Some Families Are Just Dysfunctional...

A Waitrose employee of 17 years has described his devastation after being sacked for stopping a shoplifter who had ransacked a display of Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs.

Not for punching the thief to the floor, just stopping him escaping with the loot... 

He was told off by his manager and apologised but the matter was escalated. Smith said he was previously told not to approach shoplifters but the toll of seeing them get away with theft repeatedly spurred him into action.

As it would any normal human being, but clearly, Waitrose doesn't want normal human beings working for them. 

After a few days, Walker was hauled into a meeting with two store managers. “I had a feeling about what was going to happen,” he said. He made a final plea, telling his bosses “Waitrose is like my family” but he was still dismissed.

And like some families, the Matriarch or Patriach is an arsehole. 

He had recently moved into his own studio flat after living with flatmates for 25 years, before being sacked. He worries about how he will keep a roof over his head. “I’m not too sure what’s going to happen with this place now. I might be homeless. My confidence is on the floor right now,” he said.

This is such an inversion of justice that even I'm shocked! 

A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We take the safety and security of our customers and our partners incredibly seriously and to do this we have policies in place which our partners are aware of and required to follow.”

How about you take the social contract incredibly seriously instead, and make sure crime doesn’t pay, while crime fighting pays well? 

Are We That Desperate For Vets?

Tudor Herlea downed beer and vodka on a boozy evening before he was stopped by police during a routine drink drive check. Officers then found he was one and a half times the legal drink drive limit, a tribunal has heard.

And it wasn’t his first time, either:  

Herlea, a registered vet who began working in the UK in July 2024 as the lead surgeon for Vets4Pets in Blackpool, was already banned from driving for a speeding offence at the time.

And yet was hired anyway such is the state of our country, and the craven behaviour of our institutions is but one reason!

However, he has been spared from being struck off the official vet register after a panel was told that the Home Office would deport him if he was suspended.

So, that’s a consequence, and surely we can’t be so short of vets that we need to keep this one around? 

It was heard that Herlea committed the crimes in his home country and was convicted at a Romanian court in March 2024 - four months before he came to Britain as a convicted criminal to work.Despite this, The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) still allowed him to work in the UK.

Are all our organisations so totally captured that no matter what, they will continue to inflict diversity on us? 

Ooh! Oooh! I Can Guess The Answer!

 And I'll have to, as it's behind a paywall.

Could it possibly be 'We stopped doing this' and started dieting..?

Another Of Those Things That 'Never Happens' Has Happened...

...and produced this surreal situation for the judge:

The jury was told they will be taken to the scene of the incident in a site visit. Judge Daniel Sawyer said: 'Ordinarily I would tell you not to go to the location but in this case it's just out the back of the building and it would be utterly pointless, you can see most of it from your jury retiring room.'

I'm surprised he didn't just tell them anyway, since the justice system loves futile gestures. 

Beyond Belief

Karam Abdulkarim-Mohamed, 30, called the guards 'motherf******' after they stopped him at Reading railway station in January. He punched one man twice in the head and spat at the other. Months later, Abdulkarim-Mohamed – who left 'very big problems' in Sudan and now lives at Bournemouth's controversial Roundhouse Hotel – attacked a woman during a separate incident in the seaside town.

 Left them to cause the same in the UK, I presume?

After being set upon by a group of teenagers, he pulled out a pocket knife and waved it at them, then lashed out at three strangers who tried to intervene, striking one woman on the arm. He was arrested for assault, carrying a knife and carrying cocaine.

He seems to have a lot of disposable income for one of those destitute, unfairly-prevented-from-employment that the left wing commentstors are always taking out a hankie for, doesn't he? 

Abdulkarim-Mohamed, whose legal status remains unclear, appeared at Poole Magistrates' Court for sentencing wearing a pair of Nike Air Jordan 4 trainers, which usually retail at £300.

And the great British justice system dealt with him as you'd expect them to... 

He walked out of court, having been given a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay compensation to his victims.

Perhaps they rightly conjectured there'd be little point in sending him to jail? 

He had been studying at a college in London for a period but has been staying at the Roundhouse Hotel, taken over by the Home Office in Bournemouth, for about nine months, and doesn't receive any income from the state.

