Downs campaigner appeals abortion law again
Heidi Crowter is hoping to change Britain’s abortion legislation through her hearing at the Court of Appeal. Currently the UK permits unborn babies with a disability to be aborted up to birth, while the limit for other babies is 24 weeks. Heidi and others want to stop this discrimination and are continuing their fight after the High Court rejected their case last year. Heidi’s mother Liz told the Christian Institute that those with Downs syndrome are still made in the image of God; they just have one extra chromosome. Heidi said, ‘In 2022 we live in a society where disabled people are valued equally after birth but not in the womb. This law is discriminatory and needs to be changed.’ A ruling will be made in late autumn.
Drought and hosepipe bans
A prolonged dry spell and record-breaking temperatures have left rivers at exceptionally low levels, depleted reservoirs, and dried-out soils. Environment secretary George Eustice has urged more firms to take action to mitigate the effects of the prolonged dry weather. But each water company has different thresholds and demands, so we might not see a UK-wide ban. Sir Robert Goodwill, chairman of the environment, food and rural affairs select committee said, ‘It costs water companies money to impose a hosepipe ban and I suspect they have held off longer than they would have done twenty years ago when most people were unmetered and just paid their water rate.’ His comments come as the UK prepares to declare a drought. Water UK say that climate change and an increasing population mean there could be water shortages by 2050. On 10 August Thames Water sent water tankers to residents in the first place in Britain to run dry when Stokenchurch reservoir was found to contain E.coli.
Unprepared firefighters
The Environment Agency is expected to declare a drought in England, the Met Office has issued the highest warning in its Fire Severity Index, but UK’s fire brigades are completely unprepared for the risk posed by the soaring temperatures. On 14 August an ‘exceptional’ red fire risk warning will cover much of central and southern England as temperatures exceed 35C for the fourth day in a row for the first time since 1976. The national officer for the Fire Brigades Union said cuts to services across the UK have left fire services unable to cope with a repeat of the dozens of break-out fires and destroyed homes experienced last month. These fires burn at high temperatures, spread at incredible speed, and are brutally dangerous for fire and rescue crews to fight. Over a fifth of the workforce has been cut since 2010, yet they must deal with extreme weather events in increasing regularity and severity.
Victims failed by police
Most victims of burglary, robbery, and theft in England and Wales are not given the justice they deserve. HM chief inspector of constabulary Andy Cooke calls current low charge rates ‘unacceptable and unsustainable’. He said ‘Some tackle crimes effectively, but others miss opportunities to identify and catch offenders at all stages from when a crime is first reported.’ Lack of investigative capacity and experience is made worse by detective shortages. In the year up to March 2022 only 6.3% of robbery offences and 4.1% of thefts in England and Wales resulted in charges. Digital, forensic, technological and analytical capabilities are not good enough to allow officers to carry through to investigations. They must improve their approach to personal robbery, theft from a person, theft of and from motor vehicles, and domestic burglary. By March 2023, all police forces must ensure burglary, theft and robbery crime scenes are managed according to national standards and are effectively supervised and directed.
