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Police raid on whistleblower's home was 'total abuse of power' - Crime - UK. Christopher Graham wrote to David Whatton, Chief Constable of Cheshire Police, asking for a search to be carried out on the home of Alec Owens, a former special branch officer and former senior investigator at the Information Commissioner's Office. The raid was denounced last night as a "total misuse of resources and power". Mr Owens had headed the ICO's Operation Motorman inquiry into the media's use of a private detective to obtain vast amounts of illicit personal data, and has claimed the organisation was afraid to investigate the national press. Officers raided his Widnes home in November, 12 days before he was due to give evidence to Leveson. Mr Graham's predecessor, Richard Thomas, who had been criticised by Owens in an article published in The Independent in September, was due to attend the inquiry the day after Mr Owens.

Last night, The Independent learnt that Cheshire Police has informed Owens that it will be taking no further action against him. Diane Abbott: The abortion counselling consultation is a con – which is why I pulled out. Nadine Dorries: 'parliament's leading anti-abortion campaigner'. Photograph: Richard Saker Just when you thought it was safe to go out, the right wing of the Conservative party have resurrected their fact-free campaign about abortion counselling. It is important to stress that there are already full guidelines on abortion counselling from the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

The Royal College guidelines state: "Women should have access to objective information and, if required, counselling and decision-making support about their pregnancy options". Such counselling may include: Furthermore the Department of Health inspects and regulates abortion clinics, and their inspections have never thrown up breaches of the guidelines. But, undeterred by the absence of evidence, the anti-abortion lobby has thrown itself into a campaign to promote the need for more abortion counselling.

So, most people imagined that the issue had gone away. How the Health and Social Care Bill 2011 would end entitlement to comprehensive health care in England. By Allyson M. Pollock, et al. The Lancet, Jan. 26, 2012 The National Health Service (NHS) in England has been a leading international model of tax-financed, universal health care. Legal analysis shows that the Health and Social Care Bill currently making its way through the UK Parliament[1] would abolish that model[2] and pave the way for the introduction of a US-style health system by eroding entitlement to equality of healthcare provision. Fundamental to the Bill are provisions that transform a mandatory system into a discretionary one with structures that permit the introduction of charging for services that are currently free under the NHS, as well as a system in which much delivery would be privatised.

Panel: Red lines to protect the NHS 1. 2. 3. . • There must be no increase in the commercial contracting of health services; • The current authorisation system for central regulation of Foundation Trusts must be retained; CCGs=Clinical Commissioning Groups. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 10. 11. Phone hacking. U.K. House Prices Fall Most in Seven Months, Halifax Says. UK jobless claims +12,400. Protester sues police over surveillance database | UK news. An 87-year-old man is launching a landmark lawsuit against police chiefs who labelled him a "domestic extremist" and secretly recorded his political activities in minute detail.

Lawyers for John Catt are due to open the legal action at the high court on Thursday against a clandestine police unit that has been at the centre of controversy over its undercover infiltration of political groups. Catt, who has no criminal record, was "shocked and terrified" when he discovered that police had kept a detailed record of his presence at more than 55 demonstrations over a four-year period. The police had detailed how the Brighton pensioner took out his sketchpad and made drawings of demonstrations he attended. Also logged were slogans on his clothes and details of his appearance, such as "clean-shaven".

His legal action threatens to deal another blow to the secretive National Public Order Intelligence Unit, which has been covertly monitoring protesters since 1999.