Muslim Inmates Assault Prison Officer at Feltham YOI

From the Daily Mirror:

Four young British Muslim extremists chanted religious slogans as they battered a prison officer. The gang chanted "death to the Kuffar" (non-believer) and "Allah Akbar" (God is Great) as they laid into the warder - who is in his 40s - after prayers.

It is believed they were trying to steal his keys to let other inmates out and start a riot at the notorious Feltham Young Offenders' Institute in Middlesex.

A fellow officer came to his rescue as he hid under a pool table and used his baton to drive them back.

A source said: "It was a frightening and violent assault. The guard was lucky to escape with his life."

I wonder if there will be a full investigation? Clearly a hate crime was committed.

I also wonder just how powerful such Muslim gangs really are in some of Britain's prisons, and just how much of this goes on that the wider public never gets to hear about.

In any case, it's hardly reassuring, is it? Even behind bars they're still ruling the roost whilst the authorites fall back in fear of offending them.

What's interesting is the fact they attacked the prison officer after Islamic prayers, whilst shouting religious slogans - generally, if something was connected to a violent incident in that way, they should be banned from partaking in it again.

When is the offence and violent disorder they cause going to be taken anywhere near as seriously?

Britain's Priorities

Yesterday The Times reported that some of Britain's most dangerous Muslim preachers and terrorists were smuggling out fatwas and propaganda from Britain's most secure prisons, as well as leading recruitment drives among petty and violent criminals:

Abu Qatada, described by MI5 as “Osama Bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe”, has published fatwas — religious rulings — on the internet from Long Lartin prison, in Worcestershire, calling for holy war and the murder of moderate Muslims, it reveals.

Abu Doha — said to be Al-Qaeda’s main recruiter in Europe — has taken courses in Belmarsh prison, south London, enabling him to mentor other inmates.

Abu Hamza, jailed in 2006 for inciting murder, has preached radical sermons to followers using water pipes in his Belmarsh cell, and Rachid Ramda, the Algerian leader of the Paris Métro bomb plot, led Friday prayers in the same jail.

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The path from prison radicalisation to full-scale terror plotting is well trodden. One petty criminal who turned to Islam while a teenage inmate was Muktar Said Ibrahim. He served time for indecent assault on a 15-year-old girl and mugging a 77-year-old woman at a Tube station. He graduated to terrorism via various radical London mosques and camps in Afghanistan and went on to lead the failed London bombings of July 21, 2005.

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In October 2006, a Libyan detainee wanted in Italy on terrorism charges used telephone boxes in Long Lartin to speak live on an Islamic television channel. He compared British prisons with Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, where the American military abused Iraqi inmates.

In a rant designed to inflame followers into a hatred of Britain, he described the special immigration court that in effect sent him to jail without a jury trial as a “fascist court martial”. Qatada, a fellow inmate, went further. In a series of fatwas released in June 2008, he reflected on theological arguments legitimising the murder of Muslims who were opposed to Al-Qaeda.

The Quilliam report states: “He additionally described the police and army of Muslim majority countries opposed to Al-Qaeda as ‘kafirs and apostates’ — thereby also justifying jihadist attacks against them.”

Last March, in An Address to the Muslims, apparently smuggled out of his cell, Qatada equated the British government to pagans whom the prophet Muhammad fought and defeated.

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Inspectors have separately warned of the rise of Muslim gangs whose leaders engage in violence and intimidation, sometimes forcing others to convert.

In Frankland prison in 2007 and 2008, Dhiren Barot, leader of the so-called “dirty bomb” plot against London, and Omar Khyam, who planned to attack London nightclubs and shopping centres with a fertiliser bomb, have been involved in a series of tit-for-tat attacks on other prisoners.

Violence partly fomented by the two extremists led to boiling water being thrown over prisoners, stabbings, arson attacks and attempts to wreck prison facilities.

The fact that the British authorities do not have a clue what they are doing is hardly news; however, I might be able to shed some light on how these fatwas are "smuggled out" - yesterday I pointed out that radical cleric Abu Hamza, currently detained in the most secure area of HMP Belmarsh, was given a £1,000 laptop by the prison service.

Paid for by the taxpayer, it was meant "to help him with appeals and legal research."

I wonder if they'll be taking that back now this has come to light?

Whatever happens, they are still running rings around themselves to make sure his stay at Her Majesty's pleasure is comfortable - today it was revealed that £650 has just been spent installing special taps in Hamza's cell, so he can operate them with his hook.

If all of the most dangerous Muslims in British prisons get treated like this, no wonder they have utter contempt for us and feel the need to brag about it far and wide.

Nice to see that, as always, Her Majesty's Government have their priorities right - and the British people and their safety are at the bottom of the list.

"The Muslim Boys" Attack Prisoner over Remembrance Day

The Daily Mirror reports that a white inmate at HMP Belmarsh was attacked and seriously injured by "The Muslim Boys" gang last week.

