Daily News Summary
Friday, 9 May 2008
Main stories
Asbos `in their death throes'
The number of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (asbos) issued over the last 12 months has fallen by a third compared to the previous year, according to new Home Office figures. 61% of the orders were breached. It is claimed that the Government is distancing itself from asbos, which are regarded as Tony Blair's `flagship measure'. Times4, Gdn6, DMail27
`Hospital services face axe in NHS shake-up'
According to the Daily Telegraph, `scores of hospital departments' face closure under plans for a `radical shake-up of the NHS'. Health minister Lord Darzi denied closures were the main aim of the plans, but said that an ageing population and an increase in people with long-term conditions, such as diabetes and asthma, meant that `changes were needed'. DTel1
Number of people losing homes `soars'
Statistics to be released today are expected to indicate a `substantial' increase in repossessions in the first quarter of 2008 as compared to last year. DTel1and6
In the meantime the Daily Mail reports that mortgage costs are still rising, despite the Bank of England having `frozen' interest rates. DMail2
`Royal Mail pension deficit doubles to £7bn'
A £7bn hole in the Royal Mail pension fund is the latest revelation about the financial crisis faced by the state-owned postal operator, which has shut down 600 post offices so far and plans to close a further 2,100 to save money. An independent inquiry has warned this week that the liberalisation of the postal market, which has meant the introduction of private sector competition, has not provided any benefits to the average customer and is putting at risk the universal postage service. Gdn30, DMail33
ITV fined £6m over vote rigging
ITV has been fined by Ofcom (the broadcasting regulator) a record sum of nearly £6m, because of `grave and repeated irregularities in the premium-rate phone-in programmes'. Ofcom cited a number of reasons for the penalty, including selecting participants because they were known by producers and allowing voting to continue after winners had already been chosen. Gdn1and3, Times1and3, DMail1, FT4, Mirror7, Ind12 and more
Other stories
Union to demand tax rises for the rich
The GMB is pushing for the top limit of national insurance contributions to be raised. "The broadest shoulders should carry the heaviest loads", a spokesman said. FT2
EDF `snaps up "nuclear land"'
Europe's biggest power company has been `quietly buying land' around nuclear sites in England and Wales, in what are assumed to be expansionist plans which are likely to raise concerns among local residents and green campaigners. FT1
Good for you? The side effects of medicines
A new code for the pharmaceutical industry has been launched today, in an effort to encourage companies to be more transparent about the potential adverse effects of licensed drugs. FT4
Banks to `raise accounts fees to claw back overdraft charges'
As many as seven million customers are to see their account charges rise by up to 20 per cent this month, as banks expect the Office of Fair Trading to cap their `unfair' overdraft charges. DExp1, 6, DMail3, Ind9, DTel6
High court orders release of radical preacher
The High Court has decided to grant bail to Abu Qatada, under what Home Secretary Jacqui Smith admitted are `very strict conditions'. Last month the preacher won his appeal against deportation to Jordan, where he was likely to face trial `based on evidence obtained under torture'. He will now be placed under virtual house arrest, with a 22-hour curfew. Gdn4, Times8 and more
Columns, editorials, letters
The `right way to deal with young thugs'
Letters in the Guardian deal with the Government's latest announcements about dealing with young, troublesome people. Gdn39
An editorial in the Independent calls the new measures, outlined yesterday by Jacqui Smith, `another cynical gimmick'. Ind28
`Reclassifying cannabis is an empty gesture'
Independent30, Daily Express37 and Times20 readers discuss the issue.
`The financial crisis of capitalism'
We need to recognise that `booms and busts have been a feature of capitalism from the start', argues Samuel Brittan in the Financial Times. FT13
| [Previous] | [Next] |
These newspaper summaries are drawn up by staff at the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. They are not intended to be comprehensive, or wholly uniform in their approach. Instead, they reflect our individual and collective perspectives on the day's coverage, including our judgements in terms of relevance to the Centre's concerns. On occasion, they also reflect the inevitable time constraints within which we work.
You can read older daily news summaries here. To subscribe, click here, to unsubscribe click here.