| Women are told unborn babies dead A Brighton hospital reassures patients after being forced to apologise to two pregnant women who were wrongly told their unborn babies were dead. bbc.co.uk |
Francis Maude proves unable to light the bonfire of the quangos The long awaited bonfire of the quangos has failed to ignite. According to Tristram Hunt (Lab, Stoke-on-Trent Central) it has turned into "a clammy Sunday afternoon barbecue". telegraph.co.uk |
G4S faces new restraint claims José Gutiérrez's claim he was mistreated comes after officers from same firm accused over death of Jimmy MubengaThe UK Border Agency (UKBA) has launched its second investigation this month into allegations of mistreatment of a refused asylum seeker being forcibly deported through Heathrow.José Gutiérrez, 37, from Colombia, needed hospital attention for injuries after G4S security guards escorted him onto a British Airways flight. He was subsequently removed from the plane before take-off.His experience – on the evening of 6 October – came only a few days before Jimmy Mubenga, a 46-year-old Angolan refugee, collapsed and died after employees of the same private security firm put him onto another BA flight at Heathrow. Gutiérrez's partner, Teresa Ramsey, contacted the Guardian after reading of Mubenga's death.Gutiérrez, who is now being held at Dover immigration removal centre, claims he was mistreated in the stairwell outside the aircraft where there are no CCTV cameras.The Guardian has seen his NHS medical notes, which show that he was admitted to Hillingdon hospital's accident and emergency department in the early hours of 7 October with swollen and tender wrists and soft tissue injury.A letter written the same day by a doctor at the Colnbrook detention centre observed that Gutiérrez had multiple bruising or petechiae (purple skin spots caused by broken capillary blood vessels) on his trunk, back and arms as well as tenderness over his lower abdomen.Gutiérrez has reported his claims to the UKBA and the Independent Monitoring Boards, the watchdog responsible for overseeing prisons, immigration removal centres and short-term holding facilities at airports. G4S has also launched its own investigation. Gutiérrez has now been informed he will be deported next Monday.In a statement issued through the Home Office, the UKBA said: "This matter is subject to internal investigation and we are unable to comment. We expect the highest standards of integrity and behaviour from our staff and contractors. We take all allegations of mistreatment seriously and they are reported routinely to the appropriate authorities, including the police."Gutiérrez said he had arrived in Britain in 1992 after refusing to join paramilitary groups that had tried to recruit him. He said other members of his family have since been killed in the conflict, and that he fears he would be targeted if returned to Colombia. His request for asylum in Britain was rejected, he explained, after he gained a criminal record for becoming involved in a fight.Gutiérrez said that security guards had handcuffed him and put on a leg restraint before physically carrying him up the stairs onto BA flight 247 to Sao Paulo. He claims he sustained injuries to his left hand, lower back and pelvic region outside the plane.After he was put into a seat, he threatened to harm himself with razor blades he had smuggled onto the plane. At this point the decision was taken to remove him from the flight.Speaking from Dover detention centre, Gutiérrez said: "The [security guards] tied my leg with a kind of belt and carried me up the stairwell. I was shouting 'please don't do this to me. I have a daughter here'. [Afterwards] they took me to Colnbrook."One of the officers there saw me in a state and called the nurse who examined me. She said they should take me to accident and emergency at Hillingdon hospital."The hospital gave me an x-ray on my left hand and checked my injuries. My soft tissue [around my pelvic area] has been bruised. I have since been passing blood. I have also seen another doctor in the detention centre."A spokesman for the hospital, near Heathrow, confirmed that Gutiérrez had been treated in the accident and emergency department on 7 and 8 October. "He was discharged on both occasions," the spokesman said.Victor Fiorini, who works with the Dover Detainees Visitor Group, told the Guardian he had known Gutiérrez for six months. He saw him at the Dover immigration removal centre a week after the failed deportation."He was very shaken," Fiorini said. "He had bruises on his back and his stomach. He couldn't walk properly. There were also bruises on his arm. He tells me he has nightmares now."In response to detailed allegations, a G4S spokesperson said: "We can confirm that a complaint has been lodged with UKBA by a Mr Guetierrez regarding an attempted deportation conducted by G4S officers in October 2010. A formal investigation has been launched by UKBA , which G4S will cooperate with fully. In addition G4S has launched its own investigation into the alleged incident."Three security guards who work for G4S have been arrested and bailed by police investigating the circumstances of Jimmy Mubenga's death. British Airways declined to comment on the case.A global security firmG4S describes itself as "the world's leading international security solutions group" and "the second largest private employer" on Earth. It has 595,000 employees.Founded in 1901, it has grown to incorporate numerous security companies including Securicor, Group 4, and Falck in Europe, as well as the US-based Wackenhut Corporation and Armorgroup. It operates in 110 countries.In the UK it runs immigration detention centres on behalf of the UK Border Agency at Dungavel in Scotland, Oakington near Cambridge, as well as Brook House and Tinsley House on the perimeter of Gatwick Airport. Oakington is due to close next month.G4S manages four prisons on behalf of the Prison Service: HMP Wolds in Hull, HMP Altcourse in Liverpool, HMP Parc in Bridgend and HMP Rye Hill near Rugby.The firm is the main contractor providing services to escort those removed from the UK on repatriation flights overseas. Among its international security customers are Baghdad international airport.Immigration and asylumColombiaHuman rightsOwen BowcottPaul LewisMatthew Taylorguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
