Crime - Access Interviews

Nevres Kemal

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

The brave whistleblower social services chiefs tried to gag today breaks her silence to reveal the shocking catalogue of blunders that led to Baby P’s death. Nevres Kemal is the experienced social worker who was so horrified at Haringey Council’s shambolic child protection department she wrote to ministers to warn of an imminent catastrophe. Nevres, 44, exposes how staff were taken on “team-building” jaunts to Barcelona and Dublin and blew £1,600 on tea parties at the Ritz. Back in their office, urgent files were piled high and ignored. Children like Baby P who needed the department’s protection were shamefully let down. She reveals she warned children’s services chief Sharon Shoesmith she would have “blood on her hands” if urgent action wasn’t taken. But instead of her concerns being taken up and acted upon, Nevres ended up bullied, ostracised and drummed out of her job. She then had to agree to an injunction by Haringey Council in a bid to keep her silent. Six months after her fateful warning to ministers, 17-month-old Baby P was dead. She said yesterday: “They tried to gag me but I don’t care. I knew something like Baby P would happen. It was just a matter of time. I need to speak out now for the children who still need care.” Mum-of-one Nevres worked at Haringey Social Services from August 23, 2004 to March 19, 2007. In that time she saw case files mysteriously vanish and vulnerable children left in danger as staff bickered among themselves, more concerned with freebies and love affairs. A dedicated childcare professional, Nevres says her card was marked after she spurned advances from a lesbian co-worker. ...

Jane McKenna

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

A rape victim has hit out at the law after the man accused of attacking her was cleared because he was sleepwalking. Jane McKenna, 33, was asleep at home when a friend's husband, who had been a guest at a barbecue, walked into the bedroom and started having sex with her. Jason Jeal, a 37-year-old roofer with no medical history of sleepwalking, admitted sex had taken place. But he was cleared of rape after he insisted he had been asleep and had no idea what he was doing. ...

Baby P's father

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

The father of Baby P has spoken for the first time - in a statement - about how the 'systematic torture' of his son was hidden from him. Watch the statement being read by his solicitor at the link below. His statement came as a judge ruled pictures could be published of the 17-month-old boy, who died after suffering months of abuse while living with his mother, her boyfriend and their lodger. Ministers were yesterday accused of "passing the buck" after admitting they had been warned about failings in social services in the London borough where he was killed. Baby's P's natural father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: "P was a bouncing 17-month-old boy. I loved him deeply. I remember how he used to run up to me... or when he was in his pram he would bounce up and down until I took him out, giving me hugs and kisses. "Those who systematically tortured P and killed him kept it a secret. Not just from me but from all the people who visited the house up until P's death. Even after he died, they lied to cover up their abuse." But he thanked police and social workers, who visited the baby 60 times in eight months, and did not blame Haringey Council, which is under investigation for alleged failings in the case. A whistleblower has claimed child protection at Haringey was "out of control" months before the tragedy, but her letter, which had been sent to ministers, was "pushed from pillar to post" by Government departments and watchdogs and no action was taken. Ministers admitted on Friday that they had received the letter warning of a repeat of the Victoria Climbié tragedy, but insisted they followed the correct procedures by passing it on. The Conservative leader David Cameron, who clashed with Gordon Brown over the death this week, said: "This is an absolutely tragic case of a baby who seems almost literally to have fallen through the cracks of a bureaucratic system. "If letters are sent with both 'Haringey' and 'children' in the same sentence, then that should have been a real wake-up call." It has emerged that in February 2007, lawyers for Nevres Kemal, a former social worker in Haringey, had written to Patricia Hewitt, then Health Secretary, and three other ministers in her department as well as the Tottenham MP David Lammy and the social care watchdog, the Commission for Social Care Inspection. Miss Kemal told the health ministers that child protection measures brought in to prevent a repeat of the Climbié tragedy, in which the eight-year-old girl was tortured to death by her guardians in the borough in 2000 after failings by the authorities were not being implemented, and called for a public inquiry. But the Department of Health simply passed the letter on to the Department for Education and Skills. Education officials also failed to act, merely advising Miss Kemal to try the CSCI watchdog. It held a meeting with Haringey officials in March but concluded that the town hall had dealt with the whistleblower's claims properly. Five months later Baby P was dead, having been subjecting to vile abuse and suffering more than 50 injuries including a broken spine and eight ribs. Lawrence Davies, the lawyer for Miss Kemal who is not allowed to talk about the case, said her complaint had been "pushed from pillar to post". "If the social care inspectorate had acted on it or the ministers had acted on it, it seems hard to believe that the situation in which Baby P was seen 60 times in total... presumably several times after February, couldn't have been averted." The Prime Minister pledged he would do "everything in my power" to prevent a repeat of the Baby P tragedy. Speaking on a trip to New York, Mr Brown said: "Every family needs to know that their children are safe at night." As the first image of Baby P was released, His Honour Judge Stephen Kramer QC warned the toddler's mother, 27, her 32-year-old boyfriend and their lodger, 36-year-old Jason Owen that they would face a "significant term in prison" for allowing or causing Baby P's death. All three are due to be sentenced in December.

