Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/26/05.htm
Mother of two disabled sons Henrietta Spink offers an insight into the anguish of the Camerons
My heart goes out to the Camerons. A few years ago, David wrote me a letter saying that my book, Henrietta's Dream, about the heartache of caring for our disabled sons, had touched him and Samantha profoundly. Parents of disabled children are an emotional club, brought together by the constant fear of our children dying.
Death is such a presence in our lives that my husband and I rarely discuss it. Every morning, when we go in to our boys' rooms, we wonder if they will be alive. We have seen so many of their school friends die. The parents of those with degenerative diseases have the agonising experience of watching them slowly losing their faculties, while those whose children like Ivan Cameron have cerebral palsy and/or epilepsy and are prone to fitting, often find that children who seem fine one day can be gone the next.
People who don't have a severely disabled child will think that death must be to some degree a blessed release. A tiny part of you does feel that, but a parent's guilt and the grief is so overwhelming that it far outweighs any relief. When you have a very disabled child, you feel totally responsible and overwhelmingly protective. Such children so totally swamp your life that, if they are no longer there, the void is enormous.
It is hard to move on. I once spoke to a mother for four hours about her son and only discovered at the end that he had died six years earlier. I've seen parents burst into tears at the sight of my sons because theirs were no longer with them, even though theirs had lost all function and awareness. Even if you have always known at the back of your mind that your child might die, nothing prepares you for the reality of loss.
Friday, 27 February 2009
Boy, 14, sentenced for sex abuse (BBC News)
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/26/04.htm
A 14-year-old boy has been given a three year supervision order after sexually abusing two 10-year-old boys in Wiltshire.
The boy, from Wootton Bassett, committed the offences when aged 13. He cannot be named for legal reasons.
The sexual assaults, which took place in the bedroom of one of the boys, happened between January and May 2008.
The judge said he chose a supervision order due to the boy's previous good character and admission of the charges.
Judge Douglas Field, who sentenced the teenager at Swindon Crown Court, highlighted the young age of all concerned as the major factor in this case.
A 14-year-old boy has been given a three year supervision order after sexually abusing two 10-year-old boys in Wiltshire.
The boy, from Wootton Bassett, committed the offences when aged 13. He cannot be named for legal reasons.
The sexual assaults, which took place in the bedroom of one of the boys, happened between January and May 2008.
The judge said he chose a supervision order due to the boy's previous good character and admission of the charges.
Judge Douglas Field, who sentenced the teenager at Swindon Crown Court, highlighted the young age of all concerned as the major factor in this case.
Michael Jackson: What Really Happened (Documentary)
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/26/03.htm
This revealing and gripping documentary has received strong critical acclaim. Writer - and Michael Jackson fan - Jacques Peretti - had a legal minefield to negotiate to get to the former pop star and made himself seriously ill in the process, but the results are fascinating.
Two years ago Jackson was acquitted of child molestation, but instead of returning to his Neverland home, he disappeared. Peretti wanted to find out why, and in so doing, get to the truth of what really drove Jackson to such spectacular self-destruction.
This revealing and gripping documentary has received strong critical acclaim. Writer - and Michael Jackson fan - Jacques Peretti - had a legal minefield to negotiate to get to the former pop star and made himself seriously ill in the process, but the results are fascinating.
Two years ago Jackson was acquitted of child molestation, but instead of returning to his Neverland home, he disappeared. Peretti wanted to find out why, and in so doing, get to the truth of what really drove Jackson to such spectacular self-destruction.
Give Her Back (ITV News, Late Edition)
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/26/02.htm
Watch The Broadcast;
JUST RELEASED!
Social workers who snatched four-day-old baby (ITV Evening Edition)
(The Story of Sarah, Ian Walton and their Daughter Crystal) (Our Story)
I Ian Walton Take Responsibility For Naming Our Selves In This Article And Not London Tonight
Social workers who snatched four-day-old baby put her up for adoption over unproven abuse claim
Mums heartbreaking fight to get her daughter back.
A mum and dad have been told they will never see their young daughter again after she was snatched away at only four days old.
Tiny Baby A was taken from her mum by social workers who claimed the tot, who we will call Emily, was at risk in the family home.
Not because of the mums failure to care for her but because of a six-year-old unproven claim that her husband had injured his son from a previous marriage.
Watch The Broadcast;
JUST RELEASED!
Social workers who snatched four-day-old baby (ITV Evening Edition)
(The Story of Sarah, Ian Walton and their Daughter Crystal) (Our Story)
I Ian Walton Take Responsibility For Naming Our Selves In This Article And Not London Tonight
Social workers who snatched four-day-old baby put her up for adoption over unproven abuse claim
Mums heartbreaking fight to get her daughter back.
