The jury certainly seems to be out at the moment.

The government is pinning its hopes on treating NHS patients in hospitals owned and run privately.

At the new Shepton Mallet diagnostic and treatment centre the cost of every operation is 20% more than the NHS tarfiff.

That is because the multi-national company that owns the hospital needs to re-coup the cost of building the 35-bed unit.

At the end of five years, primary care trusts could decide to take over the hospital. But then they would have to compensate its owners, the New York Presbyterian Healthcare System.

Private sector 'reliance'

So in Shepton's case it could be bad value for money.

But a senior NHS manager told me that the NHS has ingrained working practices, which makes trying to make staff work in a more efficient manner very difficult to achieve.

She sees the private sector has merits in this respect. It can dictate to staff when, how and where they should work.

But the great danger, she told me, was relying too much on the private sector.

She forsees a situation where patients left with complications from operations going wrong have to battle with the private hospitals for redress and correction.

'Perverse incentive'

And with NHS trusts competing with the private sector for business, the long-held NHS ethos of co-operation will mean give and take will disappear.

By cutting waiting lists using extra capacity outside the NHS, the government gets rid of the main reason patients pay to go private.

It also removes the perverse incentive for NHS consultants to keep long waiting lists in order to have a healthy private practice.

But if we carry on cutting waiting times by using the private sector, this very success could prove disastrous for NHS finances.

With more patients using the private facilities – paid for by the NHS – that is more patients the NHS will have to pay for.

Chris Savido's acrylic painting, Bush Monkeys, prompted gallery managers to close down a 60-piece show at New York's Chelsea Market last week.

Anonymous donors subsequently paid for the picture to be posted over the entrance to Holland Tunnel for a month.

Some 400,000 drivers are expected to see the billboard each day.

The small painting appears to be a portrait of Mr Bush but on closer inspection is made up of monkey heads in marshes.

Managers of Chelsea Market have refused to be drawn on why the original exhibition was closed down but their decision has provoked accusations of censorship.

'Beautiful expression'

The organisers of the original exhibition, art publishers Animal Magazine, said it had been contacted by anonymous donors who wanted it to be seen by a larger audience.

"What has surprised everyone is that this image was considered controversial," Animal said in a statement.

"Bush Monkeys, by any measure, is an intelligent, civil and beautiful expression of the artist's frustrations with the current presidential administration. It is a wonderful example of responsible and effective political criticism."

The painting is now being sold on internet auction site eBay to raise money for a charity which donates money to parents of US soldiers who want to supply their children with body armour in Iraq.

The charity is close to 23-year-old Savido's heart as he says he has many friends serving in Iraq.

Money will also be raised for arts education in deprived areas.

Bidding has so far reached $4,000 (£2,067).

Private investigator Daniel Morgan had spent a spring evening drinking with his business partner in the Golden Lion pub in south London.

Less than an hour later, the 37-year-old was found dead in the car park with an axe embedded in his head.

That was in 1987. Now, 21 years on, no-one has been convicted of his murder despite the police suggesting the identity of those responsible is one of south London's "worst-kept secrets".

So did the crime truly stump Scotland Yard's finest or was there something more sinister afoot?

Officers arrested

The police's failure to solve the case has led to allegations of corruption and claims of a cover-up.

Mr Morgan's links with the Metropolitan Police certainly ran deep. As co-owner of a firm called Southern Investigations, he employed off-duty police officers.

And in a statement, the Metropolitan Police say they believe Mr Morgan had been about to expose a south London drugs network, possibly involving police officers.

But to date, there has been no evidence to prove any cover-up or corruption.

There has also been no shortage of investigations into Mr Morgan's murder – five in total.

The first two in the late 1980s proved inconclusive and a third was apparently carried out without Mr Morgan's family being informed, despite their persistent lobbying.

In 2002, the Met Police offered a £50,000 reward to catch the killer and appeals were made on television.

Despite all such efforts, arrests were made, some people were charged but no-one was ever convicted.

Among those charged was Mr Morgan's business partner but the charges were soon dropped.

Several serving police officers were also arrested but were exonerated. Two were later paid damages for false imprisonment.

In late 2002, there were further arrests in London and Croydon, followed by the arrest of a former police officer on suspicion of "misconduct in a public office" relating to the initial murder inquiry.

