Mambo ya London

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The £2m traffic camera
which has snared 16,123 drivers in three months



Britain's most profitable traffic camera has raked in almost £2 million in just three months after catching out motorists confused by a diversion. The single camera is earning a staggering £150,000-a-week from unwitting drivers who stray into a street filled with temporary bus and taxi lanes. The camera earns as much in a week as England and Chelsea football star John Terry – the country’s best-paid footballer – and is driving motorists mad. If it stays in place for 12 months, the camera – in Victoria, Central London – is on track to issue fines totalling a staggering £8 million.



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Lucrative: How the traffic camera at Victoria earns its £150,000 a week


So far, 16,123 drivers have been hit with fines of £120 each at the diversion near Victoria rail station – one of the capital’s busiest junctions – swelling Transport for London (TfL) coffers by more than £1.9 million. The junction is used daily by thousands of motorists – many of them strangers to the capital dropping off or collecting people at the rail station and neighbouring Tube station.

Even though large temporary red signs warn drivers of the diversion off busy Vauxhall Bridge Road, motorists still see permanent signposts for Victoria which direct them to make a right turn into what is now a temporary bus lane. Motoring organisations, which have complained about the camera, say the signs confuse drivers and this results in them straying into the bus lane. It is then that the nation’s most lucrative traffic camera – attached to a steel pole high above the junction – records the driver’s car and number plate details. The offence automatically generates a £120 penalty notice, which is reduced to £60 if it is paid within 14 days.



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Lured into the traffic trap: Cars at the junction of Wilton Road
and the Vauxhall 'one way' system


Mark Reed, 54, a property manager from London who was caught by the camera, said: ‘I went through this area and turned right. A week later I get a £120 ticket, and I can see from the photo that my car is there. ‘I had no idea I had done anything wrong. The signing is incredibly confusing and there’s probably going to be a lot more people fined.’

Another man, who asked not to be named, told how his wife was caught out: ‘She was very confused by the markings on the road – one of the arrows conflicted with the road signs. I think they’ve made a terrible mess of it.’ The diversion – put in place because of major roadworks in Wilton Road – has been plaguing motorists since the beginning of March and has also disrupted bus services travelling past Victoria station. Paul Pearson, of campaign group PenaltyChargeNotice.co.uk, said that TfL’s website showed the route past Victoria station as a way of avoiding the Congestion Charge.

‘It’s disgraceful,’ he added. ‘I told TfL two months ago about this. Motorists go on their website and work out the free route and then run the risk of receiving a penalty charge notice for £120 if they’re caught out by the bus lane. ‘Motorists who have received a fine and who followed the map should appeal. ‘TfL is milking confused motorists for every penny. ‘What’s even more staggering is that I’ve seen notices sent out with pictures which don’t show the signs the car is supposed to have disobeyed. ‘It means these notices must be unenforceable. If you’re failing to comply with something, then there must be a picture of the sign which you’re failing to obey. It’s like fining a driver for going into a yellow box and not showing the yellow box.

‘This camera is raking in a huge amount. It’s basically paying for the roadworks going on there. It’s quite incredible.’ Elizabeth Box, head of research at the RAC Foundation, said: ‘Authorities are required to take all reasonable steps to ensure that disruption at road works is kept to a minimum and that road-users receive clear directions well ahead of the obstacle. ‘This location has high traffic flows making it all the more important for these temporary works to be planned in a way that minimises congestion, delay, inconvenience and motorist confusion.

‘The seemingly high number of penalty charge notices issued indicates that TfL should look again at the signage provided, especially considering the number of complaints received.There seems to be genuine confusion that should be resolved to improve safety at the site.’ Andrew Howard, head of road safety at the AA, said: ‘We would expect that if the road markings are unclear then these penalty notices would be quashed. ‘With a lot of these charges, they drop to £60 if you pay within two weeks, but if you challenge and lose, then you have to pay £120. That’s what drivers are getting so upset about.’

Two cameras on the A1139 in Peterborough previously held the record as the biggest ‘temporary camera’ moneyspinners. Erected to slow cars to 40mph approaching roadworks, they clawed in £54,000 in just ten days after catching almost 1,000 drivers. The speed camera that issues the most notices is on the M11 in Essex. It catches around 9,000 motorists a year, taking £500,000 annually. TfL said it issued advisory letters to motorists for four weeks before starting to send out penalty notices at the end of March. It said that it had installed extensive and repeated signage and insisted that issuing penalty notices was a last resort. A TfL spokeswoman said: ‘Ninety-nine per cent of drivers are managing to obey these signs telling people not to go into the lane. ‘We don’t want to fine drivers, but there are obvious signs in red.’

