I told doctors my baby was dying? they told me I was crying wolf: Hospital ?could have saved little girl if they?d listened?
A mother claims she was accused of ?crying wolf? when she pleaded with hospital staff to help her dying baby. Paula Stevenson says medics ?overlooked and neglected? her daughter despite her telling them the girl was having trouble breathing. Hayley Fullerton died of heart failure after both her lungs collapsed at Birmingham Children?s Hospital only weeks after her first birthday.
Mrs Stevenson, 41, became so desperate she even tried ?bribing? a nurse with a ?100 shopping voucher to pay more attention to Hayley.
She told an inquest yesterday: ?We were perceived as an ?over concerned? family. ?We were saying ?Hayley?s dying? and they were saying ?cry wolf? and ?mother having a tantrum?.
?Parents are the experts in the care of their child and they should be listened to. ?I didn?t need a medical degree to know there was something wrong with my child but I needed someone with a medical degree to help her.?
Hayley was born with a blockage that meant her blood could not get from her heart to her lungs. She was operated on shortly after her birth in Northern Ireland and sent for further surgery in Birmingham in October 2009. The operation was a success but complications arose with her breathing afterwards and she died on November 11, 2009 after both lungs collapsed and her ?exhausted? heart failed.
The family say doctors ignored their pleas to move her into intensive care ? which medics believe could have saved her life.
Miss Stevenson, who now lives in Australia with partner Bobby Fullerton and daughter Casey, was giving evidence in response to the internal investigation into Hayley?s death by Birmingham Children?s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
She said: ?I?m just trying to honour Hayley?s memory. I do believe their response to me resulted in Hayley?s death. Nobody listened to me when she was dying and still no one is listening now she is dead.?
Dr Philip Debenham, a consultant paediatrician at Birmingham Children?s Hospital, led the internal investigation into Hayley?s death. Adam Weitzman, the family?s barrister, asked if he heard the term ?cry wolf? being used to describe Miss Stevenson?s concerns.
Dr Debenham said: ?I cannot recollect that phrase being used.? But he said Miss Stevenson?s repeated concerns about Hayley?s conditions did have an effect on her care. He added: ?The team would come in but could not see what the parents were reporting. Over time these prior experiences of going in to warnings and finding nothing were altering the decision-making process further down the line.?
Birmingham coroner Aidan Cotter criticised the trust?s investigation, saying his ?way of finding out the facts? was better.
The inquest, at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall, has heard expert evidence saying medical staff at the hospital ?fell short? in their standard of care for Hayley.
In a report, consultant paediatrician Dr Rob Ross Russell said Hayley ?was significantly more ill than either medical or nursing staff recognised?. He added: ?This was recognised by her family who went to extreme measures to bring these concerns to the attention of the hospital but with no success.?
Hayley had previously been treated on the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and Ward 12 of the hospital before being moved to Ward 11 in the days before her death.
Paediatric intensive care expert Dr Duncan Macrae, of the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, said he felt care on Ward 11 fell short of what should be expected ?in a number of important areas?.
Dr Macrae, who was a consultant at Great Ormond Street Hospital for ten years, added: ?No one seems to have asked why, so long after surgery, she continued to need oxygen and show signs of respiratory distress.?
The inquest has now adjourned before hearing submissions from the advocates on October 23.
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Man, 51, with Down?s Syndrome suing NHS after a ?do not resuscitate? order was put in his files without family consent
Getting rid of needy patients is a major NHS priority. They bump off thousands and get away with it. If you have a lot of healthcare needs, the NHS is a good place to go to die. Note the lack of repentance below
A man with Down?s syndrome is to sue an NHS hospital after a ?do not resuscitate? order was allegedly put on his file without his family?s knowledge. A note on the 51-year-old?s medical record said he should not be revived if he had a heart attack or stopped breathing, apparently on the basis of his disability.
