Former government adviser says sentence discounts could make convictions more difficult and stop victims coming forward A high-ranking former police officer who advised the government on rape for 10 years has said proposals to halve sentences for attackers who plead guilty will make it harder to convict rapists and could deter victims from coming forward. Dave Gee – who was recently commended by the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), Sir Hugh Orde, as the UK’s leading authority on rape investigation – said he felt “despair” when he heard Kenneth Clarke appear to suggest some rape cases were more serious than others , and accused the justice secretary of ignorance of the subject and the law. The former head of Derbyshire CID told the Guardian that Clarke’s plan to increase the discounted tariff for rape when assailants admitted guilt to 50%, alongside crimes like robbery and burglary, downplayed the severity of the offence, in turn inviting officers to investigate it less thoroughly. He also said Clarke had got the law wrong when he claimed that a case of an 18-year-old having sex with a 15-year-old girl would be treated as rape even if she were willing. In fact in those circumstances the crime would be unlawful sexual intercourse; statutory rape is when the girl is 13 or under. In an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live on Wednesday, Clarke rejected a suggestion that “rape is rape” and talked about “serious rape with violence and an unwilling woman”. Gee, who travelled the country advising police forces on how to increase conviction rates in his work for the Home Office and Acpo, said: “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. When I listened to it again to check my hearing of it, it was even worse then I’d thought. “It showed an ignorance of the facts and about rape in general. He drew an obvious distinction between ‘serious’ rape and other categories. “It legitimises the myth that ‘proper’ rape must involve violence and injury. It sends a message to jurors who have an attitude that there are degrees of rape that they are right and may make them less likely to convict.” Gee said it was “outrageous” for Clarke to get his facts wrong on statutory rape. “He’s responsible for justice and he doesn’t know the law.” On the sentencing proposals, he said: “Why is rape being included with what are currently deemed to be lesser offences? It will weaken the investigative mindset of officers at the outset. “At a time when we’re trying to get more people to report rape, this announcement will have done nothing to help and may even have reversed those efforts. What are they thinking of?” He also criticised Clarke for suggesting victims wanted to be spared the trauma of going to court, saying that for many it was an important part of the cathartic process. Gee, a retired detective chief superintendent, for five years managed Acpo’s rape support programme, which worked with forces around the country to improve their handling of rape cases and drive up conviction rates. He also worked with officials in the Home Office dealing with policy on sexual violence and co-wrote Acpo’s national guidance on rape. He left his role in March this year voluntarily and has not been replaced, but still does unpaid work with voluntary organisations and talks to police forces when asked. Kenneth Clarke Rape UK criminal justice Rachel Williams guardian.co.uk
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• FA board agrees to reject both Blatter and Bin Hammam • Decision taken due to ‘a well-reported range of issues’ The Football Association’s board has decided to abstain in the vote for the presidency of Fifa, citing “a well-reported range of issues”. The decision to support neither Sepp Blatter nor his Qatari challenger Mohamed bin Hammam in the vote on 1 June had been expected following the recent allegations of bribery surrounding Qatar’s successful bid for the 2022 World Cup. Bin Hammam, central to the Qatar bid, denies any wrongdoing. The FA chairman David Bernstein said: “There are a well-reported range of issues both recent and current which, in the view of the FA board, make it difficult to support either candidate. “The FA values its relationships with its international football partners extremely highly. We are determined to play an active and influential role through our representation within both Uefa and Fifa. “We will continue to work hard to bring about any changes we think would benefit all of international football.” Bernstein had previously admitted that “it wouldn’t go down very well” with the public if the FA board decided to vote for the 75-year-old Blatter. He said: “We will look at the recent events and take that on board. There are two candidates and three possible decisions, the other being that we will abstain.” One of the board members from the amateur game is Roger Burden, who withdrew his application to become FA chairman after the World Cup vote in December, saying he would have to work with Fifa and “I am not prepared to deal with people whom I cannot trust”. The Premier League members may have argued in favour of Bin Hammam – they have developed close links with the head of the Asian confederation – but evidently did not win a majority. The FA Fifa Sepp Blatter Mohamed bin Hammam David Bernstein guardian.co.uk