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Not all rosy in UK



Council's £400k taxi bill to take teenagers
through the ganglands



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Agnes Sina-Inakoju, 16, who died earlier this year
after being shot in the neck in Hackney





Gang violence in cities has reached such high levels that councils are ferrying teenagers around in taxis – because they are too scared to walk through dangerous areas. One inner London authority spent nearly £400,000 of taxpayers’ money last year putting youths into cabs because of fears for their safety. The local council in Hackney, which has one of the highest rates of shootings and stabbings in the country, ran up a total bill of £440,000. Of this, 88 per cent – an average of £1,060 per day – was accounted for by ‘vulnerable children’.

Finn Greig, a former social worker in the borough, said the high bill reflected the large number of children aged between 13 and 19 who were given taxis because they were too scared to walk between the ‘territories’ used by gangs. ‘The bill reflects some serious social issues in the borough,’ Mr Greig said. ‘There are two arguments here. One says that youth workers are pandering to kids’ fears when they allow them to take taxis. 'The other is that there is a very real danger for a lot of kids walking between postcode territories.’ Hackney has long been a hotbed for gangs such as the notorious London Fields Boys and the Hoxton Boys.

In April, 16-year-old Agnes Sina-Inakoju was shot and killed in a takeaway restaurant in Hoxton in what police said was a case of mistaken identity. A month later, an innocent festival-goer in London Fields was caught in the crossfire of two rival gangs. He suffered life-changing injuries. A spokeswoman for Hackney Council said: ‘Hackney sometimes uses taxis to transport vulnerable children. The council will always encourage the use of public transport where appropriate. ‘However, the age and individual family/carer circumstances of a child can often mean that a taxi is the only option.

‘For example, if a young child is being looked after by a foster carer who also looks after a number of other children, the foster carer may be unable to take the child to have contact with his or her parents. So a taxi is used to ensure the child has a safe journey and is able to have this important family contact. ‘Taxi drivers are also checked through the Criminal Records Bureau to ensure that they are suitable to transport children.’

Enver Solomon, assistant director of policy at children’s charity Barnado’s, said: ‘It is really important that children in care are properly supported because that will ultimately save the local authority money in the future. ‘The council is fulfilling its statutory duties with this, and if it were not, it would be in serious trouble.’

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Fake £1 coins rising in circulation, figures show

How to spot a fake pound coin


Nearly two million counterfeit £1 coins were returned to the Royal Mint in the last financial year, figures show. This was more than 23 times higher than the number seized six years earlier, MPs were told. An estimated one in 36 £1 coins in circulation are counterfeit, prompting a campaign by the Royal Mint telling people how to spot fakes. Key signs of counterfeits include a poorly defined ribbed edge or an indistinct design of the Queen.

The UK Treasury said that the proportion of counterfeit £1 coins in circulation had only risen slightly in the last year. Attempts to tackle the number of fakes had led to the high number seized and returned to the Royal Mint. "The increase in the number of counterfeit coins taken out of the system shows the success of decisive government action to tackle coin counterfeiting," said a Treasury spokesman. "The government takes counterfeiting extremely seriously and over the past few years has been working closely with industry and law enforcement agencies to tackle this issue head on, with the Serious Organised Crime Agency successful in prosecuting counterfeiters."

Growing number

Various groups have been told to inspect for fakes before they reach the pockets of consumers. In a written parliamentary answer, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Justine Greening, explained that high-speed automated systems were used by banks and the Post Office to process deposits and prepare coins for reissue. How to spot a fake £1 coinContinue reading the main story [#skip_feature_02] Indistinct lettering or wrong typeface on edgeQueen's head and pattern on reverse should both be upright when coin is turned overDesign on reverse should correspond with official design for year of its issue "These automated systems are capable of detecting and withdrawing a significant number of counterfeit coins," she said.

"All counterfeit coins detected from coin processing are sent to the Royal Mint for disposal." Financial institutions handled more than three billion £1 coins a year, she said. In 2003-04, when figures were first collected, the number of £1 coins returned to the Royal Mint stood at 85,000. This leapt to close to one million in 2008-09, and then doubled the following year. In the first three months of the 2010 financial year, the number has already reached 187,000.

