Saturday 31 March 2012

Earth Hour 2012: It’s lights-out on Saturday night for world’s largest environmental campaign


From London to Las Vegas, world famous landmarks across the globe will be plunged into darkness and an estimated 1.8 billion people will switch off their lights for Earth Hour 2012.

The blackout begins in the UK at 8.30pm on Saturday and lasts for a whole hour, with 135 countries in all participating in what is the world’s largest environmental campaign.
In the UK lights will be switched off at Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Piccadilly Circus. Old Trafford and Wembley Stadium will also show their support for the cause.

Elsewhere, darkness will descend on the Sydney Opera House in Australia, Rio’s Christ the Redeemer, New York’s Empire State building in New York and the Eiffel Tower in France.

People are being urged to enter into the spirit of things by playing head torch scrabble, organising candlelit dinners and enjoying night cycle rides.

The lights of London's famous Big Ben will be turned off for Saturday's Earth Hour. Photo credit: AP

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) staged the first Earth Hour back in 2007 as a one-city event in Sydney, Australia.

This year’s event is set to be even bigger than the last, with more famous landmarks across 5,000 cities joining the big switch off.


A spokesman for the WWF said: "It’s not to save an hour’s electricity. It’s something much bigger. WWF’s Earth Hour is about people coming together to put the focus on this brilliant world we all share – and how we need to protect it. 

"It’s about realising that the actions we take, from the energy we use, to the food we buy and water we drink, has an effect on the world. We all depend on our amazing planet and need to look after it – not just for an hour a year, but every day."

Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon has pledged support for this year’s Earth Hour. He said: “We do it in solidarity with men, women and children, and 20% of all human kind, who live with no access to electricity. Turning off our lights is a symbol of our commitment to sustainable energy for all. 



“We need to fuel our future with clean, efficient and affordable energy. By acting together today we can power a brighter tomorrow. The UN is strongly behind this cause from Earth Hour. Let us build the future we want.”

Earth Hour takes place between the hour of 8.30pm and 9.30pm in a staggered formation through international time zones. It kicks off in Fiji, then New Zealand and Australia, spreading eastwards to Korea, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, India, United Arab Emirates, across Russia, Africa and Europe - before reaching the UK at 8.30pm local time and moving on to North and South America.

Policeman Suspended Over Racism Tape Claims


A policeman has been suspended after he was allegedly recorded racially abusing a man arrested during the London riots.
It is claimed the Metropolitan Police officer was recorded by the suspect on his mobile phone as he was taken into custody.
An initial decision not to charge the officer and two others is now being reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) , following complaints from the 21-year-old man from Beckton's lawyer.
The Guardian reports that the now-suspended officer can be heard in the recording telling the man: "The problem with you is you will always be a n*****, yeah? That's your problem, yeah.
"You'll always have black skin colour. Don't hide behind your colour, yeah. Be proud. Be proud of who you are, yeah. Don't hide behind your black skin."
Grace Ononiwu, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the CPS in London, said: "Lawyers for the complainant have written to the CPS and asked us to review our decision.

"I have considered the matter personally and directed that all of the evidence should be reconsidered and a fresh decision taken by a senior lawyer with no previous involvement in this matter."
Another officer is also allegedly heard on the recording swearing at the man - who has not been named - and admitting to strangling him.
Shortly before the recording ends, the man can be heard saying: "I get this all the time," and telling the officer: "Make sure you do a lot with your sixty grand, 'cos you're not going to get it no more, bruv.
He then tells the officer: "We'll definitely speak again about this. It's gonna go all the way, it's gonna go all the way - remember."

  • Met Suspends Policeman Over Racism Tape Claims

  • A Scotland Yard spokesman said the Independent Police Complaints Commission was investigating.
"We can confirm that the Metropolitan Police Service received a complaint alleging a man arrested on August 11 2011 was subjected to discriminatory behaviour (racial remarks); assault and oppressive conduct/or harassment," he said.
"These are serious allegations; any use of racist language or excessive use of force is not acceptable. Following the alleged incident, three officers were the subject of a misconduct investigation.
"One of the officers has been suspended in relation to this matter pending the result of the IPCC investigation. One of the officers has been placed on restricted duties on an unrelated matter and another remains on full duties."
The police officer's solicitor said the decision not to prosecute was made following a "thorough, independent IPCC investigation".
"We are not aware it is suggested any new evidence has come to light. It is difficult to see therefore on what proper basis the decision of the CPS can be challenged or reviewed," he said in a statement.
"The decision to release selected parts of the evidence into the public domain in the present circumstances will have to be an additional factor to be taken into account by the CPS in any review, as the release of this evidence in this way clearly potentially prejudices any future trial of PC McFarlane."

