Clever Boys Losing Out Due To Wealth Divide

Clever boys from poorer backgrounds learning to read in England and Scotland are lagging around two and a half years behind their richer, bright male classmates.

A new study suggests that high-achieving boys from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to perform poorly on international tests than those in other nations.

The report, commissioned by the Sutton Trust, warns that action must be taken to ensure that schools are supporting bright students so they do not lose out on top university places and good jobs.

The study analysed the 2009 scores of 15-year-olds taking part in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) international PISA reading tests.

It found that bright English boys from the poorest families lagged 30 months behind their high-achieving male classmates from the richest backgrounds.

This gap was bigger in England than in every other developed nation apart from Scotland.

In countries such as Canada, Denmark, Germany and Finland, this gap was 15 months or less, the study found.

It added that among clever girls, the reading gap between those from the richest and poorest homes was two years and four months.

The researchers also looked at the gap in reading skills between children of all abilities.

The findings showed that in general, the poorest teenagers in England lagged two years and four months behind their richest classmates in reading.

This put England 23rd out of 32 countries who took part in the tests, ahead of countries including the USA and France, but behind others including Norway, Chile and Slovenia.

Sutton Trust chairman Sir Peter Lampl said the gap in boys' achievement was a "worrying issue".

"This matters for two important reasons," he said.

"First, it is clearly economically inefficient not to tap into talent wherever it exists.

"By not stretching our most able students from all backgrounds, we are not only failing them, we are reducing our ability to compete globally.

"Second, such under-achievement perpetuates those inequalities which make it so hard for bright children to move up in society."

The study, by Dr John Jerrim of the Institute of Education, comes weeks after Ofsted warned that tens of thousands of clever children were being let down by England's state secondary schools.

A culture of low expectations in many schools meant that bright pupils were not being stretched and were failing to gain top grades at GCSE, according to a report published by the inspectorate.

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Teachers' Unions Announce One-Day Strikes

Teachers will stage a one-day national walkout in the autumn in an ongoing row over pay, pensions and workload.

Every region in England and Wales will be affected by rolling regional strikes in the week beginning September 30 and the week beginning October 14, the NASUWT and the National Union of Teachers (NUT) said.

This will be followed by a one-day, all-out national strike before the end of the autumn term.

The announcement comes just weeks after the two unions staged a regional walkout in the North West.

The government has condemned the action.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: "The secretary of state needs to take seriously the very deep concerns and anger of teachers and school leaders."

She added: "The secretary of state has the opportunity to avoid further national strike action by demonstrating that he is willing to engage seriously on the issues that we have put to him."

Christine Blower, general secretary of the NUT, said: "Strike action is always a last resort for teachers and they are very well aware of the difficulties that this causes for parents and pupils. Teachers, however, have been left with no option.

"If we do not take a stand now to defend the profession, then the consequences for teacher recruitment and education will be disastrous for all."

Under the Government's reforms, due to come into effect from this autumn, teachers' pay will be linked to performance in the classroom - with schools setting salaries, rather than following a national framework.

Changes have also been made to public sector pensions.

Education Secretary Michael Gove wrote to both unions in March to say he was willing to meet them to discuss their dispute, but also insisting that the "direction of travel" on both of their key issues - pay and pensions - is "fixed".

A Department for Education spokesman said: "We are very disappointed that the NUT and NASUWT have announced they will be taking further strike action, which less than a quarter of teachers actually voted for.

"Industrial action will disrupt pupils' education, hugely inconvenience parents and damage the profession's reputation in the eyes of the public at a time when our reforms are driving up standards across the country.

"It is disappointing that the NUT and NASUWT are opposing measures to allow heads to pay good teachers more. We have met frequently with the NUT and NASUWT to discuss their concerns and will continue to do so."

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Litvinenko: No Inquiry Into Spy's Death

The Government has refused to set up a public inquiry into the death of poisoned Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in a blow to his widow's quest for the truth.

Coroner Sir Robert Owen told a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice that his request to the Justice Secretary for an inquiry, in place of an inquest, had been turned down.

Sir Robert previously ruled that vital secret evidence could not legally be considered as part of a normal inquest and asked the Government to hold an inquiry instead.

His call was backed by Mr Litvinenko's widow Marina, who was present at the hearing.

Mr Litvinenko, 43, was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210 while drinking tea at the Millennium Hotel in London's Grosvenor Square in 2006.

Mrs Litvinenko believes her husband was poisoned on orders from the Kremlin

The family believe he was working for MI6 at the time and was killed on the orders of the Kremlin.