Spotting fakes

As soon as a coin accepted in good faith is found to be counterfeit, it is immediately rendered worthless. Attempting to pass it on is an offence. Genuine coins have prompted attempted forgeries for many years
One way to identify a fake is to check the alignment of the coin. By holding it so the Queen's head is upright and facing you - when you turn the coin over, the pattern on the reverse should also be upright. Fakes can often be at an angle. The Royal Mint's online design portfolio can also be used to easily identify what is genuine and what is not. Since they were introduced in 1983, the design on the reverse of the coins has changed every year. The Royal Mint inspects a random sample of coins from across the country to establish the twice-yearly official forgery rate.

Next time you visit the capital be careful .... ..

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Costly: If the treasury decides to recall every £1 coin
in Britain it could be very expensive for the Government





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Spot the fake: The counterfeit £1 coin, above,
shows a difference in colour, detail and writing around
the edge when compared to a real £1 coin, below






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Clamping their style


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Stump up ... luxury cars clamped outside Harrods



THEY shouldn't have too much trouble paying the fine — the billionaire owners of these supercars have just bought Harrods. The Qatari royal family had a rude introduction to London parking laws when a ticket inspector clamped their exclusive motors — worth more than £1.5MILLION — as they sat outside their own shop. The £1.2million Koenigsegg CCXR and £350,000 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce were illegally parked outside the posh Knightsbridge department store, bought by the family three months ago, last week.

Crowds of shocked tourists watched in disbelief as a traffic warden first ticketed then clamped both the cars. The stunning motors belong to the oil-rich Al-Thani royal family, who own a string of luxury vehicles — all decked out in their own distinctive "baby blue" colour. Qatar Holding group, which forked out £1.5billion in April to buy Harrods from Fulham FC owner Mohamed Al Fayed, is led by the Prime Minister of Qatar Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani. One of the cars — the beautiful 249mph Koenigsegg — is one of only six ever made, while only 350 of the Lamborghinis were built. But both were brought to a standstill when they were clamped — although the owners shouldn't have too much trouble stumping up the £150 release fee.

An onlooker said: "It's not every day you see cars like this, let alone watch them get clamped. "Judging by their cars, I shouldn't think the owners will worry too much about paying a couple of hundred quid to have the clamps taken off." The family could have taken advantage of Harrods' valet parking service which charges a £8 for the first hour or £40 for 8-9 hours with an additional £50 charge to store a car overnight. The Al-Thani family have an estimated wealth in the region of £2.4bn as well as stakes in dozens of businesses around the world.

[Steve Dii]

Duuh..!! Ni majimamboz kwa kweli...!! Nadhani hii inahitaji ki-subforum chake yenyewe! lol

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Mum and daughter stabbed in 'brawl'



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Woman And 12-Year-Old 'In Knife Brawl'


A 12-year-old girl and her mother are fighting for life after an apparent knife brawl with each other. The pair were taken to hospital in a critical condition after being discovered with stab wounds in Southall, west London. Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident, a Scotland Yard source said. A Metropolitan police spokesman said: "Police were called at approximately 14:30 today following reports of two females suffering from stabbing injuries.

"Officers discovered a woman believed to be aged 30 to 40 years and a girl with knife injuries." The London Ambulance Service and the air ambulance were called. The spokesman added: "They have both been taken to a north London hospital where they are both described as being in a critical condition." A Sky News viewer said the incident happened in Durdan Park. The mother and her daughter were injured across the road from the family home, said neighbours. Two police tents were put up on a patch of grass behind the street as forensic officers checed the area. The alarm was raised after a Polish dog walker found the pair this afternoon, one neighbour added.

Mtoto wa miaka 12 anapoamua kumshikia mama yake kisu? Well pengine ni mambo ya remote control ... .... ..... au wakati huu wa holiday kakatazwa kwenda picha na rafiki zake au ile zawadi ya kwenda holiday haikutimizwa ooops pengine alikuwa ana tweeter au yuko kwenye face book na rafiki zake who knows?