BA worker denies terror charges A British Airways computer expert from Newcastle who is alleged to have offered himself as a suicide bomber denies terrorism charges. bbc.co.uk |
US embassy cables: Prince Charles 'does not command same respect as Queen' says Commonwealth mandarin Thursday, 11 June 2009, 15:32C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LONDON 001385 SIPDIS EO 12958 DECL: 06/11/2019 TAGS PREL, EAID, PHUM, PINR, NI, CE, FJ, NZ, CA, MY, UK SUBJECT: COMMMONWEALTH ON FIJI, SRI LANKA, NIGERIA, QUEEN'S SUCCESSION, AND THE VALUE TO USG OF COMMONWEALTH ENGAGEMENTREF: LONDON 580Classified By: Political Counselor Richard Mills, reasons 1.4 (b/d)1. (C) Summary. During a June 11 discussion with Poloff, Commonwealth Political Director Amitav Banerji offered electoral commission capacity-building as an area where the USG and Commonwealth could be strategic partners; said a Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) would soon discuss and likely recommend full suspension of Fiji; noted concern about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka; and indicated the Commonwealth is keeping a watchful eye on Nigeria because of the constitutional crisis that could ensue if President Yar'Adua dies. While noting that it was not actively being dicussed, Banerji acknowledged that succession of the Head of the Commonwealth would have to be dealt with when Queen Elizabeth passes, as there is no rule stipulating that the British monarch is the head and no procedure for selecting a new head. End Summary.USG Engagement--------------2. (C) Commonwealth Secretariat Director of Political Affairs Amitav Banerji reiterated to Poloff Commonwealth SYG Kamalesh Sharma's desire for "strategic engagement" with the USG on June 11. Noting the important role of electoral commissions in conducting credible elections, Banerji said Sharma hopes to create a network of electoral commissions across the Commonwealth, whereby newer commissions in fragile democracies could receive guidance and support from commissions in more established democracies. He offered this initiative as an example of where the USG and Commonwealth have mutual interests and where the USG could use the Commonweath's technical electoral commission capacity-building capability and independent, "baggage free" status to promote democracy abroad.Fiji----3. (C) Noting that the Commonwealth had past the deadline set at the May CMAG meeting to re-consider full suspension of Fiji (reftel), Banerji said he was very "frustrated" that CMAG had not yet met to discuss Fiji, especially as the Commonwealth's credibility could be damaged by not taking a decision as indicated at the last meeting. He said CMAG had not met purely for scheduling reasons, and that the Secretariat hopes to hold the meeting by the end of the month, though he was not confident it would be possible. He thought CMAG would move for full suspension of Fiji, intimating there had been difficult discussions at the previous CMAG meeting on Fiji with New Zealand pushing hard for full suspension and Malaysia wanting to ensure that Fiji did not withdraw from the Commonwealth to pre-empt a full suspension a la Zimbabwe.Sri Lanka---------4. (C) Banerji said that the human rights situation in Sri Lanka during and after the recent military offensive had been raised "informally and off the record" by the UK during the last CMAG meeting, forcing a difficult conversation with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, as Sri Lanka is currently a member of CMAG. Banerji said the Commonwealth continues to watch the situation in Sri Lanka and noted that Sri Lanka's offer to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) had been turned down over concerns about lending international credibility to the Government's actions.Nigeria-------5. (C) The Commonwealth is also keeping a watchful eye on Nigeria, Banerji noted, as it is "punching well below its weight" and President Yar'Adua's sudden death has the potential to prompt a constitutional crisis. The Commonwealth would like to see Nigeria more active in the region and in the Commonwealth across the board. Banerji noted that Yar'Adua did not make a single intervention at the last CHOGM, contrasting sharply with former President ObsanjoLONDON 00001385 002 OF 002who had been active in Commonwealth affairs.Succession of the Head of the Commonwealth------------------------------------------6. (C) Banerji acknowledged that succession of the Head of the Commonwealth would have to be dealt with when Queen Elizabeth passes, as there is no rule stipulating that the British monarch is the head and no procedure for selecting a new head. He acknowledged that heir-apparent to the British Crown, Prince Charles, does not "command the same respect" as the Queen and said the Commonwealth was trying quietly to get him more involved in Commonwealth affairs. Banerji noted Marlborough House, the Commonwealth Secretariat's current location, was a royal property, owned and funded by the British Royal Family, and mused that may be a factor in the discussions. He noted that succession was not actively being discussion within the Commonwealth.Visit London's Classified Website: http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Unit ed_KingdomLeBaronPrince CharlesThe QueenMonarchyFijiSri LankaNigeriaUS foreign policyThe US embassy cablesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |