intervene in decisions made by the HCPC at its investigation stages. However, if we have concerns about its approach we may raise those directly with the HCPC, or consider them within our annual performance review. "

Brian Gerrish:  "Now I called both HCPC and the Professional Standards Authority this morning to get comment from them. I haven`t had comment back but we`re going to stay on the case because - how can we stress what this means?"

"Well let`s bring in this man, John Tradewell, Staffordshire Legal Services. And this is the local authority`s solicitor who said this in relation to new powers for local authorities:"

"The importance of these words is actually much more fundamental. The words themselves speak of a local government with real power and capacity. A local authority has power to do anything. Those are the words that everyone will hear and understand. Lawyers may read on into the detail but not many others will go further than these words ... They give us a new definition of the nature of a local authority... " [Source: Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors. Re: `General Power of Competence`.]

"We are now seeing a local authority which is Hampshire simply saying: `Well we don`t care what the Judge said in court. We`re going to overturn it and exonerate the people`."

"We`re in a lawless state Mike."

 

"And let`s complete the circle by bringing on this couple Paul & Asha. Paul and Asha had their children taken but it was UK Column that put out the horrific video of their baby being snatched out of mother`s arms by social workers. I can still hear the mother`s screams while that was happening. And this was all being done under a local authority where the senior man was saying: `A local authority has the power to do anything`..."

"So I`m going to say:  Justice in the UK? Human rights in the UK? Absolutely none. Utter, utter corruption running through the courts and of course the government system."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zgUvVUH6ck

　

The Cyril Smith cover- up

[UK Column News: Tuesday 21 November 2017]

Mike Robinson: "Well something interesting happened in parliament yesterday. Can you believe that ? "

Brian Gerrish: "Well it certainly wasn`t to do with defence and the Channel. So it must have been something exceptional."

On screen there appears a snippet from the House of Commons showing Ms Lisa Nandy MP who says: "The Home Secretary told me some papers would be withheld from the Cyril Smith inquiry for national security reasons. This week the Prime Minister has written to say, `We are clear that the work of security services will not prevent information being shared with other such inquiries.` So can she confirm to survivors of Cyril Smith who have waited for justice for decades that she was wrong and that the Prime Minister is right?" 

Amber Rudd: "Well I`m happy to confirm that the Prime Minister is always right... And I certainly will look at the letter the honourable lady has received to ensure that we comply with it."

Mike Robinson: "Now I`m sure Amber Rudd was speaking purely tongue in cheek there. I`m sure she wasn`t really serious about that."

 

Brian Gerrish: "Well I would suspect she is Mike because as you pointed out yesterday it`s clear that Conservative Central Office is telling backbenchers what to say in matters of defence. So I think we`ve now got a political system where the leaders are always right. Their views are the correct views and if you don`t follow those views you`re going to be leaving the party pretty quickly."

Mike Robinson: "So any way, the question is: why would an investigation, or papers related to an investigation involving child sexual abuse carried out by a member of parliament - why would that fall under the remit of the [national] security services... ?"

Brian Gerrish: "Inherently it would be under national security ... to see what the blackmail risk is principally for politicians and military people which is why the so-called personal vetting and background checks take place. You want to know about the background so that if you had somebody who`s involved in crime or taking drugs or involved in prostitution - whatever it is - they can be at risk of blackmail from a foreign power ..."

Mike Robinson: "OK, that`s fair enough for a currently serving MP or currently serving member of the government but of course what we`re talking about here is Cyril Smith who hasn`t been a sitting MP for quite a number of years and is in fact deceased. So in this case, you`ve got to wonder why Theresa May - well she`s apparently overruled this situation - but why the Home Office would think that any papers relating to a deceased MP would fall under the remit of national security when it`s historical?"

Brian Gerrish: "Well, my opinion. Because that historical path would bring us up to the present day and it would show ... not only the covering up of child abuse but the fact that child abuse itself is not historical, it`s an ongoing theme in the British government. So that would be my suggestion as to what the fear is."