So where's get get the money to spend on designer trainers and cocaine from? Perhaps HMRC should take up the case, they probably have more teeth? 

His probation officer told the court that sending him to prison would have an impact on his mental health.

So what? 

Defence lawyer James Moore said his client had no money to pay a fine, had never been in trouble before, and was remorseful. He described the knife as a small blade used to cut nails.

Yeah, James, they can kill you just as dead as the large ones, you know... 

About Those 'Untouchable' Black Fare Evaders In London ...

We all know the ones. Wondering why nothing is ever done about it, as you and your fellow commuters pay ever higher fares to TfL year on year? Wonder no more.

The girl and her friend were seen pushing through the barriers after a station employee refused to let them pass for free.

A station employee no doubt of the same ethnic origin? 

An Independent Office for Police Conduct spokesperson said: “The court heard that on 22 September 2024, BTP officers responded to a request for assistance from railway staff after a child pushed their way through ticket barriers at Camden Road overground station.

And that was a mistake, because they weren’t thanked for it.

“After PC Young approached the child, CCTV footage showed the officer restraining her by placing her in a headlock. The child remained in a headlock for approximately 30 seconds before PC Young pushed her back through the ticket barrier and placed his hand around her throat while pushing her up against a ticket machine.

“PC Young handcuffed and arrested the child, and she was later de-arrested at the scene.”

Why? Well, one can only wonder. 

PC Young will also face a gross misconduct hearing for breaching the police standards of professional behaviour and is due to be sentenced on 13 November.

This is a disgrace. 

Alexa, Give Me An Example Of Suicidal Empathy…

'Here's simething I found in the media':

Auchingarrich owner Alexa Reid said she could “not under any circumstances condone” his past actions, but said she wanted to give him a second chance. In a statement, she said: “Liam has expressed genuine remorse for his previous actions and a heartfelt desire to change.

What did he do? Well, something that should have disqualified him from working for a wildlife park that's for sure!

But smug middle class white women are the absolute worst in our society:

“He understands the importance of responsible care for animals. 

“We see this as a valuable opportunity for him to give back to the community and the animals, and we fully support his efforts.

“Our team will provide thorough training and supervision at all times as he learns about proper animal care and welfare.

“We recognise the negativity surrounding Liam due to his past actions, but we firmly believe that everyone deserves a second chance.

“Our goal is to assist him in making positive choices moving forward.”

No matter the understandable backlash, she's so convinced of the correctness of her actions she will not back down. Rather like the HR creatutes persecuting nurse Peggie for refusing to change in front of a man in womanface. What is it up there, something in the water? 

Should I only drink bottled on my next visit? 

Who Brought Him Here?

And why isn't thst person sharing the dock with him?

A Qatari camel herder who sexually assaulted a woman at a specialist heart clinic blamed the attack on having ‘little interaction’ with women in his home country. Nasser Al-Gherainiq has been jailed for seven years and will be deported after his release after dragging the woman into the toilet at the world famous Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea, South West London.

Someone paid for this operation - who was it? Why can't we know?

”It was assumed at the time that this was an isolated incident.”

Scotland’s national archive has traced the mysterious disappearance of more than 3,000 historical documents over a period of 30 years to a history professor with an all-consuming interest in stamps. The theft began to unravel when a National Records of Scotland archivist attended an auction in London in 1994. There, he discovered that 200 of the items for sale belonged to the archive, some still marked with their NRS reference numbers.

Whoops! So, no stocktaking is ever carried out? 

The items, 3,100 items in total, mainly family, estate and business correspondence, were traced back to an academic and archivist, Prof David Macmillan, who died in 1987. Records showed that he made annual visits to the NRS archives as a user from 1969 until 1980, when he was caught taking a single item from the archive in Edinburgh and his access was immediately revoked. It was assumed at the time that this was an isolated incident.

/facepalm. 

That's like catching a mouse in your kitchen, letting it go in the garden and saying 'job done!' and never thinking 'Maybe there could be more than one?' 

But the scale of his thefts became apparent in 2012, when a researcher saw a reference in an online catalogue at Trent University to an item he thought may have belonged in Scotland and raised concerns. NRS archivists went on to discover about 2,900 items which had been stolen by Macmillan and then gifted to Trent University’s archives after his death.

