What Did We Get For A 10-Year Homeland Security Spending Spree That Cost Billions?
August 30, 2011 No CommentPolice and military types have an overwhelming lust for the latest, greatest and most expensive technology — and a talent for rationalizing the budget expenditures. Since 9/11, it’s been one long Christmas list of weapons of war and anti-terror, and Santa Congress denies very little. In the meantime, anything that directly benefits We The People gets slashed. It’s time, as this LA Times article suggests, that we take a much closer look at what we get for all that money. I’d also like to suggest a name change – “Homeland Security” reminds me very much of Nazis: A decade after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, federal and state governments are spending about $75 billion a year on domestic security, setting up sophisticated radio networks, upgrading emergency medical response equipment, installing surveillance cameras and bomb-proof walls, and outfitting airport screeners to detect an ever-evolving list of mobile explosives. But how effective has that 10-year spending spree been? “The number of people worldwide who are killed by Muslim-type terrorists, Al Qaeda wannabes, is maybe a few hundred outside of war zones. It’s basically the same number of people who die drowning in the bathtub each year,” said John Mueller, an Ohio State University professor who has written extensively about the balance between threat and expenditures in fighting terrorism. “So if your chance of being killed by a terrorist in the United States is 1 in 3.5 million, the question is, how much do you want to spend to get that down to 1 in 4.5 million?” he said. One effect is certain: Homeland Security spending has been a primer-pump for local governments starved by the recession, and has dramatically improved emergency response networks across the country. An entire industry has sprung up to sell an array of products, including high-tech motion sensors and fully outfitted emergency operations trailers. The market is expected to grow to $31 billion by 2014. Like the military-industrial complex that became a permanent and powerful part of the American landscape during the Cold War, the vast network of Homeland Security spyware, concrete barricades and high-tech identity screening is here to stay. The Department of Homeland Security, a collection of agencies ranging from border control to airport security sewn quickly together after Sept. 11, is the third-largest Cabinet department and — with almost no lawmaker willing to render the U.S. less prepared for a terrorist attack — one of those least to fall victim to budget cuts. The expensive and time-consuming screening now routine for passengers at airport boarding gates has detected plenty of knives, loaded guns and other contraband, but it has never identified a terrorist who was about to board a plane. Only 14 Americans have died in about three dozen instances of Islamic extremist terrorist plots targeted at the U.S. outside war zones since 2001 — most of them involving one or two home-grown plotters. State and local emergency responders have undergone a dramatic transformation with the aid of $32 billion that has been dispensed in Homeland Security grants since 2002, much of it in the early years spent on Hollywood-style tactical gear, often with little connection between risk and outlay. “After 9/11, it was literally like my mother running out the door with the charge card,” said Al Berndt, assistant director of the Emergency Management Agency in Nebraska, which has received $163.7 million in federal anti-terrorism and emergency aid grants. “What we really needed to be doing is saying, ‘Let’s identify the threat, identify the capability and capacity you already have, and say, OK, what’s the shortfall now, and how do we meet it?’” The spending has been rife with dubious expenditures, including the $557,400 in rescue and communications gear that went to the 1,500 residents of North Pole, Alaska, and a $750,000 anti-terrorism fence — fashioned with 8-foot-high ram-proof wrought iron reinforced with concrete footers — built around a Veterans Affairs hospital in the pastoral hills outside Asheville, N.C. Much of the equipment has been adapted to use for more common occurrences, but what’s the return on the money? You’ll notice most of the same clowns who are so outraged by FEMA spending think nothing of rubberstamping these pork barrel requests.
