James Clappison seeks assurances from Dominic Grieve that normal standards of justice should apply to alleged riot offenders The attorney general, Dominic Grieve, has been asked to intervene in the row over the secret strategy adopted by the Metropolitan police during the riots to remand in custody everyone who was charged, which lawyers have claimed amounted to a blanket policy of imprisonment. James Clappison, the Conservative MP for Hertsmere, barrister and member of the home affairs committee, has written to Grieve asking for assurances that the normal standards of justice should apply to alleged riot offenders. “We cannot risk the appearance of two systems of justice,” the letter says. The prison population in England and Wales reached a record high for the third week running yesterday as the courts continued to jail hundreds of people involved in the riots. The total number of prisoners hit 86,821, higher than last week’s record of 86,654. The Guardian revealed on Monday a leaked “prisoner processing strategy” adopted by the Met at the height of the riots which revealed that a “strategic” decision had been taken “that in all cases an application will be made for remand in custody both at the police station, and later at court”. Lawyers are now seeking a judicial review of at least one case, claiming that the policy meant that not only were the police applying a blanket policy of denying bail but recommending to the courts that they did the same and even refusing to issue cautions to people accused on minor offences with no previous criminal record. The Met disputes that its officers were not giving cautions, saying that of 1,881 arrests, 17 ended in cautions, 125 people were released with no further action and 623 were bailed pending further investigations. The majority of the remainder were charged. The recommendation that those charged were remanded in custody was made “to ensure cases were dealt with quickly and again to protect the public from potential further disorder”, a spokesman said. Clappison asks Grieve for confirmation that the principles of the Bail Act will operate, meaning that in making bail decisions courts should consider both the seriousness of the offence and the defendant’s previous character in an assessment of their risk of reoffending. “Any departure from these principles and any form of blanket policy on bail would, amongst other things, create the risk of persons who are eventually acquitted in effect serving a custodial sentence prior to their acquittal in circumstances where they would not otherwise have done so,” he writes. Senior representatives of the Metropolitan police will appear before the home affairs select committee on 6 September and be questioned about their custody strategy, the committee’s chairman, Keith Vaz, confirmed. Dominic Grieve Conservatives UK riots UK criminal justice Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
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Private investigator passes names on to Steve Coogan’s lawyers, in accordance with court order Private investigator Glenn Mulcaire has revealed the names of the News of the World staff who instructed him to carry out phone hacking, his solicitor has confirmed. The information was passed in a letter to Steve Coogan’s lawyers in accordance with a court order. Mulcaire had applied for permission to appeal against the order, which was made in February, but this was denied and he was compelled to pass over the details by Friday. His solicitor, Sarah Webb, from Payne Hicks Beach, said she could not reveal who the NoW employees were because of “confidentiality issues”. Schillings, which is representing Coogan, has agreed not to reveal the names yet, to give Payne Hicks Beach a chance to apply for a court order stopping their release. Mulcaire was ordered to reveal who instructed him to access Coogan’s voicemails, as well as those of celebrities including Max Clifford and Elle Macpherson. He was jailed for six months in 2007 for intercepting messages left on royal aides’ phones. A spokeswoman for News International said the firm had no comment. Glenn Mulcaire Phone hacking Steve Coogan Newspapers & magazines News of the World National newspapers News International Newspapers guardian.co.uk
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Schmidt criticises division between science and arts and says UK ‘should look back to glory days of Victorian era’ The chairman of Google has delivered a devastating critique of the UK’s education system and said the country had failed to capitalise on its record of innovation in science and engineering. Delivering the annual MacTaggart lecture in Edinburgh, Eric Schmidt criticised “a drift to the humanities” and attacked the emergence of two educational camps, each of which “denigrate the other. To use what I’m told is the local vernacular, you’re either a luvvy or a boffin,” he said. Schmidt also hit out at Lord Sugar, the Labour peer and star of the hit BBC programme The Apprentice, who recently claimed on the show that “engineers are no good at business”. “Really?” Schmidt said. “I don’t think we’ve done too badly.” Schmidt told the MediaGuardian Edinburgh international TV festival: “Over the past century the UK has stopped nurturing its polymaths. You need to bring art and science back together.” The technology veteran, who joined Google a decade ago to help founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin build the company, said Britain should look to the “glory days” of the