Good grief, you couldn't make it up, could you? 

The correspondence he took was not of high financial or historical value, and it remains a mystery why someone whose own working life was sustained by the use of archives would abuse the trust of these institutions in such a blatant manner.

People do all sorts of strange things for all sorts of reasons. Sensible organisations prepare for this by having security measures. It would appear the National Archive of Scotland is not such an organisation. 

NRS now has almost all its documents back in their rightful position, overseen by more robust security measures than Macmillan encountered, which protect its collection of 38m documents spanning nearly 1,000 years of Scottish history.

Congratulations, you've now shut the stable door after the unicorn has galloped over the banks and braes with the loot! 

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? 

Why Did You Expect Anything To Be Learned?

Jack and Paul, aged 12 and nine, hadn’t wanted to visit their father, Darren Sykes. He had previously hit both them and their mum. He’d made them eat until they were sick. He used to call them “mummy’s boys”. Paul had explained all this to a worker at Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) in a formal interview. Throssell had said in an evidence statement that, when angry, Sykes was capable of hurting or killing the boys, that he had told her he intended to take his own life and that he could understand fathers killing their children. Still, contact was awarded to him.

And of course, the end everyone except those involved in the system could see coming happened. 

Ten years on – or, in her own words, “10 years into my life sentence” – Throssell cannot believe how little has been learned. “I’ve had sleepless nights knowing that the judge who made the contact order was still on the bench and the Cafcass worker who interviewed Paul has never been held accountable,” she says.

They never are. And they never learn any lessons, either. 

A paper published in August by the Shera research group, examined 10 anonymous family court cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse carried out by the father – including cases where the father had admitted to it, or there was digital or video evidence, and one of child rape that had led to a prison sentence. In all of these cases, the father ultimately won some form of contact with their children, including overnight stays and 50/50 shared residency. One woman, whose ex was given five years on the sex offender register for downloading child sexual abuse images, mainly of girls, including babies and young children, was told by her Cafcass worker: “Well, it’s all right because you’ve got a son.”

If you think that beggars belief, read on!  

Ironically, Throssell – like many victims of domestic abuse – had first turned to the family courts for protection. “I couldn’t fight on my own any more and I trusted the courts to see sense,” she says.

Her first experience in the courtroom shocked her. Most cases involve allegations of domestic abuse, and women who have fled their ex-partners. Here they were expected to face them again, in close proximity – to sit beside them in waiting rooms, listen while they spun a story. “There were no safety measures,” she says. “He was right there, glaring at me, then verbally attacking me. Then you go inside and it’s like a boardroom with him sitting four seats away, hurling insult after insult. At one point the judge had to tell him to be quiet. I thought this was clear evidence that he can’t control his emotions and wasn’t safe to be around.”

Well, any reasonable person would think so, wouldn't they? But clearly, those sorts don't work in these roles. 

Paul was interviewed by a Cafcass officer for the section 7 report and described life with his dad, listing the many reasons he didn’t want to see him. The Cafcass officer then met with Sykes. The serious case review following the boys’ deaths found that Sykes became “agitated and uncomfortable” in that meeting and barred the door to prevent the officer leaving – her notes stated that she wanted extra support when with him in future. “If that Cafcass officer couldn’t handle seeing him alone, how the hell did she think a nine- and 12-year-old would? She had the power to overrule the contact order there and then,” says Throssell. “But she didn’t.”

See? 

The serious case review, published in 2015, did not conclude that contact should have been suspended, only that this option should have been “considered”.

“Such judgments are difficult to make at the time,” the report stated, “and it is considerably easier to criticise with the benefit of hindsight.”

Well, it gets easier because this system gives us so much practice. 

This Deserves A Double Facepalm...

"Here’s a maths problem for you.

Adam borrowed £44,000 to go to university and has paid back £7,000 since graduating four years ago. How much does he owe? The answer is £54,000. That's because he is one of thousands of graduates in England and Wales who took out a type of student loan between 2012 and 2023 on which interest rates hit a record of nearly 8% earlier this year."

