Tweet Of The Month

Post Title Of The Month

 Longrider on a particularly whiffy plot for attention:

Quote Of The Month

Bucko on Labour promises on welfare spending:

"And this is why I don't believe a word that any of the buggers utter. Fourteen years ago we had a new Conservative coalition telling us that hard choices needed to be made, but we never saw any meaningful austerity then, or in fourteen years of a 'Conservative' Government having the ability to do so

And now Labour are saying the same tired old shit. Nothing changed before, and nothing will change now, but some in the Labour party are loosing their shit anyway, just at the thought of something sensible being done to tackle welfare spending"

Post Of The Month

Fahrenheit211 on the effect of years of meddling in UK policing, and what we have now ended up with....

What More Do We Need To See A Cull Is Necessary?

I leave it to you, Reader, to decide if I mean just the mutts, or the owners too!

Here we go again, barely a handful of days since the last attack...

A 19-year-old woman was savaged to death by an XL Bully while staying at her cousin's flat in Bristol.

Emergency services were called to the first floor flat where the dog pounced on the young woman killing her within seconds. Her cousin, named locally as Kelcie Jones, was seen covered in blood outside the flat.By that time police had stunned the XL Bully and taken it to a vet where it was put down.

I guess they decided not to waste the 19 bullets it might have taken to bring the thing down... 

Neighbours said they saw Ms Jones dressed in pyjamas and a white dressing gown screaming: 'They killed my dog, they killed my dog.'

The dog that had mauled her cousin to death. Do we need any more reminders of the mindset of the people that desire to own this misbegotten breed? 

Hotel worker Nicola Harrison, 58, who lives in the street, said: 'The woman was covered in blood, it was all down her legs. She was going on about her dog.

'I didn't realise someone had been killed. There was constant screaming until 10.30. It was terrible. 'It's a scream I will not forget - she was sat on my steps screaming. One of the neighbours took her in. I can still hear her screams.

'I just thought a dog had been attacked. I was wondering why there were all these police here. Then I found out a girl had died.'

Ms Jones and her partner moved into the top floor flat in Cobhorn Drive, Hartcliffe, only three weeks ago. She told neighbours she 'had papers' for the large grey adult XL Bully which was not seen muzzled.

Perhaps this thick chav couldn't read those papers - if in fact they existed - to understand the requirements of keeping one of these things? Not that some of her neighbours seem much brighter:

'I feel for Kelcie so much, it wasn't her fault and also it was her pet. I just feel it was one of those freak accidents. 'She would bring it out every day and take it into the garden. It would go to the toilet and then she'd take it back in. 'I'm still trying to process what's happened. I'm shocked, I can't believe what's happened. I've been up all night.'

Why is anyone professing shock when these things do as years of breeding an genetics have equipped them to do? 

Police were at the property all night and at one point a man and his dog turned up to accuse them of animal cruelty shouting 'it's a disgrace'. He was warned he would be arrested if he continued his protest.

Another one more concerned about the killer mutt than the human life it's taken. If only Sunak had grown a pair and ordered a full ban, not a weak licensing scheme these people ignore like they ignore all the other things that make living in a society with other people safe. 

H/T: Sam Browfan via Twitter.

"How Dare You Do For Free What I Can Charge Money For!"

Online content creators should be "more honest" in the reviews of food that they are posting online, according to the Guild of Food Writers (GFW). Reviews of restaurants or other food outlets have become increasingly popular on video-sharing platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.

So? If I shrugged any harder I might damage my shoulders.  

But Chetna Makan, who is vice president of the GFW, said that much of this content is "over the top", and lacks the knowledge and insight provided by traditional food critics. Cara Jackson, who is a content creator based in Northern Ireland, said while some creators are just "doing it for views", she has "always tried to be as honest as [she] can".

So, what on earth is this guild? Well, Reader, it's exactly what it seems like - a protection racket: 

The Guild of Food Writers is the professional association of food writers and broadcasters in the UK; its members include authors, broadcasters, columnists, content creators, and journalists.

And they don't want anyone to think that the people doing it for free (or for attention) are a patch on the quality of their 'services'.... 

She said that while someone writing for a newspaper will have the confidence that platform brings, an independent creator might think if they talk badly about a restaurant's food, then they're "not going to get invited the next time". She added that this fear is not unfounded, with many companies choosing to work with creators making the most "over the top and animated" content, rather than "people with real knowledge and real graft and real insight into cuisines". Ms Makan said that these "over the top" creators are also more likely to get brand deals, where companies pay an influencer to talk about their product.

And they'd much rather people pay them, rather than these upstarts. It's simple protectionism. 

Why Are Rural Police Forces So Utterly Useless?

A dog owner has thanked members of the public who came to his aid after a large staffy-type dog dragged it's owner across the pavement in Plymouth to attack his terrified cavapoo dog. Dan Eager said he was out with his mum in the city centre on Sunday [February 15] at around noon and had just left the Coffee#1 on Cornwall Street along with their seven year old cavapoo called Abby, with the intention of turning right and heading up towards Drake Circus mall.He said: "I had clocked the dog a few seconds before so I made sure to move my dog to my right side away from the incoming dog, and all of a sudden this dog - which was on a lead - just jumped at her and grabbed her at the neck. The woman walking it was clearly too weak to hold it back, it just dragged her over. She made no effort to even try and help get the dog off. Apparently we later found out it wasn’t even her dog but her partner's dog.

God, it's such a familiar story. All the hallmarks - innocent victim, unstoppable killing machine, useless owner in no sort of countrol. All that's missing is police incompetence (thankfully not on display in the Warrington case). 

"Someone called the police and we had a word with one of the officers who took our details and the lady with the other dog’s details. My mum said she was told by an officer that they were waiting for a police van to take the woman and dog away from the area."

Dan and his mother eventually headed off up towards the mall, cutting through to Old Town Street with the aim of heading in the White Stuff store. However, within minutes of being there he said he looked up to see the same woman walking her dog past the window.

And there it is, right on cue! 

"Police have our details and the woman's but we have not been given a crime number and have not been contacted yet. After talking with my mum we want the dog which attacked Abby put down and that the owner is banned from ever owning dogs again."

At last, someone who isn't afraid to say what they really feel, rather than making excuses for the offending dog and/or owner! 

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Police were called at 12pm on Sunday 16 February following reports of a dog attacking another dog in Cornwall Street, Plymouth.

"The person in charge of one of the dogs was given strong words of advice, with a potential for a further visit from a dog handler in due course."

Wow, I bet they are shaking in their boots. Why so lax, when the DDA was beefed up for this very circumstance? 

Oh, right. It's because the rural police farces are even more lazy and incompetent than the city ones. 

If You Believe ‘The Outdoors Should Be Accessible To Everyone’, Then This Is The Result

When Neil Barrow first volunteered with mountain rescue 40 years ago, for weeks on end the Lake District fells would be capped with snow. Winters with the Patterdale mountain rescue team, of which he is now deputy leader, would involve big and complicated rescues, during which he would bring down the experienced hikers who had become injured or ill tackling the national park’s famous peaks in snow and ice. But thanks to climate change, the Lake District is no longer a winter destination for experienced mountaineers, and instead their rescues often involve ill-prepared novices who are chasing the sunsets and vistas that they have seen on Instagram and TikTok.