Victorian era for reminders of how the two disciplines can work together. “It was a time when the same people wrote poetry and built bridges,” he said. “Lewis Carroll didn’t just write one of the classic fairytales of all time. He was also a mathematics tutor at Oxford. James Clerk Maxwell was described by Einstein as among the best physicists since Newton – but was also a published poet.” Schmidt’s comments echoed sentiments expressed by Steve Jobs, the chief executive of Apple, who revealed he was stepping down this week. “The Macintosh turned out so well because the people working on it were musicians, artists, poets and historians – who also happened to be excellent computer scientists,” Jobs once told the New York Times. Schmidt paid tribute to Britain’s record of innovation, saying the UK had “invented computers in both concept and practice” before highlighting that the world’s first office computer “was built in 1951 by the Lyons chain of teashops”. However, he said the UK had failed to build industry-leading positions or successfully transfer ideas from the drawing board to the boardroom. “The UK is the home of so many media-related inventions. You invented photography. You invented TV,” he said. “Yet today, none of the world’s leading exponents in these fields are from UK.” He said British startups tended to sell out to overseas companies once they had reached a certain size, and that this trend needed to be reversed. “The UK does a great job of backing small firms and cottage industries, but there’s little point getting a thousand seeds to sprout if they are then left to wither or transplanted overseas. UK businesses need championing to help them grow into global powerhouses, without having to sell out to foreign-owned companies. If you don’t address this, then the UK will continue to be where inventions are born, but not bred for long-term success.” Schmidt said the country that invented the computer was “throwing away your great computer heritage” by failing to teach programming in schools. “I was flabbergasted to learn that today computer science isn’t even taught as standard in UK schools,” Schmidt said. “Your IT curriculum focuses on teaching how to use software, but gives no insight into how it’s made.” Barack Obama announced in June that the US would train an extra 10,000 engineers a year. “I hope that others will follow suit – the world needs more engineers. I saw the other day that on The Apprentice Alan Sugar said engineers are no good at business,” he said. “If the UK’s creative businesses want to thrive in the digital future, you need people who understand all facets of it integrated from the very beginning. Take a lead from the Victorians and ignore Lord Sugar: bring engineers into your company at all levels, including the top.” Schmidt also announced that Google TV, which allows users to search the internet on their TV sets, would be launched in Europe early next year, with the UK “among the top priorities”. The product is already available in America, although sales have been disappointing. Schmidt said Google TV did not threaten broadcasters and would enable them to experiment with new formats online. He defended the company’s contribution to the TV industry, pointing out that it had invested billions of dollars in IT infrastructure that media companies use. Google also announced it would fund a new course in online production and distribution at the National Film & Television School in London for three years. Eric Schmidt Google Education policy MediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival 2011 MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival Digital media Television industry Computing James Robinson guardian.co.uk
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Opposition activists voice anger over failed attempts to pass a UN security council resolution On the first Friday protests since Libyan rebels reached Tripoli with the assistance of Nato forces, Syrian protesters have called for international intervention in their struggle against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Until now, most Syrian protesters have insisted they do not need outside help, but on Friday in the western city of Homs video footage showed protesters carrying signs telling the UN its silence was killing them, as they expressed their anger at failed attempts to pass a security council resolution in the face of Russian and Chinese objections. The lack of a UN resolution has been the target of online activists too, with Twitter users trying to make the term #WakeUpUNSC trend popular. A growing number of opposition activists are now calling for a no-fly zone or an international protection force. This stands in stark contrast to just weeks ago when most Syrians refused any form of international action other than sanctions and the cutting of diplomatic ties with Assad and his supporters. But after almost six months of a brutal state crackdown, during which more than 2,200 people have been killed, the image of Libyan rebels in Tripoli’s Green Square has led some to change their position. At least two more protesters were killed on Friday as security forces shot at demonstrators in areas including Douma, close to Damascus, and the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. Activists called it the “Friday of patience and determination”. Other protesters still vehemently reject calls for international help and western diplomats say there is no appetite for intervening in a situation which could be