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Move comes after peer uses parliamentary privilege to discuss former RBS chief’s injunction in Lords The high court has partially lifted a gagging order brought by Sir Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, just hours after details of his alleged extra-marital affair were made public in the House of Lords. Mr Justice Tugendhat varied the injunction to allow publication of Goodwin’s name, but not details of the alleged relationship and the name of the woman said to be involved. Goodwin obtained the wide-ranging injunction against the Sun newspaper in March. News Group Newspapers, the News International subsidiary that publishes the Sun, went to the high court on Thursday afternoon seeking to get the injunction lifted. However, by that point Goodwin had already informed the high court “that he did not wish to persuade the court to continue the anonymity,” according to his lawyer, Hugh Tomlinson QC. Tugendhat then amended the wide-ranging injunction to allow Goodwin to be named, but to prevent reporting of the detail of his alleged “sexual relationship” with a colleague. Tugendhat said: “The main point is that this is an injunction relating to a sexual relationship. The existing order of Mrs Justice Sharp prohibits the naming of the other person to the relationship and prohibits the publication of any details. That remains in force.” The injunction – which even prevented Goodwin from being identified as a banker – was raised by Lord Stoneham, a Liberal Democrat peer, earlier on Thursday during a debate in the upper house. Stoneham’s comments are protected by parliamentary privilege. Stoneham, speaking on behalf of fellow Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott, said during the debate: “Would [the speaker] accept that every taxpayer has a direct public interest in the events leading up to the collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland? “So how can it be right for a injunction to hide the alleged relationship between Sir Fred Goodwin and a senior colleague? If true it would be a serious breach of corporate governance and not even the Financial Services Authority would know about it.” Following the Lords claims on Thursday morning, Lord McNally, the minister of state for justice and deputy leader of the Lords, revealed that the Ministry of Justice does not know how many superinjunctions presently exist. The ability of MPs and peers to bypass gagging orders issued against the media is likely to feature in a report on superinjunctions by the master of the rolls, Lord Neuberger, on Friday. However, the culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, on Thursday ruled out new legislation to deal specifically with the issue of balancing privacy and freedom of speech, saying that a privacy law was “not the way forward”. He added: “We’re not minded to have a new privacy law but we’re not ruling out the need for legislative changes.” •
Continue reading …As the GOP field of candidates crumbles,The Politico revs up the spin machine for Mitch Daniels with a typical fawning profile: GOP elite see Mitch Daniels as 2012 savior Top Republicans are increasingly convinced that President Barack Obama will be easily reelected if stronger GOP contenders do not emerge, and some are virtually begging Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels to add some excitement to the slow-starting nomination race . It’s a sign of the GOP’s straits that the party is depending on the bland, wonkish Daniels for an adrenaline boost. But interviews this week with longtime party activists and strategists made clear that many in the Republican establishment are unnerved by a field led by Mitt Romney, who could have trouble confronting Obama on health reform ; Tim Pawlenty, who has yet to ignite excitement; Jon Huntsman, who may be too moderate to get the nomination; and Newt Gingrich, weighed down by personal baggage and a sense that he is a polarizing figure from the 1990s. Despairing Republican lobbyists say their colleagues don’t ask, “Who do you like?” but instead, “Who do we back?” “It’s not that they’re up in arms,” said a central player in the GOP money machine. “It’s just that they’re depressed.” It’s a very weird article because it’s not about how great Daniels is and how fired up the Republicans elite are over his possible candidacy, but rather how weak the rest of the GOP field is. There really isn’t much about Daniels at all in the article that’s supposedly about him. The headline doesn’t match the substance of the piece itself, but I guess they want links from bloggers like me. The MSM began lining up behind Mitch Daniels in May because he’s a conservative governor, as Ed Kilgore explains in TNR: “The conservative establishment’s hopeless infatuation with Mitch Daniels” Later he expanded on this here: Mitch Daniels and the Gravitas Lobby Which leads Digby to write: The Villagers’ New Heartthrob Daniels also has some baggage I don’t think the Villagers realize is poison among just about everyone — he was a member of George W. Bush’s economic team. Now, Republicans don’t really care about that but they have gone to a great deal