Ah, the new generation!  

David Gracie, a volunteer of nine years and one of the team’s other deputies, said many of the callouts involved groups of younger people who, pre-pandemic, may not have thought to visit the Lakes.

I don't thing the last four words were all that necessary, David. 

“I guess people can see on the phones and through social media, there’s more stuff going on, and I think they’re keener to get out and go and see and explore, which is great,” he said. However, issues arise when walkers are underprepared or overestimate their ability to tackle some of the more challenging hikes. Often inexperienced hikers will set off too late. One group took the train all the way from Brighton before setting out on a climb the same day, and ended up calling for help in the early hours of the next morning. Their most recent rescue, Farley said, involved two girls who had been using a navigation app on their phone, and called for help from Striding Edge. “We went up and they said they’d seen something on TikTok, and they wanted to go up to the top of Helvellyn, and they didn’t quite make it to the top,” he said. “They got a bit stuck, and then got really scared, and then they called for help. I guess that’s a little bit more typical now.”

Welcome to the modern world. It must be tiring enough to have to go rescue someone experienced who has been caught out by a sudden change in weather, but to have to rescue some braineless 'influencer' intent on getting more clicks must be utterly infuriating. I don't know how they do it.

Especially since they do it for nothing... 

All of this means the team’s workload has almost doubled – they previously averaged somewhere between 60 and 65 jobs a year. “It’s got more time-consuming, without a doubt,” Barrow said. The intensity is taking its toll. They are unpaid volunteers, with jobs, and many with young families as well. The fear, Farley said, was “if the numbers continue to rise, I don’t know whether it is sustainable in the long run.”

It isn't. And could there be a greater contrast between rescuers and rescued? 

At Least No-One Reported Them As Mermaids...

A coastguard rescue team from Selsey attended the water off Lifeboat Way in Selsey yesterday, February 11, accompanied by a helicopter and lifeboat in search of a person in the water. Rescue teams were stood down after no one was found. However, the Selsey coastguard team has reported that it spotted several seals in the area during the search, which could have raised the alarm.

Hard for them to dial the 999 though, their flippers aren't made for that, surely? 

A spokesman for Selsey coastguard rescue team said:“Several seals were spotted in the area while searching and we believe that this may have been what was spotted.

“However, the call was made with good intent and the first informant did the right thing by calling 999 and asking for the coastguard.

“In an emergency out at sea, on the beach or along the coast dial 999 and ask for the coastguard.”

And should probably make sure you know the difference between a human and a pinniped.... 

Hard Times At The House Of Mouse

Things are going quite differently during President Trump’s second term at the Walt Disney Company. With the troubling effects the DEI ending executive order has had on companies at large including Target, Walmart, PBS and more, the hold out at Disney didn’t last long.

Of course not. Disney is, first and foremost, a business.  

Earlier this week it was reported that Disney has begun the process of disbanding and altering various diversity initiatives, which the company once prided itself on and that has left staffers concerned. According to Deadline, employees received a memo this week from Disney HR chief Sonia Coleman, stating the move was intended to align with “business goals and company values,” rather than any specific adherence to Trump’s sweeping range of executive orders since assuming office last month. To many it signals a bending of the knee, which has reportedly been received as unexpected internally compared to how Disney stood firmly by its morals in the past.

Hmmm, it was a paradise on earth before? Doesn't appear so.

“What’s next? Where do we go from here? What do we stand for now, keeping MAGA happy?” an insider told Deadline about the general morale at Disney in the wake of the purported memo. “This is not what I expected from Bob [Iger]— I thought he had our back.”

Then you just got an introduction to reality. He has the company's back. That's his job. 

I Really Don’t See How They Could Make It Any Clearer

The UK government must act "more promptly" to help a British couple currently being held in Iran than it did to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, her husband Richard Ratcliffe has said.

Anything for publicity, eh, Richard, even when you don't need it any longer?  

Mr Ratcliffe, whose wife was arrested in Iran in 2016 and not released until six years later, said the dangers of travelling to the country would be "a lot clearer" if Foreign Office travel advice reflected "the risks of hostage-taking" there.

So, do they say everything in Iran is hunky-dory, and it's a great place for a vacation? 

The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Iran, saying British and British-Iranian dual nationals are at "significant risk of arrest, questioning or detention". Having a British passport or connections to the UK "can be reason enough for the Iranian authorities to detain you", it adds.

Hmm. Seems not. What else should they say, Richard? It seems pretty clear to me.  

Another Triumphant Labour Policy Crashes Into The Runway And Explodes Into Flames...

The government’s flagship plan to set up free breakfast clubs in all primary schools is running into trouble as headteachers say that initial funding is inadequate and charities with experience of providing food in schools demand more flexibility over how they can be run.

So, a typical Labour election promise, then? 

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson sees the provision of free breakfast clubs in all primary schools as vital to breaking what she calls the “unfair link between background and success” in education.

Because that's driven solely by breakfast, and not by any other aspect, like, say, a stable familty who value education? 

Numerous academic studies show that a good breakfast improves attendance and pupil performance.

Ah, well, correlation just must be causation, if the 'experts' say so, eh? 

But with the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, considering further spending cuts for major departments, concerns are growing among headteachers, unions and charities that the plans will not be properly funded and will lack the flexibility required to be successful.

I know, I know, I'm shocked too!  

This weekend, the independent publication Schools Week highlighted how some headteachers in primaries, while enthusiastic about the overall aims, were refusing to take part in an “early adopter” pilot scheme for 750 volunteer schools because only 60p was being provided by the government per pupil.

What can you provide for that? Well, porridge, maybe? 

Lindsey MacDonald, CEO of the charity Magic Breakfast, which has more than 20 years of experience in the field and provides breakfasts to more than 300,000 children and young people every day, said ministers must allow schools to offer a variety of ways to feed pupils, rather than just in formal “breakfast clubs” set up in one hall or building, before the normal school day. This is by far the most expensive model as it requires extra staff to be employed out of normal hours, and does not maximise the chances of all pupils being fed. While MacDonald is strongly in favour of the government’s aim, she insisted that ministers must allow schools the option to provide food in a wider variety of “grab and go” settings, such as when they arrive at school, in classrooms and even during lessons and break times.

Ah, but when a policy is driven by civil servants, what becomes important is what can be measured. Not what's actually working.  

Anna McShane, director of the independent thinktank The New Britain Project, which has been looking at the practical implementation of Labour’s pledge, said its research had also found that more clarity was needed. “Now, more schools are rightly pushing back. Without clarity, this risks being another initiative that prioritises political headlines over practical solutions.”

Like all of Labour's policies so far... 

Is Anyone Surprised?

A United Nations judge tricked an African woman into coming to Britain to work as her unpaid slave while she studied a law PhD at Oxford University, a court heard.Ugandan High Court judge Lydia Mugambe conspired with deputy High Commissioner John Leonard Mugerwa to bring the woman to the UK to look after her children for free, prosecutors said. She then withheld her passport and if the woman ever needed her identity documents she would have to ‘beg for them,’ Caroline Haughey KC said.

Because, you really shouldn't be. 

And none of the Africans wailing about reparations for the evils of slavery ever seem to consider it's still going on, do they? 

