This item first appeared on the BBC website on the 18th May Home Secretary Theresa May has said she wants to know if the case of a Norfolk police officer suing a garage owner was “symptomatic” of a claims culture among officers. Mrs May told the Home Affairs Select Committee it was important to find [...]
About BBC
Kent Council Council pays £700k in compensation to pupils.
April 12, 2013 from Leave a Comment
The BBC have reported (see below) that Kent Council Council pays £700k in compensation to pupils. Nearly £700,000 has been paid out in compensation to pupils by Kent County Council following accidents in schools over the past five years. Payouts include compensation for trips and falls in playgrounds, and accidents on school trips. The biggest [...]
Only a fraction of sexual offences in England and Wales results in a conviction according to a statistical review.
January 13, 2013 from Leave a Comment
This extract has been taken from the BBC website here Only a fraction of sexual offences in England and Wales results in a conviction, a statistical review says. It said there were up to 517,000 sex assault claims every year, with 54,310 sex offences recorded as crimes by police and 5,620 offenders convicted. Statisticians analysing [...]
Lord McAlpine settles his libel actions against the BBC and ITV at London’s High Court.
December 19, 2012 from Leave a Comment
This item has been extracted from the BBC website here Conservative peer Lord McAlpine has formally settled his libel actions against the BBC and ITV at London’s High Court. It comes after the ex-minister, who was not in court, was wrongly implicated in child sex abuse allegations. Unreserved apologies were made for the damage and [...]
An independent review of the Waterhouse inquiry has begun.
November 28, 2012 from Leave a Comment
An independent review has begun of the Waterhouse inquiry, which investigated abuse in north Wales children’s homes in the 1970s and 1980s. The judge leading the review promised a “thorough” and “robust” examination of the three-year inquiry. Mrs Justice Macur added: “I will not draw any conclusions until I have considered all the evidence.” The [...]
Lord McAlpine reaches a £125,000 settlement with ITV and Phillip Schofield.
November 27, 2012 from Leave a Comment
Conservative peer Lord McAlpine has reached a £125,000 settlement with ITV and Phillip Schofield. It is in relation to a This Morning programme broadcast in November during which the presenter handed the prime minister a list of names of alleged abusers he had found on the internet. Full story BBC News, 22nd November 2012
First Minister, Carwyn Jones criticises media “hysteria
November 13, 2012 from Leave a Comment
First minister Carwyn Jones criticises what he describes as media “hysteria” in recent coverage of the north Wales child abuse scandal of the 1970s and 80s. (more) BBC Newsnight disciplinaries due Shelved child abuse report found
Legal aid: Government orders new probe
November 12, 2012 from Leave a Comment
An ‘immediate examination’ of the legal aid system has been ordered by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling.” Full story
Wales child abuse: Theresa May launches inquiry
November 8, 2012 from Leave a Comment
Home Secretary Theresa May has announced a new police inquiry into allegations of child abuse in north Wales in the 1970s and 1980s. Full story and Statement to the House of Commons
Theresa May to announce Wales abuse probe plans
November 7, 2012 from Leave a Comment
Plans for a fresh inquiry into allegations of child abuse in north Wales are to be outlined to MPs later by Home Secretary Theresa May. Full story BBC News, 6th November 2012
Wrongly convicted father granted care of children again
October 18, 2012 from Leave a Comment
A father wrongly convicted of causing grievous bodily harm and cruelty against his baby daughter has been told he can care for his children again. Ben Butler of south London was accused of shaking his baby in 2007 after taking her to hospital where doctors diagnosed bleeding on the brain. He was convicted at Croydon [...]
Sex offender registration appeals introduced
September 5, 2012 from Leave a Comment
This items first appeared on the BBC website here on 1st September 2012 Sex offenders in England and Wales can now appeal against staying on the sex offenders register for life – 15 years to the day since it was introduced. Ministers said they would make “minimum possible changes” to comply with a 2010 Supreme [...]
Panorama to show programme on the Lynette White case
August 13, 2012 from Leave a Comment
Fresh concerns are to be raised in BBC Panorama programme about the way the investigation into officers involved in the miscarriage of justice surrounding the Lynette White murder in 1988 was set up. Panorama, Justice Denied: the Greatest Scandal? BBC One, Monday, 13 August at 20:30 BST then available in the UK on the BBC iPlayer.
