Equality and Diversity in the news
The Royal Navy has been named in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women List as one of the UK’s top employers of women. The inclusion in this list coincides with the opening of all careers and branches for women within the Royal Navy, including the opportunity to train as a commando in the Royal Marines.
The Chairwoman of the Naval Servicewoman’s Network said “I am proud to be a Naval Servicewoman and to be part of a centuries-old organisation where diversity is now genuinely embraced and encouraged.
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A new online educational programme has been launched to support lawyers from underrepresented groups in becoming Judges. The programme will help lawyers develop their skills and understanding of the role before they apply.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-programme-to-boost-judicial-diversity
The Prevent Strategy and Channel
It has been disclosed that one of the suicide bombers involved in the Easter Attack studied at a UK University. This information has led to the case becoming a priority for MI5, MI6 and GCHQ. They plan to find out if the attacker had any connections that may have inspired participation in the Sri Lankan attacks.
The UK Intelligence Agencies will be helping the Sri Lankan authorities determine if other extremists are still undetected, that may be either involved in the suicide bombs plot or planning an attack of their own.
Intelligence Chiefs want to discover if the attacker was radicalised in the UK and whether he was part of any network that may have escaped detection. They will also be considering two other important issues – the scale and organisational complexity of the Sri Lankan attacks, and claim of responsibility by Islamic State, as well as the renewed focus on radicalisation at UK Universities.
It is yet to be established if the attacker was radicalised in the UK but this could lead to Universities having to examine how to ensure that their promotion of free speech is not abused.
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A major roll-out of anti-terror training in East London means that GP receptionists and housing officers will learn how to spot the signs of radicalisation. The manager of the Prevent Programme in Tower Hamlets said that the reason there is mystery surrounding Prevent is because people don’t talk about it. He continued to say “we don’t engage with the public and we need to. This is a step in achieving that to a far greater degree.”
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Remember those all-important contact numbers:
Anti-Terrorism Hotline: 0800 789 321
Crime Stoppers: 0800 555 111
See it. Say it. Sorted.: Text 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40
And above all, be vigilant! If in doubt report anything suspicious to 101 or 999.
Safeguarding
The Internet Watchdog Foundation (IWF) have found that the amount of child sex imagery hosted in the UK is at the lowest recorded level of 0.04% of the global total. The IWF added that more still needs to be done to tackle the demand for such content.
In 2018, 105,047 web addresses containing imagery of child sexual abuse were removed. The annual report from the internet watchdog said that an image or video of a child suffering abuse is found every 5 minutes.
In 4 out of 5 instances of discovered content, the content was hosted by a European Country with 47% being hosted in the Netherlands.
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Simon Ryan has pleaded guilty to fraud at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court after purchasing items for himself with an Amazon purchase card entrusted to him to use in his role as site manager at a Primary School in Waterlooville.
Mr Ryan started working for Hampshire County Council in 2016 and was suspended in the following April after a safeguarding issue came to light. The issue in question was 4 charges of making indecent images of children between 2013 and 2017, this led to Mr Ryan being ostracised by his family and friends.
Despite his suspension and following resignation, Mr Ryan continued to use the Amazon purchase card for personal items that amounted to £10,000. Mr Ryan said that many of the purchases were gifts for the people that excluded him.
The prosecutor stated that due to the magistrates not having enough power to sentence, the starting point for the offence is 18 months in jail.
Mr Ryan will be sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court in May.
Health and Safety
The staff at Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory, Edinburgh, have been moved to a temporary location while their factory undergoes a major refurbishment. The health and safety work being done includes the removal of asbestos and the installation of a new fire suppression system.
The Factory has been operational for 93 years and employs 34 veterans who had make more than 5 million poppies and 15,000 wreaths annually. The chief executive of PoppyScotland stated “Our temporary home at Redford is fully operational now that we’ve completed the quite mammoth logistical challenge of moving our machinery, some of which is over 100 years old.”
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Following the collapse of a crew member on the Cowes Floating Ferry in September 2018, the Isle of Wight Council has launched an inquiry. The report has been heavily redacted but is available at the first link below. The report stated that the crewman faced significant hazards associated with the task he was performing, and the risk assessment failed to identify or control.
The council has said that it has made operational changes following the report and has informed the Health and Safety Executive.
https://onthewight.com/report-about-serious-incident-on-floating-bridge-reveals-management-failures/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-47813734
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Mental healthcare group The Priory faced an inquest in 2016 following the death of a 14-year-old girl who was receiving treatment with them in 2012. The inquest showed that “neglect had contributed to her death and found she died accidentally of unintended consequences of a deliberate act.” The criminal investigation from the Health and Safety Executive lead to the company pleading guilty to a charge of being an employer failing to discharge its duty to ensure people were not exposed to health and safety risks.
Featured Topic – Campaigning for Diversity
The St George’s Cross has become a symbol for far-right xenophobia. St George himself had Syrian, Greek, Turkish and Palestinian heritage.
Tell MAMA (an anti-hate crime charity) tricked far right nationalists into campaigning for diversity during St George’s Day Celebrations by handing out t-shirts with St George’s Cross.
The pranked far-right nationalists didn’t realise that their new t-shirts were heat reactive. The heat from their bodies triggered the following message to be shown within St George’s Cross “St George was Syrian #DefendDiversity”.
The prank was designed to show the vital role immigrants play in shaping our nation. Citizens from an immigrant background have been vital in history and in the present day, examples like the Patron Saint George, Mo Farrah or Rita Ora show how they shape our society. Tell MAMA want to reclaim St George’s flag and teach far-right nationalists a lesson on how important diversity is to our country.