Continue reading …Former Congressman Mark Neumann announced on right-wing talk radio Monday that he was going to run for the U.S. Senate in Wisconsin. There are a lot of reasons that Mark Neumann is bad for all of us, but these show that he’s so far out of the mainstream. Mark Neumann is just another ideologue who will push his right-wing social agenda on all of us. He’s said he intends to secure the support of Club for Growth. You might remember them as the right-wing Norquist-like group that goes after Republican elected officials who cast more moderate votes. They previously ran ads against U.S. Senators who opposed the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. With policies like this, working families are going to have a hard time getting by with Mark Neumann as a Senator. When Neumann ran for governor in 2010 he ran on repealing the groundbreaking health insurance reform law that gave millions of people and families the right to insurance despite being diagnosed with a pre-existing condition. Newman renewed his pledge to work, in his capacity, if elected, to overturn that law. Turning your back on the sick in their time of need is horrifying enough – campaigning on it is flat out wrong. When Neumann ran against former Senator Russ Feingold in 1998 he ran on a campaign against President Bill Clinton’s “spend, spend, and spend” policies – sound familiar? You remember those policies, right? The ones that gave us record surpluses and balanced the budget? He was also heavily involved with then Speaker Newt Gingrich to prevent tax increases. With Club for Growth at his back – Neumann is unlikely to change his support of billionaire subsidies that hurt the working families of Wisconsin. But fiscal irresponsibility isn’t Neumann’s only flaw – his extremist philosophies are deeply discriminatory. In a widely reported address to the La Crosse Christian Coalition in 1997, according to Uppity Wisconsin , Neumann said that he would never hire an LGBT person in his legislative office if they applied for a position. “If somebody walks in to me and say, ‘I’m a gay person; I want a job in your office.’ I would say, ‘that’s inappropriate’ and they wouldn’t be hired because that would mean they are promoting their agenda. The gay and lesbian lifestyle (is) unacceptable, lest there be any question about that.” Most frightening, however, is Mark Neumann’s stance on a woman’s right to choose. Neumann was endorsed by Pro-Life Wisconsin which “opposes abortion even in the case of rape, incest and for the mother’s life.” Neumann scored a 100 percent grade on Pro-Life Wisconsin’s survey “vowing to support a complete abortion ban without exception…” The PLW also opposes all forms of birth control access for women. They oppose birth control pills, condoms, and other preventative measures that give women control over their health. Neumann was so proud of this he further pledged “to protect pharmacists who refuse to dispense birth control on religious grounds.”
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• Alstom, maker of Virgin’s Pendolino, withdraws from process • Hopes raised that UK-based manufacturer will win contract • Tendering process tweaked after Derby job losses The French manufacturer of the Virgin Trains Pendolino fleet has pulled out of the bidding to make carriages for the £16bn Crossrail project. Alstom announced its withdrawal after Crossrail raised hopes that a UK-based manufacturer will secure the next major British trains contract by confirming that the outcome of a government procurement review will be included in the tender. The review was set up after Siemens of Germany was selected as preferred bidder for the £1.4bn Thameslink contract , knocking Bombardier’s Derby-based factory into second place and precipitating the loss of more than 1,400 jobs. An Alstom spokesperson said: “After analysis of the requirements for the new rolling stock for the Crossrail project, Alstom has decided to withdraw from the competition.” The withdrawal leaves a four-strong shortlist for the contract, comprised of Canadian engineering giant Bombardier, Spanish firm CAF, Hitachi and Siemens. However, the winner of the Thameslink contract for 1,200 carriages is considered by industry insiders to be the favourite for Crossrail because of the expected similarities between the trains. Alstom bolstered that view in its statement, in which it said Crossrail was seeking lower spending on developing a new train for the route, which will run from west London via Heathrow airport to the east of the capital via Canary Wharf. “We consider that the necessary adaptation of our existing products in service in other countries is incompatible with both Alstom’s strategy for profitable growth and Crossrail’s requirement for minimal development costs,” said Alstom. Under changes to the Crossrail contract announced on Tuesday morning, the government-backed project said the award of the contract would be pushed back from late 2013 to 2014 in order to save costs, while also allowing the procurement review to be factored in. David Cameron and the Department for Transport are adamant that they will not install Bombardier as preferred bidder for Thameslink, arguing that it would trigger a legal dispute and cause delays to the delivery of the trains. Maria Eagle, the shadow transport secretary, said: “The truth is that the delay to the project has nothing to do with improving procurement at all. If ministers are now saying it’s possible to review the Crossrail contract, they must explain why they have cost British jobs by refusing to do the same for the new Thameslink trains as Labour has repeatedly demanded.” Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT trade union, said the Crossrail contract must follow France and Germany’s example and protect UK jobs. “We want the government to send out a clear message to bidders for the Crossrail fleet that this contract will be played under the same rules that apply in France and Germany where protection of domestic jobs and industries is a core factor in the procurement process. If that forces companies like Alstom out of the game then so be it.” Travel & leisure Manufacturing sector Rail transport Transport Crossrail Bombardier Transport policy Dan Milmo guardian.co.uk