An elderly couple falsely accused of killing their severely disabled granddaughter have been acquitted of all charges.
May 28, 2012 from Leave a Comment
This story appears on the BBC Northern Island website here David and Sarah Johnston, from Carwood Drive, Glengormley, County Antrim, had denied manslaughter and child cruelty charges against Rebecca McKeown, 14. The judge directed the jury to acquit the couple after the prosecution collapsed in the face of evidence that cast doubt on the cause [...]
Reoffending rates reach record level
May 25, 2012 from Leave a Comment
This article appeared on the BBC website here on the 24th May 2012 A record number of offenders sentenced for serious crimes had committed previous offences, according to figures for 2011. Some 90% of those sentenced in England and Wales had offended before – and almost a third had committed or were linked to 15 or [...]
Plans to ease Criminal Records Bureau checks defended
March 31, 2012 from Leave a Comment
Parents should teach their children about the risk of paedophiles, a minister has said as he defended plans to ease Criminal Records Bureau checks. Lord Henley said the current system was “disproportionate” with “unnecessary red tape and discourages volunteering”. Ministers plan to drop the checks for adults if someone who has been cleared, such as [...]
A Devon man wrongly accused of raping a woman cleared following a DNA mistake
March 27, 2012 from Leave a Comment
A Devon man wrongly accused of raping a woman in Manchester has spoken of his anger over a DNA mistake which led to the charge. Charges were dropped against the man when it emerged that a DNA sample was contaminated in the laboratories of Teddington-based LGC Forensics. The man also said he hoped that the [...]
Majority of allegations made against teachers in Wales are either unfounded, false or malicious
March 1, 2012 from Leave a Comment
Over half of accusations made against teachers and teaching assistants by pupils in Wales turned out to be false, malicious or unfounded. Figures for the last five years obtained by BBC Wales found 55% of 312 allegations were later dropped. Teaching unions say that to try to deal with the problem, more action should be [...]
Two social workers who lost their jobs after the killing of Baby P to appeal against an employment tribunal
February 23, 2012 from Leave a Comment
Two social workers who lost their jobs after the killing of Baby P will appeal against an employment tribunal ruling they were fairly sacked. Former Haringey children’s services director Sharon Shoesmith is supporting two of Baby Peter’s social workers who claim they were unfairly sacked. Peter Connelly died being abused in Haringey, north London, in [...]
Police admit malicious prosecution of a serving police officer
January 27, 2012 from Leave a Comment
BBC North East report that A former Cleveland Police officer who was wrongfully sent to prison has been awarded almost £400,000 after an 18-year legal fight. Former traffic officer Sultan Alam, 48, was jailed for 18 months in 1996 for conspiracy to steal car parts, but was cleared by the Court of Appeal in 2007. [...]
People could be given the power to find out from the police if a new partner has a history of domestic violence
October 27, 2011 from Leave a Comment
People could be given the power to find out from the police if a new partner has a history of domestic violence under new government proposals. The idea is similar to Sarah’s Law which allows parents in England to ask police if someone who has contact with their child is a sex offender. Another idea up [...]
Kent police officer who was accused of falsely claiming she was attacked while on duty cleared of wasting police time.
October 20, 2011 from Leave a Comment
A Kent police officer who was accused of falsely claiming she was attacked while on duty has been cleared of wasting police time. PC Fran Croucher was found not guilty following a 10-day trial at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. She was arrested after she reported being beaten unconscious in Crockenhill Road, Swanley, on 14 [...]
BBC report that charges have been dropped against nurse accused of contaminating saline drips at Stockport hospital
September 6, 2011 from Leave a Comment
Charges have been dropped against a nurse accused of contaminating saline at Stockport’s Stepping Hill Hospital. Rebecca Leighton, 27, of Heaviley, was arrested by police investigating the deaths of several patients in July. Greater Manchester Police have revealed they are investigating 40 cases of contamination including seven deaths. Prosecutors said there had not been “sufficient [...]
Woman who threatened to falsely accuse man of being a paedophile jailed
August 27, 2011 from Leave a Comment
This item which appeared under the title “Wicked’ Blackmailer Catherine Bennett took £26,000″ has been extracted from the BBC Wales website here A woman has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after the “wicked and persistent” blackmailing of a man for £26,200. Catherine Bennett, 30, of Newtown, Powys, threatened to lie to police and falsely claim [...]