of trouble to distance themselves from Bush’s epic failure by robotically claiming that they didn’t support Bush’s spending either. Daniels is going to have a bit of trouble making that argument and you can bet his primary rivals will hang Bush’s effigy around his neck and set it afire. The mere idea that a Bush economic advisor has “gravitas” would be astonishing if we weren’t living in bizarroworld. So out came stories about his Daniels’ wife. As Doug J at Balloon Juice writes: Oh Cheri, all alone I think Daniels is a weak primary candidate for a variety of reasons, but there’s no doubt Daniels will be establishment media’s favored candidate in both the primary and, if he gets there, the general. He’s the new John McCain. So his personal life will not be explored. Funny how this never happens with Democratic candidates. What was the top news story of last week? Obviously Bin Laden’s demise. CNN’s Reliable Sources TV show focuses on how the media covers the most important stories that drive the news for the past week. After Bin Laden was killed, the right wing then tried to shift the debate to justify torture so it became a two pronged lead in a sense. What story did Reliable Sources begin their show with? The wives of GOP candidates running for President in 2012. And one of those wives who was featured was Cheri Daniels . HOWARD KURTZ, HOST: Running for public office these days means subjecting your family to a whole lot of journalist scrutiny. From Bill Clinton’s marriage, to Sarah Palin’s kids, to the pain of Elizabeth Edwards, the media glare can be harsh, as we saw again this week. Should Newt Gingrich’s third wife — you know, the one he had the affair with — be on the front page of “The New York Times”? What about Mitch Daniels divorcing and then remarrying his wife? Front page news? Should Arnold Schwarzenegger split with Maria Shriver be all over the airwaves? Are journalists trying to probe our political leaders or just play the gossip game? — I’m Howard Kurtz, and this is RELIABLE SOURCES. One day before he jumped into the presidential race, Newt Gingrich was greeted by a front-page picture of his wife Callista. She is, according to “The New York Times,” perhaps best remembered for the six-year affair that contributed to her husband’s downfall, when he was speaker of the House, of course, and pushing to impeach Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair. But now, says the paper, he is counting on the third Mrs. Gingrich for his political redemption. Another page one story in The Times this week zeroed in on Mitch Daniels’ wife Cheri, who divorced him in the ’90s, married another man, and then remarried Daniels. And the Indiana governor hasn’t decided even whether to run for president. The “Los Angeles Times” reported this week that it had approached Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver about their deteriorating marriage and gotten a statement saying the movie-star-turned-governor and his wife had separated. Given their star power, the coverage quickly exploded.
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Two people treated for minor injuries and residents evacuated as black smoke drifts over city Fifty firefighters are tackling a spectacular fire in the east end of Newcastle upon Tyne that has sent clouds of black smoke billowing over the famous Byker Wall flats. Residents have been warned to stay inside and shut all doors and windows as thick smoke poured from tyres and oil-soaked car wrecks at a scrapyard in nearby Albion Row. A small number of local people were evacuated from their homes in Northumberland Row but are expected to be allowed back within hours. Six staff working at the yard left after raising the alarm, when smouldering smoke in a six-month-old pile of scrap suddenly burst into flames. The column of smoke could be seen from miles and led to anxious calls to police from people across Northumbria and county Durham. Hundreds of people gathered to watch as crews fought to stop the fire spreading to a neighbouring timber yard. The scrapyard’s managers said there was a 2,000-litre fuel store on the site, and emergency services are trying to check whether the scrap contained potentially dangerous chemicals. Two people have been treated by paramedics for minor injuries. No other buildings have been affected. Northumbria police closed local roads, including Leighton Street and Byker Bank, which runs by the 1960s Byker Wall above the Tyne. A further two roads, Ford and Lime Streets, were later closed and Albion Row was sealed off. The alarm was raised at 12.25pm. It has been too dangerous for forensic teams to start checking for possible causes of the blaze. The Byker Wall was designed as a “village in the sky” by the architect Ralph Erskine. Its 620 flats and maisonettes were built in the 1970s and have been the setting for many TV series and films. Newcastle Martin Wainwright guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Two people treated for minor injuries and residents evacuated as black smoke drifts over city Fifty firefighters are tackling a spectacular fire in the east end of Newcastle upon Tyne that has sent clouds of black smoke billowing over the famous Byker Wall flats. Residents have been warned to stay inside