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People's champ beats clamps


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CAR-clamped dad who camped in his motor for 30 hours until a four grand fine was axed beamed yesterday - and said: "It was a triumph for the common man." Nursery boss Haroon Zafaryab, 27 - who failed to spot a tiny "private property" notice - blasted "bullying clampers" who swooped on his Toyota Prius. He emerged from prayers at his local mosque to find it clamped - and an enforcement firm official demanding £100 PLUS £265 for a tow truck that had been called to haul the car away.

Haroon refused to pay and got in the driver's seat, knowing the car couldn't be moved with him in it.


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Wind-up ... tickets mount on Prius screenDARREN FLETCHER

That was at 1.18pm on Wednesday - and heralded a marathon sit-in which saw him hailed a local hero in Wembley, North London. Residents in local flats kept him supplied with refreshments as his protest dragged on all afternoon, into the night and continued next day. During the stand-off:



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Deadlock ... all four wheels are clampedDARREN FLETCHER

THREE MORE clamps were fixed so all his wheels were locked.

FORTY PARKING TICKETS were plastered over his windscreen and rear window.

TOTAL FINES mounted to £3,865 - with each penalty notice demanding £80 for 30 minutes of waiting. Clamping firm Citywatch repeatedly sent tow trucks as cops kept an eye on the protest in Wembley's Plaza Parade. By 7.33pm on Thursday the firm's army of officials had finally had enough. Their victim, whose wife proudly took his baby son to see his protest, offered to stump up the original £100 - and one of the enforcement team accepted. Fuming colleague Ayon Malcolm, who originally clamped the £11,000 hybrid motor, slapped his head, wailing: "All that for £100."

Haroon, of Kingsbury, said: "A crowd of about 50 clapped and cheered as they took the clamps off."

.......... continue below ........

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As Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone prepared to unveil a blitz on cowboy clampers on private land today, he added: "Everyone was shaking my hand. The little man won against the big bad clampers. "I knew I was within my rights." His biggest scare came when he briefly sneaked out of his car for a break in the night - then found Mr Malcolm sitting in it. Cops ordered him out.
Haroon said of his sit-in: "I was prepared to stick it out for weeks. I knew they were trying to rip me off with the tow truck." Citywatch, based in Enfield, North London, refused to comment. The AA has blasted the firm, expelled in February from the British Parking Association, as Britain's "greediest".



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Stand-off ... clamper sneaks into car

A DISTRICT nurse's car was held for five hours by clampers who swooped as she parked for 15 minutes in a patient's allocated space. Hannah Bannock was in uniform and displaying an NHS permit when the team struck in Clacton, Essex. She was finally freed when a management firm intervened, and did not have to pay a fee approaching £1,000. Hannah said: "It was disgusting. They were a law unto themselves." The firm, South East Clamping, would not comment.

Sheria na kosa lazima viwe proportionate, the clampers thought they will get 4 grand kilaini.

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Businessman furious at banks' refusal to lend
bricks up Barclays branch in protest

HSBC boss Michael Geoghegan to receive £36m golden goodbye


A businessman angry at the reluctance of banks to lend money to small firms today bricked up the front door of a Barclays in protest. Cameron Hope, a property developer, used breeze-blocks to build an 8ft by 4ft wall directly in front of the entrance to the bank. Mr Hope, 59, was joined by other local business owners who say they have had trouble getting money out of banks in order to run their companies. The protesters waved placards and banners proclaiming 'robbed by the banks we own' and 'make the banks lend' during the stunt at Barclays in Bournemouth, Dorset. Members of the public voiced their support along with passing motorists who sounding their horns.


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Protest: Cameron Hope blocking up the Barclays in Bournemouth

Mr Hope, a father-of-four from Bournemouth, said: 'We blocked the doorway as a way of saying that the banks are open but the safe is shut. 'The banks are stifling the recovery from the recession by not lending businesses any money. 'I wanted to borrow some money for a new development but was told 'no, maybe next year. 'I wanted to borrow 40,000 pounds on a property that I already own but the bank tried to charge me a 7,000 pounds arrangement fee. 'It is outrageous and they are doing it because they can get away with it. Savers are getting nothing, borrowers are getting nothing and the banks are doing what ever they like. 'Some of the banks are even owned by the taxpayer and still they won't lend. The recovery will come from the private sector and if businesses can't borrow money then the recovery won't happen. 'This protest is saying enough is enough and the government needs to step in and make the banks lend.' The brick wall was taken down two hours into the protest after police threatened them with arrest.