Friday 30 March 2012

Police to stage protest over cuts


Rank and file police officers are to stage a protest over proposed changes to their pay and conditions.
The Police Federation, which would not confirm what its plans will involve, said it is planning to hold an event in central London on May 10.

Rank and file police officers are to stage a demonstration about pay and conditions

It comes as the federation's 135,000 members across England and Wales are being balloted on whether they want the right to strike.
Along with the armed forces and prison officers, the police are banned in law from taking industrial action.
Many officers are angry with the Government in the wake of 20% budget cuts and proposals for the most wide-ranging reform of police pay and conditions in more than 30 years.
The national federation said the event would "highlight officer concerns about cuts to policing".
It has previously said the event would show "the unprecedented attack on policing by this Government and the consequences that these cuts will have for public safety".
Its Greater Manchester branch added that it would be "arranging for officers to go to London and show the world their anger at these impractical and unworkable proposals".

Questions for Labour after defeat



Ed Miliband is facing renewed questions over his leadership after Labour crashed to a calamitous defeat in the Bradford West by-election.
In one of the biggest by-election shocks of modern times, Respect's George Galloway overturned a 5,000 majority to storm home with a 10,000 vote lead in a seat held by Labour since 1974.
Ed Miliband is facing renewed questions 
over his leadership after Labour crashed to a 
calamitous defeat in the Bradford West by-election.
The result - the first loss suffered by an opposition party in a mid-term poll since 2000 - stunned the Labour leadership which was left groping for explanations for what had gone wrong. Mr Miliband immediately promised to return to the constituency over the coming weeks to learn the lessons of an "incredibly disappointing result" in a seat the party had been expected to hold comfortably.
"Clearly there were local factors, but I also say only four out of 10 people voted for the three mainstream political parties. We've got to understand the reasons why that happened in Bradford," he said. "We need to be engaged and rooted in every community of this country. We need to show to people that our politics, that Labour politics, can make a difference to people's lives."
A jubilant Mr Galloway - who campaigned on an anti-war ticket in a constituency with a large Muslim community - vowed to capitalise on his triumph, putting up Respect candidates throughout Bradford and other cities in the region in the forthcoming local elections in May.
In his victory speech, the maverick former Labour MP - who was expelled from the party in 2003 for his outspoken criticism of the Iraq War - drew a direct comparison with the uprisings in the Arab world.
"This, the most sensational result in British by-election history bar none, represents the Bradford spring," he declared, before being carried out shoulder-high by cheering supporters.

George Galloway's win has heaped pressure on Ed Miliband

In contrast, his defeated Labour rival, deputy council leader Imran Hussain, walked out without giving the customary speech or commenting to reporters. Later, in a round of broadcast interviews, Mr Galloway taunted his defeated rivals, claiming that Respect now represented "real Labour".
"There is a tidal wave waiting to break all over the country, not just in Bradford," he said. "There are very large numbers of people disenchanted and alienated from the political process and from all three major parties. If a backside could have three cheeks, then British politics is that three-cheeked backside."
Mr Galloway polled 18,341 votes to 8,201 for Mr Hussain - a 36.59% swing from Labour since the general election. The Conservatives, with 2,746 votes, also saw their support slump while the Liberal Democrats in fourth place lost their deposit.