What sort of graduate is going to be taken by surprise over having to pay interest on a loan?

"Adam, 26, studied in London for a BSc in economics..."

The kicker?

He now works in finance in the capital...

*boggle* 

H/T: CJ Nerd via email

More Revolving Door Justice?

People jailed for taking part in the violent disorder after the Southport stabbing attack could be released early, Downing Street has said. Police on Friday said 302 people had been charged with offences including theft, antisocial behaviour and “spreading online hate” since the incident on 29 July and said there would be more to come.

Ha ha ha ha! Once again, you couldn't make it up! I wonder if the Starmbanfuhrer knew this when he was pontificating? 

However, since the Labour government changed the law to allow some criminals to leave prison early because of the prison overcrowding crisis, No 10 has said rioters will not be excluded from this, so they will be able to leave after serving 40% of their sentence.

Through gritted teeth, no doubt. What a disaster this government is already. And I hope that's not going to send me to prison. 

When asked whether rioters could be excluded from the scheme, a No 10 spokesperson said: “There’s no specific exclusion for the rioters, the scheme is as previously set out by the justice secretary.

“Also, we’re very clear that those who are convicted of serious violence and serve sentences of four years and over, or a terrorism offence, will be excluded.”

Is that why the police are keen to specify that every new outrage is 'not terrorist related' now, even before they've had time to even book the suspect into custody, never mind question them? 

The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, has condemned “senior politicians and pundits who sought to undermine the legitimacy and authority of the police”, without naming anyone. Writing in the Telegraph, Cooper said she hoped to work with police “rather than just blaming them from afar, to tackle problems and raise standards”, in an apparent criticism of those who had claimed the UK had “two-tier policing”.

Changed her tune, hasn't she? Because 'blaming police from afar' was SOP when she was in opposition. 

Where's My Heart Of Stone?

I'm going to need it for this one! 

The latest repairs to the Isle of Wight's troubled chain ferry have been held up over delays receiving spare parts.

And you'll never guess why they were delayed!  

Floating Bridge 6, which crosses the River Medina between Cowes and East Cowes, was pulled from service at the weekend with "mechanical issues".

The council said parts to fix the vessel were due on Monday but "did not arrive as scheduled from our supplier due to ferry disruptions".

Ha ha ha ha ha!  

H/T: Ian J via email

And It's Bred...!

Outrage has greeted the news that 19-year-old TikTok menace Mizzy - a father of one- will be locked up for 18 weeks in a young offenders institution with children rather than an adult prison.

The 'prankster', real name Bacari-Bronze O'Garro, has been jailed for violating court orders which ordered him 'not to upload directly or indirectly, any original video content on social media, without prior documented consent of the people in that content'.

In another ridiculous step for the so-called 'justice system' we have in this country, he qualifies for this soft treatment purely due to the age at which he committed the offence.

...speaking to MailOnline, Ernest Aduwa, Partner at Stokoe Partnership Solicitors explained that Mizzy's containment in the youth system was how the penal system was intended to operate.

He said: 'When deciding which prison a person is sent too (sic), it's not so much determined by any representations made by the defence solicitor at a time of sentence.

'Any mitigation put forward in relation to the offense committed - so any remorse, or any mitigating circumstances personally relating to that offence, and to that offender in particular.

'It won't affect what prison that offender is sent to.

'Young offenders institutions aren't any less of a prison than an adult prison - they're just separated from adults over the age of 21.'

Sure, sure, we all believe that, don't we? 

In mitigation remarks, Barrister Paul Lennon, defending O'Garro, urged the court to consider his young age and his personal circumstances.

None of which will be a surprise: 

'In terms of his family relationships, his relationship with his mother is both good and bad. He has not had any contact with his father since he was two years old.'

'His relationship with the mother of his child is difficult, but he still attempts to have as much time with his child as he can.'

Perhaps, like the well-to-do registering their young offspring for Eton, the mother should be considering which juvenile offenders institute she'd prefer the child to go to in the future?  

Didn't Really Need The Location Pointer, 'Mail' Photo Editor...

Needham, commenting on her club's Facebook site, revealed that her side has 'faced challenges from teams unwilling to play against us while I am on the field.'

