Ex-EastEnders star Mike Reid dies

A great bloke, one of our finest comedians and actors sadly passed away this week.

Former EastEnders actor Mike Reid has died at the age of 67 after suffering a suspected heart attack, his agent said.

He added: "He would see the funny side of any situation, no matter how black it was. Even now I'm sure he's laughing."

Frank Carson, a close friend who met Reid around 30 years ago, told BBC News 24 the news was "absolutely devastating".
"We have just lost our friend Bernard Manning a fortnight ago. I just can't realise... this is devastating news," he said.
Another fellow comedian, Mike McCabe, said Reid had been "a jack-the-lad, very funny with a great cockney way of putting things together".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6921549.stm

R.I.P Mike Reid Diamond Geeza

New UK human rights laws needed to counter new threat

The terrorist suspects arrested this week will be able to remain in Britain indefinitely and at public expense whether or not they are found guilty. That is the conclusion of a report issued today by think-tank Migrationwatch which also recommends that we pull out of the ECHR and write our own human rights law appropriate to the new age of terrorism.

The report points out that Britain's continued adherence to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is an attraction for terrorists to operate in and from Britain, secure in the knowledge that, even if convicted, they cannot be deported after serving their sentences.
Article 3 of the Convention prohibits torture or inhumane treatment in member countries. It has been extended by case law to prohibit deportation to countries where there is a risk of such treatment. It is no longer possible, therefore, to balance the risk to the deportee against the risk that he might pose to British society.

The ECHR also inhibits action against foreign citizens suspected of terrorism. Indefinite detention was struck down by the Law Lords in 2004. The replacement measures, Control Orders, have been so weakened by the courts that seven suspects have already absconded. The report therefore recommends that Britain should withdraw from the ECHR giving 6 months notice, as is her right. At the same time, there should be a public announcement that, from the date of withdrawal, any foreign citizen arrested and subsequently convicted of a terrorist offence will be deported to his own country on completion of his sentence with a right of appeal that could only be exercised after departure.

Suspicion of terrorist offences would not be sufficient to justify deportation but the new terrorist threat requires that provision be made for lengthy periods of detention in the interests of public safety. Thus, the ECHR and the 1998 Human Rights Act (which is based on it) should be replaced by a revised Act which, while preserving intact human rights generally, excludes convicted terrorists and provides for the long term detention of terror suspects. Some have claimed that withdrawal from the ECHR would require withdrawal from the EU but the report makes it clear that this is false.

http://www.migrationwatchuk.org/

EU is an Empire

Britain was told yesterday that it was part of a new European empire — by the Brussels bureaucrat who would be emperor. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, said that all 27 EU members should be proud of their unique union. “At least we in the Commission are proud of it.”
Conservatives and eurosceptics said that they would use Mr Barroso’s comments to press Gordon Brown for a referendum on the treaty replacing the failed EU constitution — a vote the Prime Minister is refusing to call.

Read more at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2056576.ece

Thousands attend Orange parades

Happy 12th July to our friends across the water.

Tens of thousands of Orangemen and supporters are attending Northern Ireland's Twelfth of July parades.

Full story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6292198.stm

Blades Ponder Fresh Appeal

An article taken from Sky News

Sheffield United may launch an appeal in the High Court after failing in their last bid to get reinstated to the Premier League.

An independent arbitration panel ruled this week that the FA Premier League was correct in its decision to fine West Ham over the Carlos Tevez affair rather than dock points, which would have seen The Hammers relegated in place of The Blades.

But Sheffield United may now appeal that the arbitration panel made an error in law when considering a previous judgement.

The club had an appeal to set up a new disciplinary commission dismissed on Tuesday, and could now take recourse in the High Court.

The Premier League has claimed the appeal process has already started, but a Sheffield United spokesman insists the club is just gauging the situation at this stage.

A Premier League spokesman said: "The Premier League has just been advised by our legal team that Sheffield United have launched an appeal in the High Court under Section 69(2)(b) of the Arbitration Act 1996 against the award of our arbitration panel yesterday under Section S of our Rules.

"Our legal team inform us that this is a very narrow window of appeal where Sheffield United are claiming that the arbitration panel under Sir Philip Otton made an error in law by failing to send back the original decision to the independent disciplinary commission for reconsideration.

"It is a matter of record that the Premier League has acted at all times in accordance with our rule book and procedures, as such we expect this matter to be expedited as quickly as possible and, again, we will not be altering any plans for next season."

A Sheffield United spokesman has since countered: "We have applied to find out if we can lodge an appeal through the civil courts. This involves speaking to a judge and is a technical process.

"We may lodge an appeal as a result but we may not. We are still going through the process."

Migration Watch Press Release

Government were warned over security weaknesses of visa system
July 3, 2007

It emerged today that the Government were warned two years ago that the system of visa checks was inadequate for countries where there were particular concerns over terrorism.

Think-tank Migrationwatch issued a warning on 23 August, 2005 that pressure on our visa sections could compromise security. The report said that large numbers of people from countries of concern were, in effect, being waved through the system because of pressure on immigration officers overseas to meet targets.

Commenting today, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migrationwatch, said: ‘People are rightly concerned that our border controls have been allowed to crumble and they question why it is so easy for people to get into this country with only the most cursory of checks. The latest terrorist incidents should be a wake up call for the new government. It is not just a question of medical staff, the issue of all visas in countries which have a track record as a source of terrorism should now be subject to a root and branch review. Only those applicants interviewed by a UK based immigration officer should be permitted to enter Britain. The government has powers to take specific measures of this kind where necessary for immigration purposes. It should use them. The whole system needs tightening up in view of the risks we now face.’