His family said they were not told about the DNR order, despite visiting him almost daily during his three-week stay at the hospital.
Horrified relatives only learned about the instruction when one of the man?s carers found it folded up in his bag after he was discharged.
They say his treatment was ?degrading and disgraceful? and have started a legal action on his behalf against the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent.
Lawyers for the man, identified only as AWA, said the decision to withhold life-saving treatment on the basis of his learning difficulties was ?nothing short of blatant prejudice?.
The DNR allegedly reveals doctors did not discuss the order with AWA because he did not have the mental capacity. No information was given to his family because they were said to be unavailable, even though they visited him almost every day and his parents had meetings with his doctors.
Lawyers for the family said the order gave the reasons for the decision as ?Down?s syndrome?, ?learning difficulties?, and because AWA was ?bed-bound? and ?unable to swallow?.
The form also allegedly said the DNR order should remain indefinitely, without any planned review. A close relative said: ?It is just not acceptable, not being consulted on whether someone lives or dies.?
AWA, who also has dementia, lived with his parents until late 2010, when he went into residential care.
In August 2011 he was admitted to hospital to have a feeding tube fitted to his stomach, and returned a month later over problems with it. When he left three weeks later, a carer at his residential home found the DNR order.
The man?s relative, who cannot be identified, said AWA was not aware of the case, adding: ?We were all shocked to find out what had been put into AWA?s notes without our knowledge. ?One member of the family at least was in the hospital practically every day and could have been consulted.
?We are bringing this action to highlight the issue and to make sure that something like this cannot happen to another loved son and brother.?
AWA?s lawyer, Merry Varney, said: ?To use Down?s syndrome and learning difficulties as a reason to withhold life-saving treatment is nothing short of blatant prejudice.
?If an individual was physically preventing a doctor from administering life-saving treatment to a disabled relative, it would be a matter for the police, yet we see doctors taking this decision without consent regularly.?
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust would not comment on the case. But medical director Dr Neil Martin said it complied with the Mencap charity?s charter on helping people with learning disabilities, and had ?clear, robust? resuscitation policies that met professional guidelines.
SOURCE
Schools in England and Wales have 100,000 cameras to spy on pupils trained on playgrounds, classrooms and even toilets
School pupils are being watched by an astonishing 100,000 spy cameras, a report revealed yesterday. CCTV surveillance has been set up in playgrounds, classrooms and even toilets and changing rooms.
Some schools have a camera for every five children in the name of controlling violence, vandalism and theft. In fact, the average secondary now has 24 cameras and an academy 30.
In a development that has already provoked outrage among some parents, more than 200 schools have CCTV operating in changing rooms or toilets.
The extent of pupil surveillance was revealed in a report by Big Brother Watch which was based on Freedom of Information replies.
It found there are 106,710 spy cameras in secondary schools and academies across England and Wales ? a quarter of the total used to monitor all of London?s streets.
Big Brother Watch questioned how so many cameras have been set up without any check, what the recorded pictures were being used for, and who was watching them.
Its director Nick Pickles said: ?The full extent of school surveillance is far higher than we had expected and will come as a shock to many parents.
?Schools need to come clean about why they are using these cameras and what is happening to the footage. Local authorities also need to be doing far more to reign in excessive surveillance and ensure resources are not being diverted from more effective alternatives.?
Slightly under half of the cameras are mounted inside school buildings rather than outside, where they can be used to monitor potential intruders as well as pupils.
Typically, a school will have a camera for every 38 pupils ? which means there are roughly two for every five teachers. However, 54 schools have a camera for every 15 pupils and in some there is a camera for every five pupils.
Top of the list for camera/pupil ratio is the Christ the King Catholic and Church of England Centre for Learning in Knowsley, Merseyside.
Cameras have been placed in changing rooms and toilets by 207 schools, which have 825 cameras in all trained on areas where pupils might expect to have a degree of privacy. Radcliffe Riverside School in Bury has the highest number of changing room cameras, with 20.