A mum and dad have been told they will never see their young daughter again after she was snatched away at only four days old.
Tiny Baby A was taken from her mum by social workers who claimed the tot, who we will call Emily, was at risk in the family home.
Not because of the mums failure to care for her but because of a six-year-old unproven claim that her husband had injured his son from a previous marriage.
Support for Natural Parents is Key Factor
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/26/01.htm
Originally Published 18th February 2009Readers Letter:
I AM writing concerning the proposed adoption of the four-old girl whose father has been accused of causing brain damage to his son years earlier (Advertiser, February 4).
The mother has done nothing wrong and it is a despicable and inhumane act to remove from her the child whom she bore and loves. The sanctimonious pontification by Andrew Fraser seems to be couched in terms of self-justification and smacks of an attitude that social services are always right and no one else has any right to question their decisions.
Originally Published 18th February 2009Readers Letter:
I AM writing concerning the proposed adoption of the four-old girl whose father has been accused of causing brain damage to his son years earlier (Advertiser, February 4).
The mother has done nothing wrong and it is a despicable and inhumane act to remove from her the child whom she bore and loves. The sanctimonious pontification by Andrew Fraser seems to be couched in terms of self-justification and smacks of an attitude that social services are always right and no one else has any right to question their decisions.
Monday, 23 February 2009
Panorama - Jailed For A Knife
Full Article:
http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/BBC_1_Panorama_-_Jailed_for_a_Knife.htm
WATCH THE BROADCAST:
Thoughtful documentary examining the issues around the recent rise in youth knife crime.
At least 34 teenagers were stabbed to death last year in the UK. In just a decade, the number sentenced for carrying a knife has risen ten-fold. So why are so many of Britains youngsters arming themselves with knives? And why do some kill?
http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/BBC_1_Panorama_-_Jailed_for_a_Knife.htm
WATCH THE BROADCAST:
Thoughtful documentary examining the issues around the recent rise in youth knife crime.
At least 34 teenagers were stabbed to death last year in the UK. In just a decade, the number sentenced for carrying a knife has risen ten-fold. So why are so many of Britains youngsters arming themselves with knives? And why do some kill?
Panorama - Kids Behaving Badly
Full Article:http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/BBC_1_Panorama_-_Kids_Behaving_Badly.htm
WATCH THE BROADCAST:
When parents drop their children at the school gates they do so in the trust that they will be safe until home time. But are they?
We know that bullying, be it verbal or physical, happens in our schools and in its worst forms can ruin lives. The key to ending the torment is speaking out, but shame and fear often makes this difficult to do.
And, as Panorama reports in Kids Behaving Badly, children are being subjected to a type of bullying which makes it even harder to speak out - sexual bullying.
This can be anything from sexualised name-calling to spreading rumours about someone's sexual behaviour, to criminal offences such as assault and rape.
Five-year-olds expelled
Michele Elliott from Kidscape, the first UK charity established specifically to prevent bullying and child sexual abuse, says it has seen a dramatic rise in the problem:
'Certainly over the last four or five years on the Kidscape helpline we used to get maybe one or two calls a year about sexual bullying, but now we are getting two or three calls a week,' she said.
The most recent government figures show that in 2006-07 there were 3,500 fixed period exclusions and 140 expulsions from schools in England for sexual misconduct - anything from explicit graffiti to serious sexual assault, even rape.
WATCH THE BROADCAST:
When parents drop their children at the school gates they do so in the trust that they will be safe until home time. But are they?
We know that bullying, be it verbal or physical, happens in our schools and in its worst forms can ruin lives. The key to ending the torment is speaking out, but shame and fear often makes this difficult to do.
And, as Panorama reports in Kids Behaving Badly, children are being subjected to a type of bullying which makes it even harder to speak out - sexual bullying.
This can be anything from sexualised name-calling to spreading rumours about someone's sexual behaviour, to criminal offences such as assault and rape.
Five-year-olds expelled
Michele Elliott from Kidscape, the first UK charity established specifically to prevent bullying and child sexual abuse, says it has seen a dramatic rise in the problem:
'Certainly over the last four or five years on the Kidscape helpline we used to get maybe one or two calls a year about sexual bullying, but now we are getting two or three calls a week,' she said.
The most recent government figures show that in 2006-07 there were 3,500 fixed period exclusions and 140 expulsions from schools in England for sexual misconduct - anything from explicit graffiti to serious sexual assault, even rape.
