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Brown Seeks Hostage Release After Suicide Claim Of Captors |
Prime Minister Gordon Brown demanded the "immediate and unconditional" release of British hostages being held in Iraq, following a militant group's claim that one of five men they kidnapped last year had committed suicide. A video passed to the Sunday Times newspaper claimed that the man, known only as Jason, killed himself on May 25th, four days short of the first anniversary of the five men's abduction.A second hostage was shown on the video pleading for Government action to speed their release and warning that he was suffering physically and psychologically after 14 months in captivity. The Foreign Office said it had no independent verification of the claims in the video and could not comment on their veracity. However, speaking during his visit to Jerusalem last weekend, the Prime Minister said: "This abhorrent film will only add to the anguish of families who have suffered a great deal over a year for their loved ones who have been kept in captivity. I raised this matter with Prime Minister Maliki when I was in Iraq. These men have suffered enough." The five men, an IT consultant named Peter Moore and four bodyguards whose identities have not been confirmed, were kidnapped in May last year from the Iraqi finance ministry by a Shia group which is demanding the release of prisoners from US detention. A statement signed by the Shia Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which was passed with the video to the Sunday Times, accuses the British Government of failing to respond to messages from the kidnappers and their captives. "This procrastination and foot-dragging and lack of seriousness on the part of the British Government has prolonged their psychological deterioration, pushing one of them, Jason, to commit suicide," the statement said. "He surprised our brethren, who were taking care of him, with his suicide." The video featured a still photograph of a man in a football shirt who was identified by the militant as Jason. The second hostage, understood to be a father-of-two from Scotland called Alan, was shown saying: "Physically, I'm not doing well. Psychologically, I'm doing a lot worse. I want to see my family again," he said. "I would like for the British Government to please hurry and get this resolved as soon as possible." |
Doctor's Bonus Scheme Slammed as Simplistic |
Paying bonuses to surgeons based on the outcomes of operations is too "simplistic" and could discourage doctors from treating high-risk patients, the British Medical Association has warned. The professional organisation for doctors added its voice to other critics of proposals to extend NHS cash reward schemes to reflect performance against a number of quality indicators such as mobility after surgery.Dr Jonathan Fielden, chairman of the BMA's consultants committee, said: "The BMA has, for many years, been calling for improved high quality data to properly inform patients and doctors. It would be far too simplistic to reward individual surgeons according to the outcome of operations.The outcome of an operation is based on multiple factors, including the severity of the illness and the relative health of the individual. Other members of the medical team would also have fundamental roles in the care a patient receives and the outcome achieved." Dr Fielden said private sector companies with contracts to provide NHS care are able to "cherry-pick" the easier, routine NHS operations, leaving the more complex and high risk patients to NHS consultants. "If pay is crudely linked to outcome then defensive medicine will be the detrimental result," he said. "Outside the relatively small area of overall health care that surgery represents, data collection and translation is even more difficult. We must focus on removing barriers to high quality care, not rushing to simplistic solutions that create further hurdles to the excellent care we all wish to deliver," he added. The Government paved the way for linking cash incentives to measures such as post-operative mobility in the recently-published NHS Next Stage Review. A Department of Health spokesman said: "The Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards makes recommendations for awards on the basis of applications from consultants, who are required to produce objective evidence of excellence. Quality indicators such as complication rates and patient feedback are already used in specialities where they are available. As such measures become more widespread and robust, they will become increasingly influential in determining who gets awards." |
Fuel Duty Rise Put On Hold |
It was announced last week that the 2p rise in fuel duty which was due to take effect in October has been postponed. Chancellor Alistair Darling said the decision would help motorists and businesses "get through what is a difficult time for everyone". He said: "This measure is taken in response to sharp rises in world commodity prices, with the price of oil almost doubling over the past year to reach a real-terms record high of $146 a barrel recently. "This has inevitably had significant knock-on effects on the price of road fuels, which the Government is committed to taking into account when considering decisions on fuel duties."The Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said the Government would have to find another £1bn a year from somewhere else. "There is an absence of any consideration of the implications for the budget," he said. The Freight Transport Association said it was "very good news" but it's spokesman Geoff Dossetter said: "Long term, we need to find a different way of taxing commercial vehicles. We would like to see fuel duty drop." The RAC also said the Government should reduce fuel duty while Roger King from the Road Haulage Association said: "We think while oil prices remain so high there should be no increase in fuel duty at all." Main road fuel duty rates will remain at 50.35 pence per litre after 1st October this year. Planned increases in road fuel gases, biofuel duty rates and rebated oils rates will also be postponed. The delay will be reviewed again in six months time. |
Toddler Dies in Turkish Pool Tragedy |
A two-year-old girl died last week after an accident in a swimming pool on a family holiday to Turkey. Lucy Cardwell, from Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, was on holiday in the resort of Dalyan when she fell into the pool as she played. Her tragic death comes just over a year after her 15-year-old uncle, Daniel Cardwell, died in a nature reserve lake. Lucy was on holiday with her mother, Sophie, grandfather John and Sophie's partner Karl, at the home of a family friend. She was apparently playing by the side of the pool when she slipped into the water and hit her head, on Wednesday last week. Turkish news reports claimed that Lucy's mother dived into the pool to save her daughter as soon as she realised what had happened. It was reported that emergency doctors attended the scene and gave Lucy artificial respiration and heart massage before she was taken to four different hospitals.She was placed in intensive care but died in hospital last Friday. In March last year, Lucy's uncle, Daniel, died when he went swimming in a lake at Marden Quarry, in Whitley Bay, after drinking with friends. |
Public Divorce Cuts Gossip's Tongues |
A millionaire businessman has posted the details of his divorce settlement on the internet after becoming sick of local gossip. Gary Dean, 47, from Preston, took the drastic step after being branded a cheapskate by neighbours. He posted the particulars on his website www.deandivorce.com. Mr Dean wrote: "Over the course of the last year I have been subject to gossip about my divorce, some of it just silly tittle-tattle, and some of it malicious." He said he had been depicted by some as a "greedy, tight, ruthless" man "who abandoned my wife and children". "It's simply not true at all and I've decided that instead of allowing the rumour mill to continue churning out nonsense, I'd just set out the actual facts to stop it," he explained.The settlement awarded to his former wife Helen included luxury cars, expensive jewellery and a cash sum of £3.7m. Details of the divorce show Mr Dean also agreed to pay his wife an extra £15,000 a year for each of their four children until they are 17. Mr Dean, who works in publishing and advertising, lived with his wife and family in the village of St. Michaels. |
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