Daily News Summary
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Main Stories
`Ministers must pay, says the taxman'
HM Revenue and Customs said last night, that more than 40 Government ministers who recouped the cost of accountancy bills on their expenses should have paid taxes on the claims. The Daily Telegraph investigation has found that nine cabinet ministers and 40 junior ministers have claimed back the cost of tax advice on expenses. Ministers say this was allowed by the rules. DTel1
`Police chief risks his career by refusing to return child abuse data to expert witness'
Colin Port, Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset, could face jail and an end to his police career, for defying a High Court order to return computers suspected of holding a collection of child abuse images to a former expert witness, who is now accused of possessing indecent images of children. According to the Times, Mr Port has said that returning the computer would be `tantamount to a neglect of duty'. Times3
`Home checks on high risk sex offenders are slashed'
Revised guidance from the Ministry of Justice has suggested that high risk offenders only need to be visited four times a year and low risk once or twice a year which is down from 2007 guidance of 12 visits a year. The Conservatives have blamed these new guidelines on a reduced probation service budget. DMail4. A report from the Centre on probation resources, staffing and workloads from April 2008 can be found here.
`N Korea warns missile tests will go on'
FT6, DTel1, All Papers
`MI5 face fresh torture allegations'
Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, faces legal action over allegations that MI5 colluded in the torture of a former civil servant by Bangladeshi intelligence agencies. A set of claims will be filed. Gdn1, 15
Other Stories
`Party leaders pledge to give more power to the public'
Ind1 & 4-5, DTel2, Times 1-2, Gdn1-2 & 6-7
`Poorer pupils feel "alienated"'
A study by the Sutton trust has found that poor pupils given places at private schools can feel alienated from their teachers and classmates. The study found that pupils in 1980s and 1990s assisted place scheme felt estranged as their parents couldn't afford to finance trips or activities. FT4
`Exploits of English law falter in credit crunch'
Lord Woolf, the country's former top judge, has said that the financial crisis has weakened the world embrace of English style commercial law and dealt a blow to the efforts of London based firms to expand. FT4
`Cancer treatment destroys fingerprints and turns patients into airport suspects'
Patients undergoing a common cancer treatment are being warned to carry medical documentation when travelling abroad as the capecitabine drug can make finger prints disappear. Times19
`Police quango spends £70m on consultants as the number of frontline officers faces cuts'
DMail17
`Surveillance officer cleared over Menezes shooting'
Gdn11, Mirr13
Comments
`Officers cannot simply do whatever they want'
The Times3 discusses police officers.
`The real con Air'
Jonathan Franklin looks in to rise of deportation flights in the US, as it bids to rid itself of illegal immigrants with criminal records. G2 pg10-11
`Sex ban puts us at greater risk'
As the UK parliament makes buying sex from women forced into prostitution an offence, Gwladys Fouche talks to sex workers, police and support groups in Scandinavia, where similar bans have received a mixed reception. GdnSoc3
`A wide ranging debate on the Reform of British Democracy'
The New politics section in the Guardian discusses political reform.
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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.
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