A different white inmate had chastised two members of the gang for failing to show any respect on Remembrance Sunday, when they continued a game of table tennis during the two minutes' silence. This prompted him to grab the ball to prevent the game.

In response, five members of the gang went looking for any white inmate they could find to exact revenge, and ended up attacking a man with boiling water and a glass jar in a sock, which left him needing emergency surgery.

Three of the attackers were sent to solitary confinement, whilst the other two gathered yet more members of the gang and attempted to ambush another white inmate, but he bested them.
Of course, The Mirror has nothing to say about the evils of racism and discrimination in this instance, simply quoting a prison insider:

Two white cons have been moved away, while the Muslim Boys will be dealt with at the prison. A Belmarsh source said: "Tensions are simmering. It's very worrying."

The article claims that "The Muslim Boys" are an al-Qaeda splinter group, but I'm not sure this is true - they are simply a glaring example of the remarkable hole this country has dug for itself through its immigration policies.

"The Muslim Boys" began as a group of mainly black criminals from south London who converted to Islam in prison. They regarded the name as something outsiders called them, referring to themselves as the "Poverty Driven Children" (good to see they at least learned one thing at school, then - it's all whitey's fault).

They acquired a fearsome reputation on the streets of Lambeth and Southwark, where their specialty was robbing drug dealers and demanding protection money from other criminals - all whilst wearing long leather coats and waving Mac-10 submachine guns.

As their power grew, they began intimidating local imams to open mosques in the early hours so they could pray after stealing, as well as forcing other young black men to convert to Islam at gunpoint.

At least one, Anthony Marriott, was shot in the head and killed for refusing them.

By 2004, pretty much all London's other black criminal gangs were united against them - but that only drove them to more violence.

In December 2004, PC Liam Morrow was shot in the legs after being alerted to suspicious activity:

PC Morrow, 23, was shot three times in his legs, in Madeira Avenue, Bromley, on December 20, last year.

Five officers went to the street just after midnight following reports four men in a car were acting suspiciously.

Khan and his three accomplices fled in the direction of Highland Road when officers approached them and PC Morrow was shot as they fled.

He returned to work in May and has vowed the incident will not affect his work.

He said: "I'm not scared. I have wanted to be a policeman all my life and nothing will stop me from doing my job."

Some linked the man convicted, Zartash Khan, to the Muslim Boys.

However, as the authorities crowed that many of the gang's leading figures were being jailed, its effectiveness was being reduced and it didn't have any "genuine Islamic links" anyway, it was well known by 2005 that the Muslim Boys were making a hell of a reputation for themselves in HMP Belmarsh:

Inside Belmarsh jail, the Muslim Boys have imported their savage and ferocious behavior. They have carved for themselves a unique position within the prison hierarchy, feared by inmates and treated with caution by prison officers. To achieve this, they have violently attacked inmates and staff alike.

In December 2005, a leaked internal security report from the jail stated: “Prisoners reported abuse, assaults, intimidation and threats. Some of the atrocities were carried out with impunity during associations causing victims to fear for their lives. Most of the perpetrators are believed to be members of the Muslim Boys gang who intensified their drive to recruit other prisoners to the fold. They force prisoners to accept the Muslim faith - those who refuse suffer assaults. They promise potential converts protection from other prisoners and staff who they challenge at every opportunity.”

A month later, a source inside the prison stated: “The Muslim Boys’ gang master orders most of the assaults on fellow prisoners. They rule through fear and are very hard to infiltrate.”

In February 2006, a prominent member of the Muslim Boys gang led an attack upon prison staff that led to a riot in the prison’s high security unit. A prison guard was set upon by two inmates. Two of these were Muslim Boys gang members. Another prisoner then joined in. The officer was hit around his head and upper body with a pool cue and also a sock that had been filled with cans of tuna. He received cuts and needed hospital treatment. The incident led to further violence in which two other prison guards were also attacked. One of these was punched and kicked in the shower block of the unit, and the other was assaulted in the medical treatment room. About ten prisoners and ten staff fought with each other, and five prisoners were given disciplinary action.

On Good Friday, April 14 2006, one member of the Muslim Boys was “punished” for trying to convert out of Islam. When the Belmarsh prisoner was in the toilet, eight Muslim Boys gang members attacked him. The victim received head injuries. When prison officers tried to intervene, they too were attacked. The Home Office denied that the attack had been a serious incident, but a spokesperson said that four men were being subjected to “administrative action.”

In May 2007, a leading member of the Muslim Boys gang again led an attack upon Belmarsh prison staff. On the morning of May 4, this individual was asked to hand over his laptop computer to a prison officer. In March 2006 the prison had controversially authorized the issue of laptop computers costing £1,000 apiece ($1,958) to 28 of the prisoners in the jail, including terror suspects and Abu Hamza. The prison authorities argued that these computers were to be used for prisoners to prepare their legal defenses.