The watchdog group called for an independent review of school spy cameras. It said: ?This should ensure any school using CCTV has appropriate policies in place so teachers and parents are fully aware of why surveillance is being used, when footage can be viewed, and by whom.?
It added: ?CCTV appears to be used as a quick fix for much more complex problems that simply cannot be solved with passive surveillance.?
No research has ever been carried out in Britain into the effectiveness of spy cameras in schools, the report said.
One was conducted five years ago in Paris, which found that the cameras failed to stop the increase of theft in French schools, that they failed to stop unwanted visitors or intruders at night, and that their effect on levels of disorder among pupils was ?marginal?.
The report said that legislation pushed through this year with the aim of restraining the spread of spy cameras will do nothing to protect schoolchildren from unjustified intrusion or potential abusive observation.
The Protection of Freedoms Act introduced by Home Secretary Theresa May, which is now coming into force, says relevant authorities ?must have regard? to a code of practice about surveillance cameras. The code has yet to be finalised.
However there are no legal sanctions to punish those that break the guidelines and nor will a new Surveillance Camera Commissioner have powers to enforce the rules or carry out inspections
A number of schools have run into controversies after parents have discovered cameras have been installed in changing rooms.
In 2009 Notre Dame High School in Norwich caused an outcry after installing CCTV in toilets in a bid to stamp out vandalism.
Parents accused the school of using Orwellian tactics, but the school said the move was the last line of defence and the cameras only monitored the sinks and taps.
Local education authorities backed the right of heads to operate spy cameras. A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: ?Headteachers and governors are best placed to know what the needs of their schools are.?
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Another false rape claim from Britain
They seem to be routine in Britain. At least the Brits usually lock up the liars
A jilted lonely heart who tried to frame her ex-lover for rape after he refused to rekindle their affair has been jailed. Janet Higginbottom, 36, got drunk and dialled 999 at 2am falsely claiming she had been stalked and then raped in the street after being followed home.
Manchester Crown Court heard how Higginbottom of Broadbottom, Hyde, then identified her ex as the culprit, wrongly claiming he had fled in a car after the incident even though he was at home all the time.
Higginbottom?s unnamed former boyfriend was later arrested in a 4am raid in front of his current girlfriend and held for 11 hours. He was eventually freed without charge after Higginbottom broke down and confessed she had fabricated her story after detectives uncovered inconsistencies in her evidence.
Earlier the court heard how Higginbottom, who was described as ?lonely and isolated?, had had a fling with the victim in 2007. They had split, but last year Higginbottom had sent him a series of text messages in a bid to rekindle the relationship.
When he did not respond to her advances, Higginbottom began sending him abusive text messages, the court heard.
Shortly afterwards she called 999 and claimed in a rambling 20-minute phone call that he had raped her in the Levenshulme area of Manchester.
Police went to the scene after the false report was made at 2.30am on November 26. They found Higginbottom staggering in the street and took her to a station so she could receive specialist help and support.
When she was examined by a doctor, it was claimed she had injuries which supported her claim.
Higginbottom was interviewed by officers and told them how she had seen her ?attacker? in Manchester and he had followed her and raped her on the street.
She said he then drove off in a car and provided the registration number for it.
But Greater Manchester Police said the investigation highlighted a number of serious inconsistencies and when asked about these Higginbottom later admitted she had lied about the rape and it hadn?t happened.
Jailing her for 15 months the judge, recorder Simon Killeen told her: ?This offence was malicious.?
Today Detective Constable Ian McNabb, of Greater Manchester Police said: ?Higginbottom falsely accused a man of raping her, when in reality he was at home when the alleged offence took place.
?Due to her lies, not only did this man have to endure the shame of being arrested in front of his partner, but he also spent 11 hours in a police cell and had to deal with the associated stigma of being accused of such a grave offence.
