John Tunney, 63, is seeking compensation for permanent injuries caused by unnecessary operation to remove tumour A former paramedic is seeking compensation and an investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) after part of his brain was removed in error by an NHS surgeon. John Tunney, from Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, suffered a haemorrhage and permanent brain injuries after he was subjected to unnecessary brain surgery, lawyers at Irwin Mitchell said. Tunney, 63, underwent a biopsy in 2008 after scans showed a tumour in his pituitary gland. During the procedure, at Walsgrave hospital in Coventry, a surgeon wrongly removed healthy brain tissue rather than the tumour, lawyers said. Tunney, who worked for West Midlands ambulance service, was left partially sighted and in need of constant supervision and support. Timothy Deeming from Irwin Mitchell described the blunder as “appalling”. He said the tumour had been found to be benign and could have been controlled with medication if blood test results had been reviewed before the biopsy. Deeming added: “The fact that the surgeon managed to remove perfectly healthy tissue rather than a sample of the tumour tissue is, in itself, an appalling error. To then find that the procedure was totally unnecessary because clinicians had failed to review a blood test really does add insult to injury. “The failings of the surgeon involved are so serious that the family is calling on the GMC to investigate his actions. We also very much hope that the trust has reviewed its procedures and, where necessary, retraining has taken place to ensure that lessons are learned to protect patients’ safety in the future.” University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust has admitted liability for the mistakes and apologised to Tunney. Richard Kennedy, chief medical officer, said: “I very much regret the tragic outcome for Mr Tunney and his family, and on behalf of the trust would like to apologise for this. “Since 2008, this case has been thoroughly reviewed through our governance process and I am confident that measures have been put in place to prevent this type of incident reoccurring. For example, we now collaborate with expert clinicians at other trusts in these kinds of cases.” Tunney’s wife, Pamela, said: “John’s brain injury has had devastating effects on him. Prior to the surgery, he was a very easygoing person who was always active and on the go. To see the change in him and to know that it was all entirely avoidable is extremely upsetting. “As a paramedic, based at the Small Heath ambulance station with more than 23 years experience of working with the NHS, John put his complete trust in his surgeon, believing that he was an expert who knew best. “It is appalling to think that the surgeon managed to botch the procedure completely. Then to find that the biopsy wasn’t even necessary makes me incredibly angry. This mistake is not something that the hospital can just take back. She added: “I pray that they don’t make this mistake again and no other family has to experience seeing their husband suffer the pain and loss that John has.” Deeming said: “The trust has now admitted liability for the errors. However, before a settlement can be reached, we will need to evaluate the substantial lifelong care and support that Mr Tunney will now require. “While no amount of money will turn back the clock for him and his family, the future settlement will hopefully provide him with financial security to pay for the lifetime of care that he will now need.” NHS Health guardian.co.uk
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Family of singer say reports showed alcohol but no drugs present in singer’s body at time of death The family of Amy Winehouse has revealed toxicology reports showed there were “no illegal substances” in her body at the time of her death. The 27-year-old singer was found dead at her north London home last month. Her family said the reports showed alcohol was present in her body, but it is not yet known if it contributed to her death. Winehouse’s father, Mitch Winehouse, had previously said she had “conquered her drug dependency” before she died. “Toxicology results returned to the Winehouse family by authorities have confirmed that there were no illegal substances in Amy’s system at the time of her death,” the family said in a statement on Tuesday. “Results indicate that alcohol was present, but it cannot be determined as yet if it played a role in her death. “The family would like to thank the police and coroner for their continuing thorough investigations and for keeping them informed throughout the process. They await the outcome of the inquest in October.” Winehouse was discovered by her bodyguard at her Camden flat at around 4pm on Saturday 23 July. An initial postmortem examination proved inconclusive, and an inquest was opened and adjourned with no cause of death given. At her funeral on 27 July, Mitch Winehouse said she had recently “completed three weeks of abstinence”, adding that she had told him: “Dad, I’ve had enough of drinking, I can’t stand the look on your and the family’s faces any more.” He had announced that he