British
National
Party
Public Services News Bulletin w/c July 9th, 2007
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1. EIGHT AL QAEDA FANATICS WORKING
FOR THE POLICE
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=466832&in_page_id=1770&ct=5
Up to eight police officers and civilian staff are suspected
of links to extremist groups including Al Qaeda. Some are
even believed to have attended terror training camps in
Pakistan or Afghanistan. Their names feature on a secret
list of alleged radicals said to be working in the Metropolitan
and other forces. The dossier was drawn up with the help
of MI5 amid fears that individuals linked to Islamic extremism
are taking advantage of police attempts to increase the
proportion of ethnic staff. Astonishingly, many of the alleged
jihadists have not been sacked because - it is claimed -
police do not have the legal power to dismiss
them. We can also reveal that one suspected jihadist officer
working in the South East has been allowed to keep his job
despite being caught circulating Internet images of beheadings
and roadside bombings in Iraq. He is said to have argued
that he was trying to enhance debate about the
war. Classified intelligence reports raising concerns about
police staff's background cannot be used to justify their
dismissal, sources said. Instead, the staff who are under
suspicion are unofficially barred from working in sensitive
posts and are closely monitored. Political correctness is
blamed for the decision not to sack them. It is widely feared
that long-term Al Qaeda sleepers are trying
to infiltrate other public sector organisations in the UK.
In November last year, it was revealed that a leading member
of an extremist Islamic group was working as a senior official
at the Home Office.
MI5 has warned in the past that suspects with strong
links to Osama Bin Laden's killers have tried to join
the British security services and, in January, exiled radical
Omar Bakri claimed that Islamic extremists were infiltrating
the police and other public sector organisations. Suspicions
are growing that the gang behind the failed London bomb
attacks could have received inside information about rescue
procedures in the aftermath of an atrocity in the capital.
The Daily Mail can reveal that the second device parked
near Haymarket was left at a designated evacuation
assembly point where civilians and the emergency services
would have gathered had the first bomb gone off. Investigators
are trying to establish whether the bombers knew the significance
of the location. Sources said it is unlikely that the Met
is the only force which may have been infiltrated by Al
Qaeda sympathisers. Omar Altimimi, a failed asylum seeker
jailed for nine years yesterday for hoarding manuals on
how to carry out car bombings, had applied to work as a
cleaner for the Greater Manchester force. In a separate
development, it is understood that a policeman was removed
from his post after concerns about his conduct in the aftermath
of a major anti-terrorist operation in the past two years.
For legal reasons, the Mail cannot reveal any more about
the case. The MI5 list of suspected Islamists working in
the police is said to have been drawn up in the aftermath
of the 7/7 terror attacks in London. MI5 checked staff details
at the Met and other forces with intelligence databases
on individuals said to have attended radical Islamic schools
- or Madrassas - and terror training camps in Pakistan and
Afghanistan. It is thought that intelligence files on those
who frequently visit pro-Jihad websites and who have associated
with so-called preachers of hate were also compared to details
of officers and civilian staff in the Met. As a result of
the review, eight officers and civilian staff were identified
as Al Qaeda sympathisers or people of concern because of
their links to Islamic extremists. The disclosure will raise
concerns about the system for vetting new recruits, each
of whom is the subject of counter-terrorism checks to ensure
they are suitable to join the police. Scotland Yard's vetting
unit is regarded as one of the best in the country. But
sources said it is often impossible to carry out satisfactory
checks on recruits who were raised overseas or who have
spent considerable periods out of Britain before applying
to join the Met. In such cases, the Met has to rely on overseas
agencies to carry out intelligence checks on their behalf.
Privately, officials doubt whether certain countries in
Africa, Middle East or the Indian sub-continent are able
to carry out meaningful vetting. As a result of the Stephen
Lawrence public inquiry report, which accused the Met of
being institutionally racist, Scotland Yard
has in recent years employed thousands of officers and civilian
staff from the ethnic minorities in an attempt to reach
recruitment targets. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: All
employees upon joining the Met and during their careers
undergo a range of security checks. These are robust and
vary according to the type and sensitivity of individual
postings. We take matters of security very seriously
and if an issue arises, people may be subjected to further
assessment. This may lead to restrictions in relation
to where an individual works in the organisation or whether
they are suitable to remain in the service.