Mike Robinson: "Of course MI5 does know some things and that came out in the Child Abuse Inquiry...  a week or two ago, whenever. They were looking into the situation in Rochdale which of course was where Cyril Smith was MP and what came out of that was that the Department for Public Prosecutions, as it was then,  had told MI5 that they were aware of allegations against Cyril Smith but these were spurious allegations in the media... We didn`t need to worry about them too much. Unfortunately the Department for Public Prosecutions` director at the time tried to cover this up. So the Inquiry has discovered this communication between DPP and MI5. So maybe there`s going to be more coming out from the Inquiry on this involvement - this awareness of the security services. You`ve got to ask the question: If they were aware of allegations, why didn`t they investigate further?"

Laughter.

Brian Gerrish: "We have to say `in the public interest.` Because it`s NOT in the public interest to know that you have paedophiles who are not only MPs but are part of serving government."

This report occurs 14.16 minutes into the news.

Here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqH0B-SUsf8

"Smith was a Liberal MP for Rochdale between 1972 and 1992. "

"The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse has heard allegations of abuse at Cambridge House hostel and Knowl View residential school, where he was a governor." 

"It will publish its findings next year."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-42064124　

BMA fails to stand against privatisation

Published on 21 Nov 2017

"The chair of the British Medical Association, Dr Chaand Nagpaul was invited to speak at a Health Campaigns Together meeting on the 4th of November."

"His performance contains several key privatisation lobby marketing lines which if implemented will deliver our entire NHS into the hands of corporate profiteers, especially the American private insurance industry."

See Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeaQ8NZa9zQ

Universal Children`s Day

Are children being exploited in order to push forward a global agenda designed for an elite group of internationalists ?

This topic is discussed on UK Column News.

Here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcueOt3BynI

Melanie Shaw moved again

Melanie Shaw, child abuse survivor and whistleblower, has been moved to another prison. For details listen to Brian Gerrish on UK Column News. (about 8 minutes)

Here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPAZrojvsCI

Melanie Shaw`s new address:

A4126DE
HMP Styal
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 4HR

Here is testimony from another whistleblower about Beechwood care home where Melanie stayed and witnessed abuse.

Whistleblower to sue police

"A FORMER detective commended for his work on the Baby P investigation is suing police after claiming he was bullied for exposing child abuse and corruption."

 

"John Wedger said he was forced into early retirement from the Metropolitan Police after suffering a breakdown last year brought on by post traumatic stress disorder."

 

"The former detective constable has begun a civil claim against Scotland Yard seeking damages for psychiatric injury arising from work-related stress."

"Mr Wedger said he was bullied after filing an intelligence report alleging that some of his colleagues knew a prostitute was pimping out girls as young as nine but turned a blind eye."

"He claimed he was told by a high-ranking Met officer to keep quiet or be “thrown to the wolves”. "

"Last night father-of-four Mr Wedger said: “I joined the police to serve the community and make a difference. I have wholeheartedly, loyally and relentlessly pursued, arrested and prosecuted those I was tasked to target. "

“Yet for doing so and digging up information the police did not want to deal with, my life was made hell.”

"Mr Wedger, 47, was involved in an investigation into a well known prostitute in 2004 who was suspected of using children. She was linked to organised crime but intelligence from “multiple sources” suggested she also had connections within the local police. "

"The prostitute would ply youngsters, including a 14-year-old girl, with drugs and alcohol and then pimp them out to men in budget hotels near Paddington railway station in west London."
 
"During the course of the operation, Mr Wedger says he found that not only were the police aware the youngsters were being used for sex but he believed at least one officer was supplying the criminal gang with information about the investigation."

"After filing an intelligence report, he was brought in to see a senior officer at Scotland Yard headquarters. "

"Mr Wedger said: “He told me in a firm and formal manner that I had ‘dug too deep’. "

"He then stated that if I mentioned a word of my findings outside of his office then he would make sure I was ‘thrown to the wolves’.
“He said I had a job, mortgage and children to think about. He then asked me if I felt bullied at work. I replied that I was indeed bullied."

"He said there was a fairness at work form which I needed to complete."

"He said that once the form was completed it would be sent back to him. "

"Pointing to a wastepaper bin he told me, ‘That’s where it will end up. I will never betray fellow rank nor will anyone else. Keep your mouth shut.’"