and shut all doors and windows as thick smoke poured from tyres and oil-soaked car wrecks at a scrapyard in nearby Albion Row. A small number of local people were evacuated from their homes in Northumberland Row but are expected to be allowed back within hours. Six staff working at the yard left after raising the alarm, when smouldering smoke in a six-month-old pile of scrap suddenly burst into flames. The column of smoke could be seen from miles and led to anxious calls to police from people across Northumbria and county Durham. Hundreds of people gathered to watch as crews fought to stop the fire spreading to a neighbouring timber yard. The scrapyard’s managers said there was a 2,000-litre fuel store on the site, and emergency services are trying to check whether the scrap contained potentially dangerous chemicals. Two people have been treated by paramedics for minor injuries. No other buildings have been affected. Northumbria police closed local roads, including Leighton Street and Byker Bank, which runs by the 1960s Byker Wall above the Tyne. A further two roads, Ford and Lime Streets, were later closed and Albion Row was sealed off. The alarm was raised at 12.25pm. It has been too dangerous for forensic teams to start checking for possible causes of the blaze. The Byker Wall was designed as a “village in the sky” by the architect Ralph Erskine. Its 620 flats and maisonettes were built in the 1970s and have been the setting for many TV series and films. Newcastle Martin Wainwright guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Two people treated for minor injuries and residents evacuated as black smoke drifts over city Fifty firefighters are tackling a spectacular fire in the east end of Newcastle upon Tyne that has sent clouds of black smoke billowing over the famous Byker Wall flats. Residents have been warned to stay inside and shut all doors and windows as thick smoke poured from tyres and oil-soaked car wrecks at a scrapyard in nearby Albion Row. A small number of local people were evacuated from their homes in Northumberland Row but are expected to be allowed back within hours. Six staff working at the yard left after raising the alarm, when smouldering smoke in a six-month-old pile of scrap suddenly burst into flames. The column of smoke could be seen from miles and led to anxious calls to police from people across Northumbria and county Durham. Hundreds of people gathered to watch as crews fought to stop the fire spreading to a neighbouring timber yard. The scrapyard’s managers said there was a 2,000-litre fuel store on the site, and emergency services are trying to check whether the scrap contained potentially dangerous chemicals. Two people have been treated by paramedics for minor injuries. No other buildings have been affected. Northumbria police closed local roads, including Leighton Street and Byker Bank, which runs by the 1960s Byker Wall above the Tyne. A further two roads, Ford and Lime Streets, were later closed and Albion Row was sealed off. The alarm was raised at 12.25pm. It has been too dangerous for forensic teams to start checking for possible causes of the blaze. The Byker Wall was designed as a “village in the sky” by the architect Ralph Erskine. Its 620 flats and maisonettes were built in the 1970s and have been the setting for many TV series and films. Newcastle Martin Wainwright guardian.co.uk
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Follow live updates as President Obama makes a key speech on the ‘Arab spring’ and the US’s role in the Middle East 4.20pm BST / 11.20am ET: PJ Crowley, the former State Department spokesman, tweets his thoughts on what Obama needs to do today: We’ll find out in about 20 minutes or so. 4.10pm BST / 11.10am ET: The New York Times puts Obama’s speech today into the context of a busy week for Middle East diplomacy: Thursday’s speech at the State Department is designed to be the first in a series of rhetorical opportunities for the president. On Friday, he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a conversation that will be closely watched by the Jewish community in the United States. And this weekend, Mr Obama will address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the largest pro-Israel lobby in the United States. Together, the post-speech events will give the president a chance to assert his support for Israel early in the 2012 campaign cycle. 4pm BST / 11am ET: If you want to watch Obama’s speech from the State Department from the comfort of your computer or iPad, the White House is offering a live video stream here . Good morning from Washington DC, where Barack Obama’s speech on the remarkable ‘Arab spring’ and the shape of US foreign policy in the region is eagerly awaited. Obama is scheduled to begin speaking at 11.40am eastern time, that’s 4.40pm BST and 6.40pm EEST in Damascus. Here’s how the Guardian’s Washington bureau chief Ewen Macaskill previewed the speech earlier today , saying it is Obama’s most important speech on the region since his visit to Cairo in 2009: The speech will deal mainly with the Arab spring, hailing the benefits of democracy and respect for human rights, in spite of America’s long-time support for authoritarian regimes in the region. Senior Obama administration