Sunday, 22 February 2009
I’ll spell it out: if children can’t read, lives are ruined
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/22/02.htm
This country’s education system is a betrayal of this country’s children. It blunts their intelligence, narrows their perspectives and blasts their future prospects. How often does that need to be said? Of course it is not universally true; many children defy the system, one way or another. But the point is that the system is bad. If the word “institutionally” means anything, this country’s education system is institutionally unfit for purpose.
Those who assume that I am exaggerating, as columnists do, should consider the interim report published last week by the Cambridge Primary Review, the biggest independent inquiry into state primary school education in England for 40 years, led by Professor Robin Alexander. After three years of exhaustive research by his team, he says “our argument is that [primary school children’s] education, and to some degree their lives, are impoverished if they have received an education that is so fundamentally deficient”.
At last a knight in shining educational armour seems to have come galloping over the hill. His review finds that the curriculum has been politicised, that the education department and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority have been excessively prescriptive in their micro-management of schools, that their focus on “literacy” and numeracy and testing has squeezed out other learning, and that children are being denied a broad and rich curriculum - with history, geography, music, art and drama the greatest losses. Alexander insists the arts and humanities “help to hold the line between civilisation and philistinism” but “in these severely utilitarian and philistine times” this argument “no longer cuts much ice”.
This country’s education system is a betrayal of this country’s children. It blunts their intelligence, narrows their perspectives and blasts their future prospects. How often does that need to be said? Of course it is not universally true; many children defy the system, one way or another. But the point is that the system is bad. If the word “institutionally” means anything, this country’s education system is institutionally unfit for purpose.
Those who assume that I am exaggerating, as columnists do, should consider the interim report published last week by the Cambridge Primary Review, the biggest independent inquiry into state primary school education in England for 40 years, led by Professor Robin Alexander. After three years of exhaustive research by his team, he says “our argument is that [primary school children’s] education, and to some degree their lives, are impoverished if they have received an education that is so fundamentally deficient”.
At last a knight in shining educational armour seems to have come galloping over the hill. His review finds that the curriculum has been politicised, that the education department and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority have been excessively prescriptive in their micro-management of schools, that their focus on “literacy” and numeracy and testing has squeezed out other learning, and that children are being denied a broad and rich curriculum - with history, geography, music, art and drama the greatest losses. Alexander insists the arts and humanities “help to hold the line between civilisation and philistinism” but “in these severely utilitarian and philistine times” this argument “no longer cuts much ice”.
Help given to drugs case children
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/22/01.htm
Relatives are working with consular officials in Venezuela to bring home the four children of a British couple detained for alleged drugs offences.
Paul Makin, 31, and his wife Laura were held on 16 February on Margarita Island for allegedly carrying cocaine.
The four children were placed into the care of Venezuelan social services.
British Embassy officials travelled to the island to ensure the children's welfare and provide consular services to the detainees.
The children are an eight- and a seven-year-old from a former marriage of Laura Makin, and the couple's two-year-old twins.
The Foreign Office confirmed that other family members have arrived on Margarita Island, and are working to repatriate the four children as soon as possible.
Sought in UK
A Foreign Office spokesman said the Venezuelan authorities had done everything in their power to assist the children.
Relatives are working with consular officials in Venezuela to bring home the four children of a British couple detained for alleged drugs offences.
Paul Makin, 31, and his wife Laura were held on 16 February on Margarita Island for allegedly carrying cocaine.
The four children were placed into the care of Venezuelan social services.
British Embassy officials travelled to the island to ensure the children's welfare and provide consular services to the detainees.
The children are an eight- and a seven-year-old from a former marriage of Laura Makin, and the couple's two-year-old twins.
The Foreign Office confirmed that other family members have arrived on Margarita Island, and are working to repatriate the four children as soon as possible.
Sought in UK
A Foreign Office spokesman said the Venezuelan authorities had done everything in their power to assist the children.
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Social workers who snatched four-day-old baby (ITV London Tonight)
Watch The ITV News Broadcast: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/17/02.htm
Social workers who snatched four-day-old baby put her up for adoption over unproven abuse claimMum’s heartbreaking fight to get her daughter back.A mum and dad have been told they will never see their young daughter again… after she was snatched away at only four days old.Tiny Baby A was taken from her mum by social workers who claimed the tot, who we will call Emily, was at risk in the family home.Not because of the mum’s failure to care for her – but because of a six-year-old unproven claim that her husband had injured his son from a previous marriage.Yet, although interviewed by police, he never faced a criminal court over that allegation. And he has even been allowed unsupervised access to watch his boy grow up.Now the High Court, in a devastating civil court ruling, has decided that a decision to forcibly adopt Emily – now aged four – away from her parents (who we are calling Tania and Stephen) must stand.Revealing her agony for the first time, mum Tania said: “I had my beautiful baby girl snatched from me at just four days old. Only a mother could understand the horror of that.“My only crime is that I love and trust my husband. I don’t believe he could ever harm a child, and the courts have been unable to prove it. I have already missed years of Emily’s childhood.”Stephen, in his 40s, married Tania, in her mid-20s, in 2003. Almost a year after their wedding Tania gave birth to Emily in hospital and they were overjoyed to take her home two days later. But they were to enjoy just two days alone with their little girl before she was taken from them. Social workers claimed there was a danger her dad would hurt her because of the case six years earlier.