Lawrence Davies

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

A whistleblower warned the government of alleged failings in child protection in Haringey before Baby P died, it has emerged. Lawrence Davies, lawyer for former social worker Nevres Kemal, explains how his client warned of the risks to children in Haringey in February 2007. Mike Wardle, from the General Social Care Council which regulates social workers in England, examines the case.

Ann Walker

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

EXCLUSIVE: THE childminder of tortured Baby P revealed yesterday that she repeatedly warned Social Services about his pitiful condition — but they failed to act. Gazing at the tragic 17-month-old’s teddy — by grim irony bearing the words “I love you” — Ann Walker said: “He was dying. I told them about his state. I said things were not right. But nothing was done.” The tot’s death in Haringey, North London, from horrific abuse could have been avoided, Ann insisted. She said: “If someone had taken action we would not be mourning the loss of a baby’s life. The warning signs were all there.” Baby P died with 50 injuries including a broken back after eight months of agony. Ann looked after him in his final five weeks of life. She was told it was to “give the mum a break”. She was ordered to report any injuries she found to social worker Maria Ward. Ms Ward told Ann she would visit Baby P. But Ann claimed she made just one brief visit. She went on: “It was upsetting. Four or five times I phoned about bruises, marks, nappy rash and dried blood in his ear.

Paul Dacre

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

*AI Editor's note: Clearly this is not an interview, but this controversial speech to the UK's Society of Editors conference is as close as you will ever get to a full 'n' frank interview with Paul Dacre, the "Godfather" of British newspaper journalism.

Phil and Amanda Peak

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

A footballer has been fined for gesturing to drink-drive goalie Luke McCormick during a goal celebration. Ipswich Town Football Club said David Norris was handed a fine and warned about his future following the incident. He was also asked to provide an explanation. Amanda Peak, whose two young sons were killed by McCormick in a motorway crash, earlier spoke of her disgust at Norris who apparently gestured at his friend. Mrs Peak said Norris deserved to be punished by his club for making what looked like a "handcuffs" sign after scoring the only goal in Ipswich's win at Blackpool on Saturday. The 26-year-old player admitted the gesture was a "private" message intended for former Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper McCormick, who is serving seven years and four months for causing the deaths of Arron Peak, ten, and his brother Ben, eight. McCormick had spent much of the night before the crash partying at Norris's wedding and was twice the drink-drive limit when he smashed into a car carrying the youngsters on the M6 in Staffordshire on June 7. Mrs Peak, from Partington, Manchester, said the apparent show of solidarity was an "insult" to her sons' memory. "I'm disgusted. To celebrate a goal like that is disrespectful to me and my husband and my boys. He should be given a ban by his club," she said. "Norris is doing this in front of thousands of supporters, including children, and sending out the wrong message that we can drink and drive and it's OK to kill someone." Norris denied making a "handcuffs" gesture and apologised for causing offence. He said: "It wasn't a handcuffs sign it was a private message but I can see how people might have seen it like that and I apologise if it's caused any offence. Luke is a friend of mine. He made a massive mistake and is paying for that." Mrs Peak's husband Phil was at the wheel of the Toyota Previa people carrier which was hit by McCormick's Range Rover. He wears a neckbrace and may have to undergo surgery to ease his constant pain. After McCormick's sentence was handed out last month, the couple expressed disappointment that he will be eligible for parole in three-and-a-half years.