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Communities may lose ability to influence decision-making as planning is streamlined in favour of developers, green groups say A planning free-for-all leading to blighted landscapes, urban sprawl, more congestion and an undermining of local democracy is inevitable if the government insists on pushing ahead with proposals for new rules, say the UK’s leading green groups. The National Trust, Campaign to Protect Rural England, Friends of the Earth, RSPB, Greenpeace and other countryside and environment organisations with a combined membership of more than 6 million people, have told the Guardian that they fear communities will lose the ability to influence decision-making as planning is streamlined in favour of developers and as economic growth is prioritised over social and environmental concerns. In addition, one prominent Conservative council has said the proposed changes contained in the contained in the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will be “undemocratic” and “against the principle of localism”. The fight against the proposed planning rules comes from groups at the heart of middle England and is shaping up to become a major political battleground for David Cameron. Many of the groups were part of the coalition who forced the government into a U-turn on selling off English forests this year. According to the groups, who are working individually and not as a coalition, the most radical reforms of the planning system in 50 years will allow developers to build what they like where they like in the 66% of England that is not formally protected by national park, or other conservation status. The groups say the changes in the planning law may lead to: • Previously refused plans for major developments being re-submitted and automatically passed; • Plans for giant incinerators and factory farms becoming impossible to refuse; • Overcrowding as the space between communities is filled with housing; • Green belt protection around more than 20 English cities becoming weakened; • Airport expansions, new roads and giant business parks on motorways; • Polluting developments imposed on poorest communities. Existing conservation areas will retain protection measures, but nearly two-thirds of England is not protected. In addition, planning approval will be assumed in the nearly 50% of local authorities that have no published local plans. A crucial clause in the draft bill provides a presumption in favour of “sustainable development” over all other considerations. The way it is worded is said by the groups to be so weak to be legally meaningless. Fiona Reynolds, director of the 3.5-million strong National Trust called for a fundamental rethink of the reforms. “We firmly believe that the government has got its proposals for planning reform wrong. We are hearing the same from our supporters and local communities the length and breadth of the country. The government is disregarding the impact that these proposals will have on open space in and around our cities, towns and villages. There is a default ‘yes’ to development which means that local voices will not be heard”. “The risk is that there will be a development free-for-all in all unprotected areas in the mistaken belief that it will generate economic growth. The message for local authorities is build, build, build,” said Shaun Spiers, director of the CPRE. Martin Harper, RSPB conservation director, said: “The planning system is there to represent the interests of the public in the face of complex decisions, and it will fail us all if one factor – economic growth – is set higher than any other.” Joan Walley MP, who chairs parliament’s environmental audit committee , which will question ministers over the changes next month, said: “Stripping the planning system of safeguards that protect the green spaces around our cities, towns and villages is not the answer. The government must be careful that in the rush for growth it doesn’t end up vandalising the countryside.” Greg Clark, planning minister, vigorously defended the proposed reforms, saying communities could draw up their own plans about where development should take place and would be strengthened rather than weakened by the changes. “The reaction of these groups has been unfocused and misconceived. Decisions on development will be made by local communities. Their plans will be sovereign. This puts more power into the hands of local people, not less,” he said. “I believe we will see a different type of development. Rather than huge, banal [ones] imposed from above, you will have more sensitive location of homes designed to higher standards. We will move from types of mediocre development that have been resisted by communities to developments that are more accountable.” But in a signal that Tory councils may react in a hostile way to the removal of many of their planning powers, Hammersmith and Fulham council said the planning proposals would damage local democracy. “To change planning law so that important decisions are not made at local level is anti-democratic, against the principles of localism”, said deputy leader Nick Botterill. Fulham and other London councils say that they will have no power under the new laws to stop a major London sewer being built. “These proposals risk riding roughshod over local democracy. It could take decision-making away from councils. There is a real risk of developers being