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Finishing touches: Mr Hope is furious at banks' reluctance to lend

His plight is exactly the type of problems highlighted by the Daily Mail's campaign, Make the Banks Lend. Smalls firms are struggling to stay afloat without vital money, with around 500 collapsing every week. New Bank of England figures last week showed lending to smaller firms is still in crisis and they are paying back billions more than they are advanced. This is despite the banks surging back to prosperity after the credit crunch and handing out millions in bonus payouts to their staff. The new figures showed business lending to small firms had fallen for the fifth month in succession.

The situation is worse than six months ago, when banks handed out £300million more in loans than was repaid. Business Secretary Vince Cable has read the riot act to the banks, warning: 'There is a potential train crash ahead.' And Deputy PM Nick Clegg insists the coalition is working 'flat out' to get banks lending again to small businesses who he described as the 'lifeblood of our economy'.


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Mr Hope was threatened with arrest if he refused to take down the wall

Between July 2009 and July 2010, firms paid back to banks £47billion more than they received in new loans. But this a sign that big firms are paying back their loans, and too little is being handed out in new money. In comparison, during the second half of 2008, when Britain's economy was shrinking, the banks handed out £12.5billion more in loans to business than they received in repayments. The Daily Mail's campaign has revealed the desperate plight of thousands of small firms. It was launched in July after Bank of England governor Mervyn King said he was deeply saddened by the impact of the banks' behaviour on small firms . He recalled 'heartbreaking' stories that he regularly hears from entrepreneurs struggling to survive, or expand their business, following poor treatment by their bank. This week's 'Trends in Lending' report from the Bank said the situation is getting better for big companies, but has not changed for their smaller counterparts. It said: 'Contacts of the Bank's network of Agents noted that while credit conditions were easing for larger businesses, they remained tighter for smaller firms.'

To make matters worse, the interest rates that big businesses are being charged are dropping, but the rates are unchanged for small firms . The findings are echoed in a separate report from the manufacturers' organisation, the EEF. It has witnessed a 'modest improvement in the supply of credit and the availability of new lines of borrowing', but the trend has been 'concentrated' among medium and large companies. The EEF warned: 'Some small firms [are] still facing constraints in accessing finance.' The British Bankers' Association has insisted its members are doing their best to help small firms at this difficult time. A spokesman said this week: 'The UK's banks have established a taskforce to report to the Government on exactly this issue - addressing how banks can further help small businesses through the recovery. 'We absolutely agree with the Government that small businesses are vital to securing the economic recovery and have committed to offering every assistance to viable businesses.'

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World's Most Expensive Flat Selling For £140m


The most expensive flat in the world is on the verge of being sold - for £140m.
The property, part of a development designed and managed by brothers Christian and Nick Candy, is in Knightsbridge - one of the smartest parts of London. At a cost of more than £6,000 per square foot, the two-floor apartment is within walking distance of Harrods and Harvey Nichols. It also has a tunnel connecting to the neighbouring Mandarin Oriental Hotel - where top chef Heston Blumenthal is soon to open a restaurant.

The four-bedroom apartment has floor-to-ceiling windows, its own car park and access to all the leisure facilities that a discerning buyer would expect, like health spas and squash courts. For those who still have big money to spend, McLaren is opening a flagship showroom at the development with prices from anything up to £230,000 for a supercar. As part of the whole complex, copious security features are in place to protect those inside.

They included SAS (Stockholm: SAS.ST - news) -trained security guards, bullet-proof windows, an air purifier to combat poison gas attacks and a "panic room", in which the owner can hide if under attack. Estate agents admitted the amount of money offered is a surprise They said, at one moment, there was an over-supply in the top end of the property market, then there was a shortage. Experts said many foreign buyers have moved into the British market because it represents good value, compared with other countries, due to the fall of the pound. Even so, £140m is enough to raise the eyebrows of even the mega-rich.

The nationality of the buyer is not known but, inevitably, there is mention of a Russian oligarch or an Arab billionaire. While most of the block has been sold, 35% of properties are still waiting for new owners. The former office block site was bought in 2004 for £150m. The Candy brothers hit the headlines recently because of a legal action over plans to develop Chelsea Barracks. The Prince of Wales had pleaded with the company that owned the barracks to produce a design more in keeping with other buildings.