Social workers who snatched four-day-old baby put her up for adoption over unproven abuse claimMum’s heartbreaking fight to get her daughter back.A mum and dad have been told they will never see their young daughter again… after she was snatched away at only four days old.Tiny Baby A was taken from her mum by social workers who claimed the tot, who we will call Emily, was at risk in the family home.Not because of the mum’s failure to care for her – but because of a six-year-old unproven claim that her husband had injured his son from a previous marriage.Yet, although interviewed by police, he never faced a criminal court over that allegation. And he has even been allowed unsupervised access to watch his boy grow up.Now the High Court, in a devastating civil court ruling, has decided that a decision to forcibly adopt Emily – now aged four – away from her parents (who we are calling Tania and Stephen) must stand.Revealing her agony for the first time, mum Tania said: “I had my beautiful baby girl snatched from me at just four days old. Only a mother could understand the horror of that.“My only crime is that I love and trust my husband. I don’t believe he could ever harm a child, and the courts have been unable to prove it. I have already missed years of Emily’s childhood.”Stephen, in his 40s, married Tania, in her mid-20s, in 2003. Almost a year after their wedding Tania gave birth to Emily in hospital and they were overjoyed to take her home two days later. But they were to enjoy just two days alone with their little girl before she was taken from them. Social workers claimed there was a danger her dad would hurt her because of the case six years earlier.
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Social workers who snatched four-day-old baby put her up for adoption over unproven abuse claim
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/15/01.htm
I Ian Walton Take Responsibility For Naming Our Selves In This Article And Not The Sunday Mirror
(The Story of Sarah, Ian Walton and their Daughter Crystal) (Our Story)
The Following Article Was Anonymised By The Sunday Mirror, The Real Names In The Story Are As Follows:
Stephen = Ian
Tanya = Sarah
Emily = Crystal
Social workers who snatched four-day-old baby put her up for adoption over unproven abuse claim
Mum’s heartbreaking fight to get her daughter back.
A mum and dad have been told they will never see their young daughter again… after she was snatched away at only four days old.
Tiny Baby A was taken from her mum by social workers who claimed the tot, who we will call Emily, was at risk in the family home.
Not because of the mum’s failure to care for her – but because of a six-year-old unproven claim that her husband had injured his son from a previous marriage.
Yet, although interviewed by police, he never faced a criminal court over that allegation. And he has even been allowed unsupervised access to watch his boy grow up.
Now the High Court, in a devastating civil court ruling, has decided that a decision to forcibly adopt Emily – now aged four – away from her parents (who we are calling Tania and Stephen) must stand.
Revealing her agony for the first time, mum Tania said: “I had my beautiful baby girl snatched from me at just four days old. Only a mother could understand the horror of that.
“My only crime is that I love and trust my husband. I don’t believe he could ever harm a child, and the courts have been unable to prove it. I have already missed years of Emily’s childhood.”
Stephen, in his 40s, married Tania, in her mid-20s, in 2003. Almost a year after their wedding Tania gave birth to Emily in hospital and they were overjoyed to take her home two days later. But they were to enjoy just two days alone with their little girl before she was taken from them. Social workers claimed there was a danger her dad would hurt her because of the case six years earlier.
Stephen had been married before and has a 10-year-old son, Jamie. When he was eight weeks old, Jamie was taken to hospital with a suspected brain injury and was found to have suffered bleeding behind his eyes. The episode left him permanently disabled, and he now has cerebral palsy. A medical expert said that he had been shaken viciously.
I Ian Walton Take Responsibility For Naming Our Selves In This Article And Not The Sunday Mirror
(The Story of Sarah, Ian Walton and their Daughter Crystal) (Our Story)
The Following Article Was Anonymised By The Sunday Mirror, The Real Names In The Story Are As Follows:
Stephen = Ian
Tanya = Sarah
Emily = Crystal
Social workers who snatched four-day-old baby put her up for adoption over unproven abuse claim
Mum’s heartbreaking fight to get her daughter back.
A mum and dad have been told they will never see their young daughter again… after she was snatched away at only four days old.
Tiny Baby A was taken from her mum by social workers who claimed the tot, who we will call Emily, was at risk in the family home.
Not because of the mum’s failure to care for her – but because of a six-year-old unproven claim that her husband had injured his son from a previous marriage.
Yet, although interviewed by police, he never faced a criminal court over that allegation. And he has even been allowed unsupervised access to watch his boy grow up.
Now the High Court, in a devastating civil court ruling, has decided that a decision to forcibly adopt Emily – now aged four – away from her parents (who we are calling Tania and Stephen) must stand.
Revealing her agony for the first time, mum Tania said: “I had my beautiful baby girl snatched from me at just four days old. Only a mother could understand the horror of that.
“My only crime is that I love and trust my husband. I don’t believe he could ever harm a child, and the courts have been unable to prove it. I have already missed years of Emily’s childhood.”
Stephen, in his 40s, married Tania, in her mid-20s, in 2003. Almost a year after their wedding Tania gave birth to Emily in hospital and they were overjoyed to take her home two days later. But they were to enjoy just two days alone with their little girl before she was taken from them. Social workers claimed there was a danger her dad would hurt her because of the case six years earlier.
Stephen had been married before and has a 10-year-old son, Jamie. When he was eight weeks old, Jamie was taken to hospital with a suspected brain injury and was found to have suffered bleeding behind his eyes. The episode left him permanently disabled, and he now has cerebral palsy. A medical expert said that he had been shaken viciously.
Saturday, 14 February 2009
Adoption law is like licensed child abuse
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/14/01.htm
Have we lost our sense of humanity? It’s a big question, and I’m afraid the answer seems to be a big YES.
Yes, we have lost our compassion. Yes, we have lost our sense of how fragile and sensitive human beings can be, and yes, we have lost the capacity to feel the sheer wonder of the miracle of birth, of having a child and bringing that child up to be a human being to be proud of.
That is life’s greatest privilege. You only have to look at this week’s pictures of a beaming Chris Evans and his new son Noah to witness that. That privilege was enjoyed by Mark and Nicky Webster. And it was, inhumanely, taken away.
Mark and Nicky have been dealt the most tragic of blows: they were told, by the Court of Appeal, that they’ll never see three of their children again, even though the judge accepted that they’d probably been wrongly accused of child abuse.
The children, now aged nine, seven and five, were taken into care in 2004 after doctors decided that six tiny fractures found on the middle child’s leg had been inflicted by the tot’s parents.
Have we lost our sense of humanity? It’s a big question, and I’m afraid the answer seems to be a big YES.
Yes, we have lost our compassion. Yes, we have lost our sense of how fragile and sensitive human beings can be, and yes, we have lost the capacity to feel the sheer wonder of the miracle of birth, of having a child and bringing that child up to be a human being to be proud of.
That is life’s greatest privilege. You only have to look at this week’s pictures of a beaming Chris Evans and his new son Noah to witness that. That privilege was enjoyed by Mark and Nicky Webster. And it was, inhumanely, taken away.
Mark and Nicky have been dealt the most tragic of blows: they were told, by the Court of Appeal, that they’ll never see three of their children again, even though the judge accepted that they’d probably been wrongly accused of child abuse.
The children, now aged nine, seven and five, were taken into care in 2004 after doctors decided that six tiny fractures found on the middle child’s leg had been inflicted by the tot’s parents.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Mother and boyfriend killed tot
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/11/02.htm
A mother and her boyfriend have been jailed for killing a toddler who sustained more than 100 injuries during months of abuse.
Two-year-old Sanam Navsarka died after suffering 107 separate external injuries. All her limbs had been fractured.
Her mother Zahbeena Navsarka was found guilty of her daughter's manslaughter and partner Subhan Anwar was convicted of murder at Bradford Crown Court.
Anwar was jailed for life and will serve a minimum of 23 years while Navsarka was sentenced to nine years
A mother and her boyfriend have been jailed for killing a toddler who sustained more than 100 injuries during months of abuse.
Two-year-old Sanam Navsarka died after suffering 107 separate external injuries. All her limbs had been fractured.
Her mother Zahbeena Navsarka was found guilty of her daughter's manslaughter and partner Subhan Anwar was convicted of murder at Bradford Crown Court.
Anwar was jailed for life and will serve a minimum of 23 years while Navsarka was sentenced to nine years
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
Rhys battered to death like Baby P
Full Artice: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/11/01.htm
A BABY whose crack addict mum was known to social services for eight years was battered to death like Baby P, a court has heard.
Two-month-old Rhys Biggs had his chest crushed, ten ribs broken and his wrist and shoulder bones cracked.
Yet during his short life he had been under the care of TWO London social services teams, Newham and Camden.
His mum Claire Biggs, 27, had been known to them since 2001. She had a premature “at risk” daughter taken into care when she was 19 because she was on drugs and homeless.
At the time of Rhys’s death she had three boyfriends. One, live-in lover Paul Husband, 33, did nothing to stop the abuse.
Biggs and Husband were convicted yesterday of child cruelty as it could not be established what had caused Rhys’s death. It was another echo of the Baby P case.
He was tortured to death aged 17 months by his mum, her lover and their lodger even though he had been seen 60 times by health and social workers.
In Rhys’s case, health and social workers from Camden and Newham arranged to visit Biggs several times but she dodged the appointments.
The court heard how on April 10 last year, Husband rang the NHS Direct helpline to say Rhys had been screaming for
hours. Biggs admitted that on one occasion his cries had continued for eight hours.
A BABY whose crack addict mum was known to social services for eight years was battered to death like Baby P, a court has heard.
Two-month-old Rhys Biggs had his chest crushed, ten ribs broken and his wrist and shoulder bones cracked.
Yet during his short life he had been under the care of TWO London social services teams, Newham and Camden.
His mum Claire Biggs, 27, had been known to them since 2001. She had a premature “at risk” daughter taken into care when she was 19 because she was on drugs and homeless.
At the time of Rhys’s death she had three boyfriends. One, live-in lover Paul Husband, 33, did nothing to stop the abuse.
Biggs and Husband were convicted yesterday of child cruelty as it could not be established what had caused Rhys’s death. It was another echo of the Baby P case.
He was tortured to death aged 17 months by his mum, her lover and their lodger even though he had been seen 60 times by health and social workers.
In Rhys’s case, health and social workers from Camden and Newham arranged to visit Biggs several times but she dodged the appointments.
The court heard how on April 10 last year, Husband rang the NHS Direct helpline to say Rhys had been screaming for
hours. Biggs admitted that on one occasion his cries had continued for eight hours.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Murder arrest over missing girl
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/10/01.htm
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder by detectives investigating the disappearance of a schoolgirl.
Paige Chivers walked out of her family home in Bispham, Blackpool, in August 2007 following an argument. She was 15.
Officers said they were keeping an open mind about where she is, but confirmed that murder was a line of inquiry in the investigation.
A 40-year-old man, from Bispham, was detained on Tuesday and is being questioned by detectives.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder by detectives investigating the disappearance of a schoolgirl.
Paige Chivers walked out of her family home in Bispham, Blackpool, in August 2007 following an argument. She was 15.
Officers said they were keeping an open mind about where she is, but confirmed that murder was a line of inquiry in the investigation.
A 40-year-old man, from Bispham, was detained on Tuesday and is being questioned by detectives.
Monday, 9 February 2009
13,000 ring ChildLine because of sexual abuse
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/09/01.htm
Helpline sees two-fold increase in calls reporting child sex abuse.
A record number of children called the ChildLine helpline last year to report sexual abuse, the charity said today.
A total of 13,237 children called the helpline in 2007-08 saying they were victims of sexual abuse - more than a 50% increase over three years.
Storylines on TV programmes, including BBC soap EastEnders, and high-profile awareness campaigns have encouraged children to speak out about abuse, ChildLine said.
But the service said that despite having more volunteers and bases than ever, it was only able to answer two-thirds of the 2.3m calls it receives every year.
Helpline sees two-fold increase in calls reporting child sex abuse.
A record number of children called the ChildLine helpline last year to report sexual abuse, the charity said today.
A total of 13,237 children called the helpline in 2007-08 saying they were victims of sexual abuse - more than a 50% increase over three years.
Storylines on TV programmes, including BBC soap EastEnders, and high-profile awareness campaigns have encouraged children to speak out about abuse, ChildLine said.
But the service said that despite having more volunteers and bases than ever, it was only able to answer two-thirds of the 2.3m calls it receives every year.
Girl starved to death after op
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/09/02.htm
An eight-year-old girl starved to death at home because she refused to open her mouth after a dental operation, an inquest heard.
Sophie Waller, from St Dennis, Cornwall, was so afraid of dentists she was sent to the Royal Cornwall Hospital to have her milk teeth taken out.
Afterwards, she would not open her mouth and was given a feeding tube.
The inquest heard that she died at home about three weeks later from acute renal failure.
Health deteriorated
Her parents, Richard and Janet Waller, told the inquest in Truro that Sophie had been scared of dentists and had refused to eat or talk when a milk tooth became loose.
The inquest was told it had happened before but this time her GP arranged for her to go to the Royal Cornwall Hospital for the tooth to be removed under general anaesthetic.
