Burrell refuses return to inquest

Former royal butler Paul Burrell has refused to return to the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

He had been asked to explain discrepancies between his evidence and comments reported in the Sun newspaper.

In a video recording obtained by the Sun, Mr Burrell apparently claims he introduced "red herrings" during his evidence and held back facts.

The coroner said he cannot compel him to give evidence because he is outside the court's jurisdiction in the US.

Lord Justice Scott Baker said in a statement: "The coroner asked him to give further evidence either in person or via videolink from abroad.

"Mr Burrell has refused to do this and, as he is outside the court jurisdiction, the coroner has no power to compel him to give evidence."

Full Story

Once again Burrell is back. One innocent testimony must not be enough for the British courts.

Grade this.

Migrants challenge rule changes

The government's decision to change the rules for highly skilled immigrants is facing a challenge in the High Court.

It is claimed retrospective changes to the Highly Skilled Migration Programme (HSMP) in 2006 will mean thousands of non-EU migrants have to leave the UK.

The HSMP Forum, which is seeking the judicial review, says 90% - 44,000 people - who entered under the HSMP no longer qualified.

They claim the decision was unfair and in breach of their human rights.

Full Article

Parliament tries to create strict imigration policies and the immigrants reject them.

Grade this

Tories planning new prison places

Conservative leader David Cameron says his party would build 5,000 more prison places in England and Wales - taking capacity in jails to more than 100,000.

Under the plans, older inner-city jails would be sold off to pay for more new prisons on cheaper land elsewhere.

Mr Cameron also wants new "min-max" sentences - with no chance of parole until the minimum term has been served.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw accused him of copying Labour plans, saying the rest of the scheme was "uncosted".

The 5,000 extra spaces would be on top of the 15,000 new prison spaces being created by the government over the next five years.

Inside Look

This new policy could very well be England's solution to their problem of overcrowded prisons.

Grade this.

Man is found dead in city street.

Police believed the man lived locallyPolice are investigating the "unexplained death" of a man, whose body was found in a Swansea street. The unidentified man, who was aged between 40 and 55, was found in Llangyfelach Road, close to Brynhyfryd Square, near the Landore district.
South Wales Police said he was found at 0031 GMT on Sunday.

The man, who was believed to be local, was white, slim, 5ft 8ins to 5ft 10ins tall, with short brown, straight, tidily-kept hair and a brown moustache. He was wearing a green Barbour-style jacket, blue jeans and white trainers. A post mortem examination will take place on Monday.

Full Story

This is an interesting story for two reasons, one is that the man should have been caught on camera dying and number two is that this small of a story would not make national news in the U.S. but Britain is so much more close knit.

Fatal wartime Tube crush marked

It was one of Britain's worst civilian disasters during World War II. On the evening of 3 March, 1943, a crowd of people were descending the steps into Bethnal Green underground station to take shelter from an impending air-raid. Suddenly, they surged forward and in the crush 173 people were killed and more than 90 injured.

A high proportion of the victims were women and children, some younger ones babes-in-arms or holding hands, as they made their way down the stairs. The disaster happened on one small stairwell, in the capital city, as people followed their routine to take cover from the coming bombs.

Full Story

During WWII 173 people died in a crushing. All of this happened on one small stairwell. this awful event took a long time to unfold because of the wartime attitude.

UK prisons now 'over-capacity'

Prison officers accuse ministers of "total mismanagement"The prison population in England and Wales has exceeded its highest normal level for the first time. The Ministry of Justice said that as of Friday morning there were 82,068 inmates in jails - 96 over the Prison Service's "operational capacity". Justice Secretary Jack Straw has asked magistrates to jail fewer people while officials attempt to manage the crisis.

Some 358 inmates are in police or court cells to ease pressure on a system with current capacity of 81,972. Ministry of Justice figures reveal that the population breached that capacity on Thursday evening. The breach comes despite a year of efforts to reduce pressures by releasing more prisoners and building more cell. The figures mean that for the first time the Prison Service has almost 100 more inmates in jail than the numbers governors want to hold to ensure a controlled and secure regime.

Full Story

The U.K. is now officially over capacity in their prisons. Maybe we can house some inmates to ease our debt. Oh wait we are more over capacity than they are.

Assessment Complete

Immigration points system begins

A long-expected overhaul of the UK's immigration system has come into force with the launch of a point-based system for foreign workers.

The first stage of the system becomes operational on Friday - and will apply fully by the end of the summer.

Ministers say the changes are the biggest for a generation - and will allow the UK to better control migrants from outside EU.

But the Conservatives say they want an annual cap on the numbers allowed in.

Under the system, migrant workers will need to show they have sufficient skills under new rules that assess whether or not the economy needs them.

Applicants are given a score based on their abilities, with a special body advising ministers on how many points to award to certain skills to reflect economic conditions.

Full Story

This article shows how important immigration limitations are to the British government. This policy in combination with the new citizenship policy could cause a sharp decrease in the amount of "England-bound" immigrants.

Grade this.

Prince Harry on Afghan front line

Prince Harry has been fighting the Taleban on the front line in Afghanistan, the MoD has confirmed.

Harry, 23, who is third in line to the throne, has spent the last 10 weeks serving in Helmand Province.

The prince joked about his nickname "the bullet magnet", but said: "I finally get the chance to do the soldiering that I want to do."

The deployment was subject to a news blackout deal, which broke down after being leaked by foreign media.

Chief of the General Staff Sir Richard Dannatt, who is head of the British Army, said he was disappointed the news had leaked.

Full Article

Well, it seems that even the countries with the most strict policies on information security can have leaks.

Grade this.

Assessment Complete