[Wacha]

'Sexual element' in Saudi prince's servant killing


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Bandar Abdulaziz was found beaten and strangled
in the Landmark Hotel



A GAY Saudi prince murdered his servant in a "ferocious" attack with a "sexual element", a court heard today. Bandar Abdulaziz, 32, was found beaten and strangled to death in the five-star Landmark Hotel in Marylebone, central London, on February 15 this year.

Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud - a great-nephew of the Saudi King - made a series of assaults on him in the weeks before he died, the Old Bailey heard.

The court was told Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud had carried out several assaults on the victim before he died. Mr al Saud, 34, admits manslaughter but denies murder and one count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The jury has been asked to decide whether he is guilty of manslaughter or murder. When the body was found the prince claimed his aide had been attacked and robbed three weeks before his death. But the jury was told Mr al Saud carried out the killing - and injuries including bite marks to Mr Abdulaziz's face showed the "ferocity of the attack to which he had been subjected".

'Friends and equals'

The prince has claimed he was "friends and equals" with his servant and denied being gay. Jonathan Laidlaw QC, prosecuting, said: "The evidence establishes quite conclusively that he is either gay or that he has homosexual tendencies. "It is clear that his abuse of Bandar was not confined simply to physical beatings. "There is clear evidence, over and above the bite marks, that there was also a sexual element to his mistreatment of the victim."

The court heard that the prince and his aide had been staying together at the hotel since 20 January as part of an extended holiday. Mr Abdulaziz's body was found with blood on the pillow and the defendant appeared "shocked and upset", the court heard. Mr al Saud told police officers they had been drinking in the hotel bar until the early hours of the morning before returning to the room and that when he woke at about 1500 GMT he could not rouse the victim. The prince had tried to clean up some of the blood and wash some of Mr Abdulaziz's bloodstained clothing, Mr Laidlaw said.

'Sexual connotation'

Bloodstains found in the room were "consistent with the victim having been the subject of a series of separate assaults before he was killed", the jury heard. Asked by police about the injuries suffered by the victim, Mr al Saud said he had been robbed three weeks earlier on Edgware Road, in central London.


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The prince admits killing his servant but denies murder


But CCTV footage showed the prince attacking his servant in the lift of the hotel on two separate occasions in previous weeks and kicking him outside a restaurant on the night of his death. The post-mortem examination showed Mr Abdulaziz had suffered heavy blows to his head and face, leaving his left eye closed and swollen, his lips split and his teeth chipped and broken. There were also injuries to his neck, ears and internal organs, bleeding to the brain and a rib fracture. "There were bite marks to his cheeks, which had 'an obvious sexual connotation," Mr Laidlaw said.

The case continues.


Inanikumbusha jinsi wanajeshi wa UK waliokuwa kwenye holiday Tanzania na kuua dada zetu na kuwatupa Indian Ocean, hata hakukuwa na kesi. ... .... ...... angalau kwa wenzetu hawawafanyii ufalme, chijui kama na sisi tunaanza kujenga himaya ya kifalme .... ....

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Pink Floyd star's son on flag rap





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Insult ... Charlie Gilmour was seen swinging from the flag



THE son of Pink Floyd star David Gilmour has been arrested after he was spotted swinging on a flag on the Cenotaph during the student riots. Charlie Gilmour was nicked this morning on suspicion of violent disorder and attempted criminal damage of the Union flag. The 21-year-old was taken to a Sussex police station where he was then arrested on suspicion of theft. He remains in custody.

A spokesman for the Met Police said: "On the morning of Sunday 12 December, a 21 year old man was arrested at his home address in Sussex. "He was arrested by officers from Operation Malone on suspicion of violent disorder, and attempted criminal damage of the Union flag, on the Cenotaph on 9 December." Gilmour, 21, had joined the demo against higher tuition fees even though his dad has a £78million fortune from his Pink Floyd days. The Cambridge University history student later claimed he didn't realise he had clambered on the Cenotaph, Britain's most important war memorial.




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Mob ... Gilmour pictured at the protest

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Warring neighbours spend £400,000 in legal battle
over just 60cm of land after planners
draw boundary line TOO THICK


Warring neighbours have spent £400,000 on legal bills in a battle over 60 centimetres of land after planners drew a boundary line on the map which was too thick, a court heard. Had a draughtsman used a finer pen when marking out the boundaries then Spencer and Suzannaha Cooper's court battle with Geoffrey Silverman would never have happened. But the ambiguity on the small scale plan has led to a costly legal fight and the case is now being taken to the Court of Appeal which will add to the costs.


