Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn, a leading candidate to head the Labour party, has said former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair should be tried for war crimes over the 2003 Iraq war if evidence shows he broke international law. At the time when Britain joined a US-led invasion of Iraq, despite widespread public opposition, Corbyn organised mass protests against the war. Blair has previously said he had no regrets over the invasion, saying Saddam Hussein was a threat who had to be disarmed or removed. Corbyn said the long-running inquiry into the Iraq invasion needed to tackle unanswered questions about how Blair decided to get involved in the war. Lengthy delays to the publication of the report have frustrated MPs, including David Cameron who on Tuesday urged its independent head, John Chilcot, to set out a timetable for the publication of his findings.
A leading doctor has slammed new guidelines prepared to replace the much-criticised Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP). Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Dr Patrick Pullcino, Professor of Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Kent, says the draft guidelines prepared by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are even worse than the LCP. Christian Voice reported on the NICE guidelines based on a BBC article which was positive about the development. It seems they were wrong and they say, ‘There can be no doubt the BBC article was based on a press release from NICE, who appear to have put a positive spin on their work, claiming that they were calling for basic daily checks to make sure patients are well hydrated and nourished. We observed this was ‘a radical departure from the LCP.’ NICE went on to say that families would be encouraged to be more closely involved in care if appropriate and safe.
Colin Hart, director of the Christian Institute has said Ofsted and the Department for Education have given ‘inadequate attention’ to the ‘bullying of Christian pupils’. His remarks follow a recent letter from the schools’ chief inspector addressing the issue of schools caught up in the so-called Trojan Horse scandal, which alleged Muslim groups were seeking to gain control of schools in Birmingham. In a letter addressed to the Education Secretary, Mr Hart said it was ‘striking’ that official reports listed explicit examples of anti-Christian intolerance in several schools involved in the scandal but none of these are noted in the Ofsted reports on those schools. He wrote, ‘You will see they include anti-Christian chanting in assemblies, GCSE pupils who opted to learn Christianity being left to teach themselves and Christians being called ‘ignorant’ or ‘liars’ by teachers.’ He went on to say that it was disturbing to witness a ‘complete lack of any specific plans of action to tackle anti-Christian intolerance’.
Chinese teachers give instruction for 12 hours a day and Chinese schools are at the top of international ratings in maths, sciences and literacy. Recently, five Chinese teachers spent a month teaching in a Hampshire school analysing teaching methods in the UK. The teachers found their group of 50 children, aged 13 and 14, were disruptive and unable to concentrate. Li Aiyun said, ‘When I gave out homework sheets, I expected everybody to be concentrated on the homework. But when I returned to the classroom students were chatting, some were eating and somebody was even putting make-up on her face.’ The Chinese teachers blamed ‘lack of motivation’ on poor performances. Science teacher Yang Jun said, ‘In China we don’t need classroom management skills because everyone is disciplined by nature, by families, by society - whereas here it is the most challenging part of teaching.’ The Chinese methods are to be screened in a BBC Two documentary, Are Our Kids Tough Enough?
Speaking with the backing of the Church, the bishop of Dover accused the Government of forgetting their humanity and attacked the media for propagating a ‘toxicity’ that spread hostility towards migrants. The Right Rev Trevor Willmott urged Mr Cameron to upgrade his rhetoric after he described migrants as a ‘swarm’ and promised to introduce strong-arm tactics in Calais. Willmott said, ‘When we become harsh with each other and forget our humanity we end up in stand-off positions. To put migrants and refugees in that very unhelpful phrase categorises people.’ Save the Children echoed Willmott’s call to remember that the migrants were humans and many were refugees fleeing horrific abuse or extreme danger. The deputy mayor of Calais called the prime minister ‘racist’ and the UN special representative on migration said Britain’s attitude towards the crisis suggested the lessons of Nazism had not been learnt.
The Catholic Church will apply nationally a project that pro-actively approaches sexual abuse by clergy. A recent pilot of the system resulted in doubling the number of people reporting abuse in a nine-month period. A Survivors’ Advisory Panel will assist the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission in England and Wales. A ‘Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors’ spokesperson said allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church and the Church of England should be dealt with independently. ‘Whilst both Churches have improved their policies and guidance there are really strong concerns about how policies are implemented. It’s down to individual bishops to decide when to report allegations to the police and what action to take. The increased number of prosecutions of clergy for abuse suggests this is an ongoing problem and the response of the Churches in the past leads us to believe they cannot be trusted to police themselves.’ See also http://www.worldprayer.org.uk/pa-british-isles-ireland/item/6803-statement-from-the-mill-gathering.
Probe over ex PM, devout Christian Ted Heath
06 Aug 2015
The handling of a child sex abuse claim involving former Prime Minister and devout Christian Sir Edward Heath is to be investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). Police are to be probed after allegations made by a retired senior officer were referred to the IPCC. It is alleged that a criminal prosecution was not pursued, when a person threatened to expose Sir Edward Heath’s possible involvement in offences concerning children. Sir Edward was the editor of the Church Times between 1948 and 1949 before his election as Member of Parliament in 1950. Police say they would like to hear from anyone who has any relevant information that may assist them in their enquiries. The NSPCC said, ‘Whether abuse happened in the past, or is occurring today, whether those being accused are authority figures or not, allegations of crimes against children must be investigated thoroughly.’
German MP opens home to two migrants
06 Aug 2015
German conservative MP, Martin Patzelt, has taken two Eritrean refugees into his home and is helping the young men find jobs locally. Mr Patzelt lives near Frankfurt in eastern Germany. The Eritreans have been staying with him for a month. Such initiatives help to ‘get rid of the polarisation and hostility’ towards migrants, he told German TV. Eritrea has an authoritarian government which forces citizens into military service - often for many years and in deplorable conditions. Generally Eritreans and Syrians are granted refugee status when they reach Germany, allowing them to stay there. However Germany is gripped by an intense debate over migrants. Numbers have soared this year due to boatloads crossing the Mediterranean. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Patzelt said many admired his commitment, but his motivation was political, not religious; hostility towards the influx of refugees could only be solved by engaging ordinary German citizens.