Jolie Fatuma

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

THEIR mission is to protect innocents from Congo’s spiralling savagery – but government troops are deserting and shooting children for fun, The Sun can reveal. Families trapped between the feral factions at war in the central African nation say they are more terrified of their own drunken, sadistic soldiers than rebels. And new depths of human suffering were plumbed last night as overstretched UN peacekeepers admitted the crisis was out of control. Jolie Fatuma’s horror story stood out among dozens I heard in the hospitals, refugee camps and streets in the besieged regional capital Goma yesterday. The shattered 22-year-old mother told how Congolese army men high on drink and drugs shot her two year-old son and murdered her nephew as they robbed her. Jolie was relaxing after dinner at home in the Katindo district of Goma with her two-year-old son Jean-Claude and nephews Dieudonne, 16, and Merci, 18. Suddenly, shots rang out and soldiers banged on the door.

Andrew Cole

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

In prison she wept: You’re my brother, I won’t give up on you. New Queen of TV Cheryl Cole has been hiding a painful heartache from The X Factor’s 12m viewers... her brother is an alcoholic drug addict who has spent a third of his life behind bars. She has been “crippled by worry” about older brother Andrew, 28, and slipped away to make quiet jail visits as he served time for a brutal robbery. Andrew, who grew up with Cheryl on a heroin-ravaged estate in Newcastle, has an appalling record of more than 50 court appearances, many for violence and thuggery. The revelation will come as a shock to X Factor viewers, who have taken Cheryl to their hearts unaware that away from the glitter and glamour of her own highly-successful life she is increasingly anxious about Andrew. Cheryl , 25, has never spoken about Andrew’s troubled life, but today he reveals how the caring Girls Aloud singer has repeatedly tried to help him get his life on track. In a heartbreakingly honest interview he admits: “Cheryl wants to help me – but I’m too far gone. I know I’m breaking her heart but I’m not strong enough to sort myself out.”

Amanda Peak

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

Their bedrooms are silent now. She can't bear the sight of their shoes by the front door - and still talks about them as if they're playing outside. If you want to know the real cost of drink-driving, read this mother's story. On the morning of June 7 this year, Amanda Peak rose in the small hours to kiss a sleepy goodbye to her ten-year-old son Arron and his brother Ben, eight. The boys and their father Phil were leaving early for a trip to Silverstone, and Arron and Ben were brimming with excitement at the thought of visiting the race track. She told them to behave themselves, made sure they were wearing their seatbelts and waved goodbye as they drove away with three family friends for the treat they had looked forward to for weeks. That receding view of her sons through the car window was the last time she would see them alive. The boys were killed when professional footballer Luke McCormick, drunk and speeding, careered his Range Rover into their Toyota people-carrier and destroyed it. Police photographs show a contorted wreck, from which it is astounding anyone escaped alive.