potentially explosive. “Let’s be clear, France will not intervene without an international mandate,” Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said on Wednesday . While Syrian protesters have drawn the sympathy of the international community, it is largely toothless in pressuring the regime. The Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu , said on Thursday that Ankara would side with the Syrian people if it had to make a choice between the government and its citizens. A Damascus-based analyst, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “We should not be calling for outside help but rather working to unite the opposition so there is a credible alternative. Without that we won’t go anywhere.” Nour Ali is the pseudonym of a journalist based in Damascus Syria Arab and Middle East unrest Bashar Al-Assad United Nations France Middle East Nour Ali guardian.co.uk
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Tanks, heavy artillery and rocket launchers abandoned by fleeing Gaddafi forces are being assembled for attack Rebel units were massing for an attack on Sirte, Muammar Gaddafi’s birthplace, on Friday after Nato warplanes conducted intensive bombing raids to weaken one of the last major redoubts controlled by the ousted regime. On the road to Sirte from Misrata, tanks, heavy artillery and rocket launchers abandoned by fleeing government forces were being assembled for the attack. Rebels said a British and French special forces team was helping co-ordinate the assault, in which Misrata-based units will push eastwards to meet forces from Benghazi fighting their way westwards. As the National Transitional Council (NTC) attempted to establish itself in Tripoli, setting up offices and holding a press conference, its claims to complete authority were undermined by skirmishes with Gaddafi loyalists and the failure to find the ousted Libyan leader or his sons. The continued resistance of traditional Gaddafi strongholds like Sirte has also prevented the NTC from opening the coastal road – a principal artery of Libyan economic life – and uniting the main population centres, and it has yet to conquer the southern city of Sebha, reportedly home to a vast arsenal of weaponry. NTC attempts to broker a negotiated surrender by Gaddafi forces and loyalist tribes appeared to be failingon Friday, and Nato stepped up its barrage on stockpiled weapons in the town. Nato planes targeted 29 vehicles with mounted weapons, and British Tornado aircraft launched a missile attack on a large underground command bunker. Britain is also seeking approval from the UN security council to release about $1.6bn (£1bn) in Libyan bank notes printed in the UK but impounded in March, Associated Press reported. The money is needed to help the rebel government pay its public sector workers. Rebel fighters are commuting every day to the front line in what is a often family affair. Typically, one brother will join his brigade in Tripoli or outside Sirte while the other will stay on checkpoint duty in Misrata, swapping over the following day. “We keep going,” said Abdullah Maiteeg, a former oil engineer, who was preparing to leave for Tripoli to replace his own brother fighting there. He said the priority was to find Gaddafi. “We have to get the G-dog,” he said. “I don’t stop fighting until I see him.” Misrata-based rebels have also reached the outskirts of Beni Walid, 100 miles south-west, and are attempting to negotiate the surrender its loyalist defenders. They have been involved in some of the bloodiest battles in Tripoli this week, their home-made armoured vehicles much in demand as clashes continue. As one Gaddafi-run town after another has fallen, there has been mounting concern over the fate of their armouries, after the experience in Iraq where Saddam Hussein’s extensive arsenal was used by his supporters to make countless car-bombs to wreak havoc after he fell. Peter Bouckaert, the emergencies director at Human Rights Watch, returned from Libya in the spring reporting the existence of thousands of shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles in unguarded ammunition dumps around the country. He said he was contacted by western intelligence officials concerned they might fall into the hands of terrorists. Since then Bouckaert said there had been a substantial western and NTC effort to collect up those missiles, mostly Soviet-made Sam-7s. “My concern is that the western focus on Sam-7s obscures the threat of other munitions, like tank shells and artillery shells which can easily be turned into car bombs,” Bouckaert told the Guardian. “The biggest arsenals are under Sebha and Sirte where there are vast amouries. Gaddafi has been on a shopping spree for weapons since he came to power and he has everything you can imagine, from exotic weapons like napalm and recent anti-tank missiles which scattered magnetic mines over a large area, to old world war two mortars and shells.” The regime also had a stockpile of mustard gas which was being monitored by the west but has disappeared. The gas however, has not been been put into artillery, Bouckaert said. The widespread use of mines has contributed to the casualties among civilians and fighters alike. Misrata’s
Continue reading …NYT’s Keller Admits Paper ‘Late to Rev. Wright’ in 2008, But Claims It Handled Story Well
