Post Title Of The Month

Well, really, who else?

Honorable runner up: Cranmer, for this post, as recommended by Woman on a Raft in comments:

Quote Of The Month

Longrider on the concept of socialised healthcare:

"I am becoming increasingly angry at this attitude that somehow we owe the NHS anything. We do not. We pay – handsomely – for this service and it owes us, not the other way around. Unfortunately, socialised healthcare leads us to this moronic thinking that other people’s health is any of our concern because the NHS may be needed to care for them in the event of a lifestyle choice. Well, the gentleman Allsopp observed is also likely a taxpayer and has paid for any healthcare he may need, but does he?"

Post Of The Month

Tim Newman rips to shreds the Supermarket Food Waste 'scandal'...

Oh, My! You'd Need A Heart Of Stone, Wouldn't You?

Facebook has rolled out new “spooky” reactions buttons that are meant to get people into the Halloween spirit.

And why not..?

The new reactions replace the old ones – showing a laughing witch, a shocked ghost, a crying Frankenstein’s monster and an angry pumpkin. Usually those are just yellow faces, but they’ve been changed for Halloween.

This is news because..?

The little emoji have been replaced in old posts. That means that when people react to bad news – like a death in the family – then the pictures will change to show an array of monsters beneath the post.

Of particular note is the Frankenstein's monster, which has replaced the crying emoji. Since that's used so much in condolences, announcements of deaths are now full of pictures of a reincarnated dead person.

I Think The 'Mail' Editor Doesn't Understand Collective Nouns....

...it's a 'murder of crows', not a...

Wait, what?

H/T: Michael Fay via email

Maths Lesson With The 'Daily Mail'...

“Britain could face a 'divorce' bill of up to 20 billion Euros - around £18 billion - as the cost of leaving the EU. The massive payment is expected to be demanded by Brussels to settle shared liabilities. Eurocrats are preparing calculations for the sums that need to be divided up as the UK entangles itself from the bloc. They are believed to include £217 billion of unpaid budget appropriations, £57.5billion of pension liabilities, and other commitments totalling around £29 billion.

That’s £303.5 billion, just a tad over the £18 billion stated in the first sentence.

H/T: Stephen Brown via email

Spooky Sunday Funnies...

It's nearly Hallowe'en. Don't have nightmares....

*sinister cackle*

But The Most Important Thing Is That They Are Never Stopped And Searched...

A Met spokesman confirmed that no arrests have been made and enquiries continue.

Detective Constable Natasha Swan of Lambeth CID said: "I am appealing to anyone who was in the area and witnessed a group of up to 20 males and females, aged between 14 and 18, acting in an aggressive manner between approximately 11:30am on Friday, October 21 until around 4:30am the following morning."

No description other than 'youths'. So we know what this means, don't we?

"The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned;"

One source with knowledge of proceedings says the bid to prevent the four Asian men contacting Child G was dropped because Rotherham’s legal team discovered, as they were walking into court, that the council’s request wouldn’t be supported by South Yorkshire Police.

‘Quite why the council’s in-house solicitors never bothered to speak about this with their colleagues from the police until moments before they turned up in court, I will never know,’ the source says.

Quite. The whole thing stinks. Time Amber Rudd cleaned her Augean stables:

A National Crime Agency operation, Operation Stovewood, expected to run for around eight years and costing £30 million, is pursuing 91 offences involving 82 victims.

A total of 69 officers were said to be on the inquiry this summer, with funding for another 48 approved by the Home Office. Their work is supposed to ensure that girls in Britain never suffer at the hands of such evil men again. Yet vulnerable teenagers are still finding themselves in the sights of Rotherham’s vile gangs.

And this week’s court case shows that, despite everything that has happened, the local authorities would appear to be far better at gagging the Press than they are at protecting innocent victims such as Child G.

Well, at least our press isn't in collusion with the agenda, unlike the German press, as Farenheit211 reveals...

What A Pity Judges And Home Office Ministers Aren't Out On London's Streets...

A thug who knocked a Pokemon Go player’s tooth out in an unprovoked street attack has been jailed for nine months.

William Larking, 35, assaulted victim Matthew Alford as he and his friends played the mobile phone game in Poland Street, Soho, on September 7.

Just another drunken idiot at large on the streets of London?

Well, no. This one's a professional:

He has 45 previous convictions for 108 offences, including assault, affray, and robbery, and was on bail at the time of the attack on Mr Alford.

*sighs*

“This is a tragic loss.”

So terribly, terribly tragic:

Tony Burry, 31, was found lying face down on his bed in the Canvey home he shared with his mother and her partner.

He had been collected from Chelmsford Prison on Wednesday, June 8 - the day before he died...

No, he didn't work there!

On the day of his death Mr Burry, who was prescribed methadone during his time in prison, went upstairs to his bedroom at about 5.30pm.

He spoke to a neighbour out of the window, who said he looked unwell.

Just 30 minutes later Mr Burry was found by a friend who had arrived at the house to visit him.

CPR was performed but he was pronounced dead.

Cigarettes, two used syringes and other drugs paraphernalia were found in the room. A post-mortem examination found the cause of death to be intoxication by heroin and cocaine...

*wipes away tears* Oh, it's like the death of Little Nell, isn't it?

Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray, who gave her condolences to the family on the “loss of Tony in these tragic circumstances”, recorded his death as an accident.

There really needs to be a cause of death that covers these circumstances far more accurately...

Their Reach Is Vast, And All-Encompassing...

Norden High School, Rishton, said .. “It has been brought to our attention that several fake clown profiles have been set up on Facebook.

“The content of threads on Facebook is highly inappropriate and causing unnecessary upset and concern to a number of our students.

“We have identified the creators of the fake accounts and we can assure you that they will be sanctioned accordingly.”

Gosh! I'm rather stunned this particular school has time to worry about what their pupils do outside of school hours on private property....

It'd Be Less 'Sad' If The Owner Were Subject To A Destruction Order Too...

Sentencing, Justin Rouse QC described the pictures of the girl’s injuries as horrific. He added: “It’s obviously very sad for the child who was bitten by the dog, a choice of dog which seems to end up in the wrong hands all too frequently and probably for the wrong reasons.

“It’s sad for that dog – it’s been poorly trained and poorly cared for – that it had to be destroyed.”

Time for Clarkson's Law.

Incapable Of Taking Responsibility...