?Thankfully though, our thorough inquiries were quickly able to establish the truth. ?But a lot of police time, effort and money was wasted on this false rape investigation when it could have been better spent helping genuine victims of crime.?
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Churches ?need gay marriage safeguards?, says British government minister
Church leaders have ?legitimate? concerns about European judges forcing them to conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies under government proposals, Cabinet minister Eric Pickles will say.
Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, said that churches must have clear legal protections to ensure that they cannot be forced by the European Court of Human Rights to marry homosexual couples.
Mr Pickles made the comments in a Daily Telegraph article in which he offers strong support for the role of Christianity in public life, and attacks the ?aggressive secularism? he says is found in parts of the public sector.
The Coalition has proposed a change in the law to allow homosexual couples the same marriage rights as heterosexuals.
The proposals have met opposition from many Conservative MPs and leaders of the Church of England and Roman Catholic Church.
Ministers have said that churches and other faith organisations will be allowed to go on refusing to conduct same-sex marriages, meaning homosexual couples will be limited to civil marriages.
The Church of England has said it is concerned that any exemption for churches could be subject to legal challenges.
?There are legitimate fears of European Court of Human Rights challenges and churches being forced down the line to conduct such ceremonies against their wishes,? Mr Pickles said. ?These concerns need to be explicitly addressed in any legislative reform to provide safeguards against such coercion.?
The Conservative Cabinet minister?s support for the Church over homosexual marriage comes as Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister, tries to calm a row caused by a statement from his office calling opponents of same-sex unions ?bigots?.
Mr Pickles made his attempt to reassure church leaders over the same-sex marriage plan in a broad defence of the role of Christianity. Britain is a Christian nation ?and should not be afraid to say so,? Mr Pickles said, insisting that the presence of large non-Christian communities does not diminish that heritage.
?The fact that Britain has welcomed people of many other faiths to live among us over the centuries in no way detracts from this,? he writes. ?Indeed, it is the Christian ethos that has made Britain so welcoming.?
Mr Pickles said suggestions that British Christians are being ?persecuted? are an exaggeration, but backs those who fear that people of faith are increasingly marginalised. ?Long-standing British liberties of freedom of religion have been undermined in recent years by aggressive secularism, especially in the more politically correct parts of the public sector,? he said.
The European Court is considering a case brought by four British Christians, including two workers forced out of their jobs after wearing visible crosses.
Government lawyers told the court this month that Christians should leave their religious beliefs at home or accept that a personal expression of faith at work, such as wearing a cross, means that they might have to resign.
Mr Pickles insisted that the Coalition is committed to the right of Christians and people of other beliefs ?to follow their faith openly, including by praying in public and promoting their beliefs ? as well as wearing religious symbols?.
?Banning discreet religious symbols for reasons of political correctness is not acceptable,? he said.
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Third of Britain?s elite universities still looking for students
Almost a third of Britain?s leading universities still have places available with less than a week to go before the application deadline, following a sharp drop in student applications, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
Seven out of 24 institutions in the elite Russell Group are still advertising vacancies on more than 1,000 courses days before the start of the academic year.
Thirty thousand more places have been made available through the clearing system than at this time last year, increasing suspicions that ?9,000-a-year tuition fees have put off many school-leavers.
Despite the unexpectedly high level of vacancies for British students, places are likely to go unfilled because fewer pupils have achieved the entry requirements for leading universities.
One Russell Group university, Queen Mary, University of London, was yesterday advertising spaces on 178 of its 194 courses that are available through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.
Sheffield University had places to spare on 257 of its 326 courses, including English literature and law. Exeter was yet to fill 191 out of 316, including psychology and classics.
Overall demand for university places is down by seven per cent on last year, with many blaming the new higher fees. Leading universities have also been hit by a decline in the number of teenagers gaining good A-level grades following a drive to make exams harder. David Willetts, the universities minister, said that this summer there was a fall of 5,000 in the number of pupils believed to have gained at least two As and a B, the threshold for many courses at leading institutions.