Ben Emmerson QC, representing Mrs Litvinenko, said there had been an "utter lack of professionalism" in the way the Government handled the request for an inquiry.

"The repeated catalogue of broken promises is a sign of something gone awry," he said.

Mr Emmerson said the family wants a judicial review into the decision not to hold an inquiry on the grounds of "irrationality".

Sir Robert had determined that he could not hear evidence linked to the alleged involvement of the Russian government in public after the Foreign Office said it wanted to keep some information secret.

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NHS Computers With Patient Data Sold On Ebay

An NHS trust has been fined £200,000 by the data watchdog after it sold an old computer which contained the personal details of more than 3,000 patients.

The sensitive information was left on the computer sold by a data destruction company employed by NHS Surrey.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) was tipped off after a member of the public bought the second-hand computer online.

Sky News understands that some of the PCs were sold on the internet auction site eBay.

The company had been employed by NHS Surrey since March 2010 to wipe and destroy its old computer equipment.

The company carried out the service for free, with an agreement that they could sell any salvageable materials after the hard drives had been securely destroyed.

The ICO said: "On 29 May 2012 NHS Surrey was contacted by a member of the public who had recently bought a second-hand computer online and found that it contained the details of patients' treated by NHS Surrey.

"The organisation collected the computer and found confidential sensitive personal data and HR records, including patient records relating to approximately 900 adults and 2000 children."

The watchdog added: "After being alerted to the problem, NHS Surrey managed to reclaim a further 39 computers sold by the trading arm of their new data destruction provider.

"Ten of these computers were found to have previously belonged to NHS Surrey; three of which still contained sensitive personal data."

The ICO's investigation found that NHS Surrey had no contract in place with their new provider, which clearly explained the provider's legal requirements under the Data Protection Act, and failed to observe and monitor the data destruction process.

NHS Surrey mislaid the records of the equipment passed for destruction between March 2010 and 10 February 2011, and was only able to confirm that 1,570 computers were processed between 10 February 2011 and 28 May 2012.

The data destruction company was unable to trace where the computers ended up, or confirm how many might still contain personal data.

Stephen Eckersley, ICO Head of Enforcement, said: "The facts of this breach are truly shocking. NHS Surrey chose to leave an approved provider and handed over thousands of patients' details to a company without checking that the information had been securely deleted.

"The result was that patients' information was effectively being sold online. This breach is one of the most serious the ICO has witnessed and the penalty reflects the disturbing circumstances of the case.

"We should not have to tell organisations to think twice before outsourcing vital services to companies who offer to work for free."

NHS Surrey was dissolved in March 2013 with some of their legal responsibilities passing to the NHS Commissioning Board.

The board will be required to pay the penalty by July 22 or serve a notice of appeal by July 19.

The full penalty is eventually paid into the Treasury's Consolidated Fund.

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Belfast Bonfires Piled High Ahead Of Parades

Huge bonfire towers will be set ablaze in Belfast at midnight as police brace themselves for possible violence surrounding the annual Orange Order parades.

The fire stacks, made with tyres and wooden pallets, are adorned with Union Flags and some are more than 100ft high.

They will be lit as Protestant loyalists begin July 12 celebrations to commemorate the Battle of the Boyne, which saw the Catholic King James defeated by King William of Orange in 1690.

It comes as unionist anger intensifies over a decision to ban an Orange Order parade past a sectarian flash point that has been the scene of serious rioting in recent years.

Orangemen will be allowed to march past the Ardoyne shops on the Crumlin Road in the morning, but the Parades Commission adjudication body has banned them from taking the same route back in the afternoon.

Residents have complained that the annual march causes them huge inconvenience.

Dissident republicans called off a major protest against the parade in the wake of the Commission's decision.

The Orange Order has branded the ruling "ludicrous" but urged supporters not to react with violence.

Matt Baggott, chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, has revealed he is drafting in an extra 630 police officers from forces across the UK to help keep the peace on the streets over the Twelfth.

He denied claims that the unprecedented move was an indication he was concerned about serious disorder in places such as Ardoyne but said the scale of this year's Twelfth event was unique.

A total of 550 parades are due to take place throughout Northern Ireland on Friday with 43 deemed to be contentious.

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Taser Death: Jordan Begley Dies In Manchester

A man who died after police shot him with a Taser has been named locally as Jordan Begley.

The 23-year-old suffered a "medical episode" and died after police fired at him with the stun gun in Manchester.

Police were responding to a disturbance in Beard Road, Gorton, at about 8.15pm where a man was armed with a knife.

Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: "Officers were dispatched immediately and arrived in eight minutes.