able to manipulate the [planning] system in their favour. It opens a barn door for them,” said Kate Henderson, director of the Town and Country Planning Association. Not all groups oppose the new planning rules though. Harry Cotterell, deputy president of the Country Land and Business Association said that sustainable development was necessary for economic growth. “The planning system is currently failing to provide either the jobs or housing the countryside desperately needs for its survival. The draft NPPF provides a streamlined and less bureaucratic way of achieving economic and social success, while at the same time protecting the needs of the environment.” Liz Peace, head of the British Property Federation said: “The NPPF simply streamlines the old system, and gives democratically elected councils, rather than unelected regional quangos, the responsibility of deciding how much development is needed in their communities. What is needed is a sensible debate.” Planning policy Rural affairs RSPB Greenpeace Activism Local government John Vidal guardian.co.uk
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Scotland Yard wants to obtain footage filmed during the riots that ‘could show crime in action’ Newspapers and broadcasters, including Sky News and the Guardian, have come under pressure from the Metropolitan police to hand over all videos and pictures related to the London riots earlier this month. ITN, which produces ITV News and Channel 4 News, the Times and also the BBC are among the media organisations resisting efforts by Scotland Yard to obtain footage filmed during the riots that “could show crime in action”. The demands follow David Cameron’s call for the media to take ” responsibility ” and immediately release all material to help police track down and punish suspected rioters and looters. Police forces, including West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester police, began to informally approach media groups a fortnight ago, urging them to voluntarily disclose all footage – used or unused – of civil unrest during the England riots. The Met police has sent follow-up requests to several newspapers and broadcasters. Scotland Yard said it would obtain a court order to force the disclosure if the media did not volunteer material. Each of the media groups said they would fiercely resist the demands to avoid being seen as an evidence-gathering arm of the police. However, the media will be forced to hand over unused material if issued with a production order under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Under Pace, the judge is supposed to weigh the interest of the police in obtaining evidence with the public interest in a free press. Hundreds of police officers are working through about 40,000 hours of CCTV footage in stations across the country. In London, Met officers are believed to be studying more than 20,000 hours of video at 30 viewing facilities. A spokesman for the Met said: “The police are identifying people through pictures, CCTV and through the media to ensure that people are brought to justice. We would ask the media to work with the police to ensure that happens.” Fran Unsworth, the BBC’s head of newsgathering, said a fortnight ago that the corporation would face down requests to hand over footage without a court order. “It’s a matter of principle for us, we don’t just hand over our rushes [raw footage] to the police without them going through a proper process which is via the courts,” she said in an interview on BBC Radio 4′s Media Show . “It doesn’t really matter what the nature of the offences are – if we went down that road of making judgments of the nature of the offences, that would compromise our editorial standards.” A spokesman for the BBC said on Tuesday: “We have standard processes in place to deal with requests from the police through our litigation department, regardless of the subject matter. Any request would need to be dealt with by the courts.” • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook . TV news UK riots Television industry ITN BBC Newspapers Newspapers & magazines Media law Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk
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West Bank settlers are given training before protests predicted to coincide with a Palestinian petition for UN recognition The Israeli military is arming and training West Bank settlers in preparation for mass protests by Palestinians that it expects to erupt around the time that the UN is asked to recognise a Palestinian state, according to a leaked document . Teargas and stun grenades are being distributed and training sessions held with settlement security teams, according to the document obtained by Haaretz. The army has also drawn lines on maps around Jewish settlements close to Palestinian villages to guide troops, police and settlement security chiefs. Protesters who breach the first line will be subject to teargas and other methods of crowd dispersal. If a second “red line” is crossed, soldiers will be permitted to open fire at protesters’ legs. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed it was liaising with settlers over Operation Summer Seeds, its codename for the military response to the expected protests. However, Palestinian leaders vigorously deny that violent protests are planned, and the Israeli defence minister, Ehud Barak, has said he expects September to pass quietly. In a statement the IDF said: “The IDF maintains an ongoing, professional dialogue with the community leadership and security personnel throughout Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] while devoting great efforts to training local forces and preparing them to deal with any possible scenario. “Recently, central command has completed training the majority of the first response teams; these exercises are ongoing. Beyond the aforementioned training, the IDF cannot comment further regarding its operational preparedness.” According to Haaretz, the army has held training sessions for settlement security officers at a military installation near the West Bank settlement of Shiloh. Settlers are pressing the IDF to issue specific instructions on how they should respond to Palestinian protests, the paper says, but the military advocate general is concerned that such instructions could be interpreted as rules of engagement. Hagit Ofran, of Peace Now, an Israeli organisation which monitors settlement activity, said: “We hope the army is making clear that non-violent protest is legitimate and no settlers should use any violence against unarmed demonstrators.” Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights said there were already “serious questions and problems” with settlement security officials acting outside their designated boundaries. “We’re very concerned that [the IDF move] will not reduce conflict but increase it,” he said. Preparation for anticipated protests has been under way for weeks, with extra training given to thousands of police officers and soldiers. The Israeli authorities have allocated funds for training exercises and the purchase of additional equipment. The military has reportedly stockpiled around 200,000 litres of foul-smelling liquid to be fired from water cannon at protesters, or possibly dropped from planes. Supplies of stun grenades, rubber bullets and riot gear are also being topped up. According to the leaked document, the IDF expects demonstrations to turn into “mass disorder”. It says the protests may include “marches towards main junctions, Israeli communities and education centres; efforts at damaging symbols of [Israeli] government. Also there may be more extreme cases like shooting from within the demonstrations or even terrorist incidents. In all the scenarios, there is readiness to deal with incidents near the fences and the borders of the state of Israel.” Earlier this month, Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s rightwing foreign minister, said the Palestinians were preparing for “bloodshed the likes of which we’ve never seen before”. Some commentators believed his remarks were aimed at inflaming the situation and stoking fears among the Israeli population. The Palestinian spokesman Ghassan Khatib said Israel was “trying to fuel a fake picture of what will happen in September”, adding: “These Israeli predictions of violence aren’t true.” The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has called for peaceful demonstrations in September to coincide with the Palestinians’ petition to the UN for recognition of their state. But he has repeatedly said protests should be peaceful. “I insist on popular resistance and I insist that it be unarmed popular resistance so that nobody misunderstands us,” he told the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s central committee. The Palestinian leadership is expected to present their request to be admitted to UN membership when the general assembly meets in September. Membership of the UN requires security council approval, which the US has already said it will veto. The Palestinians are then expected to request an enhanced “non-member state” status, which needs a two-thirds majority in the general assembly. They claim to have the backing so far of 124 of the UN’s 193 members, and expect to get a majority by the time of a vote. Israel Palestinian territories United Nations Middle East Harriet Sherwood guardian.co.uk
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Youth becomes fifth person to be arrested in connection with stabbing at the west London festival A 16-year-old youth has been arrested in west London on suspicion of assault following the stabbing of a 20-year-old man at the Notting Hill carnival, police said. Three men aged 20 and one 21-year-old have already been arrested and are in custody at various police stations in London in connection with the incident, which happened towards the end of the two-day festival. The victim, whose condition is described as serious but stable, was found with stab wounds to the stomach and hand in Ladbroke Grove after 6pm on Monday and taken to a central London hospital. The stabbing was one of only a small number of isolated incidents to mar Europe’s biggest street festival amid an unprecedented security operation following the riots in London and other cities earlier this month. More than 6,500 police officers, a record number, patrolled the carnival streets on Monday, up from 5,500 on Sunday. A total of 245 people were arrested during the carnival weekend, up slightly on 243 last year. Police had targeted potential troublemakers making more than 40 pre-emptive arrests last week, and agreed an earlier finish time of 7pm for both days. The London mayor, Boris Johnson, said during a visit to the carnival it was right to allow the festivities despite worries about street violence following the riots. “I thought it was very important that we should go ahead. Obviously there was quite a few people who wrote to me saying ‘for heaven’s sake, scrap it’. But we said ‘no, that would be wrong, because that would be an admission of defeat, if you like, after what happened earlier in the month’.” Police put in place a Section 60 order, which allows them to search individuals to prevent serious violence, and a Section 60 AA order, giving officers the power to require any person to remove items that conceal their identity. London Ambulance service treated a total of 494 carnival goers over the weekend, with 59 requiring hospital treatment. Last year, 706 people received medical treatment with 117 taken to hospital. Anyone who witnessed the stabbing incident or has information that may assist police is asked to call the incident room on 020 8246 9386, or speak anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Crime Notting Hill carnival Festivals Knife crime Caroline Davies guardian.co.uk