When police first arrested Mugambe she wrongly claimed she had diplomatic immunity, Oxford Crown Court was told. The 49-year-old is also accused of trying to intimidate her victim into dropping the case by trying to arrange for the woman’s pastor to intervene.

Well, she's in trouble now, unless our lax justice system allows her to wriggle off the hook. 

Thames Valley Police received a report that a woman was being held as a slave on February 10, 2023. They received another call later that day from a member of the public who became concerned about the woman’s welfare after seeing her in a TK Maxx store in Oxford.

I'm concerned about my own welfare. And what people like this are doing to my country. 

What Were We Ever Worried About?

Matt remembers...do you, Reader?

In Which The Term 'England Cricketer' Is Rather Misused...

A former England cricketer has been appointed head of cricket at a school near Hook.

Oh? 

Greg Kennis, who also played for Surrey and Somerset, is the new head of cricket at Lord Wandsworth College (LWC). Mr Kennis has spent the last 18 years coaching at Somerset County Cricket Club, leading the talent pathway and high-performance programmes before becoming assistant and second XI coach.

That's nice. But he never played for England. Which makes him an English cricketer, but not an England one.  

Sadly, modern jouralists can't be expected to know the difference.

H/T: Ian J via email

Sunday Funnies...

Are people buying them to wait until cloning gets more advanced?

More Worthless Tick-Boxing Drain On Retailers Time

Retailers will be required to report suspicious or bulk purchases of knives, and those caught selling blades to under-18s will face tougher sentences under a new raft of measures to clamp down on young people’s access to weapons labelled Ronan’s law.

Who? 

Named after Ronan Kanda, the 16-year-old killed in Wolverhampton in 2022 by a teenager carrying a 22in ninja blade he had ordered online, the new laws are part of a raft of anti-knife crime plans announced by the government on Wednesday.

So, not a teenager carrying more than one knife? So why the bulk purchase thing?

A government-commissioned review has found that age verification for buying knives online is “a huge vulnerability”, and that 15 illegal dealers had sold more than 2,000 knives in an 18-month period.

Metropolitan police commander Stephen Clayman, the national lead for knife crime who led the review, said: “I could go to a legitimate dealer and buy 300 knives, and the dealer has no obligation to tell police that someone’s just bought that, or the fact I bought five knives each week for the last 10 weeks.

Well, no, of course not, you idiot! Because what's more likely, that they bought them to sell off individually to Shaniqua and DeWayne to settle beef in the ends, or that they are supplying chef's shools and catering colleges? It seems we hadn't quite scraped the bottom of the 'knife crime idiocy' barrel after all....

“We need to plug that and understand who is buying these knives. Because they are then selling indiscriminately to children and young men, predominantly men, because there are no age verification safeguards.”

How many of them? And how many are not? So you're going to start investigating legitimate business to catch the one, maybe two, people misselling? That doesn't sound likr a good use of time to me. As a wise woman once pointed out:

 

The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: “It is horrifying how easy it is for young people to get hold of knives online even though children’s lives are being lost, and families and communities are left devastated as a result.”

And how horrifying is it that they don't have to, because there's multiples in every kitchen in the country. Gosh. Maybe it's not the method, maybe it's the person, Yvette? 

Ronan’s mother, Pooja Kanda, said her son “didn’t stand a chance” against the weapons. “How was this allowed? A 16-year-old managed to get these weapons online and sold them to other people,” she said.

“We welcome the government’s plans to tackle the online sale of these weapons, and the proposal of a registration scheme, which will continue to implement stricter measures on the online sale of bladed articles. We have so much work to tackle knife crime; this is a much-needed beginning.”

Because we all know they aren't going to stop at this idiocy...despite being very well aware of where it's going to lead: 

The prison sentence for people caught selling weapons to under-18s will be increased from six months to up to two years, and both the individual who has processed the sale and the chief executive of a company face being charged. The measure will be implemented even after an official review found that longer incarceration had driven the country’s justice system to breaking point, and that successive governments had prioritised longer prison sentences over cutting reoffending.

We really are governed by morons, aren't we? 

"It was thought Bruno was a staffy breed..."

More details on this incident have been revealed:

The 25-year-old explained her two eldest children were fast asleep on the sofa while her youngest joined her in the kitchen, but as the little boy did so Bruno began to growl. The mother said the pet, who had been rescued eight weeks prior, was 'protective' over her, but she quickly told him off and ordered him away to her father-in-law. Within seconds of being told off by Gary, 43, the dog 'nipped' him and proceeded to launch a vicious attack on him as well as 44-year-old grandmother, Joanne.

Family with young childtren take in dog with unknown history as a 'rescue', What could possibly go wrong? 

'(Joanne) is in a bad way in hospital. She needs surgery again today. Thankfully, my kids are fine, they have just been shaken up by it,' Emma added. 'My youngest thought his nan was dead. It was scary, it was upsetting as well because we did love the dog. We were told he was nice around kids.'

Who told you that, and why did you believe them? Was it a private citizen or a registered dog charity? Either way, maybe the police should be investigating? 

She believes the once 'lovely' dog turned after becoming jealous of her child and once he had tasted blood 'wasn't stopping until someone was dead'.

Sounds familiar. Sounds like Bruno had some bloodsport dog in him. 

He added: 'I'd like to thank the police and the ambulance for everything that they did. The dog wasn't bad we weren't bad owners just something wasn't right with the dog.

'We are waiting for an autopsy to be done on him.

No, you're waiting for a necropsy.  

We are all gutted about the way it happened he was brilliant dog, he was brilliant with the kids, he was brilliant with us.'

Until he wasn't.  

Told You...

The first attack left a teenage girl needing reconstructive surgery after she was mauled at a house in Rossington near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, on Wednesday last week. Police said they were called by Yorkshire Ambulance Service after the dog, a Cane Corso, attacked the 16-year-old.

She was rushed to hospital for surgery to her arm while the dog was destroyed at the scene by firearms officers, with the owner's permission.

It's going to be the next mutt added to the Dangerous Dogs Act, assuming Labour grow some backbone and act like the Tories (to give them credit) did with the XL Bully. 

There's a picture of the damage it did to the girl's arm in that link, but you'll need a strong stomach to click it.

Are You Genuinely Clueless, Or Just Obtuse?

C'mon lads, sometimes the answer's really just staring you in the face, isn't it?

The imam, who ran a mosque intended as a safe haven for gay and other marginalised Muslims, was in a car with another person on Saturday when a vehicle stopped in front of them and blocked their exit, police said.

“Two unknown suspects with covered faces got out of the vehicle and started firing multiple shots at the vehicle,” the Eastern Cape force said in a statement.

“Thereafter they fled the scene, and the driver noticed that Hendricks, who was seated at the back of the vehicle was shot and killed.”

Probably not a robbery attempt. 

Either Way, You Lose

Fields popular with walkers on the southern edge of Bath could soon either be closed off to the public or have houses built across them.

There's no third option then? No Reader, because if the landowner is thwarted in the attempt to build obver yet more green and pleasant land so Starmer can invite in more Third World savages, they'll simply play dog in the manger.... 

