Doctors deterred as witnesses
Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, President of the Family Division of the High Court, has said that key decisions on the future of children in family cases are being delayed because adverse publicity is deterring doctors from becoming witnesses. Because of media criticism, doctors were not as willing to go through the court process.
A second senior family judge, Lord Justice Thorpe, told The Times: “Doctors don’t like the process of being cross-examined and being pilloried in the press for going to court.”
Advertisement
Youth shot dead
Police are searching for gunmen who shot and killed Liam Kelly, 16, as he was talking to them in a Liverpool street. The youth, who police say was known to them, died in the Dingle area of the city early on Saturday after he was shot in the arm and chest.
Rail safety move
A film examing how friends of a teenage boy dealt with his death will be the highlight of National Railway Crime Week. Tyler Deacon, 15, died on a railway line near his home last year. The rail industry’s message to launch the initiative is “Keep off the track and stay alive”.
Get the message
Advertisement
Fifty per cent of firms have disciplined staff for excessive use of e-mail and one in four have taken action for inappropriate messages, research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has found. More than a third of firms reported no problems.
Fines increase
The number of parking tickets issued by traffic wardens has risen by 50 per cent, the National Parking Adjudication Service said. The number issued outside London increased from 1,436,530 to 2,156,813, and appeals against fines almost doubled in 12 months.
Asthma warning
Global warming could lead to more asthma. A study of 670,000 children by the University of Ulm in Germany found a clear link between indoor humidity and asthma rates. Warmer temperatures caused by climate change are expected to drive up humidity levels.
Advertisement
Synagogue arson
Arsonists broke into a synagogue in North London and tore up sacred scrolls before setting fire to the building, causing damage estimated at up to £250,000. Two Torah scrolls were also torn and desecrated, a spokesman for the Aish centre, in Hendon, said.
Sir Paul’s encore
Sir Paul McCartney, who was 62 yesterday, plays his 3,000th gig today, in St Petersburg, Russia. His 2,999 performances date back to his debut with the Quarry Men, the band he joined before the Beatles, at the age of 15, at the New Clubmoor Hall, Liverpool.
Best dog
Advertisement
Karen Muller, 44, of Cookley, Worcestershire, led her dog Defer, a German shepherd/collie cross, down the aisle at her wedding to Mark Lewis, 39, in the village. She said that the rescued dog was protective of her and she could not leave him out of the ceremony.