Tim O'Toole

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

When he was approached to run the London Underground, Tim O'Toole was offered some encouragement by a former executive: "Don't take a job like that unless you are prepared for a public and humiliating dismissal." The 53-year-old American took the role of managing director and, almost six years on, is undaunted by the pitfalls. He has just had an "extraordinarily bad" morning on the network but is bemused by suggestions that running one of the world's most complicated, ancient and busy bits of transport infrastructure is a hellish way to earn a living. "I don't view this as a job or career. I feel like I have already done that. This has been the most wonderful experience. People say I must have the worst job in London. It's the best job in the world."At its peak, the tube carries more than 3 million people a day on 11 lines, sometimes using infrastructure dating back to 1863. O'Toole has to ensure that ageing equipment does not crumble under the pressure of ever-growing numbers of passengers, while overseeing a £30bn improvement programme. He has compared it to performing a knee operation on someone who is playing tennis. Renowned for his devotion to being a public servant, O'Toole conducts a different kind of surgery when he gets the tube to work every morning, his London Underground name badge always on display. "People tell me 'oh Christ the things you must get told'. You think passengers would really let you have it, but that has never happened to me. Everybody wants to tell you some bad experience but by the time they get to the end of the anecdote they say, 'You know it works most of the time.'" But not all of the time. This interview takes place next to the London Underground operations centre, where staff are watching the network return to normal after equipment failures on the Jubilee and Victoria lines made tens of thousands of commuters late for work. "In the old days this was a standard morning," says O'Toole, adding that these kinds of glitches have been reduced by about 40% compared with four years ago. Cattle quipAccording to transport experts, the modest Pittsburgh-born lawyer deserves much of the credit for the turnaround. Tony Travers, director of the Greater London group at the London School of Economics, has been a vociferous critic of past tube chiefs. He said: "There is no doubt O'Toole is a class act, by common consent. He is often described as the best public servant in London and it would be hard to disagree." Stephen Glaister, a professor and former board member at Transport for London, the authority that oversees the London Underground, says: "He has been a spectacular success. He has had to deal with an awful lot of very difficult situations."O'Toole's appointment baffled some Londoners at first. He was chief executive of a Philadelphia rail freight company, Consolidated Rail Corporation, and he had no experience of running a passenger railway. The man who appointed him, former London mayor Ken Livingstone, quipped that at least O'Toole had transported cattle in better conditions than most tube passengers were used to. It resonated with the public but embarrassed the newcomer, who apparently hates that anecdote but brushes it off with polite deference to his old boss: "We did not transport cattle." And O'Toole is adamant that there are plenty of "native" executives who could do his job. However, he arrived as Livingstone was implementing, through gritted teeth, a £30bn public-private partnership maintenance programme that proved as unpopular as it was fiendishly complex. Running the Underground called for someone with a good understanding of legal matters and arcane financial contracts. As a former general counsel and chief operating officer at Conrail, O'Toole had the right attributes. He also goes about his job with what Travers describes as an unflappable "mannered charm" and "an underlying patience and competence".The only doubt hanging over O'Toole is whether he will return to America sooner than expected, taking his extensive knowledge of the network and the PPP programme with him. He admits that he won't stay in Britain indefinitely: "Our home is there [in the US]. My wife prefers it there - not so much preferring the US over the UK, but preferring the countryside to the city." As for offers from the private sector, where he must feature on the radar of several firms, he is uninterested: "It is not something I am out trawling for." Happier to talk about the tube than himself, O'Toole passes on the praise. He received an honorary CBE for London Underground's response to the July 7 attacks in 2005, which saw 12,000 staff restore the tube to working order within 24 hours of a series of bombings that claimed 52 victims. "There are so many who deserve it, they give it to the guy at the top as a symbol for the others," he says. "The one positive thing [about the attacks] was that people perceived the professionalism of the staff and it allowed the staff to remember how good they are." O'Toole believes the rapid turnaround helped downgrade the tube as a target by proving it could not be brought to a prolonged halt, though he thinks the threat will diminish in time: "I don't think we're involved in some kind of war. This madness burns itself out. It has in the past and it will this time."ExasperationThe PPP programme, which hands over maintenance and upgrading to the private sector, has been the dominant issue of O'Toole's tenure. With the new London mayor, Boris Johnson, he is asking for at least £1.4bn in government cash to plug a funding gap: "No we don't have enough money." The biggest PPP contractor, Metronet, was in effect nationalised by London Underground last year and the surviving contractor, Tube Lines, requires at least £1.4bn more from O'Toole to complete vital work up to 2017. It is at this point in the interview that O'Toole slips into open exasperation. After all, he needs financial help from Gordon Brown, the architect of the PPP, to bail out a transport system controlled by a Tory mayor. The consequence of not paying out, he says, is a return to the bad old days: "The tube will deteriorate at these usage rates. The more we look at the PPP, the more the craziness and the diabolical nature of the contract reveals itself." He warns that Crossrail, a £16bn project for a train service through central London, should not detract from the tube. "This is far more important than Crossrail. There is no comparison. Crossrail is great, it will be a very important construction project in this needy time, but it does not give to London what the tube does, which is to get you to work and get you home every night. If you can put together a political coalition to create Crossrail, surely you can get one together to sustain the tube."The stridency of his comments reflect a good relationship with his new boss - "Boris is one smart guy" - and also a bipartisan commitment to the 253 miles of track, 522 trains and 268 stations that constitute the network, as well as the people who travel on it. Referring to other parts of the economy that have received government cash recently, he adds: "No bank is going to get you home at night, so where do you want to put that money?" Over to you, Gordon.CVAge 53Education La Salle University, Philadelphia, BA English literature, maxima cum laude 1977; University of Pittsburgh School of Law 1980 Career1984-98 Worked for Conrail, rising to senior vice-president1998-2001 President and chief executive officer, Conrail 2003- Managing director, London Underground Family Married to Patricia and has a son and a daughterInterests Chelsea FC, golf, theatre, architecture and good industrial design, particularly the work of Frank PickTransportLondonTransport policyLondon politicsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Sheila Hollins

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

The mother of Abigail Witchalls, who was left paralysed after a horrific knife attack in April 2005, says she is still unable to forgive her daughter’s assailant. In a rare broadcast interview, Professor Sheila Hollins says she has learned to feel compassion for the perpetrator but that forgiveness is a struggle. ‘It is something people have wanted me to do but I don’t feel it is for me to forgive,’ she says in a programme to be aired on BBC Radio 4 next week. ‘If anyone was to forgive, it would be for my daughter to forgive.’ Abigail, then 26 and pregnant with her second child, was stabbed in the neck while she was pushing her 21-month-old son Joseph in his buggy through the village of Little Bookham in Surrey.