"On his last day with the unit he was called in by the same officer.
He said: “He offered me his hand, I reciprocated, and he said, ‘You must give your word that you will never look into child prostitution ever again.’ The experience left me traumatised and paranoid.” "

"Mr Wedger joined the Child Abuse Investigation Command in the borough of Haringey where he became involved with the investigation in 2007 into baby Peter Connelly’s death. He was later praised and rewarded for the way he handled an interview with Peter’s mother, Tracey. "

"In 2014, following the Jimmy Savile and Rotherham paedophile scandals, Mr Wedger repeated his claims of a cover-up and the bullying he suffered to a detective inspector, who he says ignored them."

"He then approached the Met’s department of professional standards and was interviewed over two days."

"Later that year Mr Wedger was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. "

"Due to his protracted time off sick he was placed on half pay, which plunged him into debt."

"Despite being placed under the care of an NHS mental health team and given counselling, he twice returned to work in 2015, first on the fraud investigation team and then on the road deaths unit."

"However, the return to work made his PTSD even worse.
Mr Wedger, of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, was finally given early ill health retirement last month after 23 years of service.
He added: “I’m relieved to be out. I felt at the centre of a huge conspiracy and very much alone.” "

"He is now being supported by his local MP, Sir Mike Penning, who has written to Met chief Cressida Dick for a response to the allegations."

"Sir Mike said: “There are some really serious answers to deal with both on what John says happened and the way he was treated afterwards.” "

"A Met spokesman said: “We have received a civil claim from John Wedger. We are considering the claim and will respond in due course as required by the court procedures.” "
http://www.express.co.uk/…/baby-peter-detective-john-wedger…

See More

 

 

Baby P detective sues ‘bully’ police after exposing child abuse and corruption

 

 

Launch of Fresh Start

The hypocrisy of the Scottish Government

Robust guidance required for Named Persons

"Guidance for professionals involved in the Scottish Government's named person scheme must be straight-forward and accessible, a Holyrood committee has been told."
 
"MSPs on the Education Committee heard confusion surrounding a code of practice for the scheme could result in teachers and health visitors becoming defensive about sharing information about children."

"One of the main changes put forward in the new Children and Young People (Information Sharing) (Scotland) Bill is that a duty to share information which could support, promote or safeguard the well-being of a child would become a duty to consider whether to share that information. However there are concerns an accompanying draft code of practice, aimed at helping named persons make decisions on data sharing, lacks clarity. Jackie Niccolls, of the Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership, told MSPs that staff need `robust guidance` on what information they can share, and reassurance that they are not going to be personally liable if they share or do not share information."

Read more at: http://www.scotsman.com/news/named-person-scheme-must-have-robust-guidance-holyrood-committee-told-1-4571341

Child abuse panel members were bullied

Published on 11 Aug 2017

"`How can there be an independent inquiry if there's no place to complain?` asks Sharon Evans, CEO of Dot com Children's Foundation, who is one of the two members from the child abuse panel warning that inquiries aren't independent from the government."

Special series in Sunday Guardian

More from Suranya Aiyar in collaboration with various other campaigners against child protection abuse:

"The most suspect and frustrating of all in child protection cases I hold to be the absence of any requirement of proof, of stated and reasoned cause, or of concrete answers. Allegations are made without any form of documentation, just expressions like `we think` and `our assessment"` The County Committees accept vague, undefined claims and arguments, and do not demand anything in the way of quality control and concrete justification for the CWS’s conclusions. I have lost count of how many times I have read, and heard, that the answer of the CWS to questions is that there has been a `professional assessment based on child expertise`, an undefinable phrase which even the Ministry of Children and Equality says does not give a concrete explanation of anything at all. Or the proposed measures are said to `have been assessed to be in the best interest of the child`. It is never revealed what these `assessments` consist of, what the background for the `assessments` is, and which concrete points constitute the basis of the assessments."

http://www.sundayguardianlive.com/lifestyle/11055-norway-s-child-confiscation-policies-are-disastrous-unjust

Contact centres

https://www.facebook.com/saved/?cref=53&pnref=story

When parents lose their children after social work involvement they are often required to maintain their family relationships in `contact centres` but there is little help to make these contacts successful. On the contrary, they are often used to frustrate the wishes of the family.