would set up an Amy Winehouse Foundation in memory of the singer and was flooded with donations, only to have to put plans on hold last week after a “dickhead” beat the family to registering the website domain name . He had hoped the foundation would be able to “help all children in need”, but said he was having to return all donations. “We all have to bombard the tabloids’ websites to put pressure on this dickhead who stole our foundation name,” he wrote on Twitter. “This person was offering to sell [the] name on [a] website.” Amy Winehouse had fought a well documented battle with drink and drugs. In the month before she died, she was booed off stage in Belgrade on the first night of what had been billed as a 12-show comeback tour. The dates were later cancelled. The singer rose to fame in 2003 with the release of her debut album, Frank. Her second and last album, Back to Black, was released in 2006, reaching No 1 in the UK. In the week after her death, the album again topped the UK chart as fans mourned the singer. Amy Winehouse Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk
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Tristane Banon’s lawyer says she is in ‘a fighting mood’ as US prosecutor drops charges based on Nafissatou Diallo’s claims The French writer and journalist who claims Dominique Strauss-Kahn attempted to rape her eight years ago is more determined than ever to bring him to justice, her lawyer said on Tuesday. Tristane Banon claims the former IMF chief sexually assaulted her when she went to interview him for a book she was writing in 2003. Banon, 32, who was friends with Strauss-Kahn’s daughter Camille and is a goddaughter of his second wife, described his behaviour as “like a rutting chimpanzee”. Her lawyer David Koubbi, who travelled to New York to see prosecutor Cyrus Vance and meet Nafissatou Diallo, said he was dismayed by the New York prosecutor’s decision to drop the sexual assault charges against the politician. “I regret this outcome. I regret it for Nafissatou Diallo because I believed what she said,” he said. “I spoke to Tristane on Monday evening by telephone, then during the night, then this morning [Tuesday]. She is in a fighting mood. She isn’t ready to let this drop. But she feels sorry for what has happened to Nafissatou Diallo because she also believed her.” He added: “The credibility of my client is not, and has never been, called into question because of this.” Banon’s allegations are the subject of a preliminary inquiry that Koubbi said had “not yet been completed”. Strauss-Kahn’s Paris lawyers have dismissed her accusations as “fantasy”. “The DSK affair in France has only just begun,” Koubbi said, adding that the “self-congratulatory” statements from members of Strauss-Kahn’s Socialist party who defended their former presidential hope, showed a “crass indecency”. Dominique Strauss-Kahn IMF France Europe Kim Willsher guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …‘Malice in Wonderland’ Rewrite has Tea Party led by ‘Mad Hatter’ Bachmann
August 23, 2011 No Comment
The left and its media allies have systematically reduced Tea Party members to caricatures, calling them everything from “bigots” to “racists” to “terrorists,” hoping to make something stick. The latest installment is rewrite of the famous story tale “Alice in Wonderland,” in which their “Mad Hatter” leader is none other than GOP presidential contender Michele Bachmann. TBTM Media, the authors of “Going Rouge: The Sarah Palin Rogue Coloring & Activity Book” have unveiled their latest attack on conservatives with, “Malice in Wonderland: A Tea Party Fable,” in which they proudly claim that they have rewritten the Lewis Carroll classic to reflect “a bizarro world populated by Tea Party crazies!” Every conservative leader and commentator is excoriated in this tale, from Republican front runner Michele Bachmann as the Mad Hatter to Queen of Hearts Sarah Palin and even the “metaphorically challenged phallic symbol” Andrew Breitbart, as The Caterpillar. Ann Coulter stars as The Duchess, Michelle Malkin as her “shrieking ranchor pig baby,” and Glenn Beck, who “scribbles madly on his Chalkboard” as the Match Hare. The story, which can be purchased in book form, is fully illustrated with a cover drawing of Bachmann displaying her “crazy eyes” while wearing a Gadsden “don't tred on me” top hat in front of a misspelled sign that reads “Kik Him Out!” This attack on Bachmann follows a recent media firestorm, when an intentionally unflattering photo of her appeared on the cover of Newsweek magazine with the title “Queen of Rage.” TBTM author and “Malice in Wonderland” writer Julie Sigwart appears frequently on the unhinged lefty blog Daily Kos and is the author of “Going Rouge: The Sarah Palin Rogue Coloring & Activity Book.” The book portrayed the former governor as a pistol packing, cleavage baring character, with activities such as “match lipstick to pigs.” The book was featured in the Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, and on the “Today” show. As the Culture and Media Institute has documented, the left takes a no-holds-barred approach to attacking conservative figures , and especially conservative women .