If the places are not filled, some universities could suffer multi-million-pound losses.
Lecturers? leaders warned that the decline represented a rejection of the new fees regime, which has seen the price of courses almost treble at some universities.
Sally Hunt, the general secretary of the University and College Union, said: ?Fewer students at UK universities this year represents the predictable failure of the Government?s attempt to create an artificial market for the most highly-qualified students.
?The minister?s recognition that higher tuition fees forced a scramble for places last year highlights the unfair nature of this Government?s hike in fees. At a time of high unemployment, we should be making it easier for people to get to university, not pricing them out.?
Mr Willetts said evidence from previous higher education reforms showed that ?individual institutions can face a temporary jolt when changes like this are introduced?, with students applying early to get around the fees increase.
This will lead to declines in entry rates at some institutions, creating ?real pressures?, he said. Speaking at the Universities UK annual conference at Keele University, the minister said: ?I think we are likely to see fewer students going to university this year because last year?s figure was partly artificially inflated by fewer people taking a gap year. But I still think we will have very high numbers of students going to university.?
Universities have been given greater freedom to take unlimited numbers of students with at least AAB at A-level. Previously the Government operated strict controls on all student places, threatening universities with fines if they over-recruited. The move was designed to create more competition between institutions and free up places for the brightest students.
But a decline in the number of teenagers gaining top grades has actually led to some leading universities facing shortages.
Mr Willetts said that 80,000 students gained AAB, compared with a previous prediction of 85,000.
The decline in applications can also be put down to a fall in the number of 18-year-olds in the education system over recent years.
Figures from Ucas showed that the number of students who accepted places at English universities by Sept 11 was down by 30,076 on last year.
There were 26,997 courses with vacancies in clearing, and eligible candidates have until Sept 20 to apply. Some 642,654 people applied to study this year, compared with 692,358 last year.
In a separate disclosure, Times Higher Education magazine carried out an anonymous survey of universities to find out how many students with grades of AAB had been admitted.
One Russell Group university said it was 500 short of predictions, while three others were down by 400, 260 and 160. Another ?less selective? university said student numbers were down by 700.
With average annual tuition fees estimated at ?8,123, it is believed universities could be facing a ?700?million loss of funding over three years.
Wendy Piatt, the directo- general of the Russell Group, criticised the Government?s decision to award more places to cheaper universities.
?The first year of the new funding system was always going to be challenging and uncertain. But the Government?s core and margin policy of re-distributing places, largely on the basis of lower fees, meant universities had fewer places to offer to students with grades below AAB and this has had a knock-on impact.
?We have consistently argued this policy of giving more places to institutions charging lower fees would neither improve quality nor enhance student choice.
?If universities couldn?t recruit enough high-calibre students they risked losing funding but if they recruited too many students with grades ABB or below they risked substantial fines. The difficult choices faced by admissions departments this year means students who wanted to attend a leading university and had the right qualifications have not been able to even though those universities wanted to accept them.?
Mr Willetts said: ?Different institutions will have been affected differently; that is inevitable when making significant changes, which are intended to take greater account of student choice.?
SOURCE
Trivial-minded British school leadership
They can?t stop REAL misbehaviour so they harass decent families
It is usually the norm that a schoolgirl would be reprimanded for her skirt being too short. But in this case, one pupil was sent home because her trousers were not flared enough and deemed far too tight.
Teachers also made Lauren Entwistle learn in isolation at Swavesey Village College in Cambridgeshire, because the offending black school trousers did not have the correct ?flarage?.
Her mother Mandy Entwistle, 37, today said she was furious her daughter missed a day-and-a-half of GCSE lessons just because her trousers were the wrong style.