But the Crown Prosecution Service concluded there was insufficient evidence to mount a prosecution.

Now the police say two new suspects have been arrested and three others are being re-interviewed.

'Professional hitman'

The news has been given a cautious welcome by Mr Morgan's family who are hoping a breakthrough could mean an end to their "long and arduous ordeal".

They believe a professional hitman was behind Mr Morgan's death, as his £900 Rolex watch was missing but £1,100 in cash was left in his pocket.

The murder weapon was also found wrapped in two strips of plaster tape – apparently to avoid leaving fingerprints.

Since Mr Morgan's death his brother, Alistair, has been doggedly pursuing justice.

"The circumstances surrounding Daniel's death were so appalling you felt that there was such a cloud over the investigation and cloud over the Metropolitan Police, I felt I could not move on. I had to do something," he said.

He described how the police's attitude had gone from paranoid secrecy surrounding the early investigations to openness and trust in recent years.

Even after the fourth investigation, he did not give up and contacted the Metropolitan Police Authority – a move he says was partly responsible for the fifth investigation being launched in 2006 by Scotland Yard.

He says he now hopes new witnesses who have come forward will prove crucial.

Assistant Commissioner of the Met John Yates, who is in overall charge of the re-investigation, said the latest arrests demonstrated the Met's continued determination to bring those responsible to justice.

He called for anyone with information to come forward, saying there were still people out there who have "highly pertinent evidence about this case".

"We have long said that within south London, the identity of those responsible for the murder is one of the worst-kept local secrets," Mr Yates said.

Police will be hoping that secret will be spilled before investigation number six.

]]> http://mapofantigua.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/private-eye-killers-no-secret/feed/ 0 Trevet http://mapofantigua.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/the-real-no1-ladies-detective-agency/ http://mapofantigua.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/the-real-no1-ladies-detective-agency/#comments Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:46:50 +0000 Trevet http://mapofantigua.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/the-real-no1-ladies-detective-agency/ ]]> Faced with some of Africa's most puzzling crimes, Lindy, Betty, Bertha and Mannes are four clued-up ladies.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books, which detail the work of female private detectives in Botswana, have been a phenomenal success.

They have sold nine million copies around the world and the rights have been bought by Hollywood.

The agency is, of course, fictional.

But in Lusaka, capital of Zambia, exists a unique, real-life agency which employs female detectives.

In the film we follow Lindy and Betty as they investigate a major criminal case in which 30 tonnes of maize seed worth £40,000 goes missing from a warehouse.

Meanwhile, Bertha and Mannes are assigned to a case in which a man suspects his wife, a school teacher, of being unfaithful to him.

The agency's Director of Investigations, Edmond Lifwekelo, is proud of his female workforce.

"Ladies are a very, very valuable tool," he says.

"When you are doing surveillance in a bar or a nightclub and you put a man there, he starts drinking, gets drunk and can easily be compromised… but the ladies just have a coke or a tonic. They are very disciplined."

And when the cases consist of dead-ends, lengthy stakeouts and complex paper trails, discipline – just like these four female sleuths – should never be underestimated.

The Real No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency was broadcast on Tuesday, 5 July, 2005 at 1900 BST on BBC Two.

Producer: Dominic Ozanne
Executive Producer: Karen O'Connor

Jennifer Ferguson, a pupil at Central High School in Newcastle, was awarded top marks for her painting of a Metro train arriving at Jesmond station.

The painting so impressed bosses at Metro operator Nexus, it may now be exhibited somewhere on the system.

The 18-year-old was given a brief to depict an "underground" theme and chose a Metro train.

Using acrylic paints, she had just three days and 15 hours in an exam to complete the 3ft x 2ft painting, which impressed the examiners so much it got an 'A' grade, scoring 111 out of a possible 120 marks.

'Excellent work'

Jennifer, of Gosforth in Newcastle, said: "The Metro offered exactly what I was looking for to capture the theme for the exam.

"The hardest aspect was capturing the different colours and details inside the train itself."

A Nexus spokesman said: "It's an excellent piece of art work and we are hugely impressed by it.

"It's possible this piece could join the many art commissions already on display throughout the Metro system."

Jennifer, who studied graphics, fine art and music for her A-levels, is going on to read music at Birmingham Conservatoire.