Owner Jason O’Neil told magistrates he had done all he could to contain his dog Kizzie, erecting a huge fence to contain her. The court heard how the dog – which even police agree has a “soft and friendly” temperament – is well known on Carlisle’s Raffles estate because it had escaped so many times.

What a great place to live that must be..!

...at the city’s Rickergate magistrates’ court, Mr O’Neil’s mother Elizabeth Ann Richardson, 52, in charge of Kizzie while he was in prison, was prosecuted for failing to comply with the terms of a Dangerous Dogs Act exemption certificate.

And no, not just the 'continuously escaping' part:

Prosecutor Pamela Fee outlined how on July 21 a police officer was in the Raffles Avenue area when he saw Kizzie trot across the road and into a nearby play park. It had neither a muzzle nor a lead on it.

When challenged, Richardson said she was the dog’s keeper because her son Jason O’Neil was in prison.

She said she had helped to care for the dog since it was eight weeks old. “She said she was not fully aware of the conditions she had to comply with,” said Mrs Fee. “She said the papers [about it] were packed away somewhere in the house.

“She said the dog was soft and friendly.”

And probably brighter than the owners. But these regulations exist for a reason.

Police also confirmed that insurance for the dog – another of the conditions that owners had to meet for such dogs – had expired.

Might have been an idea to check the car insurance and TV license too, while they were at it...

Speaking from the public gallery, her son, Mr O’Neil, told the court: “I’ve put a 6ft high fence right around the garden. “She jumps over, so there’s no way to keep her in. Police have brought the dog back numerous times... I can’t build the fence any higher than it is.”

Mr O’Neil explained that he had already spent £2,000 on retrieving the dog but, with a child due to be born this month, he could not afford to pay any more. Asked about Kizzie’s temperament, he said: “I don’t know how they can say it’s a pit bull-type dog.

“It’s dad was a golden retriever, and it’s mum a Staffordshire bull terrier. It’s never bitten anyone, never been in a dog fight and never done anything around the streets. I don’t think it’s fair at all. It’s one of the most placid dogs you could have.”

Which isn't really the point. Is it? The thing shouldn't be roaming free.

Magistrates said they had no option but to order Kizzie’s destruction because there was no formal challenge to the order and the exemption certificate conditions were breached. They imposed an £80 fine on Richardson with a £30 victim surcharge. She must also pay £500 towards Kizzie’s kennelling costs. After the case, Mr O’Neil stressed that the likely cost of challenging the sentence made it impossible for him to do that.

So the taxpayer pays. Again.

Isn't it about time we instituted Clarkson's Law and started putting down the owners as well?

I'm Shocked, Shocked! (Part 2587954586)

...owners looking for their missing dogs began to look at claims they were on a travellers site near Nuneaton.

No! What are the odds?

According to the spokesmen, West Midlands Police have been dealing with the initial thefts. They have had support from Warwickshire Police , who dealt with a row between travellers and people looking for the dogs this morning.

Which is, I suspect, the only reason they turned up at all!

Police were called to the Griff this morning after two dogs were stolen in Coventry

A Warwickshire Police spokesman said: “We were called to the Griff caravan park this morning. We were called to an altercation.

“We were called at approximately 7.40am to reports of an altercation at the Griff caravan park. It was believed to be verbal and no injuries were recorded.”

At the moment it isn’t known if any arrests have been made, but investigations are currently ongoing.

Well, that's reassuring. Not.

'A Gift' Is Something You Don't Have To Accept, Isn't It?

The 82-year-old said: "The hospital gave us no explanation whatsoever. It made me very angry and disappointed.

"They took a whole year to carve. The wood was donated to us for nothing, all as a gift to the people of Oxfordshire. We are proud of what we have done.

"It's getting on for 10 years later and there is no recognition. I think we at least deserve an explanation; it's courtesy. After all that hard work, we have been dismissed."

 Maybe if no-one wants then, that should give you a clue?

In June the county council reassured the Oxford Mail that the carvings would be put up, and has since offered to display them in the Common Hall at County Hall – a cafe only open to the public if visiting on council business.

Mr Eastoe said: "We were very disturbed that they made no effort to get them elsewhere. I said we were not satisfied with the cafeteria, where the work would be seen mainly by staff rather than thousands of people.

"These were carved as a gift to the people of Oxfordshire."

Seems as if the people of Oxfordshire's response is 'Oh, yes. Very nice...' *under their breath* 'Gawd, where are we going to put these damned things?'

We've all had those sort of gifts, haven't we?

Too Much To Hope It's To Arrest Them Then..?

PC Beth Manley, who is dealing with the incident, said: "We have released the picture of the injury with the agreement of the woman who was bitten to show that she suffered a nasty injury to her leg as a result of the incident.

"We are very keen to speak to the person walking the dog so we can work with them to try and ensure that this type of thing does not happen again."

Do you really think the woman who walked away unconcernedly as her animal's victim tried to stem the blood flow is amenable to 'working with you', then..?

Because Nothing Says 'Integration'....

...like setting up your own separate project!

/facepalm

Instead of trying to liberalise British Islam, the new scheme will focus solely on a message that violence can never be used. A source familiar with the plans said: “If we can get these voices more heard, they are anti-government and therefore more credible in saying do not turn to violence.”

You reject the duly elected government of this country, and you wonder why 'Prevent' targets you?

Some of those who will try to turn people away from violence may include conservative Islamic scholars who are considered by government to be extremists. These are people who may have illiberal views on homosexuality or women’s equality.

*fetches big bag of popcorn*

File Under 'Nobody Cares'...

The family of 21-year-old Jamal Mahmoud, who was stabbed to death at Pentonville prison, today hit out at authorities for “neglecting” him.

*rolls eyes*

The prisoner was jailed for six years and six months in July as one of two gang members sentenced after hiding a loaded Skorpion machine gun and ammunition in a garden in Enfield.

He was already serving five-and-a-half years in prison for a separate robbery.

Now that's chutzpah!

His sister Souzan, speaking on behalf of her mother Hawa, told ITV News: "For her to get a phone call that her son had died in prison is just devastating. "I blame the prison more than the actual person that done it. They owed him a duty of care and they just neglected him.

"She's worried about my other brother who is also in prison."

What a charming family!

His fiancée Melissa Modeste, an administrative assistant with whom he had a 10-month old son, last night joined a vigil organised by friends.

In an emotional post on Facebook, she wrote: “Sleep tight my darling Jamal. I miss you, I love you, forever and always.”

She added: “I miss you telling me you love me, I miss planning our future together. I miss you making plans for [our son], I miss us talking about having another baby in the future, I miss us planning to get our marriage registered. 

"All I have left is a couple of tops and your 50 pairs of trainers. My engagement ring will never leave my finger.” 

My heart of stone seems strangely unmoved...

English, And How She Is Wrote...

...well, in the 'Mail', anyway:

I know they say you are getting old when the policemen start to look young, but when they are 17 and have daughters, well,,,

H/T: Stephen Brown via email

When You Give Your Dog A Nicely Alliterative Name....

...and the 'Evening Standard' headline writer mangles it on his one moment of fame.

Sunday Funnies...

Those who forget the lessons of history will....

Oh.

Another Of Frances Ryan's 'Deserving Cases'...

They are always illuminating:

It’s been a year and a half since her troubled husband left the family, leaving Sally to look after their five children alone.

The youngest of the girls is only three, and 11-year-old son Connor (“obsessed with computers”) is autistic.

Five children. And why not? Not only does she not pay, we pay her to have them!

And it gets even better:

For Sally, it was back in September 2015 that it first started. Her husband had been gone five months – taking any wage, as well as the working tax credits he brought in, with him – and she was struggling to stretch what they had left.

He was on a wage so low the governm... no, wait, you and I... made up the difference! What a catch, Sally!

For a family such as Sally’s, losing this money adds to what is already a struggle. On the 10th floor of a tower block, all six are crammed into a one-bed flat. Four of the children sleep in the one bedroom; two have a single bed and two share another; Sally sleeps in the sitting room, with her toddler next to her.

Yes, well, that's a consequence of expecting the State to be husband to your brood. You go where they'll put you.

Without the child tax credits, she’s had to go back to using Connor’s disability living allowance (DLA) to pay for small meals. “It’s very hard to get enough money for food,” she says. “We don’t eat much. Rice. Fish. Maybe chips.”

Disability living allowance isn't for food. Nor is it for fripperies:

The DLA used to go on things like console games for Connor (what for other children is a treat is, to him, a rigid routine that calms him). He cries when his mum reminds him they can’t afford it now. An autistic child doesn’t understand benefits being stopped, says Kim. “It’s just, ‘Mummy won’t let me play with it’.”

I confess, I stopped reading there. I mean, given governmental incompetence, there must be some genuine cases of 'no fault' hardship out there.

So why does it seem as if Frances Ryan and the 'Guardian' can't find any?

'It's Gaming For People Who Don't Like Gaming!'

(It’s important to note that, as mentioned above, I am white. I was raised in a relatively progressive Midwest town, and I have had very little exposure to the kinds of straight-forward racism on display in Mafia 3. The experience of playing this game is almost certainly going to be very different for people of color who have actually had to deal with racism in their day-to-day lives. I intend to include perspectives from people of color on Polygon’s staff in my final review.)

At this point you may have noticed that I’ve written some 500-plus words about my early experiences with Mafia 3 without addressing the gameplay at all. That’s because it’s almost certainly the least interesting thing about this game.

...like the virtue signallers at what purports to be a gaming-related site, but is really the 'Guardian' with pixels.

“Sometimes the girls are the worst because they feel like they have more rights than the men..."

The 24-year-old was pulled to the ground by her hair before the gang of men and woman launched a vicious assault at about 3.55am today.

She was left with cuts and bruises to her head and legs following the incident outside Royal Grill, in Southchurch Road, Southend, which police are treating as grievous bodily harm.

Acting chief supt Gary Lane, Southend district commander, said the attack was captured on CCTV.

Yet there's no description. Odd...

A worker at another Southchurch Road takeaway, who did not want to be named, said revellers often behave “like animals” in the early hours of the morning.

...

“It is a shame this happened. Unfortunately people drink so much they don’t know what they are doing.”

These 'ladies' seem to know exactly what they are doing. I wonder where this belief that they are untouchable came from?

Who's Laughing Now..?

Defence solicitor Kevin Walker said Walker, a labourer, suffered from ADHD as a child and did not learn to read and write.

He made friends with the wrong people and claimed he did not know they were going badger baiting. He went along with it to not appear weak. He did not own a dog.

He said he was not involved directly because he had been asked only to film the events and had tried to limit his involvement with these friends.

“He is thoroughly ashamed of his involvement and has lost the respect of his family who have thrown him out of the family home.”

Mr Walker asked that his client be given a suspended sentence claiming he was a “changed man”.

 The magistrates weren't fooled, for once:

A Bradford man grinned as he was led away to start a 26-week prison sentence for his part in a badger baiting gang where he was heard laughing as he filmed the animals being savaged by dogs.

I do hope nothing happens to him in prison....

Chinese? Thai? Mongolian?

Police said after one of the dogs ran near to the jogger, he swore and continued running before passing the family again, kicking one of the dogs and then the young boy as he tended to his pet.

A spokeswoman for Derbyshire Police said: "The boy went to see if the dog was injured and the man pushed him to the floor and kicked him in the mouth, causing minor injuries. The dog was uninjured."

Any description? Well, yes....

"The jogger is described as Asian, in his mid-30s and of athletic build."

That clears that up, then....

When You See The Term 'Known As'...

...you know there's no point wasting tears:

Josephine Azadi described the moment she tried to rescue Sheldon Thomas, known as Shellz, after the Volkswagen Golf he was driving smashed into a tree in Parks Road, Oxford, shortly after 5am on May 2.

...

The labourer had been out with friends in Lola Lo nightclub before he left in the hire car with Anthony Pedro, known as Tizzle, in the passenger seat.

Hmmm, just how did the fatal accident occur?

Blood tests showed he was above the legal alcohol limit for driving. A police investigation revealed he was also driving at about 50mph in the 20mph road and had not been wearing a seatbelt.

Yup. That'll do it...

Coroner Mr Chipperfield ... concluded accidental death and told Mr Thomas' family he was 'very sorry' for his loss.

Why...?

I Guess Essex Police Have Nearly Lost The Function Of Their Brain Too...

Because of his serious head injuries, Knight was taken straight to hospital and spent three days in a coma.

Doctors even told his family he could have lasting brain damage - but he made a full recovery.

In case you're wondering, yes, this is indeed that case...

Emma Nash, mitigating,said: “He understands that none of this would have happened if he had not chosen to commit this offence.

“He very nearly lost the function of his brain. He really thinks it’s time for a change.”

But Essex Police had no choice but to arrest the victim, right? I mean, it was his word against the..

Oh.

Miss Davison added: “One neighbour said she could see the defendant running away from Mr Sharp when he fell and hit his head.

“He ran off and bounced off the walls.”

So they had a witness, and they still arrested the poor sod?

It's 'Spot The Difference' Time Again...

Case no 1: A woman owns a dog that savages to death another woman's child in Halstead. She is immediately arrested for allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control.

Case no 2: A woman owns a dog that savages to death another woman's child in Colchester. She is not immediately arrested for allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control, and in fact, the police make a point that they are not treating the case as a criminal one.

So what's the difference in these cases? Is Colchester a far more lenient place than Halstead? They are, after all, both in Essex, covered by the same farce force. Is the breed a factor (American bulldog vs 'Staffie cross')? They are both legal breeds not covered by the DDA.

Of course, the cynical might just say that the difference here is in the person who owns the dog being a fine upstanding police officer in this second case.

But that can't be true, can it? Don't the police on social media always say how feared the PSD are, how keen they are to 'make an example' of any police officer transgressing, in order to uphold the image of the police service as one above reproach?

So there must be some other critical difference. I await the full picture in order to discover why such a different approach has been taken in the second case. As, I'm sure, Jade Dunne's lawyers will be doing...

*settles in with popcorn*

VirtueSignalling Attempt: Fair, Could Do Better...

Mr Foster said the pupils at St Mark’s Academy are learning about the refugee crisis and had an “incredibly positive” reaction to his trip, and he has hopes that teachers from Mitcham will become a regular fixture in the camp during school holidays.

Mr Foster added: “It’s amazing to see what the human spirit is capable of, against all that adversity. It was quite humbling, but it left you feeling very frustrated because if the right people in the government made the right decisions and came and met these people, they would realise so quickly that they could be a real asset to this country.

“You know all the people you’ve met would do brilliantly if they were just given the opportunity.”

Excellent idea, Mr Foster. Tell you what - we'll take in two child refugees from the Jungle, and send you there permanently. Call it a swap.

I'm sure you'll do brilliantly.

"Let's hope this gets resolved before something really bad happens."

Something 'really bad' has already happened, love, though being a vegetarian, you probably don't comprehend this:

One walker said she hoped the sign was not genuine as it was off-putting for responsible dog owners.

Jane Winterburn said: "I understand that it's not right for anyone's livestock to be terrorised, I'm a vegetarian so I'm all for animal rights however there has to be a better way to resolve this.

"The very top path of the woods backs straight on to farming land and fields and the access into here is ridiculously easy."

So what's your suggestion?

Let's Hear It For Personal Responsibility!

Barbara Ellen opines on the Ched Evans debacle:

Legality aside, what Evans might find himself dealing with from now on is the wider public response to the sickening, self-justifying culture he’s come to represent and the importance of personal responsibility.

Hurrah! Quite right, Barbara! So, we'll be suggesting that young women don't get lagered up and throw themselves at footballers (and their friends), will we?

Despite all the money sloshing around, football has miraculously remained one of the few areas of public life where those at the top tend to come from working-class backgrounds, which is something to be proud of.

But how is it possible to be “proud” of a grubby, self-gratifying world where, in too many cases, the personal nightlife “perks” have revolved around budget hotel rooms, crude phone footage and impressionable, outnumbered women?

So it'd have been OK if she invited friends too? Bit hard to see where you're going with this one, love...

This has become about everyone, but mainly a certain breed of calculating men, taking absolute responsibility for their sexual conduct.

Ah. My mistake. It's going exactly where these columns in the MSM always seem to go. As Tim Worstall points out, it's the usual double standards.

The SPCA...

...every bit as useless as the RSPCA:

A Scottish SPCA inspector later reviewed CCTV footage from the pub and said the dog should be seized as it had the “characteristics of a pitbull terrier” – a breed banned in the UK.

The animal was taken away from Duguid’s home to a kennel and was later examined by the SSPCA.

However, it emerged that the results of the organisation’s investigation was unknown, so the court could not be certain the dog was a pitbull or whether it had been put down.

*sighs*

Maybe Gentrification Has Drawbacks After All...

...sounds, errr, delightful.

This Is Why Harambe Was Shot, People!

...America's war on drugs. Stands to reason.

Sunday Funnies...

Awww, let the #DarwinAwardwinners have their fun...

I Guess It's No Surprise Essex Police Are Woefully Incompetent...

...on the subject of dangerous dogs. If this report in the 'Mail' is anything to go by, anyway:

The dog, which has since been put down, was owned by a serving police officer.

It is not known whether PC Clare Ferdinand, 31, was at the address at the the time the dog - believed to a Staffordshire bull terrier - attacked two children and a woman.

Essex Police refused to confirm that Mrs Ferdinand is employed by them though friends of the victims' family insisted she was.

'But it was just a Staffie!' the dog-lovers cry. Was it?

Mr Mills believes the dog was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier-type dog, although the breed has not been confirmed by police: 'I saw the dog being taken away. ' At 4pm a black van arrived. The dog was taken out of the property at 4.30pm. It was on a pole lead.

'It wasn't a normal Staffie. It was a lot more chunky - probably a Staffordshire cross or some kind of bulldog breed.'

It'll be interesting to compare the justice system's treatment of the owner and person present with the children at the time of the attack to the case of the death of Molly-Mae Wotherspoon, won't it?

Very interesting indeed. Meanwhile, file under 'damage control':

Dog welfare organisation, the Kennel Club, released a statement this morning about the incident in Harwich Road, which stressed any dog is capable of causing injury. Caroline Kisko, club secretary, said: 'Our deepest sympathies go out to the family of the baby that was tragically killed and the child and adult that sustained injuries in this shocking incident. 

'We don't have details of what happened in this specific case as yet so cannot comment on what may have led up to it, but we do know that incidents like this are thankfully very rare in the UK.

Really? Sadly, I think we'd all agree they aren't nearly rare enough....

"Even the name of his cat cannot be published for legal reasons."

Ain't the Great British Justice System.....errr, great?

Mrs Kirk, who has a daughter and four grandchildren who she regularly cares for, is understood to have been given a last chance to change her mind after her sentencing. She refused, and was arrested at her home in Sussex a fortnight ago.

Her former husband Chris Kirk said she called him at 11pm to say police were knocking at her door.

‘After that she simply disappeared,’ he said. ‘I could not contact her. I asked the police if they could tell me what had happened, but they said they had no information and if I was worried I should report her as a missing person.’

Wouldn't that constitute 'wasting police time'? Well, perhaps they wanted to get two dangerous criminals* behind bars...

*people who refuse to bow to the will of State minions

There's Definitely Something Wrong With The Justice System Though...

Sentencing him to 21 months in jail, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC labelled Nadeem’s behaviour “appalling and disgraceful.”

He said: “This was very nasty violence, you set about four hospital staff with blows including karate chops and then you assaulted a patient.

“You wasted the time of doctors for your own peculiar and very selfish needs. You may have personality issues, but there is nothing really wrong with you.

“You have a very troubled past, but the trouble is very much of your own making.”

The assaults on police officers who turned uyp to arrest him go unmentioned, I note....

The court heard that medical and psychiatric reports had found no aspect of mental illness in the defendant, who had previously served an eight-year sentence for robbery and been re-called on licence three times.

What does it take to get this man off the streets permanently?

Better To Keep Your Mouth Shut And Be Thought A Fool...

...than pen a letter to the local rag and thereby remove all possible doubt:

I write to correct the misrepresentations by the Evening Mail "Owner of killer dog must own up" (Our View), 6 August.

I am the person who was walking the dog belonging to the owner which savaged poor Mrs Daniels's little dog, an awful tragic incident. Both the elderly owner and I deeply regret that unfortunate incident.

I can assure you that the 70-year-old lady whose dog I was walking as she is too infirm to do so herself, feels absolutely devastated for Mrs Daniels, as do I. It was a truly terrible thing which happened. We are both extremely sorry for Mrs Daniels; we both love dogs.

The owner's dog had been rescued from the local pound three years ago, and showed no history at all of any savage instinct in that time. None at all (a fact later confirmed by the police officer monitoring the dog after it had been seized, who reported the dog as placid). The owner does not therefore deserve to be called an "irresponsible idiot", as you suggested.

However, the awful incident in question clearly was a savage attack. Therefore, due to the awful impact of this incident on Mrs Daniels, the owner has now ordered her dog to be destroyed, despite her having received no legal order to do so.

I hope these facts help to clarify the position.

Really?

Strange sort of 'dog lovers' if a 70 year old woman 'too infirm to walk a dog' gets not a Jack Russell or a Peke, but a powerfully-built bull breed, isn't it?

And just how did the attack take place anyway?

Debbie Daniels, of Flass Meadows in Barrow, is looking to raise awareness about the dangers of not keeping dogs on a lead after her 11-week old puppy was killed in a grisly attack.

The 50-year-old was playing with her puppy, Millie, in her garden when she caught sight of a larger dog on the other side of the fence.

Ms Daniels said: "I was sitting on the step and she was playing by the fence when I saw the dog across the road and noticed it was off its lead.

"It had come over and was pushing its nose against the fence so I picked Millie up and started to walk back to the house.

"I didn't think for a minute that it was going to burst through the fence."

Well, quite.

Mrs Stagg's sister, Mavis Lakeland, ran to the house after hearing the scream and believes the dog should have been on a lead.

She said: "The dog walker just stood there saying 'I didn't know the dog would do that', but what was he doing walking a dog like that off the lead?"

A question I note that hasn't been answered in the 'poor me, don't be nasty!' letter...

But Not All Schoolkids, I Bet..?

Teachers should be given more powers to search pupils they suspect of carrying knives, according to an independent report on the death of the Aberdeen schoolboy Bailey Gwynne, which goes on to recommend that the Scottish government explore tighter controls on buying weapons online.

We know who won't be searched, don't we, reader?

Naturally, if the teachers get their way, there won't be any searching of anyone.

Based on one-to-one interviews with more than 40 people, the inquiry said the immediate aftermath of the stabbing “was well managed by all agencies”.

Typical - a child died unnecessarily, but the State cleaned up after it so well! Give 'em a cookie!

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes...

It is 8.45am and a line of hungry children eagerly await breakfast outside a classroom at Hazelbury primary school in Edmonton.

Moments later a handful burst in, running over to a table adorned with cereals, bagels, spreads, milk and juice. A few grab cheeky mouthfuls as they pose for pictures, before dashing off to finish a satisfying, healthy breakfast.

Awww, bless! Poor likkle starvelings...

This is a familiar scene for Carmel McConnell, founder of The Magic Breakfast, a charity that delivers morning meals to children who would otherwise go without.

Really? Well, what do these deprived scraps have to say to the nice reporter about this?

A nine-year-old girl, tucking in to a bagel, says: “At home I don’t get time to eat breakfast. Having breakfast here means I have the energy to get me through the day and to learn.”

Wait, you don't have time..? I thought you didn't have food at home?

Asia, also nine, adds: “It’s so much better for you to have something good for you.”

What, you mean mum dishes up a pop tart fresh from the microwave, and you'd prefer a bagel?

I get the feeling these kids aren't deprived of food so much as proper parenting...

When asked how much she thought it would cost to eradicate child hunger in the mornings nationally by 2020, Ms McConnell predicts £13 million to £18 million a year. “The big thing we need, quite simply, is cash,” she says.

But is it not the responsibility of the Government to support them?

No. It's the responsibility of the parents that brought them into this world.

Glad I could clear that up.

I Thought We Were Getting Tougher On Flight Disruption?

Beth Brown, mitigating, said: “He accepts that him and his friends were in high spirits and were quite rowdy.

“He said that he asked the officers to give him another opportunity and he then fully accepts trying to resist the officers.

“Now looking back at the situation, he wishes that he had left the aircraft itself but sadly that did not take place and all he can remember is being taken to the floor. He is remorseful and shocked by his actions.”

 Ha! Like that's going to fly!

Oh...

Magistrates ordered Crosby to carry out a 12-month community order, with 80 hours of unpaid work and to complete a thinking skills programme.

About time magistrates were sent on these too!

He must also pay £100 compensation, £85 court costs and an £85 victim surcharge.

Is that all the court time costs? I think not.

Urban Myth No Longer..?

Mayor Judith McMahon believes action is needed to protect the town’s wildlife.

She said: “One reliable source who spent an awful lot of time in the park was aware this was happening so decided to befriend the people he suspected of taking the animals.

“After engaging in conversation for a few days it was identified that they were feeding the ducks and geese, taming the animals to get close enough to capture them.

I thought we were persuaded by the powers that be that we were ignorant bigots and there was no danger of immigrants eating our swans..?

Despite, well, the evidence that such did indeed occur?

“We should be protecting the wildlife and ensuring that a culture doesn’t evolve where it isn’t challenged.

The culture didn't evolve. It was imported.

“The very least we can start with is putting up signage to warn that taking the wildlife is not acceptable.

In English..?

“We have food banks in Southend, so one can assume it’s for cruelty or financial gain. It’s an abhorrent practice and has to be stopped.”

Good luck with that, your worship...

Entitlement By Proxy

A pupil did not have a day off sick throughout his secondary school education and his dad is very proud...

 Well he should be.

...but he is angry that all he got was a certificate and a pen.

Wait, what?

The sports-mad teen missed family skiing holidays and ploughed on through coughs and colds to achieve the feat. But despite being entered into a prize draw for those who achieved 100 percent attendance, on every last day of term from year seven to eleven, Sam did not win the coveted Ipad each time.

Dad is clearly unaware of what 'a prize draw' actually means:

"You would have thought for the last day of term prize draw, they would have given him the iPad."

But the kid himself? A bit more realistic.

"Every term I was entered in and wasn't picked once, bit unlucky. But that's the way it goes."

He'll go far. He's clearly smarter than his old man.

'Specially Trained' To Ignore It..?

The police spokesman said officers were able to identify the owner of the dog and an investigation which will include police "specially trained in dog legislation" is under way.

The dog has been taken by police to kennels at an undisclosed location.

And at the taxpayer's expense. Of course.

"Any Ideas For Halting Anti-Social Behavior, Constable Savage?'"

'Well, I'm stumped, Sarge...Wait, that's given me an idea!'

Wirral Council said: ‘It was not a task we wanted to do, but we had been ordered by the police as the apples have been used as weapons. Children had been throwing them at members of the public, cars, our gardening team when trying to cut the grass and even police.’

I don't suppose you thought about maybe laughing in their faces, telling them they had no power whatsoever to compel you, and suggesting they do their job..?

But then 'doing a thorough job' seems alien to council officials too...

It added: ‘We understand comments made by members of the public, and cutting the tree down was the last resort.’

All that remains of the tree, which is close to a war memorial, is a stump, but the council said it would be replaced in the coming months.

The stump? Or the tree?

Meanwhile, in Essex:

Sightings of clowns have been reported around the country and reports on social media suggest they have been spotted in Basildon and Southend.

In Wills Hill, Stanford-le-Hope, two youths have been arrested for a public order offence and had their costumes confiscated.

Tough on clowns, tough on the causes of clowns...

Public Grief, Or Just Attention Seeking?

“I didn’t stop crying all day,” the 24-year-old, who lives in Dagenham, said. “It’s devastating, it felt like a bomb hit me and exploded. Getting her back was my only chance of comfort.”

Bluestar-Hill insisted on having control over the funeral at Adam & Greenwood Funeral Home in Billericay, Essex, forcing Chloe to say goodbye to her daughter while listening to gangster rap and barring her family from the ceremony.

Yes, this is the case reported on previously. And as WoaR pointed out in comments there, it was possible to halt this at any time.

Yet either no-one told her how, or they did but she refused to take action (other than whinging to the papers)...

At least there's a reference to the injunction which is the heart of the case, with this article referring to it as 'an injunction for her own protection'. Which doesn't really explain much at all...

Chloe says she’s disgusted that four years of fighting for her daughter’s ashes were thwarted by a technicality.

“He doesn’t care about her,” she said. “If he cared about her he wouldn’t have beat me up in front of her – he’s done this to spite me. This is him being evil again and trying to control me.”

Why do these people have to fight their personal battles in the newspapers?

Why, Will They Help Your Child With Grammar?

After all, wouldn't want it to grow up to be a copy editor for the 'Mail'...

To Be Fair, I Can't Think Of A More Appropriate Place...

...for yet another stabbing in London. Can you?

Sunday Funnies...

Of course science is lying to you...everyone else is, so why not?

Some Museums Are More Equal Than Others...

Planting a museum in the parkland along Chicago’s waterfront seemed as natural an act, for most of its history, as planting a tree there. That city’s breathtaking waterfront parks are host to the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, and the Museum of Science and Industry – a solid majority of the city’s premier cultural institutions.

Chicago remains the place I'd love to visit in the States, and it's mainly for the museums. But others would rather not see them, it seems:

It came as little surprise that George Lucas and other backers then chose a lakefront site for his proposed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Yet in 2016 their proposal prompted fierce opposition and a lawsuit from a local nonprofit group, Friends of the Parks, that eventually sent the museum all the way to California in search of a home.

So all presumptuous would-be museum builders should think they won't get a warm welcome?

Well...

Less than two months later, the desired location for the Obama Presidential Library was announced – in lakefront Jackson Park. Friends of the Parks won’t be filing a lawsuit against this proposal – but they are once again opposed. Times have changed.

Shocker, eh?

But what's so bad about a museum, a temple of learning and culture, anyway? Well, it seems the grasping hand of the SJWs has reached here, too. They just aren't modern and 'socially responsible' enough for them:

Like any search for a home, these issues often reveal as much about their tenants as about real estate, and the way they have shifted over time sheds considerable light on the evolving character of museums themselves.

Evolution into something unrecognisable:

The starchitect’s favourite creation was surely the museum, rising out of so many locations in the 80s and 90s. As one eminent among their number, Michael Graves, commented at the Architectural League of New York in 1986: “I think this is a moment in history where we have to realise we’re not just building Kunsthalles or picture galleries. We’re building institutions that have places for discussion, places for study, and a social climate as well as a climate in which to see painting and sculpture.”

Visit your favourite museum while you can, before it goes the way of the public library....

Don't You Mean 'Alleged Rape', Nev..?

“It’s a difficult one because we want more people to report it, but they are very labour intensive cases; there is not a single rape that we get that we don’t investigate.

“We get other crimes that we can say, we are not going to investigate that, but every rape we get reported, we put a lot into.”

It's our old pal Nev yet again. You'd think a man of his rank would .... well, be a bit smarter. Wouldn't you?

Referring to the increase in reporting of such crimes, he said: “These are really difficult, time-consuming, complex crimes to investigate. We have had to put extra people in to help.

“There has been some extra investment in that area through the precept, which was particularly around sexual offences and child sexual exploitation.

“But otherwise we have just had to realign what people have been doing, so less on some things like acquisitive crime (theft and burglary)."

I can prove beyond doubt that I had a TV that was nicked by someone, Nev. I can show you the receipt, the place where it stood, provide visitors to interview who will give you a statement that, yes indeed, I did possess a TV.

You aren't going to get that with most reported or claimed rapes.

So why pursue the crimes you can't ever prove actually happened in the first place?

"The Overreaction Now Departing From Platform Five...

Baker Street station was evacuated and put on lockdown this evening after...

A bomb threat? A sighting of a man with a gun?

...a customer threatened a member of staff.

Wha..?

Police officers rushed to the busy central London station along with the London Fire Brigade just after 8pm.

The station was closed for about fifteen minutes, with confused would-be passengers posting photos of the barred entrance on social media.

If they are going to start doing this, they might find they get even more threats!

The Standard has approached British Transport Police but no details were immediately available.

Even they have probably realised what a PR disaster this one could be!

And The Oscar Goes To...

“I was begging him ‘please don’t take him away’ because he wouldn’t bite a person, I know he wouldn’t. I had an 18 month old grandchild that took bones up to his mouth.

“He leaned on his steering wheel, right over. I told him: ‘you are frightening me’. I told him: ‘Please stop shouting at me, I’m not well and you are frightening me...then I couldn’t breathe and was opening a window.”

Calm down, calm down, calm done!

Michael Armstrong, defending, said this series of events was denied by PC Davidson - including the allegation he said that people had been injured by Major.

Pointing to medical evidence that showed Ms Dixon had suffered issues with her memory for several years before the incident, he questioned her statements.

A Scouser with memory problems? Well, I never!

Questioning the claimant’s accusations against PC Davidson, Mr Armstrong said: “This was an incredibly traumatic incident for you. I suggest to you that you have a poor memory anyway and you are looking for somebody to blame for this.

“That’s why you are taking your wrath out on PC Davidson. That’s why there are differences in your stories.”

In case you're wondering, she lost the case against them for false imprisonment but still walked away with £6,968 in damages and Merseyside Police have to pay 80% of her legal costs...

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: “Merseyside Police notes the decision of the court.”

*sotto voce* '...the gullible bastards!'

'The only reason I can think of for having it there is to stop cars crashing into pedestrians...'

'...and screw them! I want to be able to cycle at top speed without looking where I'm going!':

One rider, Michael Scott, claims the barrier could cause a serious crash - although it is visible for 20 feet.

So look up occasionally. It'll make a nice change for you.

Fripperies, Not Education...

The money will be used towards reward events and prizes, diaries, progress and achievement badges, external speakers, special events and projects and transport to extra-curricular activities and matches.

Diaries..? DIARIES..? Isn't it 2016? Don't we all use the ones on our smartphones?

And I thought we didn't need no steenkin' badges..?

Headteacher Ahson Mohammed was not available for comment.

I just bet..!

The Wisdom Of Youth...

Meg Hanking, 18, who lives nearby, said of the new high street branch: “I have been in the area my whole life, I grew up there.

“It’s such a deprived area. Our family lived there and it’s weird to see this happening.

“Most of the people who actually live there and people who have lived there for the past decade couldn’t afford that kind of food.

“Most people who are working there are on minimum wage. This is for the middle classes.“

So 18 year old kids can't afford a sandwich and a coffee?

She added: “I have eaten in Pret before, and I quite like their food. And it’s good because it’s going to bring jobs.

Wait, I thought...

“But it’s going to lead to more loss of culture.”

What culture?

Will Orr, who lives in Wood Green, said: “If there was ever an area that needed reviving it is Wood Green.

“Crime and antisocial behaviour is high and since we've lived here M&S and BHS have been lost from the high street. ”

Ah. Thug culture. Well, frankly, I'm with Will.

The Curious Case Of The Dog In The Woodland...

An RSPCA spokeswoman said: “We have been able to ascertain that the dog was named Zeus and was around five years old. His body was found half-buried in the woods with his legs tied together.

“We have managed to piece together Zeus’s last moments from witnesses who heard what is described as ‘a commotion’, cheering and gunshots from the woods on the evenings in question - however, we have not been able to find out who was responsible for this senseless act.

“We are urging anyone who knows anything at all to contact us on 0300 123 8018 and leave a message for Inspector Bailey 13180. Any information given to us will be completely confidential and we do not want anyone to feel fearful about reporting anything to us.”

You seem to know an awful lot about the dog. I wonder why you don't seem to know who owned it...

And I wonder what sort of neighbourhood it is that hears gunshots and doesn't call the police.

We're Doomed As A Country If Brighton Is Representative...

Brighton beachgoers came to the aid of two “refugees” who had rowed on to the city’s shore only to be confronted by an angry onlooker. The heated dispute was staged by video pranksters Trollstation and has been viewed more than 180,000 times in a matter of days.

Oh, what jolly japes!

The group has described the stunt as a social experiment to see how beachgoers would react to the situation.

And how did they act? Well, as you'd expect. For Brighton.

An onlooker on the beach, also an actor, reacted with fury to the scene, grabbing hold of the “refugees” dinghy and then grabbing them while telling them they are not allowed in. He calls on others to help "keep the foreigners out" but Brighton beachgoers instead encouraged the pair to come ashore and ask the man to leave them alone.

The group of onlookers try to get between him and the two refugee actors while another by-stander pushes him in the chest and calls him “heartless”.

*sighs*

Richard Williams, chairman of Brighton refugee charity Sanctuary on Sea, said: "I think with these things its all about context and the context here is that for every 23 people crossing the Mediterranean, one person has died.

"This weekend a boy died in Calais who had a right to be in the UK but the Government was so slow processing his claim.

"That is the context to what some people might describe as just a bit of fun.

"But it is good to see that, as we know of Brighton already, that it is a tolerant place that will not have anything to do with the attitudes that actor was displaying."

No doubt the people smugglers have taken note of this idea place to make landfall. Well done, idiots!

It's Not Just Old Dogs You Can't Teach New Tricks...

One of the country's leading canine experts, Debbie Connolly who is an expert court witness in dog cases said the Dangerous Dog Act does not cover attacks by dogs on dogs.