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Boundary battle: Dispute between the Cooper's and Geoffrey Silverman
will have a full hearing at the Court of Appeal next year.
It has already cost £400,000 in legal fees

A judge described the row over two feet of property in Broxbourne Common, Hertfordshire, as 'ruinous' as he gave permission for the case to go to the higher court. The Coopers, live in a converted barn called The Studio, and Mr Silverman,is next door in Briar Cottage. Both properties were in common ownership until 2006 when Briar Cottage was hived off and sold to Mr Silverman. A small scale plan was drawn up, marking out the new boundary with a thick pen, and the Coopers moved in to The Studio the following year. The two homes front an idyllic bridleway, complete with a peaceful-looking picket fence, a flower bed, a shingled parking area, and the Coopers’ post box standing on a post.

The neighbours went to Central London County Court last year, where - after an enormously costly five-day hearing at which expert witnesses testified - Judge Marc Dight rejected the Coopers’ claims that the boundary lay on a straight line between the flank wall of The Studio and the bridleway. Instead, after commenting on the ambiguity created by the thick line on the small scale plan, the judge said it 'accorded with common sense' that the boundary should lie along a brick kerb which separates the flower bed from the parking area.

The difference between the two sides was just 60cm. Challenging the judge’s ruling at the Court of Appeal today, the Coopers’ barrister, Stephen Acton, insisted the plan was 'clear and unambiguous' and shows the boundary line exactly where the couple say it is. Opening the way for a full Appeal Court hearing, Mr Justice Norris said the Coopers’ had viable grounds for challenging Judge Dight’s ruling.
The judge, sitting with Lord Justice Sedley, said: 'If we could spare the parties further expenditure over 60cm of ground, we would do so... but, regretfully, I feel compelled to grant permission to appeal.'

Another dispute over a propane gas facility that stands on The Studio’s land - but which both neighbours have abandoned using - was 'largely hypothetical'. But the Coopers were granted leave to appeal on that issue as well, due to the potential impact on legal costs. Lord Justice Sedley directed that the Coopers must lodge £20,000 in court as 'security for costs' before pursuing their full appeal in front of three top judges, on a date yet to be fixed. But, urging the neighbours to make peace, the judge said he hoped they might compromise 'to escape the ruinous consequences of victory, or defeat, in this court'.


What a waste .... ...

[Wacha]

Even judges are confused by the law... says Britain's top judge


Judges are struggling to understand ‘impenetrable’ new laws, the country’s most senior judge has warned. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, said some legislation was so complex and unclear even senior judges found it hard to work out what it meant. Compared with a decade ago, it takes much longer for the judiciary to work out what Parliament’s intention was when passing new laws, placing ‘unreasonable demands’ on judges’ brainpower, he said.




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Criticism: Britain's top judges, Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge (left) and Lord Philips, president of the Supreme Court have lashed out at 'impenetrable' new laws that they say do nothing to cut crime while laying heavy burdens on judges

He attacked sentencing laws in particular for clogging up the courts, as judges and magistrates struggle to cope with the ‘continuing burden of comprehending and applying impenetrable legislation’. The delays caused by judges puzzling over laws are hurting victims and witnesses, as well as defendants, he said. Lord Judge said he had hoped next year would involve the ‘quiet application of well understood and established principles’. But he added: ‘That will not happen.’ He pointed to new murder laws which came into force in October.

The controversial change removed the defence of provocation from husbands who kill cheating wives in ‘crimes of passion’ and abolished infidelity as a defence in murder cases. Lord Judge said it was inevitable that some ‘extremely vexing questions’ would arise as judges ‘struggle to follow the legislative intention’. His comments came in the annual report of the Court of Appeal, which rules on whether individual convictions and sentences were unfair. It revealed the huge increase in the court’s workload over the last 12 months. It received 7,133 applications for appeal in the year to September, compared with 6,769 a year earlier. Lord Judge said: ‘It has been another year of unremitting commitment to the administration of criminal justice. That is as it should be.

‘What remains less tolerable is the continuing burden of comprehending and applying impenetrable legislation, primarily but not exclusively in relation to sentencing.’ Last year Lord Phillips, the President of the Supreme Court, attacked the ‘ceaseless torrent’ of new laws. He said too much legislation had done nothing to cut crime while laying heavy burdens on judges.