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Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan says change needed to avoid similar waste in future The US government has wasted more than $30bn (£18.3bn) on private contractors and grants in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade – more than 15% of the total spend – according to a bipartisan group charged with examining the issue. The figure, described as “sobering but conservative”, illustrated the need for significant law and policy changes to avoid such waste in the future, the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan said. The body, set up by a Senate vote in 2007 to mimic the work of a post-second world war commission that investigated waste, will submit its report to Congress on Wednesday. However, some details of its findings were revealed by the co-chairs of the eight-member commission, writing in the Washington Post . At least another $30bn could be wasted if the governments of Iraq and Afghanistan are unable to keep US-run projects running after the US withdraws or simply choose not to do so, Christopher Shays, an ex-Republican congressman, and Michael Thibault, a former deputy director of the Defence Contract Audit Agency, wrote. “Tens of billions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted through poor planning, vague and shifting requirements, inadequate competition, substandard contract management and oversight, lax accountability, weak inter-agency co-ordination, and subpar performance or outright misconduct by some contractors and federal employees. Both government and contractors need to do better,” they said. Examples of waste in the report included $40m of US money to finance a prison Iraq did not want and that was not completed, and more than $300m on a power plant in Kabul “that requires funding and technical expertise beyond the Afghan government’s capabilities”. In a separate report, released on Monday, the independent Centre for Public Integrity thinktank said $140bn in defence contracts were awarded without competitive tendering last year – almost triple the sum in 2001. A Pentagon spokesman said the department was “well aware of some of the deficiencies over the years in how we have worked contracts”. Marine Corps Colonel David Lapan said: “We have worked hard over those years to try to correct those deficiencies when we come across them.” However, he defended some practices, saying: “There have been many instances, because of wartime needs, where a lengthy competitive bid contract process does not serve the needs of the war fighters. “In many instances, it’s a matter of saving lives, doing things more quickly because of the nature of conflict.” Shays and Thibault said their report was not intended to be an attack on the use of private contractors in general, particularly given that the US “cannot conduct large or prolonged military operations without contractor support”. They added: “But the costs have been excessive, largely because of a shrunken federal acquisition workforce and a lack of effective planning to use contractors and the discipline of competition.” The report will include 15 recommendations, including the appointment of an official to co-ordinate between the National Security Council and the Office of Management and Budget, and to not automatically assume that every non-core task is suitable for contracting. Additionally, officials should better scrutinise proposed projects and “cancel or modify those that have no credible prospect of operating successfully”. United States Iraq Afghanistan Middle East Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
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Five people rushed to hospital with suspected poisoning after going to sleep with a smouldering barbecue in their tent Five campers were taken to hospital with suspected carbon monoxide poisoning after taking a lit barbecue into their tent. The five, who are believed to be members of the same family, were rushed to the Royal Cornwall Hospital following the incident at a caravan park near the resort of Newquay. It is thought the family went to sleep with the smouldering barbecue in the tent on Monday night. Fortunately, one of the occupants woke up and people staying in the tent next door helped get all five out shortly after midnight Tuesday. Shaun Taylor, the watch manager at Newquay fire station, said: “We discovered they had a lit barbecue inside the tent. Any item that produces heat or vapours can cause carbon monoxide poisoning. That was our concern. “If the dad hadn’t woken up and the people in the next tent hadn’t got the people out we would have been looking at a very sad and serious situation this morning.” The two adults and three children were staying at the Trevella Caravan Park, at Crantock near Newquay. A spokesman for Cornwall fire and rescue service said: “Five casualties (two adults and three children) were found to be suffering the effects of this odourless and colourless gas. “The cause of this incident is believed to have been a barbecue appliance that was inside their tent.” The five were all later released from hospital. It is the second time this summer that such an incident has happened. In July three holidaymakers was taken to hospital with suspected carbon monoxide poisoning after a similar incident at a campsite near Padstow, north Cornwall, when a smouldering barbecue was taken into tent. Then the fire service warned: “Never take a smouldering barbecue into a tented area or confined area with no ventilation as [it] will give off carbon monoxide fumes.” Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
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