2. COUNCIL TAX HAS DOUBLED IN
TEN YEARS
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=463853&in_page_id=1770
Council tax has risen by almost three times the rate of
inflation over the past decade. Research from Halifax found
that the average household council tax bill has almost doubled
over the course of 10 years and is currently 91% higher
than when Tony Blair came to power. Over the same period
average earnings have increased by 51%, while retail price
inflation has risen by just 31%. The typical UK household
now has to stump up £1,078 to pay the annual charge
to their billing authority, compared to £564 in the
1997/98 financial year. Residents of Monmouthshire have
seen the biggest percentage increase during the decade,
with council tax hikes amounting to 184%. It is followed
by Powys and Westminster, where council tax per household
rose by 150% and 149% respectively over the period. More
than half of all districts have experienced at least a doubling
in council tax bills since 1997, figures show. Richmond-upon-Thames
has the dubious honour of topping the list of districts
with the highest average council tax. The typical household
in the leafy London borough will have to pay £1,665
this year, compared to £807 a decade ago. In contrast,
residents in Wandsworth face an average bill of £641
in the 2007/08 financial year, up from £388 in 1997/98.
The South East is revealed as the most expensive region
in terms of council tax per household, with Wales being
the cheapest. Researchers looked at the average council
tax in all 408 of the billing authorities in Great Britain
as part of the study.
3. DOCTORS SUICIDAL
BECAUSE OF RECRUITMENT FIASCO
British graduate doctors can't find a job, but the NHS keeps
hiring plenty of foreigners!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=463798&in_page_id=1770
More than one in five junior doctors say they have contemplated
suicide due to stress brought on by the recruitment fiasco.
And a third say they have made more mistakes at work as
a result of the flawed Modernising Medical Careers programme.
Almost 700 doctors were questioned by the Royal College
of Psychiatrists about how their wellbeing was affected
by the botched recruitment process. More than 30,000 doctors
are fighting for around 22,000 training posts, and the online
selection procedures have been strongly criticised. Preliminary
results from the survey found that 21 per cent of junior
doctors have had suicidal thoughts as a result of the scheme.
Some 94 per cent reported higher stress levels than normal,
and 90 per cent of these put this down to the recruitment
process. A third said they had drunk more in the past six
months and others have shown symptoms of anxiety, depression,
sleep disturbance, a sense of hopelessness, less fulfilling
sex, lack of appetite and tearfulness. Jo Hilbourne, chairman
of the British Medical Association's junior doctors' committee,
said: These findings are deeply worrying, but not
surprising. Junior doctors have been kicked around
by this deeply flawed application system and thousands still
don't know if they have got a job to go to. The Health
Department said that as far as possible all
doctors with the right skills and abilities would be offered
a training opportunity.
4. EXECUTIVE PLANS TASK FORCE
TO TACKLE HOUSING
A better solution would be to stop mass immigration; the
main reason for the housing shortage.
http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/news/display.var.1490676.0.0.php
The Scottish Executive wants a task force to tackle the
growing housing shortage, Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell
announced yesterday. Chaired by the minister, the Housing
Supply Task Force will challenge land supply and planning
issues with the aim of making it easier for more homes to
be built. But other elements of the administration's approach
to housing were left unclear, including a £2000 grant
for first-time home buyers and whether it would continue
with housing stock transfer. It is also postponing a decision
on whether it will follow through on its plans to scrap
the Communities Scotland agency responsible for housing.
And while it will not scrap the right to buy council homes,
it will look for more local flexibility where
sales have led to local housing shortages. On starter home
grants, the executive will review the case for a housing
support fund as part of the wider spending review in autumn,
along with a wide-ranging public consultation on a policy
area that is fast moving up the political agenda due to
shortages, rising prices and planning pressures. The minister's
talks with the private sector about building more homes
had already started. Mr Maxwell made the announcement following
the publication of a report into the future of Scotland's
housing market. It showed that in the Edinburgh area, 30%
of working households cannot afford to buy the cheapest
properties on the market. The task force will be drawn from
local authorities, house builders, housing associations
and housing interest groups.
5. RAIL FIRMS SECRET PLAN
FOR PENALTY FARE CASH
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1969212.ece
Britains biggest train company has told its guards
that they will be disciplined and possibly dismissed if
they show discretion to passengers who are unable to buy
tickets before boarding because of long queues at stations.