Maude quit calls amid fuel dispute


A Government minister who suggested filling up jerry cans with fuel because of a threatened tanker drivers' strike has faced growing calls to resign after a woman was severely burned while transferring petrol between canisters in her kitchen.
Diane Hill, 46, from York, is recovering in hospital with 40% burns after vapours ignited as she decanted petrol from one container to another, setting fire to her clothing.
Labour MPs called for the resignation of Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude, who has faced a barrage or criticism from fire experts since advising motorists earlier this week to store jerry cans of fuel in their garages.
Workers at an ASDA petrol station in Newcastle tell customers they have run out of diesel
The union representing 2,000 fuel tanker drivers ruled out the threat of strikes over Easter and said it wanted to focus on peace talks. Unite said it retained the right to call industrial action if talks, expected to start next week, break down.
The move followed more panic-buying at garages across the country and the revelation that petrol sales increased by almost 172% on Thursday while sales of diesel were up by almost 77%.
Prime Minister David Cameron said his heart went out to the woman who was burnt, describing it as a "desperate" incident.
Speaking at 10 Downing Street shortly after he chaired another meeting of the Government's Cobra emergency contingencies committee, Mr Cameron welcomed Unite's decision and called on the union to engage constructively in talks expected to start next week at conciliation service Acas.
Firefighter Lee Smith confirmed that the container Ms Hill was decanting from was a green jerry can, adding: "It was a normal tea-time activity, cooking a meal, and the person (Ms Hill) was decanting from a petrol container into a glass jug. The vapour from the petrol was then ignited in the kitchen area. This resulted in spillage of the petrol and further flames which engulfed the person."
John Mann, Labour MP for Bassetlaw, said Mr Maude should do the "decent thing" and resign, saying of the accident: "This is precisely what the fire brigade warned against and the current panic is a direct result of Francis Maude's rash and foolish reaction to negative press on pasties and number 10 dinners, we are now in a position where a woman's life has been placed in danger. Francis Maude should now be considering the consequences of his actions and do the decent thing and resign."
Labour MP Karl Turner tweeted: "Francis Maude should resign if his politicking and unnecessary panic has led to York woman decanting petrol in kitchen suffering 40% burns."

Fuel strike postponed while union sits down for talks


Fuel tanker drivers will not strike next week or over Easter.
Britain’s motorists breathed a collective sigh of relief after union Unite issued a statement confirming that they will instead focus on substantive talks to establish minimum standards in the fuel oil distribution industry rather than engage in industrial action.
The union insists that its demands for standards to be introduced for portable sector pensions, independently accredited training, and health and safety were not unreasonable and in line with standards already in place elsewhere in the oil industry.
“We will not be calling Easter strike action as we focus on substantive talks through ACAS [employment rights and conciliation service],” said Diana Holland, Unite’s Assistant General Secretary.
She warned that strike action could still be a possibility if talks broke down and that the dispute was not political but industrial.
“The Government’s recent rhetoric will not help us achieve a negotiated settlement. [It] must set aside its political objectives and work with us, the employers, retailers and oil companies to achieve an outcome that is good for the industry and the country.
“It should be stressed that what we are seeking is reasonable and no more than what is in place elsewhere in the industry. There have been minimum standards governing the offshore oil industry since 2000 covering health and safety, training and terms and conditions.”
Unite is keen to get the talks under way as soon as possible but it is understood that they will not take place before Easter.

Forced marriage: Girl aged five among 400 minors helped


A five-year-old girl is thought to have become the UK's youngest victim of forced marriage.
She was one of 400 children to receive assistance from the government's Forced Marriage Unit in the last year.
The figures have emerged as the public consultation into criminalising forced marriage in England, Wales and Northern Ireland comes to an end.
Amy Cumming, joint head of the Forced Marriage Unit, said 29% of the cases it dealt with last year involved minors.
"The youngest of these was actually five years old, so there are children involved in the practice across the school age range," she said.
To protect the child, the authorities have not disclosed details of the case or where the marriage took place.
But the case comes as no surprise to the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation (IKWRO), which deals with more than 100 cases of forced marriage a year.
"We have had clients who are in their very early teens, 11-year-olds, 12-year-olds, the youngest case we had was nine years old," said IKWRO campaigns officer Fionnuala Murphy.
Now the consultation on forced marriage has come to an end, IKWROs hope it will become a criminal offence.
"Our organisation is pro-criminalisation because we believe that it will empower victims to know that this is a crime, to stand up to their parents and to stand up for their own rights and it will enable them to come forward and seek help and say what's happening to me is wrong."