She said the school had banned various styles of trousers because they were deemed fashionable, but she had decided the bootcut version that they ask pupils to wear looks untidy and can get caught in bikes. Bizarrely, the school has now ordered Lauren new trousers, which they deem suitable, from the same website as the original ones.
Mother-of-four Ms Entwistle said: ?I just do not understand how sending a child home from school because her trousers are too tight around the ankles is beneficial for anybody.
?Are we supposed to get a tape measure out and measure the flarage? ?I could understand if they were too tight in case they are distracting for the boys, but that is not the issue. ?I bought them from a school uniform website. I would not send her to school in leggings. I always make sure she looks smart.
?When I was at school bootcut trousers were banned because they were in fashion and now straight trousers are banned because they are in fashion. ?I think the flared trousers do not look very smart as they often get caught in their bikes or shoes.
?The school say they want the pupils to behave like young adults and then they treat Lauren like a child over some trousers.
?She wears the trousers to work at her hair salon and they are considered smart enough ? so if they are appropriate for the world of work they should be good enough for school.?
The seething mother, who runs her own cleaning business, added: ?Lauren is a well-behaved pupil and despite her interest in beauty she respects the rules and does not have her nails done or wear make up to school. ?I refuse to let them put Lauren in the isolation room is like a prison cell ? it is like something out of a torture camp. ?They will make them wear orange jumpsuits next.?
Lauren, who lives with her mother and stay-at-home father Allen, 40, in Swavesey, Cambridgeshire, was sent home at about 10am on Monday and missed the rest of her lessons that day.
Mandy sent her back to school on Tuesday, but Lauren had to work in the teachers? office missing her favourite lesson, health and beauty.
She was allowed to take part in lessons on Wednesday after the school ordered Lauren some new trousers ? which Mandy says came from the same uniform website she originally used.
Swavesey Village College today confirmed it has clamped down on their uniform policy, which they say helps them deliver ?very high standards.?
The school?s uniform policy states that girls must wear bootcut trousers to ensure everyone is dressed the same and to prevent girls wearing leggings.
A source at the school confirmed there is an isolation room, but said pupils are given work to do and supervised by staff.
Andrew Daly, acting headteacher at Swavesey Village College, today said the school is rated ?outstanding? and expects ?very high standards.?
He said: ?Part of these expectations is a very clear uniform policy, that in consultation with parents and students we apply fairly and consistently. ?We explained before the summer our expectations about uniform and girls? trousers in particular to ensure they are appropriate.
?All parents were given the summer to arrange for the correct uniform to be purchased.
?Students are offered opportunities to rectify issues with uniform before going to lessons, either by being lent uniform we keep in stock or having uniform brought in from home. ?If they refuse to respond to either of these options then we do have a clear sanctions policy in place.?
SOURCE
Greenies frantic over Britain?s ?dash for gas?
And the government is ?fudging? in the best British style
The independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) has today warned unequivocally that the government would breach the Climate Change Act if it pursues Chancellor George Osborne?s plans for a surge in new gas investment.
In what will be seen as an explosive intervention in the simmering row between the Liberal Democrats and the Chancellor over whether to include a target to decarbonise the electricity sector by 2030 in the upcoming Energy Bill, the CCC today stated categorically that ?extensive use of unabated gas-fired capacity (i.e. without carbon capture and storage technology (CCS)) in 2030 and beyond would be incompatible with meeting legislated carbon budgets?.
In an open letter to Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey, signed by the CCC board including new chair Conservative Peer Lord Deben, the group criticises the ?apparently ambivalent position of the government about whether it is trying to build a low-carbon or a gas-based power system?, warning that after extensive discussions with investors and energy companies it has become clear current policy uncertainty has created a ?very poor? investment climate.
The letter also criticises recent statements from the DECC in support of increased gas investment, which were wrung out of the department by Osborne during long-running negotiations over the future of renewable energy subsidies.