August 26, 2011 No CommentThe New York Times’s outgoing Executive Editor Bill Keller received some pushback on his recently posted column that demanded, in rather insulting fashion, that the media more aggressively question the religious views of the G.O.P. candidates. Times Watch and others noted that his paper was hardly a model of journalistic assertiveness during the spring of 2008, when Barack Obama endured political controversy over the racially inflammatory and conspiracy-minded Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's minister at Trinity United Church of Christ. Keller responded via Twitter on Friday morning: Yes, Dems should be asked about their faith (and influences) too. We were late to Rev. Wright in '08, but we got there, and did it well. Did they really? Times Watch’s coverage from March 2008 finds Keller half-right; his paper was late to the story, glossing over Wright’s rants on the attacks of September 11 and leaving off his notorious “God damn America” quote for months. But they did not cover it particularly well even after they woke up, instead comparing Obama's politically necessary political address on the matter to speeches on civil rights by JFK, LBJ, even Abraham Lincoln . The Times showed unseemly eagerness not only to help Obama move on from Wright, but to paint the confrontation to his political advantage against a racially challenged G.O.P. Reporters Larry Rohter and Michael Luo glowingly redited candidate Obama’s speech with trying to start a conversation on race in the March 20, 2008 ” Groups Respond to Obama's Call for National Discussion About Race .” “Religious groups and academic bodies, already receptive to Mr. Obama's plea for such a dialogue, seemed especially enthusiastic. Universities were moving to incorporate the issues Mr. Obama raised into classroom discussions and course work, and churches were trying to find ways to do the same in sermons and Bible studies.” A March 23, 2008 Week in Review piece by Janny Scott contrasted Obama, who “spoke with seriousness and gravity and at length” about race to Republicans who used code words to win elections: “Race did not disappear entirely from presidential campaigns; it went under cover. It lay buried in code phrases like ‘crime in the streets,’ ‘states' rights,’ and ‘welfare mothers.’” The celebration of Obama's speech on race even continued into Easter Sunday, in a front-page story by religion reporters Laurie Goodstein and Neela Banerjee. The Times canvassed pastors at mostly urban liberal churches to see how Obama's speech would politicize — I mean, enrich–their Easter sermons, in ” Obama Talk Fuels Easter Sermons — Some Religious Leaders Interweave Race and Resurrection.”
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President urges people in projected path of hurricane to ‘take precautions now. Don’t wait. Don’t delay’ Barack Obama has warned Americans to take hurricane Irene seriously and urged them to obey orders to evacuate from the path of what is likely to be an “extremely dangerous and costly” storm. “All indications point to this being a historic hurricane,” Obama said in a statement to reporters from Martha’s Vineyard, an island off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Fifty-five million people are potentially in Irene’s path, from the Carolinas to Cape Cod on the US east coast, and tens of thousands are evacuating as cities including New York brace for the powerful storm to hit. “I cannot stress this highly enough. If you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now. Don’t wait. Don’t delay,” Obama said. The White House said Obama would depart from his vacation in Martha’s Vineyard on Friday evening, one day earlier than planned, and return to Washington. Obama’s wife and daughters will travel back as planned on Saturday. Obama has held regular conference calls with aides on the storm, in a determined effort to learn from the mistakes of his predecessor George W Bush, who was heavily criticised for an ineffectual response after hurricane Katrina swamped New Orleans in 2005. “All of us have to take this storm seriously … If you are given an evacuation order, please follow it,” Obama said. Hurricane Irene Barack Obama Natural disasters and extreme weather United States guardian.co.uk
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Home secretary agrees to police request for ban of march planned through one of UK’s biggest Muslim communities The home secretary has agreed to a police request to ban the far-right English Defence League from staging a march through one of the UK’s biggest Muslim communities in east London. Theresa May said she would outlaw any marches in Tower Hamlets and four neighbouring boroughs – whether by the EDL or any other groups – for the next 30 days, having “balanced rights to protest against the need to ensure local communities and property are protected”. She added: “I know that the Metropolitan police are committed to using their powers to ensure communities and properties are protected.” Police sought the ban after the EDL – which has seen widespread public disorder at earlier rallies – planned to march on 3 September through Tower Hamlets, which has a significant Muslim community, many of Bangladeshi origin. In a statement the force said it made the request following information that prompted fears that the march could cause “serious public disorder, violence and damage”. It added: “Tactically we believe this is the best option to prevent this.” Chief Superintendent Julia Pendry warned EDL supporters to stay away. “We have made this decision [to seek the ban] based on specific intelligence and information, and our message is clear: we do not want people coming into