]]> http://mapofantigua.wordpress.com/2008/06/22/commuters-set-to-see-art-project/feed/ 0 Trevet http://mapofantigua.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/second-arrest-over-axe-murder/ http://mapofantigua.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/second-arrest-over-axe-murder/#comments Thu, 19 Jun 2008 08:05:04 +0000 Trevet http://mapofantigua.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/second-arrest-over-axe-murder/ ]]> Monday, 7 October, 2002, 14:51 GMT 15:51 UK Second arrest over axe murder
Daniel Morgan was a private investigator
A second man has been arrested in connection with the 1987 murder of a private detective.

Daniel Morgan was attacked with an axe in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south-east London, on 10 March 1987.

Police arrested a man in his mid-40s on Monday morning in Kingswood, Surrey in connection with the murder.

The man had been employed by Southern Investigations, the private detective company set up by Mr Morgan in 1984.

Fresh appeal

He is being questioned by officers at Wandsworth police station in south London.

Another man arrested in south London on 3 October in connection with the death has been released on bail.

Mr Morgan, who grew up in Monmouthshire, was 37 when his body was found with the axe still embedded in his head.

In June, the Metropolitan Police offered a £50,000 reward to catch the killer and made a fresh appeal on BBC One's Crimewatch UK programme.

The Dundee University study found 3% of dental school applicants in the late 1990s planning to work in general practice would undertake only NHS work.

Researchers now fear for the future of NHS services because those who took part are due to qualify this year.

The British Dental Association (BDA) agreed and said the study represented industry feelings on NHS cases.

The research came from questionnaires completed by 464 dental undergraduates at Dundee and Manchester universities when attending their interviews in 1998 and 1999.

Many of those interviewed are set to embark on their professional careers this year and their feelings will directly affect public access to NHS dentistry.

The study found 65% planned to move into general practice on qualification, 15% planned to go into hospital services with the remainder either undecided or heading for community or military services.

Of the majority, the academics found 90% expressed a wish to work in mixed public/private surgeries, 7% planned to stick to solely private practice with the rest concentrating on NHS work.

The study's principal investigator Dr Fiona Stewart said: "The findings emphasise the urgent need to address issues regarding workforce planning in the profession.

"Unless steps are taken, the provision of NHS dental services in the UK could be jeopardised in the future."

Access problems

Dr Stewart added that almost 90% of women and 70% of men anticipated taking time out from work before their children started school, which would further exacerbate problems of access to NHS services.

The BDA agreed with the survey's findings and conclusions.

The chairman of the association's Scottish Dental Practice Committee, which represents all general practitioners across Scotland, Robert Donald said: "I think the findings reflect what is happening within general practice in Scotland.

"It's very frightening that only 3% plan to go and work within the NHS but it is tempered by the fact that only 7% wanted to go and work in private practice.

"The majority of dentists work in mixed practices and they are finding that it is hard to make a practice work financially without taking on private work because it subsidises the NHS income."

He claimed the only real way to turn dentists back towards taking on publicly-funded work was for the Scottish Executive to triple its funding for NHS dentistry.

"The executive set the fees for NHS work and at present they are far too low," added Mr Donald. "This means that dentists have to see between 40 and 50 patients a day to meet the costs of running their practices.

"If it doesn't sort this problem out soon the government is going to have major problems with access to NHS services in the future."

The Scottish National Party claimed the survey results were "devastating" for NHS dentistry.

Health spokeswoman Shona Robison said: "This is further evidence that working in the NHS is not an attractive proposition for dentists.

"We must work harder to make the NHS more attractive to prospective dentists by increasing financial incentives available for those working in the public sector, before the NHS dental services plunge deeper into crisis."

Record investment

Deputy Health Minister Rhona Brankin said much was being done to make NHS work more attractive to dentists.

She said: "Earlier this year, I announced the biggest overhaul of NHS dentistry since the NHS began.

"This was matched by record levels of funding into Scottish dentistry.

"As well as investing record resources into dental education, we are committed to introducing a bursary scheme for dental students which will commit them to working in the NHS following their period of training.

"We are also introducing a wide range of incentives to ensure that NHS dentistry is an attractive option for dental graduates."

Singer/songwriter Loreena McKennitt last year won £5,000 in damages and an injunction following revelations in a book by former employee Niema Ash.

Ms Ash went to the Court of Appeal in London, arguing the information was "banal and anodyne".

