politics wales
-
Via Y Lolfa On the 21st of October 1966, the village of Aberfan in south Wales was shattered by one of the worst disasters in Welsh and British history. Following days of bad weather, water from a spring had destabilized a huge coal slag tip – one of the black man-made mountains which surrounded the
-
A leading GP and writer on medical issues has called on the Attorney General to launch a public inquiry into the death of a 10-year-old boy from Wales. Dr Phil Hammond said the UK Government had to allow a public inquiry into the death of Robbie Powell, from Ystradgynlais, and into the events which followed
-
The Home Office and Attorney General’s Office have blocked calls for a public inquiry into the death of a 10-year-old boy who died after a failure to carry out a medical test which would have identified a rare treatable condition. Former First Minister Rhodri Morgan became a late convert to the idea of a public
-
The “Hidden Killer” documentary about the levels of asbestos in schools is now available on the Asbestos In Schools website.The story relates not just to Wales but to the whole of the UK and includes interviews with Scottish asbestos expert Robin Howie and with the HSE.Just click the ITV Wales link at http://www.asbestosexposureschools.co.uk/npaper%20links/Documentaries.htm
-
Fresh questions today about the way our society treats vulnerable children.Firstly, the Welsh Refugee Council has taken the unusual step of going public with concerns about an individual case – an Afghan refugee named Mashal Jabari, an orphan who arrived in the UK last October.At the heart of the case is a dispute over Mashal’s
-
Fresh fears are raised today about the way schools are protecting teachers and pupils from potentially-deadly exposure to asbestos.The leading authority on asbestos, the Asbestos Training and Consultancy Association, took a snapshot of 16 UK schools and found that none was meeting health and safety rules on managing the substance.It reports: “All of the schools
-
The UK Government yesterday claimed that the post mortem examination report into the death of biological weapons expert Dr David Kelly was being kept secret to protect his family.Campaigning MP Norman Baker asked Justice Minister Michael Wills who had made the decision that medical reports and photographs connected to the death of Dr Kelly should
-
Are Welsh schoolchildren and teachers sitting on a health time-bomb?It is a frightening question and one which has been asked increasingly loudly throughout the last few months.The concern relates to asbestos in our school buildings.Between the 1960s and 1980s asbestos was widely used in the construction industry, in particular for roofing, spray coating, pipe-lagging, insulation
-
Michael O’Brien spent 11 years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit.In December 1999, after judges quashed his conviction, he asked me to write a piece about his two-week appeal.That request turned into a plan to write a complete book of Mike’s life.It is an incredible story.Mike’s arrest and life sentence for the murder
-
Farewell to Tower Colliery – and best wishes to all the miners who made the final march from the pit today.Tower, a workers’ co-operative, was the last deep coal mine in South Wales. It is a remarkable story, which has been told many times. Despite the understandable mythologizing, the colliery has always been about basic
Greg Lewis 