Plans to build 290 homes on the South Stoke plateau were turned down by Bath and North East Somerset Council’s planning committee in April 2024. But developers the Hignett Family Trust appealed, with the appeal before the planning inspectorate concluding on Tuesday February 11.The decision now rests with the planning inspector as to whether to dismiss the appeal and uphold the council’s decision, or to grant the appeal and let the development go ahead. But the agent for the Hignett Family Trust has warned that all public access to the fields will be blocked if the homes are refused.

Where's the Rambler's Society and those traspassing crusty trustafarians to hold protests about this? Suddenly, nowhere. 

The fields have always been a popular place for people in South Stoke and Combe Down to go for a walk, with paths lacing across the field boundaries towards the Millennium Viewpoint. But if the homes are given the go ahead, a network of “new and enhanced” pedestrian and cycle paths would be installed across the remaining fields.

Yes, it's their land, and they can decide what to do with it, of course. But ugh, it's a reminder that the enemy is not always a council or government. 

If He’d Just Thought He Was A Woman, He’d Be Home Free

A judge has ordered that a man who plotted to kill a prosecutor while claiming to be suffering from delusions that he was “evil Jesus” be moved to a medium secure mental health unit ahead of his sentencing in May.

It's unsure whether the belief of an 'evil Jesus' was directed at the almost-victim, or if that's what he himself believes about himself.  

If the latter, he must be kicking himself to have picked a delusuion the courts and society doesn't bow down to...

Martin Ready, 42, was found guilty of attempting to conspire to murder Darren Harty by using cryptocurrency to pay for a hitman on the dark web following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow last year.Between May 2021 and September 2022, Ready paid £5,071.24 in Bitcoin and sent instructions for Mr Harty to be shot on a dark website called Online Killers Market, which turned out to be fraudulent.

That's clear premeditation, so it's surprising he attempted an insanity defence. 

Ready denied the charge and lodged a special defence of lacking criminal responsibility, but was convicted and remanded in custody at HMP Barlinnie. On Tuesday at the High Court in Kilmarnock, judge Lady Hood issued an interim compulsion order requiring Ready to be moved to the Rowanbank Clinic medium secure unit in Glasgow ahead of his sentencing.

Where, further down the line, he'll no doubt be released as 'cured' and this time, might decide to DIY.... 

A Likely Story

The former deputy police and crime commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland accepted responsibility for the posts - but did not agree they would make people think he was biased as a magistrate, the Telegraph reported. He said he did not refer to his judicial role in any of the posts, adding he takes his work very seriously and would never consciously let his opinions affect it.

Sure, sure, and the cheque is in the post.... 

But an investigation found that posting on a 'politically sensitive' matter meant Mr Master had not lived up to the expectations that came with his position. It also found the magistrate had never before been involved in misconduct investigations, 'accepted responsibility for his actions' and 'agreed to reflect' on them. Social media guidance for the judiciary says judicial office holders should be aware of the risk of undermining trust and confidence in the judiciary by expressing, or appearing to endorse, views which could cast doubt on their objectivity. It also says they should also not comment on matters of controversy.

So, should he no longer be a magistrate? Oh, of course not! A few words of censure will get him back on track, won't it? 

A JCIO spokesperson said of the investigation conducted by the Midlands Conduct Advisory Committee: 'Mr Justice Keehan and the Lord Chancellor agreed with the findings and issued Mr Master with formal advice. 'In making this decision, they took into consideration that Mr Master had no previous findings of misconduct against him, had accepted responsibility for his actions and agreed to reflect on the consequences of what he'd done.'

Said reflection no doubt consisting of 'Well, I got away with that!' 

This Is Why They Should Be Shot On Sight...

Despite the attack, the dogs have since been returned to Flood.

In other words, despite her loose vicious mutts attacking an 88 year old man's two dogs and killing one after getting out while the useless chav bitch of an owner was asleep - at 3:30pm. 

Following her guilty plea magistrates made a contingent destruction order, stating that if Flood fails to keep certain conditions such as having the dogs muzzled, on a lead and secured in her garden, they will be put down.

She's ALREADY failed those conditions, so why give her another chance? Yet they always do. 

Flood was told she must take her responsibilities for dog ownership more seriously going forward.

Like that's going to happen... 

Flood was ordered to pay the pensioner £700 for the cost of the pedigree chihuahua, £500 for his psychological damage and £300 towards the vet bill for his other chihuahua.

'Towards' the vet bill, so I doubt it even covers the full amount. God, I'm so very sick of reading these stories. What's the point of licensing wild animals if the domestic ones freely available to every Tom, Dick and Harry can do as much damage?  

More Judges Like This One, Please!

A barrister refused to take a roadside breath test after she was stopped on suspicion of drink-driving on the grounds she had just had cosmetic surgery on her lips.

Rachel Tansey, 44, was pulled over after reports that her silver Range Rover was 'weaving around' a bypass at 20mph. But when police asked the lawyer to provide a breath sample, she only partially put her lips around the tube then cited cosmetic treatment the day before, a court heard.

The mother-of-three – who lives in a £1.4 million mansion in Formby, Merseyside – told officers: 'Do not tell me what I can and cannot do.

'I am doing my very best. It is like asking someone to jump up after a tummy tuck. I cannot do it.'

If - after reading that high-handed attempt at evading consequences - you have an image in your head of just what she looks like, you won't be disappointed.  

After also refusing to submit to a blood test instead due to an undiagnosed phobia of needles, Tansey was charged with failing to provide breath and blood samples. At Sefton Magistrates' Court, she denied wrongdoing, insisting she had only been driving slowly as she had dropped a chicken wrap and been swilling mouthwash.

Ha ha ha ha! Well, no doubt she's seen other judges fall for such lame-ass excuses, so why not try her luck? 

However, she is now facing a possible jail sentence after a judge accused her of trying to 'manipulate the situation' to her advantage and lacking 'any kind of credibility whatsoever'.

Ah, that's why. Not all judges are morons. 

Convicting her of both charges of failing to provide samples of breath and blood, District Judge James Hatton told her: 'From the moment you got out of the car you attempted to manipulate this situation. 'You have tried to delay and delay and delay the officers. You tell the officers that you had nothing to drink. Clearly you had at least something to drink. You are a witness who lacks any kind of credibility whatsoever.'

Round of applause for his honour! 

He bailed her for sentencing, saying a community order was 'likely', but he would leave 'all options open, including custody'.

I wonder what options her firm are holding open? 

That’s A Good Result!

For a nice change....

The multi-millionaire owner of three dogs that carried out a “terrifying” attack in a Croydon park has been issued a large fine.

Not XL Bullies, a rather more exotic import, as one would expect from Croydon: 

The incident happened in Lloyd Park around 4.50pm on July 21, 2023, involving three large Turkish Kangals belonging to Anwar Ansari. A man and several chickens were set upon by the dogs, leaving them with several injuries. The Daily Mail reported that the dogs killed three chickens, injured another dog and attacked a jogger.

If I decided to keep a wolf, I'd have to obtain a licence and follow strict regulations on the care and keeping of such an animal. 

But if I opted to keep a dog specifically bred to fight off wolves, with all that implied for size, power and temperament, it's not even necessary to get a 37p licence any more. And I could take it out in public with nothing more thsan a lead, and even discard that whenever I liked.

Following a police investigation the dogs were seized under the Dangerous Dogs Act. Ansari, 67, of Hadley High Drive, was sentenced at Willesden Magistrates’ Court after pleading not guilty to six dangerous dog offences.The courts ordered Ansari to pay £13,000 in compensation to the victims and £52,410.00 for the MPS kennel and veterinary costs.

He was also been banned (sic) from keeping dogs for 10 years.

If only this was the policy everywhere else in the country. 

They Are Just Spitting In Our Bloody Faces Now, Aren't They?

An Albanian criminal is allowed the stay in Britain in part because his son has 'distaste' for foreign chicken nuggets, an immigration tribunal ruled. It would be 'unduly harsh' for the 10-year-old boy to be forced to move back with his father due to his sensory issues with different types of food. The judge allowed the father's appeal against deportation as a breach of his right to a family life as a result.

Hey, Hollywood, you like rebooting old TV shows and movies, right? How about rebooting that old 80s Michael Douglas flick, 'The Star Chamber'?

Only this time, instead of judges and prosecutors hunting down criminals who they think have got away with it, how about ordinary members of the public hunting down and executing activist judges and human rights lawyers?

The child's 'additional' needs were supported only by evidence from a trainee educational psychologist, a neighbour and a family friend. There was no formal diagnosis of special educational needs, The Telegraph reported. But he did have an educational plan to deal with his 'emotional regulation, independence; reading and writing.'

Drawn up by some council wonk, with no qualifications at all, no doubt. 

The case will be reheard by a different judge to decide whether the consequences of deportation would be unduly harsh on the 10-year-old boy. The case is ongoing.

Who'd bet on them reaching the right conclusion? Not me.  

And Yet Another One....

A man and a woman suffered serious injuries trying to protect three children from their dog.

No breed mentioned, I notice. Hmm, the Wirral, I wonder...

 Bingo!

Officers said the man tried to get the dog out of the house when he was attacked. The children were unharmed. The breed of the dog has not yet been determined and police said its owner had agreed for it to be put down.

Ch Insp Dave Atkinson praised the officers who stopped the attack (Ed: according to Facebook, two unarmed female officers), saying they had "bravely faced the situation". When they arrived at the house the dog was still attacking the woman who was bitten in the face and suffered deep cuts to her forearms. The man suffered serious cuts to his legs and arms.

Bites. They were mauled, not 'cut'. And why are unarmed female officers sent to a report of a dangerous dog, and not an ARV?

H/T: ProtectOurPets via Twitter

I'd Go For Something Easier To Remember, If It Were Me....

...like the collected works of Dickens and Shakepeare! Nice one, Matt.

Could Always Employ More Grammar Checkers At The 'Echo'?

                                 

It's 'fewer'....

Sunday Funnies...

And none of them were shows I'd have picked....

Knife Crime And Why It's Unsolveable

The 'Guardian' does one of its 'deep dives' into a social issue, in a bid to ensure the real cause isn’t mentioned. This time, it’s knife crime. 

But away from opportunistic politicking and tabloid frenzy is a side of the story we tend to see less: the voices of the hundreds of people who silently bleed from every stab wound inflicted.

Jessica Plummer, whose son was stabbed to death in 2015; Martin Griffiths, a trauma surgeon at the Royal London Hospital; Jacob*, who used to carry a knife himself; and Graeme Halleron, a Met Police officer working in violence prevention — all of their lives are a reminder of the infinite and devastating diameter of a knife.

The mother:

It was a bright and chilly Tuesday afternoon in January 2015, and 17-year-old Shaquan Sammy-Plummer was in good spirits. He had come home from college, Camden’s LaSwap, and was laughing with his mum, Jessica, as he quickly got dressed to head out to work at Waitrose. Shaquan did not make it home that day.

After work, he stopped by a house party in Winchmore Hill, but was turned away at the door by Jemal Williams, who told him it was full, but demanded that Shaquan hand over the drinks and snacks he had brought. Shaquan refused, but made no fuss and walked away. He was only a few doors down when Williams grabbed a knife from the house, chased after Shaquan, and plunged it into his chest.

In the years since Shaquan’s death, Plummer has worked tirelessly to educate young people in London about the dangers of knife crime, speaking in schools on behalf of The Shaquan Sammy-Plummer Foundation, the charity she set up in her son’s name.

‘When I talk to children these days, they say, “There’s nowhere for us to go.” The youth centres have been shut down, so they find themselves outside. And that’s where the problems start.’

Ah, yes. That old chestnut. If only Jamal had had access to a youth club, he wouldn’t have been a short-tempered waste of oxygen, and would have made something of himself, like Shaquan, who, errr, didn’t appear to have had access to a youth club either. At least, it’s not mentioned. 

So, since they were both young black boys, perhaps there’s some other factor at play?

The surgeon:

‘Often it’s over nothing,’ he says, when I ask about what he and St Giles see as common causes of knife attacks. ‘Impulse control, money, prestige. The stimulus can be minimal and the action is horrendous. Occasionally, something more significant, some sort of long, deep-seated issue. But more often than not, it’s trivial — he said this, she said that. A lot of this stuff seems to be an insanely cheap tariff for a life.’

‘I don’t lament my choices,’ he says. ‘I’m good at what I do. What I lament is that this is happening in a first-world country with lots of resources. That’s what makes me annoyed.’

Happening in a first world country, yes, but is it happening mainly to first world cultures? 

The gang member:

‘The first time I carried a knife…’ Jacob pauses for a moment, shifting in his seat. ‘I didn’t even really think about it. I’ve just taken this big kitchen knife, put it down my pants and walked out. And I’m just thinking, “I’m gonna get this guy today. Now.”’ What led to a then 21-year-old Jacob feeling the cool blade of a knife against his thigh, searching the streets of London for its intended target, is both remarkably trivial and incredibly complex. The flashpoint was a petty social media argument about a girl, between his friend and another young man.

A budding rapper, Jacob is now focusing on cultivating his music career, while working in construction on the side. ‘There’s a lot of the mandem that I know on the streets, [who] could have been footballers, doctors, so many things. They had a lot of things going for them, but due to certain circumstances, not having the money… the opportunities… a lot of them are from single-parent homes.

‘If there was more skills in school, if they taught us plumbing, electrics, how to pay your bills, rent, things like that, I feel like kids would be more reluctant to be in the streets because they’d know how to make money in a legal way.

‘Over the years, as I’ve matured, I’ve realised a lot of it is just about wanting acceptance. I think it stems from just being a young kid that wanted to actually have that love that I wasn’t getting.’

Strange that those would be things you’d need school to teach you, isn’t it? I learned them from family life. 

The policeman:

He has been a schools’ officer for the Met for 14 years, delivering workshops to children across east London. Graeme acknowledges that mistrust of the Met, an institution found in last year’s landmark Casey report to be ‘institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic’, is a huge barrier to building relationships with young people. ‘We know young people a lot of young people don’t like the police,’ Graeme tells me. ‘We have the ability to take away liberties. So I understand there’s that negativity.’ The majority of the students at St Edward’s are Black – a community seven times more likely to be stopped and searched by the Met. ‘We do experiences with young people where we switch roles, we get them to put on our kit and say “you be a police officer you do the stop and search”, and they see it from our point of view, and that opens them up to the police a little bit.’

You know, if I was continually butting heads against people who could deprive me of my liberty, I’d stop doing the things that would draw their attention, wouldn’t you?

So what has this ‘deep dive’ really shown us? Over to you, Reader. 

It’s Not Like We’d Listen To Them Any More…

Environmental organisations “are still very white, especially at the top”, the co-director of Greenpeace has said as research showed little to no improvement in the ethnic diversity of their workforces. Areeba Hamid’s comments came as the third annual racial action on the climate emergency (Race) report into diversity among environmental charities found fewer than one in 20 of those working in the sector identified as people of colour or as other racial or ethnic minority groups. The average among the UK workforce is 16%, or just more than one in eight.

Quite why they believe this is necessary I don’t know - it’s not as if I’m going to pay any more attention to their nonsense if it’s spouted by a brown face rather than a white one… 

“Environmental organisations are still very white, especially at the top,” Hamid said. “I find myself in CEO meetings where I’m the only person of colour in the room, and it just doesn’t feel right in 21st-century Britain. ”

It would have felt very right just a few decades ago, I can’t help but think. 

The lack of improvement comes despite environment institutions’ apparent efforts and willingness to engage. Researchers said 161 – the highest number yet – had provided data, including all the UK’s largest environment NGOs. Together they represented 28,600 employees, more than double the number of workers accounted for in the previous year’s report, giving researchers the best picture yet of racial diversity in the sector.

Manu Maunganidze, part of the team that published the report, said: “The more we uncover, the more we realise there’s still much work to do – but that’s not a setback, as long as we stay committed and grounded in why racial diversity matters in the first place.”

 Why?

“People of colour may be minoritised in the UK but, globally, they’re on the frontlines of climate change. Those most affected by environmental disasters – floods, wildfires, rising tides – are too often those who aren’t given a seat at the table. This is why representation is so critical.”

So you need more diversity because those in the home countries are suffering? Well, why not go do it in those countries and not the UK? 

Clearly, They Did Have Something To Hide

The Department for Work and Pensions has been accused of blocking a whistleblower who repeatedly raised the alarm about carer’s allowance from giving evidence to an independent review of the scandal-hit benefit. The DWP staffer was told by a senior official it was inappropriate to share with the review their knowledge of the inner workings of a system that has become notorious for its often cruel treatment of unpaid carers.

Exactly the sort of thing a review would need to know in order to be effective, in other words. 

The review will examine how hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers ended up with huge debts and in some cases a criminal record for mostly minor and accidental breaches of carer’s allowance benefit earnings rules. Approached by the Guardian last month with evidence that officials had rejected requests from individual staff members to make submissions to the review, the DWP said there was “no blanket ban” and it wanted “everyone” to contribute.

Liars all… 

However, when the whistleblower, Enrico La Rocca, subsequently reapplied for permission he was told by the DWP’s personnel department that it would not be appropriate for him to give evidence.

And why?  

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) general secretary, Fran Heathcote, criticised the DWP for blocking frontline officials from testifying. She said: “It made no sense at all to stop our members at DWP giving evidence to the review. These are the very people the review should be hearing from.” She added: “They are the workers delivering the services and have the evidence the review needs to hear. Stifling their testimony looked like they had something to hide.”

They almost certainly do.  

Not As Daft As It Sounds...

The Government has announced an imminent ban on 'bird gatherings' as it tries to curb the spread of a highly contagious avian influenza.

From midday on Monday, the gatherings will be banned and this involves ducks, geese, swans, pheasants, partridge, quail, chickens, turkeys and guinea fowl, the environment ministry said in a statement.

All those laughing right now, no, the government isn't quite so dumb as to try to prevent birds of a feather from flocking together - this is human activity:

The UK Government classifies 'bird gatherings' as bird fairs, markets, shows, sales, exhibitions and some premises used for dealing or internet sales.

Vehicles used to transport a collection of live birds from multiple premises are also considered gatherings.

Are they worried about this? It seems they are, and for good reason - as Sobers points out in comments, there are drawbacks with vaccination: 

Bird-to-human transmission of avian influenza is rare and has only occurred a handful of times before in the UK.

Symptoms of the infection mirror those of regular flu and Covid. It doesn't spread easily between humans.

But I'm sure, in some area of Whitehall, to quote H G Well, 'slowly and surely, they drew their plans against us'. 

Will we meekly comply with lockdown this time? 

You're Partly The Reason We Have Gated Communities And Video Doorbells...

The head of the UK's statistics body has blamed video doorbells and gated communities for adding to problems with jobs figures. Sir Ian Diamond said the Office for National Statistics (ONS) needs more funding to overcome the issues - which have been causing major problems for the government and Bank of England.

Of course, though it's hard to see how, since they merely forwarn us of visitors we might want to not talk to... 

Economists have been increasingly reluctant to put weight on the Labour Force Survey since the pandemic, with response rates plunging.The employment, wages and inactivity data are used by Threadneedle Street to help set interest rates, as well as by government. Last year the Resolution Foundation think-tank claimed nearly one million workers in Britain's jobs market have been 'lost', suggesting the rate of UK unemployment and inactivity could be overstated.

Now, I'm an ex-training team lead, and I know the value of feedback - I always rate attractions and establishments I’ve visited on GoogleMaps or other apps and recently, when I was up in Edinburgh for my birthday, I made one depressed-looking research chap’s morning in the St James Quarter shopping mall, when he tentatively approched (no doubt expecting to be told where to go) and asked if I’d answer a few questions. 

As I was just killing time I said I’d be happpy to, and the poor chap nearly dropped his clipboard in surprise!  

But these people? No. If they come knocking, they will get short shrift. 

Giving evidence to the Treasury Select Committee, Sir Ian said it was taking twice the level of effort to get interviews compared with pre-pandemic. He said that the ONS switched to phone interviewing during Covid, and since then it has found people have not returned to being 'happy about coming into their houses to spend 45 minutes interviewing them'.

'We're finding very, very, very high levels of flat refusal,' he said. Sir Ian said people were simply 'busy' in many places, before identifying other reasons. 'Our interviewers are finding it harder in some of the more advantaged areas where there are increasing gated communities, where you can't get in,' he said. 'Some of the flat refusals come because of Ring doorbells which enable people to say… these are things that are happening to us day by day.'

The doorbells are just an excuse - the truth is people no longer want to talk to you. Why should they? They get nothing for their time. Not even the satisfaction that they've been listened to.  

The public body also needs better data sharing between Government departments to support its work, he said, adding that fewer people now have landlines and that a directory of people's emails would help it reach more respondents.

So they want to harvest emails given to other government departments for other reasons, all so they can go straight into the 'spam email' folder? 

Can We Have Some Accuracy In Headlines?

A far more accurate headline would read 'Woman is killed after veering onto the opposite side of the road and straight into a stationary double-decker bus'

Police have appealed for witnesses and dashcam footage to work out how the collision happened.

Blimey, it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes, does it, fellers? 

Cover Me! 'Mad World'

Next on my list is Gary Jules' incredible version of 'Mad World' from the movie 'Donnie Darko', along with the Tears for Fears original. 

They Look After Their Own....

The independent report, published on Wednesday, found that Calocane had refused to take depot medication – slow-release antipsychotic drugs administered via injection – each of the four times he was sectioned before the attacks.

And why is someone able to do this? 

The report states: “The inpatient teams involved in Calocane’s care were trying to treat Calocane in the least restrictive way and took on board his reasons for not wanting to take depot medication, which included him not liking needles.”

I don't recall that being a good excuse for those threatened with the sack for refusing the covid jab, do you? 

So, didn't they think he was dangerous? Reader, they did - when it was their necks on the line:

The report also found that a risk assessment in February 2022 had urged staff not to visit Calocane at home and if required to do so, not to go alone. The risk assessment notes state that Calocane had a “history of violence and aggression when detained … violence and aggression towards housemates … poor insight [and] does not agree that he has been unwell over the last 12 months”.The report found that the assessment had looked at the risk to staff, but it did not consider how to manage the risk of Calocane not taking medication and the “potential acts of violence” that could follow.

The potential acts of violence that were sadly carried out on innocent members of the public, and not the NHS wasters and sycophants treating this monster in human clothing.  

NHS England said it had decided to publish the report “in full in line with the wishes of the families and given the level of detail already in the public domain”.

Liars. They've published it because they've been backed into a corner and have no choice, plus they've almost certainly been promised nothing will happen to the ones responsible for his freedom.  

Dr Jessica Sokolov, the regional medical director at NHS England (Midlands), said: “It’s clear the system got it wrong, including the NHS, and the consequences of when this happens can be devastating. “This is not acceptable, and I unreservedly apologise to the families of victims on behalf of the NHS and the organisations involved in delivering care to Valdo Calocane before this incident took place.”

A government organisation that seeks to gag those complaining about its actions shouldn’t be trusted anymore.  

Well, That's A Relief, I'd Been Looking Forward To The Next Season Of 'Line Of Duty'...

...and if this wretched prune-faced little ballsack had got his way, each episode would only need to be 10 minutes long.

Sir Mark said the force now did not have any mechanism to get rid of officers who were not fit to keep their vetted status, including officers who "cannot be trusted to work with women" or "enter the homes of vulnerable people".

Really? No, Reader. What this little weasel was attempting to do was swerve employment law.  

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey"

However, Mrs Justice Lang said the dismissal process which had been used by the Met was unlawful as those suspected of wrongdoing were denied an opportunity to defend themselves.

Specifically, instead of - when an allegation is made - going to the trouble of investigating and charging the officer, he wanted to yank their vetting and say 'Well, now they can't work, so we'll sack them!' 

No need to get Kate Fleming mic'd up to go undercover any more. Steve Arnott won't even get time to wink at a likely new conquest before it's all wrapped up extrajudicially and they're all in the pub.

The Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents officers, backed Sgt Di Maria's judicial review and welcomed the ruling, saying it was about "ensuring a fair, but more importantly, legal process was in place".

"The Metropolitan Police must recognise the law and - it goes without saying - operate within it. That's what today's ruling clearly emphasises," it said in a statement.

Well, indeed! Now we're sucking diesel. 

Blog Matters...

Apparently some odd things going on in Blogland. 

I've been unably to comment at Tim Wotrstall's site for several weeks now - no error message, the comments just don't appear. I've used different devices, including different IP addresses, and all with the same result. Contacted Tim on Twitter, and he confirmed nothing was caught in the spam filter, the comments simply vanish into the ether. 

Yesterday, over at 'Orphans', a similar issue for a long-standing commenter. 

Then last night, one of my long-standing commenters emailed to say he had encountered difficulty commenting, with Blogger telling him to to "try later". I checked and nothing was waiting on approval, but he did try again and this time it went through. 

So if any commenters get the same issue, I guess it's wait a bit and try again. I approve comments around lunchtime normally, then again around 4pm.

Glad I Downloaded The TrainLine App....

...it usually has the platform info long before it goes up on the boards, and it's rarely wrong. Looks like I'm going to need it in future:

Rail bosses have been accused of patronising passengers by hiding trains’ departure information minutes before they are due to leave in a bid to tackle last-moment platform dashes. Under the scheme, which is being trialled at King’s Cross, the final call for long-distance trains will be made four minutes before departure. Train details will be deleted from departure boards three minutes before they leave.

Why are they doing this? Well, would you believe - to try to stop the very thing it's almost certain to exacerbate?

Network Rail said the scheme was designed to stop passengers dashing for trains. A poster for the scheme said: “This is so everyone can board safely and keep trains running on time.”

How could shorterning the time between announcement and departure EVER do that? You couldn't have come up with a better scheme to increase panic dashing if you'd actually TRIED...? 

Truly, we are into clown world territory.

But passengers have reacted with fury, saying they should be given the information to decide for themselves. Many also fear the system will cause more rushing than it prevents. They pointed out that trains’ platform departures are often only revealed minutes before they are due to depart, so the new system could only give them seconds to react to platform announcements.

Not to mention that the intercity trains are very long and it always seems the carriage you want is right at the opposite end... 

MJ Simpson pointed to a flaw in the plans. He wrote: “So if you’re booked on the 5.25 and you get to the station at 5.23, there will be no sign of the 5.25 on the departure board, even though it hasn’t left yet. Have I got that right?”

Yes, incredibly enough, you appear to have it right. It's almost as if the rail companies want to sell us tickets we can't use, isn't it? 

Well, One Part Of His 'Identity' Is Now Clear....

Amid the day long cross-examination by Mrs Peggie’s lawyer Naomi Cunningham, Dr Upton repeatedly said she was not a man. And Dr Upton told Ms Cunningham: ‘I am biologically female.’

The medic, who said the terms biological male and female had ‘no defined and agreed meaning in science’, told the tribunal: ‘Biological sex is a nebulous term and it doesn’t really mean anything, because nobody can accurately or usefully define biological sex because pretty much every human I’m aware of is at least in part biological and many of them have a sex characteristic.’

Dr Upton, who has worked for NHS Fife since August 2023, claimed gender is a ‘rough binary’.

Pretty rough, like his appearance? 

Dr Upton denied Ms Cunningham’s suggestion that the Christmas Eve encounter ‘ended at a time of your choosing once you’re satisfied you have asserted your dominance over her’.

‘It’s a gross mischaracterisation of what I’m trying to do. What I’m trying to do is de-escalate the situation.

‘And you can tell I’ve been trying to de-escalate the situation because I’ve repeatedly tried to de-escalate it throughout and the claimant [Mrs Peggie] has continued with pejorative and aggressive questioning.’

...overbearing, arrogant, heedless of how he comes across to normal people, unable to put up with someone challenging him, ignorant of the basic knowledge necessary for his job? 

Yup. He's an NHS doctor, all right.

Anyone wanting to hear more from this utter clown show should follow Tribunal Tweets for all the latest insanity.

Never Mind The Law And Reason, Feel The Emotion!

A mother whose baby boy Lucy Letby tried to murder hit back last night at the ‘upsetting’ and ‘disrespectful’ attempts to free her.

We've been here before, Reader.... 

The woman spoke out after a panel of experts claimed the former neo-natal nurse’s convictions were ‘one of the major injustices of modern times’. Letby’s new legal team yesterday unveiled a report which claimed all of the 14 babies murdered or harmed by her were victims of bad medical care and died or collapsed because of natural causes.