Dismissing Ms Ash's appeal, Lord Justice Buxton said Ms McKennitt was a star who guarded her personal privacy.

McKennitt, whose Celtic music has sold 13 million albums worldwide, said Ash's book Travels with Loreena McKennitt: My Life as a Friend breached a duty of confidence.

Certain passages covered personal and sexual relationships, her personal feelings about her fiancé who drowned in 1998, health and diet, her emotional vulnerability and detail of a property dispute.

Ms Ash's advocate, David Price, told Lord Justice Buxton, Lord Justice Latham and Lord Justice Longmore at the Court of Appeal in London that the importance of the case went beyond its protagonists.

"The judgment below is a triple whammy against freedom of expression – that freedom being not merely the right of an author to impart information but also to the public's right to receive it if they so choose," he said.

Lord Justice Buxton upheld all of the High Court judge's conclusions that various passages in the book were intrusive, insensitive and distressing and came under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act which governs the right to respect for private and family life.

Afterwards, Ms McKennitt said: "If an aspect of career places one directly in the public eye or if extraordinary events make an ordinary person newsworthy for a time, we still should have the basic human dignity of privacy for our home and family life."

An up and coming young designer from Ulverston is heading to the Paris fashion week in the hope of showing off her work.

Julia Geere, 23, is in talks with top Paris stores and the British Embassy to secure a catwalk show of her designs.

She recently picked up the Best Creative Business Award at the Young Entrepreneurs in the North West and says she is not daunted about going to the French capital.

She said: "It's work at the end of the day. It's great winning these awards and doing all this but I'm always too busy to take it all in, which I think is a good thing."

Homegrown fashion

Miss Geere said she also wanted to maintain her Ulverston base for the time being despite frequent visits to various fashion hotspots.

"At the moment, where my business is based is not of major importance. It's more about where the garments are being sold.

"A lot of people think 'why are you in Ulverston' but that's a bit naive. Everyone seems to think that all Cumbria has to offer is farming and that sort of thing.

"There's so much that goes on in Cumbria that many people are not aware of.

"It's kind of nice to keep my feet on the ground. My family and friends are all still there."

Miss Geere believes the secret of her success is the quality of her designs, the fabric that is used and the fact that they are exclusive because so few are produced.

She said: "The clothes tend to speak for themselves and I think people can see that."

Mr Advani, who will remain opposition leader, admitted the party had passed through a "bad patch" this year.

But he said it would reach "new heights" under the BJP's likely new president, former Uttar Pradesh state chief minister, Rajnath Singh.

Mr Advani is one of the party's founding leaders but came under pressure from hardliners this year.

The 77-year-old quits at a time when the Hindu nationalist BJP is beset by problems.

Half a dozen of its MPs were recently suspended from the parliament for allegedly accepting cash for questions.

Separately, the BJP lost a senior leader on Tuesday when general secretary Sanjay Joshi resigned after becoming embroiled in a sex scandal.

"We have passed through a bad patch and I'm sure that under Rajnath Singh we are heading for a very good patch in 2006," Mr Advani told reporters.

Mr Advani says Mr Singh will take the BJP to "new heights".

Rajnath Singh hails from the populous and politically crucial northern Uttar Pradesh state.

A low profile politician and a former federal agriculture minister, the 54-year-old Mr Singh shot into the limelight in the early 1990s as the Uttar Pradesh education minister when he came down hard on cheating in examinations.

But some analysts believe that Mr Singh will find it difficult to run a party where a young generation of leaders is competing for primacy.

New generation

The announcement of Mr Advani's formal stepping down was made at a party convention in the western Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) and at the time of the party's silver jubilee.

The BBC's Zubair Ahmed in Mumbai says with his resignation an era comes to an end.

Mr Advani, along with former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, were instrumental in the BJP's formation 25 years ago, and later in its rise to power.

But following a visit to Pakistan this year, Mr Advani came under pressure from hardliners who were angered by comments he made about Pakistan's founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

He described Jinnah as secular. Many political leaders in India view Jinnah as the man responsible for dividing India along religious lines.

A party leader said the leadership was being passed on to the younger generation, but would continue to be guided by senior leaders, such as Mr Advani and Mr Vajpayee.

Observers believe the party will not shun its main Hindu nationalist ideology.

But several leaders say the party should strive to become a modern, progressive movement.

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