"On arrival, a Taser was discharged to detain a 23-year-old man.

"At this time it is unclear what happened but at some point afterwards the man suffered a medical episode.

"Paramedics performed first aid on the man at the scene before he was taken to hospital where he sadly died."

ACC Shewan said help has been provided for Mr Bagley's family.

"Specially trained family liaison officers are supporting his family during this very difficult time," he said.

A forensic tent was put up in the road

A friend of Mr Bagley's said: "I think he has some problem with his heart."

The friend, who did not want to be named, also said that eight armed response officers attended the family home.

"They turfed his mum outside and then went in and battered him," said the friend.

"There were about eight armed response officers went in.

"He didn't have a knife though. I know for a fact he would not have had a knife.

"There was no need to use a Taser on him."

A neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: "There's a lot of bad boys around here but Jordan was one of the good guys."

Another neighbour, Kirstie Porter, said she saw Mr Begley being brought out of the house and put into an ambulance.

A police cordon surrounded 10 houses in the street

"Paramedics were working away on the CPR with the doors open," she said.

"Everybody was out in the street, all the neighbours.

"There was police everywhere, loads of vans turned up, there was police all over with guns all over.

"The ambulance was there for about five or 10 minutes and then it drove off.

"His mum and brother were sobbing in the street."

After Mr Begley's death, a police cordon surrounded 10 terraced houses at the end of Beard Road.

A forensic tent was put up in the road within the cordon which was guarded by uniformed officers, a police van and two patrol cars.

Mr Begley's death has been reported to the coroner and to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

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Herbie Hide Faces Arrest After Court No-Show

Former world champion boxer Herbie Hide is facing arrest after he failed to turn up in court on drug charges, saying he was suffering malaria in Nigeria.

The 41-year-old, who is accused of conspiring to supply cocaine, was supposed to be at Norwich Crown Court on Thursday morning.

With his client apparently thousands of miles away, his barrister Michael Clare had to tell the court: "His wife Helen telephoned my instructing solicitor to say he was suffering from malaria and was in a clinic in Nigeria.

"Last night a doctor who said he was treating Mr Hide in Nigeria called and said he would email a medical report this morning.

"No medical report has been forthcoming yet."

Hide, 41, was given permission to leave the country for seven days at an earlier hearing, the court heard.

However, his failure to appear in court means he is now in breach of his bail terms.

Herbie Hide with his WBO belt in 1995

Recorder Maureen Baker issued a warrant saying that Hide had been warned before that he would need a doctor's report if he had to miss court because of illness.

It means Hide faces being arrested, detained and brought before the court at the earliest opportunity.

Hide's co-defendant, Ben Sharman, 22, of Howe Lane, Poringland, Norfolk, admitted conspiracy to supply a class A drug, offering to supply a class A drug and offering to supply a class B drug.

Sharman, who was remanded in custody, denied supplying cocaine to Hide.

Hide, of Long Lane, Bawburgh, near Norwich, held the World Boxing Organisation version of the heavyweight title twice.

He was arrested earlier this year after being filmed by undercover reporters from The Sun.

The pair are expected to stand trial in October.

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Stuart Hall Sentence Sent To Court Of Appeal

The Attorney General has referred the sentence of disgraced BBC presenter Stuart Hall to the Court of Appeal for review after complaints it was too lenient.

The 83-year-old former It's A Knockout presenter was jailed for 15 months in June after admitting indecent assaults on 13 girls.

The attacks spanned three decades and involved children aged as young as nine.

More than 150 people came forward to demand that the Attorney General's Office consider Hall's sentence for referral.

An AGO spokeswoman said: "Having carefully reviewed this case, the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC MP, has decided to refer the sentence of Stuart Hall to the Court of Appeal for review.

"The case will in due course be heard by three Court of Appeal judges who will decide whether or not the sentence is unduly lenient and whether they should increase the sentence."

The length of the jail term was immediately criticised as "unduly lenient" by shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry, who urged Mr Grieve to look at the matter.

Hall was given an OBE in 2012

Harriet Harman, deputy leader of the Labour party, also added to calls for the sentence to be referred.

The Court of Appeal usually lists cases referred for being unduly lenient in about five to seven weeks.

Harrowing details of the sex abuse suffered by Hall's victims were described during his trial at Preston Crown Court.

The prosecution told how a 13-year-old victim was assaulted after they had played tennis, when he is said to have told her: "Sometimes thank you was not enough in words."

He told a 10-year-old girl to cuddle him "like she would one of her teddies" after he had given her steak and champagne, the court heard.

He preyed on a nine-year-old girl while she was in bed.