Forcing someone to marry against their will is already a criminal offence in Scotland 

Law change
In 2011 the Forced Marriage Unit helped deal with around 1,500 cases, but many more are thought to go unreported.
Forced Marriage Protection Orders were introduced in 2008 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland under the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007.
A potential victim, friend or police can apply for an order aimed at protecting an individual through the courts. Anyone found to have breached one can be jailed for up to two years for contempt of court, although this is classed as a civil offence.
The prime minister wants the law to go further and ordered a public consultation on making it a criminal offence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to force a person to marry against their will.
In Scotland the breach of a forced marriage protection order is also a criminal offence in Scotland punishable by prisons.
Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said the government would now look at all the arguments.
"We will now consider all of those views and responses to the consultation before we make a decision on the best way to protect vulnerable people.
"We are determined, working closely with charities and other organisations doing a tremendous amount in this area, to make forced marriage a thing of the past."
A decision is expected to be announced later this year.

©BBC

Court halts Dewani extradition


The High Court has temporarily halted British businessman Shrien Dewani's extradition to South Africa on mental health grounds.
Two judges in London ruled that it would be "unjust and oppressive" to order the removal of Dewani, who is accused of arranging the contract killing of wife Anni in Cape Town in November 2010 during their honeymoon.
But the court said it was plainly in the interests of justice that he should be extradited "as soon as he is fit" to be tried.
Shrien Dewani is accused of arranging the c
ontract killing of wife Anni in Cape Town in November 2010
Care home owner Dewani, from Bristol, strenuously denies any wrongdoing. He has been diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression and his lawyers argue that his health and life will be at risk if he is extradited.
The Dewani family welcomed the ruling, saying: "Shrien can only return to South Africa when he is well enough and when his personal safety can be guaranteed."
Sir John Thomas, president of the Queen's Bench Division and Mr Justice Ouseley, allowed Dewani's appeal against immediate extradition and ordered that the case be remitted back to Westminster Magistrates' Court for a further hearing.
The key factors the judges said they had taken into account included his unfitness to plead, increased prospects of a speedier recovery if he remains in the UK and "the lack of clear certainty" as to what would happen if he was returned to South Africa in his present condition.
The risk of suicide was also considered "to a much lesser degree".
Mrs Dewani, 28, from Sweden, was shot when a taxi the couple were travelling in was hijacked in the Gugulethu township on the outskirts of Cape Town. She was found dead in the back of the abandoned vehicle with a bullet wound to her neck after taxi driver Zola Tongo drove the newlyweds to the impoverished area. He and Mr Dewani were ejected by the hijackers before Mrs Dewani was driven away and shot.
Tongo, who has admitted his part in the crime, claimed in a plea agreement with prosecutors that Dewani ordered the carjacking and paid for a hit on his wife.

©Press Association

U.S. extradition treaty needs overhaul - MPs



LONDON (Reuters) - A committee of MPs said Britain's extradition treaty with the United States is unbalanced, one-sided and in need of major changes, echoing recent criticism from politicians, campaigners and the media.
The 2003 treaty was signed to speed up the transfer of suspects between the two nations at the height of concern about terrorism after the September 11 attacks.
However, there have been growing complaints in Britain that the treaty is unfair. Prime Minister David Cameron has said it should be reviewed, and discussed the issue with U.S. President Barack Obama during his trip to Washington this month.
"The treaty is unbalanced, making it easier to extradite a British citizen to the USA than vice versa," Keith Vaz, chairman of parliament's Home Affairs Committee, said in a statement.
Controversy over the extradition arrangement has been highlighted by the case of British computer hacker Gary McKinnon, who was arrested in 2002 over what American officials called the "biggest military computer hack of all time".
McKinnon, who is accused of hacking into the Pentagon and NASA, suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, and his supporters say he is too ill to be sent for trial in the United States, where he could face up to 70 years in jail if found guilty.
Other controversial cases include Richard O'Dwyer, a British student accused of running a website providing links to other sites that allowed users to access films and TV shows illegally, and Christopher Tappin, a British businessman accused of illegally exporting missile defence technology to Iran.
Keith Vaz, the head of Britain's influential Home Affairs Committee
"The cases of Gary McKinnon, Richard O'Dwyer and Christopher Tappin have highlighted public concern that these arrangements are one-sided," Vaz said.
"Evidence to the committee has shown that the current arrangements do not protect the rights of British citizens. The government must remedy this immediately."
A judge-led review, however, concluded last October that the treaty was not biased against British suspects and that criticism of the treaty was based on a misunderstanding of how the legislation operated in practice.
But the committee said the treaty granted U.S. suspects the right to a hearing to establish a "probable cause" test, which was denied to British citizens.
It called for the treaty to be changed so the same test for extradition applied to both countries, and for judges to be allowed to decide whether a suspect should be tried in Britain in cases where both countries had jurisdiction.
In the longer term, the MPs said the treaty should be renegotiated to include a test of the evidence.
The Home Office said it would study the detail of the report before responding.