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High court refuses judicial review of decision to remove 5,000-year-old ‘royal’ remains from Stonehenge for analysis A druid leader who claims to be the incarnation of a legendary British king has suffered defeat in the latest legal skirmish of his long-running battle over the removal of ancient remains from Stonehenge . King Arthur Pendragon appeared at the high court in London to argue that the “royal” remains should be returned to their age-old resting place in Wiltshire. Pendragon, a 57-year-old former soldier and biker who changed his name by deed poll, wanted the high court to give permission for a judicial review of the government’s decision to allow the remains to be taken away for analysis. But Mr Justice Wyn Williams refused King Arthur, ruling there was insufficient evidence to show the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) had acted unreasonably. Outside court Pendragon, who styles himself as battle chieftain of the Council of British Druid Orders and “titular head and chosen chief” of the Loyal Arthurian Warband druid order, remained defiant. Wearing white flowing robes, he called for a day of action on Monday to draw attention to the cause. He said: “Even though on this occasion my appeal has been dismissed I am still very much hopeful that I can win in the future. “I wasn’t asking for the bones to be put back straight away, I simply wanted confirmation that they will be returned to the site as soon as possible.” He said druids felt the remains were “guardians” of the site. The judge heard that the cremated remains of more than 40 bodies – thought to be at least 5,000 years old – were removed from a burial site at Stonehenge in 2008 , with ministers giving researchers from Sheffield University permission to keep the bones until 2015. Pendragon, who represented himself, said the bones were remains of members of the “royal line” or “priest caste” who could have been the “founding fathers of this great nation”. He told the judge he feared the remains would never be returned, but moved to a museum, adding that the MoJ had “unreasonably” failed to take account of his views. The MoJ denied the allegation. Researchers say their work on the remains is yielding “fascinating insights” into the history of the site. After the decision English Heritage, which manages the site , said the scientists wanted to keep the remains until 2015 so full analysis could be carried out. “Otherwise we will lose an opportunity to learn more about this important site,” a spokesman added. A spokesperson for the University of Sheffield said: “Research on the cremated bones is beginning to yield fascinating insights about the people of Stonehenge. “Due to the large number of remains and the fact many of them were mixed together by archaeologists in the 1920s, study of them has been difficult and time consuming. However, we will now be able to apply new scientific techniques, developed only in the last few years, to find out more about who these people were. “Human remains are an important part of our shared past and they should be treated with respect. The benefit of the research is balanced with any ethical concerns that may be caused by excavations.” Stonehenge Heritage Research Anthropology Archaeology Steven Morris guardian.co.uk
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Police watchdog investigates after man who was arrested for alleged affray in Widnes falls ill and dies in hospital The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating after pepper spray was used to arrest a 25-year-old man who became ill and died in hospital less than two hours later. The man, who has not yet been identified, is understood to have struggled during his arrest at 5.15pm on Monday in Lacey Street, Widnes, Cheshire. The arrest was for alleged affray. He was detained and restrained and taken by police van to Runcorn police station. Shortly afterwards, he became ill and paramedics were called. He was taken to Warrington general hospital by ambulance, where he was pronounced dead at 7.09pm. Investigators from the IPCC have been sent to Widnes to begin gathering evidence and gain initial accounts from police officers. A spokesman for the IPCC said: “During the course of the arrest it is understood police deployed pepper spray.” The man, who has not yet been named, was “restrained” and taken by police van to Runcorn police station, the spokesman said. He added: “Shortly after arrival he became unwell and paramedics were called.” A postmortem is due to be carried out on Tuesday. The man’s parents have been informed and investigators will be speaking to them to explain the IPCC’s role and what is known at this stage. Cheshire police have not made any comment about the death. It is the second time in a week that someone has died following their arrest. Last week in Cumbria, 27-year-old Dale Burns died after he was Tasered and sprayed with pepper spray at his home in Barrow. The IPCC is investigating his death and appealing for witnesses. A postmortem failed to establish a cause of death. Police Independent Police Complaints Commission Helen Carter guardian.co.uk