She said: "Police generally don't act on such cases because it is a civil matter. She said:

"People get frustrated because the Act does not include dog-on-dog cover. But there is the clause about "'reasonable apprehension of a bite (on a person)'".

The one no police officers ever seem to have read, you mean?

Debbie said: "If there is an attack on your dog and you are stood next to the dogs and trying to separate them, there is a reasonable apprehension you could be bitten."

Perhaps this magic phrase might prompt a few cops to put down the Greggs pasty & coffee and attend from time to time?

She said all dog-on-dog attacks should be reported to a local authority dog warden. "People that take out civil action against the dog owners following these terrible attacks could claim compensation or payment of vets' bills and help for the pain and suffering. If the dog is insured there are claims that can be made," said the dog expert.

Though of course, the owners rarely have insurance, or indeed anything worth suing for...

She added: "It is a source of huge frustration that owners can't get criminal investigations. Frontline police officers need educating that there doesn't need to be a bite (on a person) before it is a criminal matter. Each situation is different."

Educating police officers? Well, love, I admire your ambition...

Coping With Setbacks...

....yer definitely doin' it wrong!

A teenage boy has refused to go to school for the past month after being axed from the top sets.

Elijah Pedersen-Adeniji, 13, has not returned to Haberdashers’ Aske’s Crayford Academy since September 2 after being placed in the lower set of all his subjects.

His father, Olorunfemi Adeniji, said Elijah finished last year with top marks and has always been in the top sets at the Bexley school.

So..? Things change. And how we cope with adversity shows our true charact...

Oh.

The 46 year-old told News Shopper: “The last time he was in school was on September 2 because he has been crying and so down.

“We took him to the doctors and they referred him to child and adolescent mental health services for counselling. The whole situation is not nice – he just keeps crying.”

*rolls eyes*

Mind you, might be genetic!

Mr Adeniji added that both he and his wife are also having to take counselling sessions because of the stress caused by the situation, which has caused him to take time off work.

I bet his employer loves that!

A spokeswoman for Haberdashers’ refused to comment on Mr Adeniji’s allegations.

Probably unprintable anyway.

This Promises To Be A Rich Seam Of Crazy...

Starting today, this Guardian Cities series will examine the consequences of gentrification around the world, and interrogate what is being done to tackle it.

Well, I look forward to knowing what's being done to ensure that urban areas remain run-down, crime ridden hellholes.

Doesn't everyone?

My own view is that the best solution to mitigate the impact of the almost inevitable tide of urban gentrification is a tax on the value of land, which would capture the value of improvements for the local community, rather than lining the pockets of investors.

Well, Mark Wadsworth will be following this series eagerly too, then!

Yeah, They Were Pretty Awful...

...apart from 'Mulder And Scully', that was quite catchy.

When Automated Display Scripting Goes Wrong...

...or maybe they have a strange idea of 'sport' in Macclesfield?

Sunday Funnies...

There's only really one - the 2nd Amendment.

We're Doomed As A Country (Part 458792563)

Anti-begging posters put up by Nottingham City Council have been banned after complaints they implied that all homeless people were engaged in criminal and antisocial behaviour.

Yeah, it's the 99% that give the others a bad name....

Over the summer the council ran a series of five posters to persuade the public to stop giving money to beggars.

One poster featured an image of a homeless man in sleeping bag begging with the text “Begging: watch your money go to a fraud. Beggars aren’t what they seem.”

A second featured a close-up of a person smoking a roll-up cigarette with the text “Begging: watch your money go up in smoke. Begging funds the misuse of drugs”.

And a third featured an image of a discarded lager can and the line “Begging: watch your money go down the drain. Begging funds the misuse of alcohol.”

 Who could possibly object to th...

Oh.

The Advertising Standards Authority received seven complaints that the ads were offensive because they portrayed homeless people in a derogatory manner and implied they are engaged in criminal and antisocial behaviour.

The truth is no longer a defence. Not when there's do-gooders to be appeased!

The ASA said that four of the five ads portrayed all beggars as “disingenuous and undeserving individuals”.

“We further considered the ads reinforced negative stereotypes of a group of individuals, most of whom were likely to be considered as vulnerable [and] who faced a multitude of issues and required specialist support,” said the ASA.

“On that basis we concluded [four of the ads] were likely to cause serious or widespread offence.”

The ASA therefore banned the ads.

Isn't it about time the silent majority, who don't want to have to be hassled for money when they go shopping, stood up and said 'You're out of order'..?

A Curious Case...

Gary Page, 54, of Regent Court, Laindon, dialled the NHS 111 number on February 24 when he developed chest pains. An inquest into his death at Chelmsford Coroner’s Court today heard how the East of England Ambulance Service sent a privately contracted crew to the scene at about 5.30pm.

After spending an hour at his home, the crew from the Private Ambulance Service company left, having told him to take Gaveston and paracetamol.

Whoops!

The court heard from DCI Marina Eriksen of Essex Police, who said a criminal negligence investigation had closed without charges.

Really? Why?

Is this just the legendary incompetence of Essex Police, or something more sinister?

Ambulance care assistants David Norman and Daniel Rudge then told the court ambulance technician Lauren De La Haye immediately dismissed Mr Page’s concerns on the night in question.

Mr Norman said she told Mr Page: “I guarantee you are not having a heart attack.”

Mr Rudge said Miss De La Haye had been “very, very, abrupt”, even though he had carried out two ECG tests and raised concerns about “abnormalities”.

What does she have to say for herself, then?

Miss De La Haye, who no longer works for the company, did not attend the hearing due to health reasons but a statement was read out in which she said Mr Page had repeatedly asked not to be taken to hospital.

Ah. I hope her 'health reasons' are receiving better treatment than she herself dished out...

But Mr Page’s wife, Kim, said Miss De La Haye had “dissuaded” her husband from going to hospital. She said: “She told him: ‘You are definitely not having a heart attack’. The way it was put to him was if you want to go to hospital we can take you but you will have a ten hour wait. She said it three times.

“That’s why he assumed there was nothing seriously wrong with him and there was no need for him to go to hospital.

“He thought it was his heart and he definitely would have gone.”

A pity then that he placed such trust in the 'medical professional'...

Senior coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray (Ed: Oooh, hello again!) said she “fully accepted” Mrs Page’s version of events.

Which leads to only one question: why no prosecution? Is it a rock the health service in Essex really doesn't want to look under?