[Ach-F]

Council sacks the £200,000 'super head'
who suspended seven pupils in first two days



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Sacked: Craig Tunstall suspended pupils for wearing the wrong coat,
refusing to finish lunch and failing to stand in line



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Authoritarian: Craig Tunstall, who earns more than the Prime Minister and is one of Britain's highest-paid head teachers, was parachuted in to Oval Primary School, Croydon, after it went into 'special measures'



A draconian ‘super head’ has been sacked just two days into his new job after suspending seven pupils for minor offences. Craig Tunstall, who earns more than the Prime Minister and is one of Britain’s highest-paid head teachers, lasted less than 48 hours in his role as executive head of a failing primary school. Within hours of joining, Mr Tunstall, who was thought to have been receiving a pay package of close to £200,000, had excluded seven pupils as young as five. Their offences included wearing the wrong coat in the playground, refusing to finish their school lunch and failing to stand in line.

One of the suspended pupils was a five-year-old boy with special needs. His manner was so authoritarian that staff and children alike said he created a ‘climate of fear’. And he provoked outrage by demanding that all the pupils walked with their hands behind their backs. Council bosses, who had parachuted Mr Tunstall into Oval Primary in Croydon after ousting the previous head, were forced to take immediate action to remove him following a barrage of complaints. The school was put into special measures last month after a disastrous Ofsted report. Its local council, Croydon, on the recommendation of the Department for Education, arranged for it to be taken over by a body that runs two well-performing schools in South London.

Mr Tunstall, as executive head of the federation, was brought in to turn Oval Primary around.
It is believed the appointment would have boosted his annual pay package to close to £200,000.
In a manoeuvre that shocked the school, he arrived on Thursday, February 17, the morning after the former head teacher, Ruth Johnston, quit. But his tenure was shortlived. The council sacked him before the end of the day on Friday. One of the children suspended by Mr Tunstall was Callum Simms. The five-year-old, who has special needs, was reprimanded for not lining up quickly enough when asked to by one of his teachers.

His outraged mother, Nikki Simms, said: ‘When I heard from other parents that a number of other kids had been excluded, I did worry for Callum because he has behavioural problems. But he didn’t have a fight or cause a lot of trouble. ‘He’s just a little boy with learning difficulties who didn’t line up in the playground. ‘That he was excluded for something so stupid is unbelievable.’ Another distraught mother, Sarah Ellacott, said her daughter Rachael, seven, came home from school saying pupils had been told to walk with their hands behind their backs as if ‘in prison’. Mrs Ellacott, 27, said: ‘Children were going to school afraid to do anything in case they got suspended. That’s not the way to make children behave.’

Mr Tunstall, who has no children of his own, recently split from his wife Carol, 37, who works for an animal sanctuary. Until recently he lived in a £500,000 semi-detached red-brick three bedroom house in a residential area in Bromley, Kent – a far cry from the deprived area of Croydon where Oval Primary is located.

Mr Tunstall remains the executive head of the Gypsy Hill Federation, which runs two successful primary schools in Lambeth, South London – Kingswood Primary and Elmwood Primary. They have both received outstanding Ofsted reports. It is Government policy to link failing schools with successful schools in the area. Croydon council leader Mike Fisher yesterday admitted the appointment was a mistake. He said: ‘We apologise for any sort of upset we have caused the parents and that the organisation brought in turned out to be the wrong one – we made a mistake.’ A council spokesman said: ‘We have a strong record of setting up partnerships with schools and have done so successfully in the past. ‘On this occasion it became clear the arrangement would not work and the authority took swift action to resolve it.’

Mr Tunstall, speaking through a friend, refused to comment. The council is set to announce the appointment of a new head teacher on Monday who is believed to be from a local academy. Mr Tunstall was revealed to be the eighth highest-paid head in London, earning a salary of £137,991, and a total package of £151,835, last year. The Prime Minister is paid £142,500. Primary school head teachers typically earn around £55,000. Education Secretary Michael Gove plans to cap head teachers’ pay. It is currently being reviewed by the School Teachers Review Body, which will report in March.

Tutaendelea kupata viongozi wabovu hadi pale tutakaposimama kidete kuona elimu inayotolewa inakwenda sambamba na matakwa ya nchi. Huwezi kupanda magugu na kutegemea kuvuna ngano.