?We are writing to express the great concern of the Committee on Climate Change about the recent government statement ?that it sees gas as continuing to play an important role in the energy mix well into and beyond 2030?[not] restricted to providing back up to renewables?,? the letter states, adding that while there is an important medium-term role for gas that has already been factored into the UK?s carbon budgets, ?unabated gas-fired generation could therefore not form the basis for government policy, given the need under the Climate Change Act to set policies to meet carbon budgets and the 2050 target?.
The letter represents a major blow to Osborne, who has been campaigning for the Energy Bill to increase support for gas investment. A leaked letter from Osborne to Davey in July revealed the Chancellor wants to ignore CCC recommendations for the Energy Bill to include a target requiring the electricity sector to decarbonise by 2030 as part of wider efforts to turn the UK into a ?gas hub?.
The CCC argues this approach would be in breach of the Climate Change Act, and reiterates its recommendation that the Energy Bill use secondary legislation to include a carbon target for the electricity sector of 50gCO2/kWh, which would come into place from 2030 and effectively ban the use of both coal and gas-fired power plants without CCS technology.
It argued such a target would provide investor certainty while also allowing ?flexibility for periodic review (e.g. prior to drafting a Delivery Plan) and possible modification based on new information about technology costs, gas prices, carbon prices and feasible build rates?.
Responding to the CCC?s letter, Davey stressed that the government was still considering the CCC?s proposed 2030 electricity decarbonisation target, but added that ?our existing plans are consistent with significant decarbonisation of the power sector?.
?We are absolutely committed to meeting our statutory carbon budgets,? he said. ?That is why we are pushing through ambitious reforms to overhaul existing old fossil fuel power plants, replacing them with new low-carbon forms of power generation.
?A fifth of our power stations are closing over the next decade, and we need to build a diverse mix of all the technologies to keep the lights on and lower our emissions.?
However, he again reiterated that new gas capacity would have a role in the UK?s energy mix. ?After 2030 we expect that gas will only be used as back up, or fitted with Carbon Capture and Storage technology,? he said. ?But, alongside upscaling of renewables, nuclear new build, and eventually with carbon capture and storage, gas has an important role to play in the transition to a low-carbon grid.?
?Our gas generation strategy work is about providing certainty to investors to ensure sufficient investment comes forward, while also living within our legally binding carbon budgets.?
SOURCE
British plumber posted hundreds of ?health warning? flyers in campaign of harassment against curry house he accused of poisoning him
He?s got a strong conviction that his curry was ?off? but the family more likely had a virus. He sounds like a rather obsessed personality. What he said was clearly defamatory and could have led to a civil prosecution.
A father who claims he and his family suffered food poisoning after eating at a curry house is facing jail after campaigning to stop other diners going there.
Nick Diver-Legge, 48, became ill after a chicken tikka and salad meal at the B26 restaurant in Birmingham.
He spent the following weeks determined to spread his views about the restaurant ? writing a scathing online review and posting flyers warning that ?the B26 should be avoided at all costs if you value your health?.
His campaign was so successful the restaurant suffered a 30 per cent fall in trade, leading the owner to contact police, who charged Diver-Legge with harassment.
At Birmingham Magistrates? Court, district judge Robert Zara said the father, of Hall Green, Birmingham, had gone beyond what was ?justified?.
He faces up to six months in prison when he is sentenced later this month. However, he plans to appeal against his conviction.
The plumber, who claims he lost thousands of pounds while off work ill, said the court?s decision was a breach of his freedom of speech, adding: ?I am the innocent party.?
He said he and his 18-month-old son were sick for a week and his wife Jennifer for two weeks. [Doesn't sound like food poisoning]
B26 owner Mitt Balli described the campaign as ?very upsetting? and said he had had to lay off staff as a result of the fall in takings.
Diver-Legg was convicted of harassment in court but said he would appeal. He said outside court: ?Basically (the judge) has said you don?t have the right to public protest or freedom of speech. It has been really stressful.
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