©Reuters

Muamba Twitter Student Could Be Freed Today


A student jailed for mocking footballer Fabrice Muamba on Twitter after he suffered a cardiac arrest could be released today.
Liam Stacey, 21, was jailed for 56 days on Tuesday after he admitting inciting racial hatred.
He is to appeal against his sentence today, and if successful could be freed straight away.
The Swansea University biology undergraduate triggered widespread anger when he tweeted: "LOL (laugh out loud). F*** Muamba. He's dead!!! #haha."
He posted the tweet soon after the Bolton midfielder's collapse during an FA Cup quarter-final tie against Tottenham Hotspur.
Fans at the game and watching on television looked on in horror as medical staff fought to save Muamba's life.
Muamba Twitter Student Could Be Freed Today
The incident touched hearts around the world but Stacey, who had been drinking, went on line to mock it.
A series of highly critical replies by appalled Twitter users resulted in Stacey launching a racist tirade.
On Tuesday he was led away sobbing from Swansea Magistrates' Court after receiving a jail sentence.
Many supported the punishment, which was widely debated on Twitter , but there were some who felt it was politically motivated.
The appeal, which is expected to last at least one hour, will be heard at Swansea Crown Court by Mr Justice Wyn Williams.
Muamba, 23, was taken to the London Chest Hospital where he is said to be making a steady recovery, although he remains in intensive care.
The FA Cup tie was abandoned after 41 minutes with the score at 1-1. Tottenham won the re-arranged game 3-1 and Muamba was said to be getting updates throughout from his hospital bed.

Triumphant Galloway Hails 'Bradford Spring'