It is the latest example of the lengths to which operators
are going in order to pay the billion-pound premiums demanded
by the Government for rail franchises. A confidential memo,
obtained by The Times, reveals that South West Trains is
introducing a system under which guards are judged according
to the amount they collect in penalties. The memo, headed
commercially sensitive, please do not circulate,
instructs guards to treat passengers as fare dodgers even
if they come up to the guard on the train and ask to buy
a ticket. The guards must sell the most expensive peak ticket
and give no railcard discounts, meaning that passengers
will usually pay more than double the normal price.
Those travelling between London and Weymouth are being charged
£82 on board for a ticket which would have cost £35
at the station. Another company, First Group, has also made
controversial changes to pay the high premiums, including
withdrawing carriages in the West Country and doubling fares
on some routes in London. South West Trains is telling guards
that they will be held accountable if they accept any explanations,
even if passengers had to queue for more than 15 minutes
to buy a ticket and were about to miss their train. The
warning comes even though the company is obliged to make
a reasonable endeavour to ensure no passenger
waits more than five minutes at peak times to buy a ticket,
or three minutes outside the peak. Passenger groups have
accused the company of profiting from its failure to provide
enough ticket facilities. It has admitted that it does not
have enough ticket machines and has said that it will install
another 194 by September next year.
But many passengers are confused by the growing variety
of fares on offer and want to buy them from members of staff,
who are obliged legally to sell the cheapest option. The
memo also says that children must be penalised in the same
circumstances, even at weekends and on Bank Holidays, when
cheaper fares are available but ticket offices are often
closed because of staff shortages. A child travelling between
London and Poole would have to pay £37.70 for a journey
that should have cost £22.70. The memo adds: Once
on the train, even if they approach you, they are only entitled
to buy a full fare ticket . . . do not use discretion just
because its the easy option. Guards must also
tell passengers that they could be liable for an additional
£20 on-the-spot fine or penalty fare, and could be
prosecuted for fare evasion. From now, your commercial
duties will be measured in three main areas: the amount
of revenue that you collect; the type of tickets that you
sell; and the number of penalty fare warnings issued.
All 800 of the companys guards have been sent on a
training course to teach them the new policy and how to
deal with angry passengers.
One told The Times: We are in the horrible position
of having to enforce a policy we know to be unfair, or risk
losing our jobs. Other companies are more understanding.
Keith Ludeman, chief executive of Go-Ahead, which operates
Southern and South Eastern and yesterday won the new West
Midlands franchise, said: I wouldnt expect somebody
to pay extra when they werent able to buy a ticket
because the queues were too long. The Department for
Transport said it was investigating queuing times at South
West Trains stations and would take action if the
company was breaching the regulation. South West Trains,
which agreed last year to pay the Government £1.2
billion over ten years, caused outrage last month by raising
some off-peak fares by 20 per cent. Brian Souter, chief
executive of the parent company, Stagecoach, saw his familys
estimated wealth double to £770 million this year,
partly because of profits of more than £1 million
a week at South West Trains.
6. WHITE BOYS 'BEING LEFT BEHIND'
BY EDUCATION SYSTEM
Another example of discrimination against native Britons.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=463614&in_page_id=1770
Two-thirds of pupils classified as low achievers are boys,
research has revealed. And white boys are being particularly
badly failed by the education system, according to a study
by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. White British pupils
make up more than three-quarters of those who leave school
with few or no qualifications, and are more likely to be
low achievers than ethnic minority pupils from families
with similar incomes. The research team said underperformance
by white pupils - and boys in particular - was a big
and ignored problem. Afro-Caribbean students are also
under-achieving - but they have been improving faster than
the national average. Also, they do no worse than white
British pupils in similar financial circumstances. Chinese
and Indian pupils are least likely to be classed as low
achievers. Research earlier this year from Manchester University
found money was being targeted at pupils with English as
an additional language. But pupils who do not speak English
at home only find this a short-term handicap, according
to the Rowntree researchers. White learners from highly
disadvantaged backgrounds were reportedly often overlooked,
the Manchester University report said. One local authority
officer told researchers that white poverty and underachievement
aren't as headline-grabbing or sexy. Schools Minister
Jim Knight said: Boosting achievement for low-achieving
groups is at the heart of our education reforms.
