Thursday, 1 November 2012

The High Street: A year of casualties

The high street: A year of casualties

  • January
  • Peacocks collapsed, placing 7,500 jobs in jeopardy
  • Pumpkin Patch went into administration with 400 jobs put at risk
  • Past Times appointed administrators, resulting in 507 redundancies
  • La Senza collapsed, triggering 1,300 redundancies
  • Barratts called in administrators, cutting 680 jobs
  • March
  • Game collapsed, triggering 2,104 job losses
  • April
  • Aquascutum fell into administration but was sold in May, saving 100 jobs
  • Allied Carpets saw nine stores saved after going bust for the third time in three years
  • May
  • Clinton Cards fell into administration with 397 of its stores sold on
  • June
  • Allders called in administrators Duff and Phelps
  • July
  • Ethel Austin went into administration, risking around 500 jobs
  • Julian Graves called in administrators, putting more than 700 jobs at risk
  • October
  • Around 2,200 JJB Sports staff were made redundant after administrators were called in

Thursday, 18 October 2012

Jimmy Savile: Steptoe and Son actor Wilfrid Brambell 'abused boys in Jersey' claims whistleblower

Wilfrid Brambell, the actor, became the latest BBC celebrity accused of child sex abuse last night after it emerged that two people had come forward in Jersey claiming to be his victims.

Brambell, who played the “dirty old man” Albert Steptoe in the comedy Steptoe and Son, allegedly abused two boys in a theatre in Jersey at the height of his fame in the 1970s.

One of the alleged victims was a resident at the notorious Haut de la Garenne children’s home which was at the centre of a high-profile police investigation into historical child abuse on the island in 2008.

He claimed to have been taken to the island’s main theatre, the Opera House, as a “treat” before being taken backstage to meet Brambell, who he accuses of molesting him in a back room.

The second victim, who had not been a Haut de la Garenne resident, also claimed to have been abused by Brambell at the theatre. The alleged victims were aged 12-13 at the time.

Brambell, who died in 1985, was homosexual and had a criminal record for “persistently importuning for an immoral purpose” in a public lavatory dating from 1962.

The allegations were made to former Jersey health minister Stuart Syvret, the most outspoken critic of the island’s failure to deal with child abuse when the Haut de la Garenne scandal erupted four years ago.

He was contacted by dozens of people who had been abused on the island, some of whom named Jimmy Savile as one of their abusers.

Mr Syvret told The Daily Telegraph: “Two of the people who contacted me said that they were abused by Wilfrid Brambell.

“I was told that he visited the back rooms of the Jersey Opera House and abuse would happen there.
Read More: The Telegraph

BBC executives covered up a second paedophile who abused children in the toilets at the Corporation's studios, a leading journalist claimed.

BBC executives covered up a second paedophile who abused children in the toilets at the Corporation's studios, a leading journalist claimed.

John Simpson said a radio presenter, at the time one of the biggest names at the BBC, preyed upon youngsters after they won competitions to tour the studios and meet him.

But when Simpson, who has worked at the BBC for more than 40 years, tried to expose the predatory paedophile after his death, bosses called him an ‘idiot’ and instead told to praise the star in his obituary.

Veteran war correspondent Simpson made the claims in his 1999 autobiography Strange Places, Questionable People, first published in 1998, where he refers to the abuser as simply 'Uncle Dick'.

But in the light of the Jimmy Savile scandal they will make uncomfortable re-reading for the Corporation.

Days ago a Jim'll Fix It director claimed he made several attempts to expose disgraced Jimmy Savile to the BBC but had been ignored by bosses.

David Nicolson, 67, said he reported Savile decades ago when he caught the star having sex with a 15 or 16-year-old girl in his dressing room. Yet he was told by bosses: ‘That’s Jimmy’ and ‘that’s the way it goes’.

Claims that bosses covered up child abuse spanning 40 years by a second paedophile, said to be 'a children's favourite', will cast further doubt on the practices at the Corporation.

He claims the BBC's attempt to silence the claims went as high up as the then Director General, as reported by The Sun.

The radio presenter he claims abused children was one of the BBC's biggest names from the 1920s until his death in 1967.