An eight-year-old girl starved to death at home because she refused to open her mouth after a dental operation, an inquest heard.
Sophie Waller, from St Dennis, Cornwall, was so afraid of dentists she was sent to the Royal Cornwall Hospital to have her milk teeth taken out.
Afterwards, she would not open her mouth and was given a feeding tube.
The inquest heard that she died at home about three weeks later from acute renal failure.
Health deteriorated
Her parents, Richard and Janet Waller, told the inquest in Truro that Sophie had been scared of dentists and had refused to eat or talk when a milk tooth became loose.
The inquest was told it had happened before but this time her GP arranged for her to go to the Royal Cornwall Hospital for the tooth to be removed under general anaesthetic.
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Baby P chief speaks at last ... but there's no sign of an apology
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/08/03.htm
The disgraced council boss sacked over the Baby P scandal is under fire for failing to apologise for the toddler's death during her first interview since her sacking.
Instead, Sharon Shoesmith, the former £100,000-a-year head of Haringey council children's services, blamed everyone but herself.
Among others, she attacked Ministers for their handling of the affair, accused the Press and public of a witch-hunt and claimed she was blatantly discredited by an independent inquiry.
And she described in self-pitying detail the tragedy's toll on herself and her family, causing dismay yesterday among those close to the case.
Ann Walker, the childminder who repeatedly warned social services about the toddler's pitiful condition, told The Mail on Sunday that Mrs Shoesmith should have 'either apologised or said nothing at all'.
The disgraced council boss sacked over the Baby P scandal is under fire for failing to apologise for the toddler's death during her first interview since her sacking.
Instead, Sharon Shoesmith, the former £100,000-a-year head of Haringey council children's services, blamed everyone but herself.
Among others, she attacked Ministers for their handling of the affair, accused the Press and public of a witch-hunt and claimed she was blatantly discredited by an independent inquiry.
And she described in self-pitying detail the tragedy's toll on herself and her family, causing dismay yesterday among those close to the case.
Ann Walker, the childminder who repeatedly warned social services about the toddler's pitiful condition, told The Mail on Sunday that Mrs Shoesmith should have 'either apologised or said nothing at all'.
Foster parent who has looked after 80 children struck off...because a Muslim girl in her care became a Christian
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/08/02.htm
A foster mother has been struck off by a council after a teenage Muslim girl in her care became a Christian.
The carer, who has ten years’ experience and has looked after more than 80 children, said she was ‘devastated’ by the decision.
‘This is my life,’ she revealed. ‘It is not just a job for me. It is a vocation. I love what I do. It is also my entire income. I am a single carer, so that is all I have to live on.’
The foster mother said she had recently bought a larger car and had been renting a farmhouse, with a pony in a field, so that she could provide more disadvantaged children with a new life.
A foster mother has been struck off by a council after a teenage Muslim girl in her care became a Christian.
The carer, who has ten years’ experience and has looked after more than 80 children, said she was ‘devastated’ by the decision.
‘This is my life,’ she revealed. ‘It is not just a job for me. It is a vocation. I love what I do. It is also my entire income. I am a single carer, so that is all I have to live on.’
The foster mother said she had recently bought a larger car and had been renting a farmhouse, with a pony in a field, so that she could provide more disadvantaged children with a new life.
Tot mauled to death by grandma's dogs
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/08/01.htm
A three-month-old boy was mauled to death by his grandmother’s two pet dogs yesterday while she was baby-sitting him.
Denise Wilson was left covered in blood as she desperately battled to save grandson Jaden Mack after he was savaged by her Staffordshire bull terrier and Jack Russell.
Terrified Denise, 54, screamed out for help as the dogs bit at the baby’s throat while he lay in his moses basket at her home in Ystrad Mynach in South Wales.
A neighbour wrestled the dogs off Jaden and tried to give him the kiss of life.
But the baby was too badly injured and he died in Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil shortly after the attack in the early hours of yesterday morning.
A three-month-old boy was mauled to death by his grandmother’s two pet dogs yesterday while she was baby-sitting him.
Denise Wilson was left covered in blood as she desperately battled to save grandson Jaden Mack after he was savaged by her Staffordshire bull terrier and Jack Russell.
Terrified Denise, 54, screamed out for help as the dogs bit at the baby’s throat while he lay in his moses basket at her home in Ystrad Mynach in South Wales.
A neighbour wrestled the dogs off Jaden and tried to give him the kiss of life.