George Galloway has inflicted a crushing humiliation on Labour as he made a sensational political comeback in a by-election he termed the "Bradford Spring".
The controversial Respect politician won a stunning victory in the Bradford West by-election, defeating Labour by more than 10,000 votes.
The Tories were pushed into third place after the Budget backlash and fuel chaos, while the Liberal Democrats came fourth.
But it was Labour and their leader Ed Miliband who were left stunned and perplexed by the scale of their defeat and Mr Galloway's victory.
Mr Galloway took over 55% of the vote share - double that of Labour, which lost around 20%.
In his victory speech, Mr Galloway invoked the series of uprisings that have toppled dictatorships across the Arab world as he called his victory the "Bradford Spring".
He told Sky News that the poll was "the most sensational result in British by-election history".
"Labour has been hit by a tidal wave in a seat it held for many decades in a city it dominated for 100 years," he said.
He said the people of Bradford had felt "neglected, even betrayed" by the "path of treason" set by Tony Blair in 1994.
And he blamed New Labour's involvement in "foreign war after foreign war" for leading the party astray.
He was no less scathing about the Tory campaign, calling the by-election a "miserable, pathetic performance by the Government".
As a jubilant Mr Galloway left the sports hall he was mobbed by his supporters and had to retreat back into the building.
As he left again he was hoisted onto the shoulders of supporters as people chanted "Respect", while others said: "We love you George".
Mr Galloway was carried around the side of the building as his supporters continued to chant and cheer.
The by-election was caused by the resignation due to ill health of Labour MP Marsha Singh, who had held the seat since 1997 and had a majority of 5,763 over the Tories at the 2010 general election.
The result was declared at around 2.30am after a night of high drama and tension in the Richard Dunn Sports Centre, named after the city's former British boxing champion.
And after a short, three-week campaign in which he toured the constituency in a battlebus and wooed Asian voters with an uncompromising anti-war message, Mr Galloway delivered a knock-out blow on Labour.
Shortly after the polls closed at 10pm, senior Labour MPs were telling Sky News they were "confident, but not complacent".
But an hour or so later, the same Labour MPs were getting the jitters as it became clear that Mr Galloway was polling much better than they expected.
By midnight, the mood in the Labour camp was one of deep gloom as the party's MPs began to predict a win for Mr Galloway and MPs from other parties forecast a big victory margin over Labour.
At around 12.30am, Mr Galloway claimed victory on Twitter, declaring: "By the grace of God we have won the most sensational victory in British political history."
Labour MP Toby Perkins said the result was "desperately disappointing", but pinned Mr Galloway's success partly on his celebrity status from having appeared on a version of reality TV show Big Brother.
Mr Perkins conceded, however, that his party had lessons to learn from the way Mr Galloway had been able to "capture the mood" of the electorate, especially young people.
He went on: "I think frankly there wasn't a lot the other parties could do about it. They'd seen him on (Celebrity) Big Brother.
"They wanted him on their streets and now they've got it, and let's hope that he lives up to the promise that he's made to them and actually delivers on the optimism that surrounds his campaign, which hasn't always been the experience of constituents who have had George Galloway as their MP in the past."
"It must be a huge humiliation for Ed Miliband and his team," said Tory MP Kris Hopkins.
The Conservatives have not won in the area in 42 years and so did not have "high expectations", he said.
He added: "We probably have not had our best 10 days - a difficult Budget and a whole range of issues. 
"But still, despite all that, Labour and Ed Miliband were not able to find any traction."
Mr Galloway, who was a Labour MP in Glasgow until his expulsion from the party over his opposition to the Iraq War, was making his third attempt at a comeback in the past two years.
After defeating Oona King in Bethnal Green and Bow in 2005, he failed in a bid to oust former Labour minister Jim Fitzpatrick in another east London seat, Poplar and Limehouse, in 2010 and then unsuccessfully stood for the Scottish Parliament last year.
In between, he earned a living as a radio presenter and appeared on Celebrity Big Brother on TV, dressing as a cat and crawling on all fours.
His aggressive, anti-war campaign in Bradford West, in which he personally targeted Imran Hussein, infuriated Labour campaign chiefs.
Triumphant Galloway Hails 'Bradford Spring'
Mr Galloway directly appealed to Muslim voters, who make up nearly 40% of the electors in the constituency.
While the Tory high command will claim Bradford West is a safe Labour seat and the by-election was held mid-term, there will be alarm at the slump in the Conservative vote.
With vital local elections coming up on May 3 - including the high-profile clash between Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone for London mayor - there will be concerns that the big drop in Tory support has been largely self-inflicted.
First came George Osborne's deeply unpopular Budget and the row over the "granny tax" and the 50p tax cut .
Then came the cash-for-access scandal in which donors paid to dine with David Cameron at 10 Downing Street - and now the panic in government over the threatened fuel strikes and VAT on hot food .
The result was also bad for Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats, who will also fear a drubbing in the local elections.

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Economy shrank more than expected in Q4


LONDON (Reuters) - The economy shrank by more than expected in the last three months of 2011, driven down by a weaker services sector, official data showed on Wednesday.
The Office for National Statistics said the economy contracted by 0.3 percent between October and December last year, taking the annual rate of growth to 0.5 percent.
Economists had expected unrevised readings of -0.2 percent quarter-on-quarter and 0.7 percent year-on-year.
The figures provide further confirmation of the weak state of Britain's economy at the end of last year, but offer few clues as to whether it managed to stage a recovery early this year - something economists view as likely given recent data.
Nonetheless, the figures may reignite expectations the Bank of England may need to add additional stimulus to bolster growth.
The ONS said the downward revision was driven by the transport and communication and business services and financial sectors.
Meanwhile, household incomes fell and the saving ratio also eased to 7.7 percent in the quarter, its lowest since the start of the year.
The ONS said real household disposable incomes in 2011 as a whole fell 1.2 percent, the biggest drop since 1977.