the areas to attend these events.” The march had been vehemently opposed by community leaders, among them the two local MPs and the borough’s mayor, as well as a series of Muslim and Jewish groups. Fears that it could spark violence were exacerbated following this month’s rioting in many parts of London . The EDL emerged in Luton, another strongly Muslim area, in 2009. While it purports to oppose “Islamic extremism” the group insists it is not racist. However, its marches, aimed mainly at Muslim communities, have been seen as extremely provocative. A Guardian investigation into the EDL found repeated racism and threats of violence among supporters. Nick Lowles, director of the anti-extremist campaign group Searchlight, called May’s decision a victory for common sense. He said: “The EDL clearly intended to use the proposed march to bring violence and disorder to the streets of Tower Hamlets. Their plan has been foiled.” The veteran campaigner Peter Tatchell said that while he abhorred the EDL, he believed the ban was a “complete overreaction” and would prove counter-productive. He said: “I’m not sure we can defeat anti-democratic groups like the EDL using anti-democratic methods like banning marches. A far better tactic would be peaceful counter-marches and exposing the views of the EDL to public scrutiny.” Earlier this month May banned an EDL march through Telford, although the group was still able to congregate. Opponents urged the home secretary to follow suit in east London, particularly after links emerged between the EDL and the Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik . The gunman repeatedly praised the group in his rambling manifesto and claimed he had hundreds of EDL supporters as Facebook friends. The EDL insisted any admiration was one way and it did not condone his views. The group has struggled for legitimacy, even amid evidence it has picked up supporters as the better established far-right British National Party has been beset by internal divisions. According to Searchlight, the EDL has active support from people involved in earlier far-right groups, including the even more extreme Combat 18 and National Front. In February it attracted some unexpected support from the Daily Star newspaper , which tacitly endorsed its anti-Muslim views and said 98% of its readers supported them. But this lasted less than a week, with the paper’s owner, Richard Desmond, saying it had been done without his knowledge. English Defence League Police London The far right Theresa May Daily Star Peter Walker guardian.co.uk
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More than 370 cars set alight so far this year with police saying some crimes are ‘politically motivated’ against gentrification When the owner of the Mercedes locked their car on Wormser Strasse, Berlin on Thursday night, they probably knew it was risky. More than 370 cars have been set alight in the city this year, with the flashiest models being the chief victims. But with police in Berlin promising to put 500 officersand a helicopter in pursuit of the arsonists, the Mercedes’ owner may have thought they could sleep easy. Especially since this was the chi-chi district of Schöneberg, just a few minutes walk from the KaDeWe department store, Berlin’s answer to Harrods. But no. In the early hours of Friday morning the elusive firebugs struck again and the Mercedes became the 371st car to be torched in Berlin this year. A few minutes later an Audi in nearby Keithstrasse became the 372nd. A spokeswoman for the police said that of the 372 cars torched in 2011, 155 were being treated as “politically motivated” crimes. “That can be for a number of reasons,” she said. “Sometimes it’s because the cars are particularly valuable, sometimes it’s the area they were parked in, for example districts where we know there are leftwing groups who are against gentrification.” She specified the borough of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, which is historically a stronghold of the city’s angry left . So far only 13 suspects have been identified. Burning cars has long been a popular nocturnal pastime in Berlin, but the number of attacks this year has become a headache for the city’s administration. Until now the record year for car burnings was 2009, when 401 were set alight. Unless police quickly get a grip on the problem that record is likely to be smashed by the autumn. In a two-week period earlier this month 90 cars were targeted. It has become the hot campaigning topic for the city and state elections taking place in September. Even the chancellor has become involved, saying she is watching developments “with great concern”. One politician from Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union party has even floated the idea of Berliners forming a Bürgerwehr, a sort of unarmed citizens’ militia. Burkard Dregger told voters that if the party triumphs in September he will kit out 1,000 volunteers with truncheons and handcuffs. The idea was immediately rubbished by Germany’s police union. “Bounty hunters belong in westerns,” representative Klaus Eisenreich told the newspaper Die Welt. “Vigilante justice is a real risk. Solving the crime of car burning is a job for the police.” Berlin is not the only city in Germany facing the problem. On Wednesday morning four cars were set alight in the usually more obedient city of Düsseldorf, and Hamburg has also seen a number of attacks. Germany Europe Helen Pidd guardian.co.uk
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