7. LABOUR COMPENSATES EARLY-RELEASE
PRISONERS
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=463785&in_page_id=1770
Criminals given a get out of jail free card
by Labour will receive almost £200 spending money
at the prison gates. The payouts will be made to all 25,500
of the inmates due to be released 18 days early to solve
the Government's overcrowding shambles - at a cost to the
taxpayer of £4.5million. The payments, which are supposed
to cover living costs over those 18 days, effectively compensate
offenders for the fact they will not be receiving the bed
and board otherwise provided by prison. Incredibly,
however, the first convicts to benefit will be given their
£172.24 in cash when they walk free next Friday. The
Ministry of Justice will simply hand over a bundle of notes
- which means there is nothing to stop the money being blown
on drink, drugs or gambling. Governors have been instructed
to make sure they have enough cash in their prison to ensure
nobody misses out on the windfall, which follows last Tuesday's
humiliating decision to order the early release plan. The
burglars, drug dealers and fraudsters will also be entitled
to have their rent paid by the Government for 18 days, at
a cost of hundreds of pounds each. Shadow Home Secretary
David Davis said: This Government's prisons policy
is descending into a Monopoly-style farce.
First it resembled 'get out of jail free', now it is a case
of 'get out of jail and receive £200'. Blair
Gibbs, campaign director for the Taxpayers' Alliance said:
We know from reoffending rates that a lot of these
prisoners will be out committing new crimes in a matter
of days. Letting them out early to prey on the innocent
is bad enough but law-abiding taxpayers shouldn't be paying
them a bonus to go and get tooled-up and drugged-up. However
disgraceful, the early-release policy should be saving us
the expense of prison accommodation, not costing us more.
It is a scandal.
The payments, equivalent to around £10 spending money
each day, are nearly four times the usual £46 discharge
grant given to freed criminals. Rules say that anybody who
is supposed to be serving a prison sentence - which the
early release inmates still are - cannot receive any state
benefits. As a result, Justice Secretary Lord Falconer has
opted to give them a handout instead. Once the 18 days are
complete, they will begin receiving state benefits. Some
2,000 inmates approaching the end of their sentences will
be freed in the first weeks of the early release plan, reducing
a prison population close to bursting point at around 81,000.
Because of the hurried introduction of the policy, the first
payments will be made in one cash lump sum from next Friday.
Eventually the payments of £172.24 are likely be made
by giro cheque on a weekly basis. Rent payments - which
could be £100 a week or more - will be made direct
to landlords. The instruction to governors to make the payment
- PSI 27/2007 - emphasises the Government's desperation
to secure the early release of as many inmates as possible.
It says: Governors must immediately instigate arrangements
to identify eligible prisoners. Governors must prioritise
this work to ensure that as many eligible prisoners as possible
are released on 29 June and that subsequently prisoners
are released as soon as possible on reaching their eligibility
date. Lord Falconer had insisted there would be no
early release of inmates, but made a screeching U-turn after
running out of space in jails, prison cells and court cells.
The decision shredded once and for all Labour's promise
to be tough on crime and provoked howls of protest
from police and prison officers. The Prison Officers' Association
said the policy was the equivalent of giving offenders a
get out of jail free card. Over the course of
a year, 25,500 prisoners will be released early - a quarter
of the 100,000 sent to custody each year. Sex offenders,
the most serious violent offenders and criminals with a
history of breaching release conditions will be barred.
But burglars, drug dealers, fraudsters and thugs convicted
of affray or assault will all be let out. In the case of
criminals imprisoned for a month, they will serve only seven
days.
The overall aim is to reduce the numbers behind bars at
any one time by 1,200, so - with the courts currently jailing
people faster than those who have completed their sentence
are being released - the policy will remain in place indefinitely.
Otherwise, numbers would begin to rise sharply again. It
is hoped the move will see the Government through until
early next year when thousands more places will have been
built. A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: All
prisoners will be paid the normal discharge grant of £46
plus a subsistence payment in place of benefits payments
- for which they are ineligible under benefits regulations
- until their formal release date. An allowance will
also be paid to meet housing costs where applicable - these
payments will be made direct to housing providers, subject
to receipt of written confirmation from the landlord and
will not exceed the amount that would be paid as housing
benefit. The maximum amount of cash that prisoners
will be released with is £172.24. The cost will be
around £4.5million this financial year.
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