Freedom of information requests reveal `secret` Named Person meetings

[Leslie Scott]

"A year ago this week, in an effort to address the concerns raised by the UK Supreme Court over the Named Person scheme, education secretary John Swinney announced a three month period of "intense engagement" with practitioners, public agencies, third sector organisations and members of the public, including parents and children and young people, but not those opposed to the scheme.."

"Crucially, the commissioner `accepts that there was a deliberate decision to create meeting summaries instead of formal minutes for the meetings relating to the information sharing provisions of the Named Person policy`. The views of one person who participated in the "intense engagement" regarding the meeting summary are included in the commissioner’s decision... "

"This situation is most unsettling. It is clear that a major government engagement programme was conducted without detailed records being kept of the responses. It is furthermore apparent that the "meeting summaries" omitted some negative comments and thereby altered the content of the only record towards the government position."

"Of even greater concern is the scope of the meetings that are going unrecorded. It seems that vast amounts of government business is being done in secret."

"Specifically, interactions with major charities, agencies and organisations - whom the public believe to be independent of government - are going unrecorded. What does this mean for transparency in government? What does it mean for the freedom of information? What does this mean for citizen oversight?"


Read more at http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/blogs/named-person-legislation-isnt-transparent#mTtPXRHzOuuMZsQ8.99

　

Indian mother says NO

Women are not getting safety warnings about Epilim

"Almost 70% of women surveyed about a powerful epilepsy drug have not received new safety warnings about the dangers of taking it during pregnancy, the BBC has been told exclusively. "

"Sodium valproate, known as Epilim, carries a 10% risk of physical abnormalities in unborn babies. "

"About 20,000 children have been harmed by valproate medicines in the UK since the 1970s."

"The medicines regulator said the drug had been kept under constant review."

"Babies exposed to the drug in the womb have a 40% risk of developing autism, low IQ and learning disabilities."

"The survey of 2,000 women and girls with epilepsy under 50 was commissioned by three charities - Epilepsy Society, Epilepsy Action and Young Epilepsy."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41345647

Resistance to drilling under homes

[12 September 2017]

"There is a road in Lancashire, England that you cannot cross without risk of arrest; where everyday people from everyday lives are found amidst scenes of police violence and protest actions as we climb seemingly insurmountable hurdles whilst swathed in restrictive red tape… and why? Because the UK government wants our area ruined for gas extraction."

"And we’re saying no."

"Last October, the government overturned the local government’s refusal to allow Cuadrilla’s test drilling at the Preston New Road site, in the Fylde, Lancashire; they are now constructing up to four wells."

"In response, there has been daily resistance, energetic protests and blockades, with local residents joined by supporters from far and wide. The site is the largest fracking development in the UK, and the first where permission has been given for horizontal drilling under homes."

"The shale gas industry plans to use the unconventional gas extraction method of fracking at this site between Preston and Blackpool – and this is just the start. Licenses have been given throughout England – Scotland, Ireland (both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) and Wales have wisely put moratoriums or bans in place – and fracking work is also underway at a site in Yorkshire near Kirby Misperton, lorries beginning delivering equipment this week. There are also many other areas where fracking is being pursued; opposition too continues to grow, with the campaigner Joe Corre the high court today attempting to stop a sweeping injunction by the firm Ineos against anti-fracking protests..."

"It takes very little to understand why we do this; a quick internet search for ‘fracking + health’, ‘fracking + miscarriage’, ‘fracking + farming’, ‘fracking + drinking water’, ‘fracking + earthquakes’ will set you off on a path of discovery that you’ll wish you’d never started, but you’ll be unable turn back from. Once you know the risks, you can’t un-know them – and for anyone with responsibility for children, it is impossible to turn away."

Read more https://newint.org/blog/2017/09/12/fracking-protests-arrest 
　

Bombs made in Britain

Reputation management on `World Democracy Day`

Brian Gerrish from UK Column says: "If we look to see how power is being misplaced ... we can pick up on this Guardian article. ... So here`s the headline: London could get £50m armed police base to tackle terrorism. So this terrorist threat is key to so much that is happening here in the UK and overseas at the moment."

"What do they say? A new £50m base for armed police officers in London is one of a series of measures being proposed to protect the public from terrorist attacks. So the soft sell. It`s all to look after us."