Well, we can't have the state (in the form of the NHS) losing, can we? Wheel out the weeping mothers!

Retired Canadian medic Dr Shoo Lee, who presented the findings of 14 international experts at a two-hour press conference, claimed the panel understood the ‘stress and anguish’ of the families involved and insisted their aim was simply ‘to tell the truth’.

But the mother of a baby boy who Letby, 35, was convicted of attempting to murder described the press conference as a ‘publicity stunt’.

Just the sort of person that, as Longrider points out, shouldn't be asked for their opinion. 

‘We want to hit back,’ the parent, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said.

‘Every aspect of what they are doing is so disrespectful, it is very upsetting.

‘They said the parents want to know the truth, but we’ve had the truth.

Well, you've had a verdict. You should know full well that it isn't always the same as the truth. 

'We believe in the British justice system, we believe the jury made the right decision.

I expect the others in that link did too...until they didn't.  

'We already have the truth and this panel of so-called experts don’t speak for us.’

'So-called' experts? I don't think there's any doubt about their qualifications, is there? 

The mother claimed she had previously emailed Tory MP David Davis, who led the press conference, to complain about his involvement but he had ‘ignored her’. 

Sound decision from Davis, I feel. 

Another DEI Hire Goes Badly Wrong…

A Metropolitan Police special constable is facing a possible jail term for groping a 14-year-old girl’s bottom as they queued in Tesco.

Is it..? Reader, yes, it is: 

Special Constable Hassnain Shahzad sexually assaulted the victim twice in the space of 15 minutes at the Tesco Express in Bishopsgate in the City of London. Shahzad was standing behind the girl and her mother in the queue at Tesco when he touched her bottom over her clothing at around 10.45pm on August 25, 2023. He then followed the victim and carried out a second sexual assault at around 11pm. Shahzad was linked to the attacks by CCTV and the use of his card at the tills.

His Clubcard, maybe? Well, 'Every Little Helps'. 

He was convicted by a jury at Inner London crown court on January 6, and set free with the bail conditions that he live and sleep each night at his home in Ilford Lane, Ilford and does not contact the victim or her mother.

Which rather indicates he may know them. Or look them up on PNC before suspension? 

We'd Be Better Goverened By A Bunch Of Pirates...

...so maybe the joke's on us?

Nice one, Matt...

Needs More Spinach...

...then you might be able to use grammar correctly.

Sunday Funnies...

So that's why I have to choose different shoe sizes in M&S and Next..?

You Think You Despise The UK Police Enough...

...you're wrong:

Police refused to return a stolen phone to a victim because it might infringe the privacy rights of the thief who went on to use it.

Melvyn Mainwaring awoke on May 18 to find his phone, bank cards and bus pass were all missing. The phone was later found by police in the possession of Daniel Reid.

Normally, this would be a success story. But no-one can have those anymore, and the UK police farces are experts at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. 

However, police soon discovered that Reid had been using the phone and had claimed it was his own. Now North Wales Police are refusing to return the phone to Mr Mainwaring, claiming it would infringe on GDPR (General Data Protection Reulation) rights of Reid.

The judge, fortunately, wasn't having any, unsurprisingly, since GDPR doesn't apply to individuals, but to organisations: 

A judge today blasted the 'nonsensical' situation. Her Honour Nicola Jones, ordered the police to return the phone at a sentencing hearing in Caernarfon Crown Court. Judge Jones asked if Mr Mainwaring was having difficulties having his phone returned 'because of GDPR'. The prosecutor Mr McLoughlin replied: 'I do not know. It would not surprise me.'

Heh! It wouldn't surprise any of us, Mr McLoughlin. 

The judge pointed out that Reid did not consider the victim's GDPR rights when he took the phone, adding: 'It's ridiculous it will not be (returned). 'It just seems nonsensical. I do direct that North Wales Police return that telephone to Mr Mainwaring.'

What did he get from this judge? 

The judge sentenced him to three years and four months for the burglary in Rhos-on-Sea, 16 months concurrent for the Abergele burglary, and four months consecutive for the hotel burglary. There was also a one-month consecutive jail term for a Bail Act offence.

Probably not enough, since he's a scofflaw. But I can't help but feel there's a few cops who should be in the dock with him.

H/T: Wearefaircop via Twitter

It’s Worrying That This Might Be Their Policy For Another Covid Too…

Poultry farmers are appealing to the government to let them vaccinate their flocks against the "devastating" bird flu virus spreading across the UK. Vaccinating poultry against avian influenza is currently not allowed in the UK. The government says that strong biosecurity measures and culling are the most effective ways of fighting it.

That's a bit of a change of tactics, isn't it? I guess no-one's pushing vaccination for birdies, just humans. 

Meanwhile, there are concerns that poultry vaccinations might be linked to the virus evolving.

No such concerns about covid, then? 

A bird flu prevention zone enforcing strict hygiene standards around domesticated birds has been declared for England, Wales and Scotland amid a rising number of cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The risk to humans remains low, with chicken and eggs safe to eat if properly cooked, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

And who wouldn't believe the government? 

Earlier this week, the government agency that deals with infectious diseases, UKHSA, confirmed a case of the H5N1 avian influenza virus in a farm worker in the West Midlands region. It said bird-to-human transmission of avian influenza was rare and that the risk to the wider public continues to be very low.

Sure it is. 

The National Farmers' Union said it was "essential that Defra refocuses efforts" on coming up with a workable avian influenza vaccination plan for the UK.

And if we had a government that valued farmers, instead of one that considers them guilty of crimes against climate, you might stand a chance. 

And Are The Children So Very Different From The Adults?

A deep distrust of the police and a lack of youth opportunities fuelled the involvement of hundreds of “disempowered” children in last year’s riots across England, a report has found. Dame Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, said young people were not primarily motivated by “far-right, anti-immigration or racist views” or by online misinformation, contrary to what she called the “prevailing narrative”.

She concentrated on the children because it's her job, but really, if she'd spoken to most of the adults involved in Starmer’s so-called ‘far right riots’, would the results have been any different? 

Instead, she said, many were driven by a hatred of police and saw the riots as a chance to retaliate. Others were “driven by curiosity or the thrill of the moment”.

Probably not. Despite the pontificating by the thin-skinned weirdo in No 10, hardly any of the protesters were 'far right', most of them weren't political at all. 

De Souza told the Guardian she was concerned about the “dangerous” treatment of children who received “unusually severe” punishments as part of the robust crackdown on rioters ordered by Keir Starmer last summer.

Again, she’s concerned about the children because it's her role, but surely the adults received equally harsh and unusually severe punishment too?

“I thought I would hear far more about [far-right influencers like] Andrew Tate. That’s not what I heard at all,” she said. “There was quite a group of the children who were there because they hated the police and they were clear about that.”

No need to wonder why, either. But it doesn't seem to have been the usual disaffected youth, not entirely:

These children – who included “star pupils”, army cadets and trainee electricians – saw the riots as “an opportunity to retaliate against the police” after previous bad experiences with officers and general community distrust, she said. One of the children charged said they joined a riot after hearing that the police would be there. They said: “We went down to see what it was. There’s a tradition in [my city] of people versus police. We had an opportunity.”

One wonders why any city in England would have a tradition of being against the police…