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Riots Blamed On Police And Poor Parenting


A leaked copy of a report into the riots obtained by Sky Newsblames lack of opportunities for young people, poor parenting andlack of confidence in the police.
The document by the Riots, Communities and Victims Panel is supposed to be published on Wednesday.
It concludes a range of factors were behind the outbreak of disorder, including an inability to prevent re-offending, materialism and issues relating to confidence in policing.
"We heard from many communities who felt that rioter behaviour could ultimately be ascribed to poor parenting," the panel's report says.
Riots Blamed On Police And Poor Parenting
The report was commissioned last summer after the outbreak of disorder in the capital and other English cities.
In the wake of the riots, the Government said it would focus on 120,000 troubled families, working to prevent re-offending, getting adults back into work and children back into schools.
But the document reveals doubts about this approach, warning just 5% of local authorities believed there was an overlap between the rioters and households in difficulty.
Instead it found half a million families who have been "forgotten" and merely "bump along the bottom of society".
The report states: "We support the work of the Troubled Families Programme but the overlap with rioters is limited.
"In a poll of 80 local authorities conducted by the panel, only 5% felt there was a great deal of overlap between the troubled families and rioter families. 
"While the actual overlap might be higher, our evidence suggests that a significant connection between TFP families and the families of the rioters has not yet been established. 
"Instead, public services describe a group of approximately 500,000 forgotten families who 'bump along the bottom' of society."
The report calls on the Government to financially penalise schools if pupils leave primary or secondary education without being able to read and write to an "age-appropriate" standard.
It also wants more support for people when they leave prison in a bid to cut re-offending.
In addition, ministers should make a youth jobs promise, ensuring there are more opportunities for young people who currently make up a significant proportion of the unemployed.
The panel is made up of Darra Singh, former chief executive of JobCentre Plus. Simon Marcus, boxing academy founder, barrister and government adviser Heather Rabbatts, and Maeve Sherlock, who used to run the National Council for One Parent Families.
In a statement, Mr Singh said: "We are disappointed that Sky News has leaked contents from a near final version of the Riots Communities and Victims Panel's final report, which is due to be published tomorrow and is still being finalised.
"Our remit was to give a voice to the communities and victims of the August riots. This leak has impacted on our ability to ensure they receive the widest possible audience," he added.

Relief well 'may take six months'