"And this is going to be in the Limehouse area: `The base, planned for Limehouse in the east of the capital, would house at least 200 officers and contain a firing range, weapons storage and other facilities, it is understood`. And the text goes on to say this is vital to ensure that the police can be fully trained and there to protect us."

"This was the bit that interested me. It says, `Details of the plans, which have been submitted by the Metropolitan police to the Mayor`s office for police and crime.` (Mopac) So this is not something to do with armed police that is debated in parliament.  It is simply pushed into the Mayor of London`s office for somebody to say, `Yeah, I think this is a great idea. Let`s get more armed police in London`."

"So where do we go? Well we go to this lady the Deputy Mayor of London, and [Sophie Linden] - we`ll come on to in a bit more detail in a moment - and if you go and have a look at the Mayor`s website you`ll see that she is the lady with all the experience to look at the police policy. She`s going to evaluate this latest one."

"And she essentially gets her powers delegated. The Mayor himself gets the power initially. He`s delegated to her as Deputy Mayor and what it means is effectively she has the same powers as a Police and Crime Commissioner in other areas of the country."

"So this woman is going to make the decision. What do we know about her? Well she`s spent quite a lot of time working in government. She was adviser to Blunkett. And when we looked at the details on the Mayor`s website it says that she`s also worked in the voluntary sector as a campaigns and policy manager, campaigning to end child poverty - they`re always involved with children and looking after the welfare of children - but it says she`s also been in the private sector as a Director of Public Affairs.

"I`ll just highlight that because I thought how interesting that it doesn`t give any more details. So we went to have a quick look and what do we come up with? Well, we note here that this was the bit that she was acting with public affairs. And it was Director of Bell Pottinger Public Affairs... She calls herself a Director from 2006 - 2008 but she`s only part-time. But this is the Public Affairs section of Bell Pottinger which is itself a public affairs and reputation management agency."

Mike Robinson: "So this is the Reputation Management Department for the Reputation Management Agency."

"Yeah. So I think you`d put some pretty key people in there because if you`re in amongst some dirty stuff ... as a company you want to be sure that the people who manage your reputation are fully in the picture."

Police outside Mr Litvinenko`s home

"So this is where it gets interesting. Because although it`s only two years why are we interested in Bell Pottinger? Well if we go back to reports in 2006, this is the Guardian pointing out that Bell Pottinger was involved in matters going on around Litvinenko - so this was the Russian who was poisoned. It was blamed on the KGB. Of course Putin`s name was supposedly connected with this and Bell Pottinger was in amongst some very very dirty stuff where people were being murdered. I`m not suggesting that was the result of Bell Pottinger but certainly they were handling reporting around this issue."

"We can go on. We`ve got another report here. This is about Thatcher and it`s saying that `Thatcher`s PR guru has been involved in manipulating propaganda in Iraq`. And this is where the story gets particularly interesting because Bell Pottinger had a cool 500 million dollars from the US in order to create fictitious propaganda supposedly for Al-Qaeda  and the objective was to leave this stuff around supposedly spoiling Al-Qaeda`s reputation but of course nobody knew whether this was real or false propaganda."

"And it went on. And this is into the present day. So we`ve got Bell Pottinger being accused of inciting racial hatred in South Africa. And that`s now taken a very serious turn: `PR company Bell Pottinger will go into administration tomorrow with 270 employees set to lose their jobs`."

Mike Robinson explains a bit more about the company saying that what is clear from mainstream media in the past is that this organisation is more than just about PR and reputation management. "It`s about making news stories and actually producing the news... What appears to be the case is that it`s a real 1984 type organisation where we create monsters for people to be scared of..."

Brian Gerrish adds: "So if we put the pieces together, we`ve got the situation where the Met police are saying `Well we`ve got this amazing terrorist threat` - some of it based on Al-Qaeda of course; some of it based on Isis. This is the lady who`s now going to say whether we`re going to get more armed police as a result. She was working for a company that was helping to create false terrorist propaganda."

Sophie Linden

 

"Now we`re not saying of course that she was directly involved. We want to ask a question: Does the Deputy, or Did the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden, was she actually aware of the activities of her company Bell Pottinger in creating this false terrorist propaganda? We could ask another question. Is that false terrorist propaganda now being used as the excuse to say we`ve got to have more armed police on the streets?"