Well, how would they kn...

Oh. 

Needham had received full backing from her club, with the ladies' team secretary posting the message 'in unity we defeat discrimination', as well as its fans.

It's not discrimination, it's health and safety! 

The trans player has only played two matches this season – both in October – after apparently being given clearance by the FA. In the first game the opponent's manager, who has asked not to be named, realised five minutes into the game that she was transgender.

It took 5 minutes? I thought it was traditionally the referee who was supposed to have eyesight problems!

Fiona McAnena at Fair Play For Women said: 'Footballers are separated by sex for very good reasons.

'If you put one male on the pitch they are faster, they are stronger. It is patently unfair and in a contact sport like football it's unsafe.

'These women didn't choose mixed football, they chose women's football. It's not because this player is trans, it is because they are male.'

And they will stay male, no matter what surgery they undergo or what a piece of paper declares them to be... 

Today's 'YCMIU' Story...

A hotel boss has been asked to remove online footage of thieves who stripped their room nearly bare...

Because the police caught them? Yes, These people aren't the brightest so they tracked them down through the bank card they used. 

OK, so, why do the cops want the footage removed? Because it'll prejudice the case? Well, that's understandable. 

No. Reader, hold onto your hat:

...because police claim it is 'causing them distress'.

They obviously are planning to deny any charge, because police visited them and left without removing any items from their house.  

Dyfed-Powys Police visited Natalie this week to ask her to remove the CCTV from her social media because it was upsetting the alleged thieves.

'The officer's exact words were that it was causing them distress,' Natalie said. 'I don't want to be hard or spiteful but they should have thought of that before they took everything from the room.'

The answer to the useless cops is simple: 'You want the footage removed? OK. Charge them. If not, it stays up.' 

It's A Great Idea...

...but what do you do when it can't find anything to buy at all?

On the App Store, Veebs currently has a 4.4 out of 5 star rating, with one woman writing: 'I'm a conservative mama bear, and I've been looking for something like this for a few years now.

'All I can say is bless you, Veebs, and to all the companies shoving their ideas on me and my family — bye.'

Another user also commented: 'I can't believe someone finally built this.'

I can't believe it still shows some companies to buy from! 

This Is What Will Sink The Tory Party...

...despite making little effort to hide his whereabouts, the Home Office has seemingly been unable to locate the serial thief who has terrorised outer London for nearly a decade. But it took this newspaper just two weeks to find him.

The 'Mail' hacks do a better job than our Border Farce and police. Just let that sink in... 

We pieced together information from social media, newspaper clippings and intelligence from the Albanian community to track Puka down to a £250,000 two-bed terraced flat in Hounslow, west London. The property is owned by an accountant. Puka is not listed at the address. When we visited, he was spotted leaving in a £60,000 black Mercedes CLS Coupe to get a coffee in a T-shirt emblazoned with the words 'Weekend Offender' and 'Admit Nothing'.

He's spitting in our faces, and our government is doing nothing at all to stop it.  

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has admitted to the deportation of just 'hundreds' of Albanians despite over 12,000 arriving on small boats in 12 months. Britain struck a 'gold standard' deal with Albania in a bid to improve the process. It includes convicts with a year left to serve in UK jails being freed early and deported. But when the BBC spoke to 50 Albanians deported under this deal in May, they said they would immediately attempt to return to the UK.

The Tory Party is finished. Stick a fork in it. It's done.  

No, 'We' Didn't, Unnamed Neighbour...

"We left two people in a very vulnerable situation and it could've worked out a lot worse than it did."

It was the people taking taxpayer's money to do a job that caused this. We're just the mugs left with the bill regardless.

The man had been due to be housed in a property with other asylum seekers and arrived in the North East on the evening of 20 June.

He spoke very little English and it remans unclear which country he had come from or how long he had been in the UK.

He spoke enough English to claim asylum, though, you'll note...

Mears Group said it was investigating what had happened and had met the asylum seeker on site as soon as staff knew he had arrived.

...

The company's annual report shows its 22% increase in revenue in 2021 was "largely driven" by its work finding hotel accommodation for asylum seekers.

It's money for old rope, isn't it? 

H/T: CJ Nerd via email