Peter Mandelson

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

Lying, slimy, three-faced, back-stabbing, scumbag, Peter Mendacity Mandelson comes clean. Again. Lord Mandelson has admitted that the public were misled about when he first met the oligarch Oleg Deripaska and acknowledged that his new ministerial role requires him to be more careful about his contacts with the wealthy. His presence on board the aluminium tycoon’s yacht in Corfu this summer has dogged him since his return to the Cabinet. After a week dominated by claims about the Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, who also accepted Mr Deripaska’s hospitality on the Queen K, the focus has returned to the Business Secretary. In a letter to The Times today, Lord Mandelson corrects a previous statement from his office which suggested that he had first met the Russian in 2006. “This was not the case: to the best of my recollection we first met in 2004 and I met him several times subsequently,” he writes. *Clearly, this is not an interview, but this letter will set much of today's news agenda. And, to think, Britain made this bastard a Lord.

Andy McNab

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

Grey Man’s Land asked Andy McNab about his new novels Seven Troop and Brute Force as well as the other projects he’s working on, or any in development....

Josef Fritzl

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

Not an interview in the normal sense, but the brutal kidnapper and rapist has been interviewed by a psychiatrist and has revealed his twisted mind. CELLAR monster Josef Fritzl laid bare his soul to a woman psychiatrist, just like the movie Silence of the Lambs — and chillingly confessed: “I was born to rape.” Incest dad Fritzl, who caged daughter Elisabeth underground for 24 years and raped her, opened up to Dr Adelheid Kastner in intense one-on-one sessions. He calmly answered her questions during a series of cat-and-mouse chats reminiscent of Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 Hannibal Lecter thriller. Dr Kastner, 46, was called in by an Austrian court to unravel Fritzl’s twisted mind. She questioned the 73-year-old for hours — and her report concludes he is too dangerous ever to be freed.

Mark Prince

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

The pain never goes away': Mark Prince on life after the murder of his son Kiyan - and his attempt to forgive the killer

Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Clint Eastwood, Amy Ryan, Justin Butler Harner, Michael Kelly, John Malkovitch, J. Michael Straczynski

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

We caught up with Angelina Jolie, Amy Ryan, and other stars at the New York Film Festival premiere of Clint Eastwood's new movie, 'Changeling.'

Sam Rockwell, Michael J Fox, Chuck Palahniuk, Clark Gregg, Bijou Philips

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

Premiere hit the 'Choke' red carpet, camera in tow, to talk to the stars, director, and author about moms, safe words, and ren faires. Premiere red carpet reporter Shira Levine was at the NYC premiere of Choke at East Village's Sunshine Theater to quiz director/actor Clark Gregg, star Sam Rockwell, naughty milkmaid Bijou Philips, and author Chuck Palahniuk about their new movie. Watch this video to find out how Sam Rockwell researched his role, what Clark Gregg's safe word is, and why Michael J. Fox was glad they left the kids at home.

Boris Johnson

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

The mayor of London Boris Johnson claims that the rate of violent crime, in particular knife crime, is falling. This follows the resignation of Sir Ian Blair, former head of the Met. The Conservative mayor came under a lot of criticism for his role in Sir Ian's departure. Mr Johnson discusses the "decision to turn the switch off" the Met chief's tenure.

Bill Bratton

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:04:07 +0000

CRIME-BUSTING US police chief Bill Bratton has revealed the skills he says the UK’s next top cop will need to help mend Broken Britain. The LAPD boss — famous for his zero-tolerance approach to crime — is a leading contender to replace ousted Sir Ian Blair as London’s Metropolitan Police Commissioner. The Sun brought Chief Bratton to the UK to attend our summit on Broken Britain last week. And in an exclusive interview he said: “Sir Ian had many good stories to tell but they were overwhelmed by the negatives. “It’s like a fighter who gets knocked down. Every time he gets up he is weaker, and eventually it appears the mayor basically lost confidence in him.