Read More: DAILY MAIL

Jimmy Savile: Labour faces embarrassment over former child sex claims

Labour faces embarrassment over its calls for a wide-ranging inquiry into Jimmy Savile as senior party figures have previously called for the relaxation of child sex laws.

Harriet Harman, the Opposition deputy leader, said the allegations that the late TV and radio presenter abused dozens of young boys and girls had “cast a stain” on the BBC and other trusted institutions.

But at the time Savile was at the height of his fame, Miss Harman was calling for the relaxation of the law on child pornography.

She was a leading light in the pressure group now known as Liberty, which advocated the lowering of the age of consent to 14.

The organisation, then run by the Health Secretary under Tony Blair, Patricia Hewitt, even counted among its affiliates a number of extreme pro-paedophilia groups whose leaders were later jailed.

It means that any independent public inquiry into the culture that allowed Savile to abuse children for so long with impunity, could end up looking into the radical left-wing demands for the liberalisation of child sex laws that were made in the 1970s.
Read more: The Telegraph

Sunday, 14 October 2012

Benefits

There is a great deal of talk these days about cutting benefits and the main targets seem to be the neediest, but are we approaching this from the wrong end?

The main concern at the moment is to push people back into work, (which I agree with in principle). My concern is that when they are back in work they will still have to be in receipt of benefits because they will probably be on the minimum wage, which leads me to the conclusion that benefits are being paid not to assist the worker but they are a form of subsidy to the employer so that he can pay low wages.

What I propose is a minimum wage of nine pounds per hour for a 40 hour week making (£360pw), a man with a wife and two children will not pay tax or insurance on that amount, anything over that amount will be taxed and insurance paid, the family will not be entitled to benefits, if the other partner works the full amount of that partners earnings will be subject to tax.

A flat rate of 20% tax on all earnings under thirty thousand pa.
A flat rate of 30% tax on all earnings under forty thousand pa.
A flat rate of 40% tax on all earnings over fifty thousand pa.
The new French government has introduced a so-called 'rich tax' and the rich have sold up and left. It has not worked, there the French government is now collecting less in taxes.

The idea here is to take the employed off benefits by ensuring that they can earn a living wage. We achieve this by requiring employers to pay an honest wage for honest work.

By Erik UKR

Tuesday, 25 September 2012

Vitesse Arnhem pay tribute to British Airborne on anniversary of Arnhem

Fantastic gesture by Dutch team Vitesse Arnhem in playingin the colours of the British Airborne on the anniversary of Arnhem (A Bridge Too Far) and also honouring the remaining veterans of the battle.









Read More: HERE

Monday, 13 August 2012

Thousands cut food spending to keep cars on road

Almost a third of motorists are sacrificing food in exchange for keeping their cars on the road, according to new research.
Around 30 per cent said they had been forced to cut back on their weekly grocery shop, according to the latest Driver Satisfaction survey by car search website Motors.co.uk.

The savings motorists are making on food are being used to fund rising motoring costs such as fuel and car insurance.

A litre of petrol cost an average of 96.98p in June 2007, compared to 132.20p in July 2012, according to the AA.


Read more HERE

Are these really the people we elect to lead us?



No decorum, no class, just base and desperate to be seen to be with it and 'down with the people'. British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and Mayor of London, Boris Johnson at the London Olympics closing ceremony.

What a sad indictment of modern British politics. Are these really the best we've got? Do ANY of our politicians inspire respect anymore? No.

Next week Ed Milliband breakdancing outside Poundland.......

Saturday, 4 August 2012

Coventry City ship out Gary Deegan

Hibs sign Gary Deegan from Coventry City on one-year deal



Hibernian have signed midfielder Gary Deegan, the player who tweeted 'Up the RA' ta team-mate, from Coventry City.

The Leith club say the 24-year-old has joined on "an initial one-year contract after terms were agreed for his permanent transfer".

Born in Dublin, Deegan previously worked with Hibs manager Pat Fenlon when both were Bohemians,

"It's a perfect move for me and I'm excited about what we can achieve in the season ahead," Deegan told Hibs' official website.

Read more HERE