But the baby was too badly injured and he died in Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil shortly after the attack in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Saturday, 7 February 2009
Petition - Justice for Baby E
Sign The Petition: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/petitions/2009/01.htm
A British mother is seeking justice for her son to prevent him being taken by the state. She has never harmed her son, he went into care at her request in July as she has no family and suffered a breakdown. Social services placed her boy in foster placement based on information that was incorrect, his relatives offered to look after him, both had been CRB checked by social workers. Social services are trying to get him adopted despite asking for expert witnesses; both said he should be returned to her care. She stayed in a mother and baby unit for 11 months despite the psychiatrist saying there was no clinical need for her to be there. She was misdiagnosed as suffering with bipolar, was told she had to leave her baby at an assessment for social services to collect when she was 8 months pregnant.
A British mother is seeking justice for her son to prevent him being taken by the state. She has never harmed her son, he went into care at her request in July as she has no family and suffered a breakdown. Social services placed her boy in foster placement based on information that was incorrect, his relatives offered to look after him, both had been CRB checked by social workers. Social services are trying to get him adopted despite asking for expert witnesses; both said he should be returned to her care. She stayed in a mother and baby unit for 11 months despite the psychiatrist saying there was no clinical need for her to be there. She was misdiagnosed as suffering with bipolar, was told she had to leave her baby at an assessment for social services to collect when she was 8 months pregnant.
Friday, 6 February 2009
Guilty of nothing but still lose their daughter
Full Story: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/04/02.htm
(The Story of Sarah, Ian Walton and their Daughter Crystal)
A JUDGE has crushed the hopes of a couple who fought to be reunited with their little girl after she was put up for adoption by social services – even though he said the evidence used to keep the family apart would not stand up in a criminal court. The couple, who along with their daughter cannot be named due to a draconian injunction brought against the Advertiser by Enfield Council, had their child taken from them four years ago on the vague basis that she may suffer “potential future harm”. This was because the father had been accused – though never charged – of shaking his son from a previous marriage, leading to that child being brain damaged. Perversely, social services allow the father full and unsupervised access to his disabled son. But when he remarried and his daughter was born, social workers, backed by police, stormed into their house when she was just four days old and took the child from its mother, claiming the baby was at risk.
Full Story: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/04/02.htm
(The Story of Sarah, Ian Walton and their Daughter Crystal)
A JUDGE has crushed the hopes of a couple who fought to be reunited with their little girl after she was put up for adoption by social services – even though he said the evidence used to keep the family apart would not stand up in a criminal court. The couple, who along with their daughter cannot be named due to a draconian injunction brought against the Advertiser by Enfield Council, had their child taken from them four years ago on the vague basis that she may suffer “potential future harm”. This was because the father had been accused – though never charged – of shaking his son from a previous marriage, leading to that child being brain damaged. Perversely, social services allow the father full and unsupervised access to his disabled son. But when he remarried and his daughter was born, social workers, backed by police, stormed into their house when she was just four days old and took the child from its mother, claiming the baby was at risk.
Full Story: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/04/02.htm
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Mother charged with killing son (BBC News)
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/04/01.htm
A mother has gone on trial charged with killing her 23-month-old son in Dundee.
Heather Boyd, 23, from Monifieth in Angus, was accused of the culpable homicide of Brandon Lee Muir by failing to get him medical treatment.
Robert Cunningham, also 23, was charged with murdering the toddler, by assaulting him in flats in the city's Balunie Crescent in March last year.
They both denied the charges. The trial, at the High Court in Glasgow, was expected to last four to six weeks.
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/04/01.htm
A mother has gone on trial charged with killing her 23-month-old son in Dundee.
Heather Boyd, 23, from Monifieth in Angus, was accused of the culpable homicide of Brandon Lee Muir by failing to get him medical treatment.
Robert Cunningham, also 23, was charged with murdering the toddler, by assaulting him in flats in the city's Balunie Crescent in March last year.
They both denied the charges. The trial, at the High Court in Glasgow, was expected to last four to six weeks.
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/04/01.htm
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Court hears of desperate attempts to keep toddler alive
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/news/archive/2009/febuary/03/01.htm
Robert Cunningham denies murdering Brandon Muir, while the youngster's mother Heather Boyd denies the culpable homicide of her son.
A murder trial has heard the emergency call made by the woman accused of killing her young son.
Heather Boyd, 23, told the ambulance operator "he's not breathing".Brandon Muir was reported unconscious at a flat in Balunie Crescent in Dundee last March.
Robert Cunningham denies murdering Brandon Muir, while the youngster's mother Heather Boyd denies the culpable homicide of her son.
A murder trial has heard the emergency call made by the woman accused of killing her young son.
Heather Boyd, 23, told the ambulance operator "he's not breathing".Brandon Muir was reported unconscious at a flat in Balunie Crescent in Dundee last March.
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