LONDON (Reuters) - A cloud of explosive natural gas boiling up from the North Sea out of a leak at Total's evacuated Elgin platformforced another shutdown off the Scottish coast on Tuesday as the French firm warned it could take six months to halt the flow.
Dubbed "the well from hell" by an environmentalist who said the unusually high pressure of the undersea reservoirs made it especially hard to shut off, the loss of oil and gas output from Elgin - as well as the prospect of a big repair bill - helped drive Total's share price down six percent on the Paris bourse.
As Shell pulled its bigger Shearwater facility offline too and an air and sea exclusion zone was declared around the forlorn Elgin rig, 150 miles (250 km) east of Aberdeen, green campaigners denounced dangers in the technically challenging deep drilling that energy companies have undertaken around the globe to exploit the high prices created by insatiable demand.
The Elgin well, pumping some three percent of Britain's gas output from nearly four miles below the seabed, pushes the frontiers of technology and is one of the deepest, most highly pressurized, offshore natural gas fields in the world. It now sits empty following Sunday's emergency evacuation of 238 crew.
Total, which said the rupture of an unused reservoir above the main production source seemed to have been caused by its own engineers, is now looking at two main options to cut off the shimmering plume of gas rising above the sea: either drilling a relief well nearby, which could take six months, or - faster but possibly riskier - sending in engineers to "kill" the leak.
The firm concurred with British authorities which called the environmental impact from the plume of gas and a spreading sheen of light oil on the water "minimal", although environmental pollution experts said much of the gas "cocktail" would be either flammable or poisonous at close quarters. The thin film of oil should evaporate without the need to spray dispersants.
But two years after Britain's BP saw its reputation and value savaged by a blowout at its Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico which caused the biggest U.S. oil spill on record, energy firms are sensitive to controversy about their ability to develop deep sea reserves. In responding to the Total leak, Greenpeace condemned new British government incentives for exploration in the deeper Atlantic waters west of Shetland.
TWO OPTIONS
"There are two options for intervening," David Hainsworth, health, safety and environment manager at Total Exploration and Production UK Ltd, told Reuters.
"One is drilling a relief well which could take about six months. The other is a platform intervention to kill the well.
"This would be a faster option," he added, saying a decision on how to tackle the problem would be taken in the coming days.
As well as flying in 10 to 20 specialist engineers, Total has enlisted the services of Wild Well Control, which was heavily involved in efforts to cap BP's Deepwater Horizon.
"We are exploring all the options and we are looking at what-if scenarios," Hainsworth said, while noting there was a chance nature alone would resolve the problem: "The well itself could die on its own," he said. "This is the dream option."
Frederic Hauge, the head of Bellona, a leading Norwegian environmental campaign group which closely monitors the oil industry across the North Sea, was unimpressed: "This is the well from hell," he said. "This problem is out of control."
Citing his organization's anonymous sources, Hauge said workers on the platform had battled for 14 hours to contain the leak before being forced to evacuate - and taking care not to let electrical plant or other stray sparks ignite an inferno.
"They saw the sea bubbling with gas under the platform," he told Reuters. "This is quite shocking.
"This situation is only going to get bigger and bigger."
Local gas prices firmed about one percent with the loss of Elgin, whose output was 9 million cubic metres per day (mcm/d), and of Shell's 11 mcm/d Shearwater, about four miles away, where some staff were pulled off and the company said it decided to shut down for maintenance four days ahead of schedule.
Total said Elgin also produces 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) of light crude oil, exported via the BP-operated Forties pipeline system. Shearwater's capacity is 90,000 bpd. Britain's total output last month was 1.09 million bpd.
A nearby Shell drilling rig was also shut down, while Total said it suspended drilling at its West Franklin site.
ENGINEERING WORK
Hainsworth said that some weeks ago Total engineers had decided to pump in mud to redundant piping on a gas reservoir which had been plugged about a year ago. This recent operation appeared to resulted in the escape of gas: "We believe the leak is coming out of the outer casing of the well," he said.
The leaking reservoir is above the production reservoir, which lies 6,000 metres - nearly four miles - below the seabed.
Britain's energy minister Charles Hendry sounded a note of confidence in the response: "Any leak we take very seriously and I think the right measures have been taken," he said.
"Procedures appear to have been followed properly."
He played down the oil slick, which is a light form known as condensate, spreading over the surface: "Some tonnes of condensate have escaped," he told Reuters. "The size of the sheen is one-sixteenth of the size of an Olympic swimming pool."
Shipping was ordered to come no closer than two miles from the Elgin platform and aircraft no nearer than three miles if they flew lower than 4,000 feet - effectively shutting out helicopters but not affecting airline traffic.
For Scotland's government, environment secretary Richard Loch head said: "Impact on the environment ... is minimal."
Scientists said the gas, flammable methane but containing poisonous hydrogen sulphide - familiar from the smell of rotten eggs - should disperse in the atmosphere. But it poses a risk to anyone close to the source, making capping the well complex.
Poison in the gas could also threaten fish and other marine life nearby, although the rate at which it dissipates in air and water meant it was not a significant threat to people on land.
Greenpeace used the accident to criticise new incentives offered by the British government for deep water drilling west of Shetland and called North Sea energy production dangerous to those working there and damaging to the environment.
The campaign group's Vicky Wyatt said the Total leak was "a reminder of the dangers that drilling for oil and gas pose to the lives of those working on rigs, and the huge damage that can be done to the environment".
But Martin Preston, a marine pollution expert from Britain's Liverpool University, said that while there appeared to be a "cocktail" of noxious and explosive material escaping into the air and water, the impact seemed much less serious than that of the Gulf of Mexico crude oil spill two years ago: "We're not talking about anything like that," Preston said.
Methane gas in high concentrations as it emerges would risk blowing up, hence the need to clear the area, while of hydrogen sulphide he noted: "If there's a lot of it being belched out, it's horribly poisonous." However, the gas decays rapidly in air and poses little threat beyond the immediate vicinity.
The surface oil slick formed by gas condensates should, Preston said, evaporate fairly quickly, particularly in the mild, breezy conditions on the North Sea at present.
Memories are still raw in the North Sea industry of the Piper Alpha platform fire 24 years ago, when 167 people were killed in the world's deadliest offshore oil disaster.
(Additional reporting by Gwladys Fouche in Olso, Muriel Boselli in Paris and Karolin Schaps, Kate Kelland and Henning Gloystein in London; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)