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Labour MP Tom Watson wants Electoral Commission to investigate whether payments and benefits to former No 10 communications director amounted to political donations The Electoral Commission is being asked to investigate whether News International payments to Andy Coulson after he started working for the Conservative party may have broken the law. Tom Watson, a Labour MP and a member of the Commons culture committee, said he wanted the Electoral Commission to investigate whether the payments and benefits – which reportedly included private health insurance and a company car – should have been declared because they amounted to a political donation. MPs on the committee are also angry because the reports appear to contradict evidence given to it by Coulson himself. The former News of the World editor, who worked as David Cameron’s communications chief from July 2007 until January this year, is expected to face further questioning from the committee about the payments. On Monday night, the BBC’s Robert Peston said Coulson had received several hundred thousand pounds from News International after he started working for Tories. Coulson was known to have received a payoff after he resigned from the News of the World in January 2007 following the conviction of the journalist Clive Goodman and the investigator Glenn Mulcaire for phone hacking. But Peston said Coulson received his severance pay in instalments, and that he continued receiving money from News International until the end of 2007. Peston also said Coulson continued to receive his News International work benefits, such as healthcare, for three years and that he kept his company car. The report casts doubt on the reliability of the evidence that Coulson gave to the culture committee in 2009. Coulson, who at the time was working for the Conservative party on a reported salary of £275,000 – roughly half what he was thought to have been earning at the News of the World – said he did not have any “secondary income”. Watson asked: “So your sole income was News International and then your sole income was the Conservative party?” Coulson replied: “Yes.” Rebekah Brooks, the former News International chief executive, appeared to confirm this when she gave evidence to the committee in July. Asked if the company had “subsidised” Coulson’s salary after he left the News of the World, she said: “That’s not true.” On Tuesday, John Whittingdale, the Conservative MP who chairs the culture committee, said Coulson and News International should have been more open with the committee about the nature of this arrangement. “As I understand it, these were staggered payments from a severance package. So, arguably, that’s just delayed pay,” Whittingdale said. “But if it is also true that Coulson was provided with a car and health insurance, then I would have expected him to have made that clear. And I would have expected News International to have made that clear when we asked them about it.” The committee is not meeting until September, but Whittingdale said it may decide to demand further clarification on these matters from Coulson and News International. Watson said on Tuesday the committee would have to establish whether it had been “misled”. But he said that the Electoral Commission also had to establish whether the payments and benefits constituted donations to the Conservative party that should have been declared. “If it transpires that these payments were made in a discretionary fashion, rather than honouring the commitments of Mr Coulson’s contract, then I think they probably do form a donation and they should have been declared,” he said. “Every single day there seems to be a new revelation that contradicts what has previously been said. I want the Electoral Commission to try and get to the facts of this case. They have powers of investigation.” Watson also said that Cameron should have been embarrassed to learn that Rupert Murdoch was still paying for Coulson’s car and for Coulson’s health insurance several years after Coulson started working for the Tories. “I just pose the question – if Alastair Campbell when he was working for Tony Blair had had his car paid and his health insurance paid – what would the reaction of the Murdoch papers be?” Watson asked. The commission said it had not yet received a complaint about the individual allegations and refused to spell out whether such payments might have been considered undeclared donations, directing inquiries to their rules regulating donations. According to the rules, staff of political parties are not considered regulated donees in their own right unless they are a member of the party and they receive money for use in their political work. Payments to a member of staff could however be considered a donation in kind to a party if it saved the party paying for items itself. As such, if the payments were in anyway considered a co-payment or top-up to subsidise his party wage it could count as a donation. Alternatively if the health insurance or company car he reportedly enjoyed for three years after leaving News International subsidised the party paying for such items itself, it could also be considered a donation. In July, the Conservatives denied Coulson was paid by News International while he was working for the party or the