officials, briefing on the speech, said he will take a fresh look at the Middle East after a decade of tension and division. With the winding down of the Iraq war and the death of Osama bin Laden, “we are turning a page”, one official said, adding that the democracy movements reinforced this. My colleague Matthew Weaver has done an excellent job blogging the latest Middle East unreast and anticipation of Obama’s speech today, which you can read right here . Barack Obama Arab and Middle East unrest US foreign policy Obama administration Middle East United States Egypt Syria Israel Libya Tunisia Palestinian territories Richard Adams guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Follow live updates as President Obama makes a key speech on the ‘Arab spring’ and the US’s role in the Middle East 4.20pm BST / 11.20am ET: PJ Crowley, the former State Department spokesman, tweets his thoughts on what Obama needs to do today: We’ll find out in about 20 minutes or so. 4.10pm BST / 11.10am ET: The New York Times puts Obama’s speech today into the context of a busy week for Middle East diplomacy: Thursday’s speech at the State Department is designed to be the first in a series of rhetorical opportunities for the president. On Friday, he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a conversation that will be closely watched by the Jewish community in the United States. And this weekend, Mr Obama will address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the largest pro-Israel lobby in the United States. Together, the post-speech events will give the president a chance to assert his support for Israel early in the 2012 campaign cycle. 4pm BST / 11am ET: If you want to watch Obama’s speech from the State Department from the comfort of your computer or iPad, the White House is offering a live video stream here . Good morning from Washington DC, where Barack Obama’s speech on the remarkable ‘Arab spring’ and the shape of US foreign policy in the region is eagerly awaited. Obama is scheduled to begin speaking at 11.40am eastern time, that’s 4.40pm BST and 6.40pm EEST in Damascus. Here’s how the Guardian’s Washington bureau chief Ewen Macaskill previewed the speech earlier today , saying it is Obama’s most important speech on the region since his visit to Cairo in 2009: The speech will deal mainly with the Arab spring, hailing the benefits of democracy and respect for human rights, in spite of America’s long-time support for authoritarian regimes in the region. Senior Obama administration officials, briefing on the speech, said he will take a fresh look at the Middle East after a decade of tension and division. With the winding down of the Iraq war and the death of Osama bin Laden, “we are turning a page”, one official said, adding that the democracy movements reinforced this. My colleague Matthew Weaver has done an excellent job blogging the latest Middle East unreast and anticipation of Obama’s speech today, which you can read right here . Barack Obama Arab and Middle East unrest US foreign policy Obama administration Middle East United States Egypt Syria Israel Libya Tunisia Palestinian territories Richard Adams guardian.co.uk
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Click here to view this media Washington Post writer Jonathan Capehart has taken after Cornel West’s remarks in an interview at Truthdig.com with strident disagreement. From the interview: No one grasps this tragic descent better than West, who did 65 campaign events for Obama, believed in the potential for change and was encouraged by the populist rhetoric of the Obama campaign. He now nurses, like many others who placed their faith in Obama, the anguish of the deceived, manipulated and betrayed. He bitterly describes Obama as “a black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a black puppet of corporate plutocrats. And now he has become head of the American killing machine and is proud of it. ” Capehart responds : What West said is no less offensive, harmful and wrong than what Dinesh D’Souza said — with an assist from Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee — about a presumable anti-colonial and un-American mind-set possessed by Obama. Whereas these folks tried to deny the president his citizenship, West is trying to deny him his inherent blackness. By indulging in the “Obama-as-other” narrative, West is no better than a birther. By making petty complaints in that Truthdig interview about the lack of returned phone calls and not getting Inauguration tickets, West is no different than Gingrich in 1995 , when his displeasure over his seat on Air Force One led to a government shutdown. Melissa Harris-Perry and Adam Serwer weighed in, too with similar reactions. I don’t understand what the goal is when it comes to Cornel West’s opinion. He says in that same interview that if the only backstop against fascism is Barack Obama, he’ll go with that. If the goings-on in Republican states and the United States Congress doesn’t convince you of that, then look to the Supreme Court’s future to understand what’s at stake. So why come out and call President Obama a tool of the oligarchs? It makes no sense, and is suppressive in nature and intent.
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