Another victim, who was 17 at the time, was attacked while dressed as a cheerleader for the filming of It's A Knockout.

Hall initially told police his victims were lying as part of a "vendetta" against people in the public eye.

When arrested last December over three claims of indecent assault, he described the allegations as "nonsense".

He told an officer one of the complainants was "a complete and utter liar".

Hall, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, went on to issue an impassioned on-camera denial of any wrongdoing, describing the allegations against him as "cruel".

More women came forward as a result of publicity and Hall later admitted 14 indecent assaults on 13 girls between 1967 and 1987.

Hall was a familiar face and voice in British broadcasting for half a century. Last year he was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours for his services to television and charity.

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Brit Drugs Suspect Arrested In Athens Sting

A British man wanted in connection with a multimillion pounds drugs seizure has been caught in a sting operation at a pub in Athens.

Kevin Hanley, 50, had just settled down to watch the British and Irish Lions' rugby triumph against Australia when Greek and British officers grabbed him.

Police have been targeting him since November when officers discovered more than £2m in cash and millions of pounds worth of drugs at a property in Fulham, London.

Officers from Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and Greek police arrested Hanley on suspicion of money laundering and conspiracy to supply cocaine, cannabis and amphetamine.

Greek police said Hanley had taken "extensive precautions" to avoid arrest, with "frequent changes of address, telephones and cars" - using dual-sim mobile phones and coded text messages.

Brendan Foreman, regional head of investigations at Soca, said: "These arrests were a direct result of our close co-operation with the Greek authorities.

"Operations like this remind the public that Soca and its partners will stop at nothing to take down those suspected of being involved in drug trafficking."

In the seizure, police found 44.1lb (20kg) of cocaine, 33.1lb (15kg) of cannabis and 33.1lb of amphetamine, as well as £2.1m in cash.

Five other suspects - four men and one woman - from London, Liverpool, Glasgow and Gloucestershire, have also been arrested in Britain in connection with the operation.

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NHS Reforms Cost £430m In Staff Pay-Offs

The NHS has spent hundreds of millions of pounds making staff redundant as part of the coalition's controversial health reforms.

Official figures reveal more than £435m, an average of £43,095 per person, went on redundancies with some staff receiving up to £580,000 each.

More than 10,000 full-time workers left because of the Health and Social Care Act, which came into force on April 1 this year.

But of those who left between May 2010 and September 2012, more than a fifth or 2,200 were later taken back by the NHS, sparking claims of a "jobs merry-go-round".

Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Health chiefs have wasted a breath-taking amount of taxpayers' money on pay-offs when axing staff.

"The size of the pay-outs, particularly those handed to senior managers, appear to have been allowed to spiral out of control.

"Laying off staff at great expense to taxpayers only to hire them back is unacceptable. This is all too typical of the NHS jobs merry-go-round that needlessly costs taxpayers a fortune."

According to the National Audit Office (NAO), 44 "very senior managers" were made redundant between August 2012 and March 2013.

On average, they were handed pay-offs of £277,273. Individual payments ranged from £33,771 to £578,470.

The Department of Health tried to reduce the risk of staff being paid off by one NHS organisation only to be hired by another but had "limited levers" to stop it, the NAO said.

Redundancy payments can only be reclaimed if the employee rejoined the NHS within four weeks of leaving.

The NAO report said that "further changes" will be needed before the right number of staff with the right skills are in place across the system, including further redundancies.

It states that getting staff in place was the "biggest challenge" for the new organisations and all of them had sufficient employees to start operations on April 1.

The report also revealed that the reforms have already cost £1.1bn to implement and could rise to £1.7bn in total.

The NAO said the transition, which saw 170 organisations closed and more than 240 new bodes created, was "successfully implemented".

However, it noted that some parts of the system were "less ready than others" and that officials were clear "much remains to be done".

It also warned that some clinical commissioning groups, which are taking over from primary care trusts and will be run by doctors, lacked credible financial plans.

Dr Mark Porter, chair of council at the British Medical Association, described this as "extremely worrying" and claimed the radical changes had been a "costly distraction".

"All the evidence is pointing to a worsening financial situation for the NHS and the Government needs to urgently rethink its approach," he said.

NAO boss Amyas Morse hailed the "considerable achievement" already made by NHS staff but warned they face major challenges to finish the job while also making savings.

The DoH said the changes would result in a £5.5bn saving to the taxpayer in this parliament and £1.5bn each year from 2015, which would go back into patient care.

A spokesman insisted the NHS would now be able to work better and deliver higher quality care, with "doctors and nurses in the driving seat".

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