government. A senior Conservative party official told the Guardian: “We can give categorical assurances that he wasn’t paid by any other source. Andy Coulson’s only salary, his only form of income, came from the party during the years he worked for the party and in government.” Labour’s culture spokesman, Ivan Lewis, put out a statement on Tuesday demanding more “transparency” from Cameron and News International. “David Cameron needs to say whether he knew about the payments to Andy Coulson. The details of Mr Coulson’s termination agreements with News International must be published and we need to know whether these payments, in the form of honouring a two-year contract of employment after he had been forced to resign in disgrace, were declared to the parliamentary authorities,” Lewis said. “It must be explained why Mr Coulson was getting these payments when he resigned from the News of the World. “The longer these questions are unanswered the more damage will be done to the prime minister’s reputation.” Andy Coulson News of the World Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers News International Conservatives Tom Watson Ivan Lewis Phone hacking Andrew Sparrow Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
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Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico lashed by winds and rain as storm strengthens and moves towards south-eastern states US authorities are gearing up for the first hurricane to make landfall since 2008 as Hurricane Irene strengthened across the Caribbean, wreaking havoc in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The US National Hurricane Center said Irene, currently classified as a category 2 storm, could increase in intensity to category 3, with winds reaching more than 111mph (178km/h) before hitting the south-east US coast, including Florida, North and South Carolina, by the weekend. Around 800,000 people in the Dominican Republic were left without power by the storm, which felled trees, swelled rivers over their banks and flooded some roads. Earlier, Irene buffeted Puerto Rico with winds and heavy rain, knocking out power and downing trees. Governor Luis Fortuño said the worst hit area was the east coast, from Fajardo to Yabucoa, and he asked the US government to declare the island a disaster area so it can gain access to emergency funds. In Haiti there were fears that rain could trigger floods and mudslides. The country is still struggling to recover from the devastating earthquake of 2010. Irene, the first hurricane of this year’s Atlantic season, also looks set to be the first to hit the US since Ike landed on the Texas coast in 2008. Forecasters expect the storm to swing parallel to the Florida coast on Thursday and have warned it could hit North or South Carolina on Saturday. US authorities along the Atlantic seaboard from Miami to New York are monitoring its progress closely, with at least some computer forecast models showing the storm could sweep close to New York early next week. Barack Obama, currently on holiday in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, has been briefed, White House officials said. Natural disasters and extreme weather United States Puerto Rico Dominican Republic guardian.co.uk
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Seven in 10 people say those convicted of riot-related offences should get tougher sentences than they would normally expect The British public strongly supports tougher sentencing for those involved in rioting, a Guardian/ICM poll has found. Some 70% of respondents believe that those convicted of riot-related offences should receive a tougher sentence than they might ordinarily expect. The severity of sentences has been the focus of much debate after two men were jailed for four years after using Facebook in a failed attempt to incite a riot and a woman jailed for receiving stolen shorts was freed on appeal . The poll also showed that support for the Conservatives in August remained steady at 37%, the same as July and one point ahead of Labour. The Liberal Democrats were up one point to 17%. David Cameron has championed severe punishments for rioters, telling the House of Commons that anyone convicted “should expect to go to jail”, and threw his support behind the sentencing in the Facebook case, saying the court decided “to send a tough message and I think it’s very good that courts are able to do that”. The prime minister has faced criticism for his stance, however, with MPs, lawyers and campaigners warning against “disproportionate” sentencing. The Guardian/ICM poll asked: “Do you think that people convicted of theft or other offences during the recent riots in London and elsewhere should or should not receive a tougher prison sentence than they might ordinarily expect in order to set an example of them?” Of the respondents, 70% believed they should receive a tougher sentence, while 25% believed they should not, with 5% saying they did not know. The survey found those who would vote Conservative were more likely than Labour and Lib Dem voters to favour tougher action (82% versus 65% and 60% respectively), while tougher sentencing is also preferred by more women (74%) than men (66%). The poll showed that those in