"Well we haven`t got answers on this but I do find it interesting that she did not want to declare on the Mayor of London`s website that the company she worked for was Bell Pottinger. I wonder why she`d be so sensitive Mike?"

An update on Melanie Shaw

"Melanie Shaw has had a particularly rough time in HMP Peterborough. She was subsequently released but shortly afterwards, where there was a trial with no public attendance or press attendance, she was put back into prison.  She went into HM prison Foston Hall and we said a little while ago - a few weeks ago - that she`s been put through to Eastwood Park, Falfield Wotton under Edge, Gloucester GL12 8DB."

"Now the lady responsible for the imprisonment of Melanie Shaw is Theresa May, the British Prime Minister.  She was in her role as Home Secretary when Melanie was first imprisoned but of course Theresa May as Prime Minister has done absolutely nothing to protect this very vulnerable lady. On the contrary it appears that Theresa May is desperate to protect her conservatie party colleagues who are now very nervous at the deepening investigations into child abuse by British politicans, including Ted Heath."

"So what can we say about Melanie? Well, when she was in Foston Hall she wrote several letters in which she was saying that the prison was out of control. There were constant lock downs. She had spent virtually a year in solitary confinement. In this letter she was talking about alarms going off, officers losing control, women smoking joints quite openly in front of the prison guards and her description was of a very dangerous environment where things were out of control."

"Well, she`s been moved. under very strange circumstances. She was moved across to the Falfield  prison and the interesting thing about this is that the governor - a lady called Susan Dymond-White, a little while ago called for the government to give longer jail sentences to help offenders who have been abused. I hope you understand this."

Mike Robinson says: "I have to say I don`t."

"Well the logic is that those soft judges have been giving child abuse victims short sentences and she says the problem with that is: `While they`re in prison we can`t help them. We can`t help them with their psychological needs and help them if they`re on drugs...So what we need are longer sentences so that we can help these very vulnerable child abuse or sexual abuse victims`.  And she says - here is the quote: `It is impossible for inmates to be rehabilitated in a few short weeks`. "

"Now if you`re wondering if this is reality: Yes, this is absolute reality. The BBC reported her words and it`s reported in other places."

"So what sort of treament has Melanie been receiving under this wonderful regime by Ms Dymond-White?  Well she`s been kept in solitary confinement again. She`s been denied access to the Samaritans [ Melanie says it is standard procedure to allow prisoners to phone the Samaritans, but not for her.] She`s been denied basic toiletries. She`s escorted by three warders - they can be male and female - at all times including for showers and the toilet and ... the doors are kept open. Melanie is being subjected to abuse of course because very often these warders are male."

"She`s been denied books; she`s been denied any form of therapeutic work such as art. She`s not getting her telephone calls. Letters are being intercepted. They`ve also refused her the opportunity to earn money to pay for small essentials and luxuries and she`s been branded as a dangerous violent mentally ill inmate. And she is told that each day is Wednesday and if you ask the time it is always `ten to two`. "

"So if we have a look at what is actually going on, Melanie is being held in what is supposedly a more open facility that has mental health facilities to assist prisoners but actually the treatment there is now more sinister and brutal than when she was in a high security prison. And we have a prison governor who thinks that you help child and sex abuse victims by giving them a longer sentence."

"So every day of the week is Wednesday. Every minute of the day is ten to two?" says Mike Robinson.

"If they ask: `What day is it?` They`re always told: `It`s Wednesday`, and if you ask: `What is the time?` They`re always told: `It`s ten to two`."

"This is how you imagine Soviet style..."

"Psychological torture. .. And this is all under the direct responsibility of Theresa May, the conservative party prime minister of Great Britain. This is the very same Theresa May that, standing on a world stage ...is telling North Korea how to behave or is telling the Russian or Chinese how to behave and remember that it is her party, the conservative party, that Tim Fortescue, party whip under the Ted Heath regime, was saying that politicians were coming to the whips and needing help. They perhaps had been involved in little boys...."

"So there`s no misunderstading here. It`s quite clear that the conservative party has been involved in the abuse of children - is involved with the abuse of children - and they`re prepared to lock abuse survivors up in prison to protect their reputation...Wonderful stuff. Welcome to democracy 2017, UK style."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-MlFY0ILQs&t=1982s

Susan Dymond-White