social group DE were far more likely to think rioters should receive tougher sentencing than those in the higher income AB group. In the DE group 80% of people believed those involved should receive harsher sentences, while in the AB group only 64% were of the same opinion. Last week the leading criminal barrister John Cooper QC warned that judges and magistrates had a duty “not to be influenced by angry Britain”, describing some of the sentences handed down already as “disproportionate and somewhat hysterical”. Senior Liberal Democrats also urged caution, opening up a rift in the coalition. The Lib Dem peer Lord Macdonald, who led the prosecution service in England and Wales for five years, warned that the courts risked being swept up in a “collective loss of proportion” , passing jail terms that lack “humanity or justice”. His fellow peer Lord Carlile, the barrister who was until this year the government’s independent adviser on terrorism strategy, warned against ministerial interference in the judicial process, arguing that “just filling up prisons” would not prevent future problems. The former party leader Sir Menzies Campbell said it was important that “political influence is not directed at the judicial system”. “With all due deference to the prime minister, politicians should not be either cheering or booing in the matter of sentencing,” he said. • ICM Research interviewed a random sample of 1,004 adults aged 18+ by telephone on 19-21 August 2011. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. UK riots Opinion polls Adam Gabbatt guardian.co.uk
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• UK factory orders in better shape • Eurozone manufacturing starts contracting • German ZEW confidence index plunges • Drop in global demand blamed The eurozone economy slipped closer to stagnation this month as the region’s manufacturing sector contracted for the first time since September 2009. Data released on Tuesday showed that Germany’s private sector grew at its slowest pace in over two years in August, while France’s manufacturing output shrank, dragging the overall eurozone manufacturing sector into reverse. Economists warned that the European economy has slowed sharply in the last few months and may struggle to expand at all this quarter. “The eurozone economy grew only marginally again in August, suggesting that recent months have seen the weakest expansion for two years,” said Chris Williamson of Markit, which compiles the research. “The data raises the prospect that economic growth in the third quarter could be even slower than the disappointing 0.2% rise seen in the three months to June ,” he predicted. UK factories fared better during August, though, with the CBI reporting growth in order books and an increase in the number of manufacturers predicting increased output later this year. Confidence suffers Markit’s monthly healthcheck of the eurozone found that the total activity across the region was flat month-on-month at 51.1, above the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction. But French manufacturing output dropped to 49.3, its first contraction since July 2009. The overall eurozone manufacturing sector came in at 49.7. Germany’s manufacturing sector, the powerhouse of Europe, increased its output to 52, but this was marred by a drop in service activity to just 50.4. Williamson said that the eurozone economy had suffered from a drop in global demand, which dampened demand for exports. The ongoing euro debt crisis has also hit business confidence. Seperate data from Germany underlined how the financial crisis has hit sentiment. The ZEW index, which tracks invester confidence, fell sharply this month. Economists said the size of the drop was surprising, and matched the plunge seen after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The ZEW economic expectations index dropped to -37.6 from a reading of -15.1 in July. “The skepticism with regard to future economic growth shown by a growing number of financial market experts during the previous months has increased dramatically,” said Wolfgang Franz, president of the Mannheim-based Center for European Economic Research, or ZEW. Subdued picture Martin van Vliet of ING said that the Markit data was not as bad as feared, but indicated that there was little sign of economic expansion in Europe. “Despite the lack of change from last month, the August flash PMI survey still paints a very subdued picture. With little prospect of a near-term pick-up in external demand and the impact of the recent financial market turbulence yet to fully feed through into activity we cannot be too complacent about the risk of a new eurozone recession,” van Vliet warned. Earlier, HSBC’s preliminary purchasing managers’ index showed that China’s manufacturing sector had contracted for the second month running in August. However there was optimism that the index rose to 49.8 from 49.3, showing that the decline had slowed. HSBC chief economist Qu Hongbin said this showed there was little risk of China’s economy suffering a “hard landing’, after years of strong growth. Europe Europe Manufacturing data Economics Manufacturing sector Global economy Graeme Wearden guardian.co.uk
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