The Muslim Boys gang member had been suspected of using a smuggled card to enable his laptop computer to be connected to the internet. He refused to give the computer to the officer and then punched and kicked him. Other prisoners then joined in, brandishing pool cues. When the security alarm was sounded, three more prison officers were attacked, in what was regarded by staff as a pre-planned assault. One of the prison officers received a broken chin and another underwent shoulder injuries.

And the prison authorities are only just concerned about "tensions simmering over"?

No - they are concerned that the public will find out just who runs parts of HMP Belmarsh, and their masters at the Home Office (or the "Justice Ministry" are whatever it's called this week) will be held to account at the ballot box, as they deserve to be.

Canterbury Prison Spent £17,000 Installing Muslim-Friendly Amenities

An all too familiar story from The Kent Messenger:

A prison has spent thousands of pounds on special toilets for foreigners and footbaths for Muslims.

About £17,000 was found to convert toilets and showers at Canterbury Prison, which only holds foreign nationals awaiting deportation, and to aid its 92 Muslim inmates.

Figures obtained from the Ministry of Justice under the Freedom of Information Act show the money was spent on two footbaths, a “squat” toilet and a shower area. Footbaths are often used by Muslims as they are required to wash their feet before prayer.

However, the area is not exclusive to Muslims and can be used by all inmates.

The expense has been slammed by pressure group the TaxPayers’ Alliance. Chief executive Matthew Elliott said: "It’s ridiculous that we are spending so much money on prisoners who should have been deported, rather than kept here as a burden on innocent taxpayers.

"Making basic provision for people’s needs is one thing, but there is no reason at all why there should be special toilets installed."

Canterbury Prison is the first in the country to fulfil the unique role of holding only foreign national prisoners. The Prison Independent Monitoring Board’s annual report published in July, showed inmates represent 66 different nationalities, speak 33 different languages and practice 17 different religions.

Representative Amy Bushell defended the bill for “squat” toilets.

She said: "In the prison’s overall refurbishment programme budget, the cost of the installation was relatively small.

"People who choose to use such facilities cover many nationalities, cultures and religions. We would have been greatly disturbed if these had been provided for just one group alone, as it would have excluded other individuals from using them."

Ah - so footbaths for Muslim prayers are for "all groups" are they, Amy?

On paper, perhaps.

One wonders if this is actually the test for getting residency in Britain - if you can't use a normal toilet (which demonstrates nicely the calibre of people rolling up), that's an instant fail and you get sent to a nice prison which has suitable facilities before you're sent back to a country which doesn't have such trivial nonsense as sanitation.

As for the language used - I've stayed in hotels which don't have such a range of choices on offer.

Is it any wonder this country is the laughing stock of the world?

Can a Devout Muslim Be a Rapist?

No, that's not a trick question.

This story concerns an argument between two rapists which got out of hand in HMP Acklington. Andrew Dawson annoyed the man in the next cell with his tendency to feed the seagulls from his cell window.

This man was Karim Munde, and to get his own back on Dawson he naturally gathered two other black inmates and they beat him up in the showers.

Munde then made the rest of Dawson's sentence a misery, allegedly subjecting him to a prolonged campaign of bullying, described as 'relentless'.

In response, Dawson chose the moment he was being released to toss a tobacco pouch containing his own excrement and two racist letters into Munde's cell.

This landed him in court, and he now has to complete 180 hours of unpaid work and pay £70 costs.

I'm more interested in how the stories describe Munde. In the first story, he is a 'black Irishman originally from Sierra Leone, also a practising Muslim'.

In the second story, he becomes a devout Muslim.

Now, if a Christian or a Jew or a Hindu committed rape, would you refer to him as 'devout'? Devout implies living a certain kind of life due to one's religious beliefs, not violently attacking innocent women.

There is another very disturbing aspect to this; namely, a white prisoner can receive a beating and relentless abuse from a group of black inmates without comment or action from the authorities; as soon as the white prisoner retaliates, albeit in a ridiculously infantile way, he has the book thrown at him.

Here is an extract from the story:

Prosecutor James Long said: "The victim in this case was a black Irishman, originally from Sierra Leone, who is also a Muslim, and is serving a sentence for rape.

"The only knowledge he has of the defendant is that he is the man who feeds the birds out of his window.

"As the defendant was being escorted, a prison officer saw him throw something into the cell of the victim, which turned out to be a white envelope and a tobacco pouch.

"Inside the envelope were two pages of A4 – it would be kind to refer to it as a letter – of largely racist abuse. There were many derogatory, insulting and obscene references to the victim being a black African person."

Mr Long added: "The pouch did not contain tobacco – it in fact contained excrement. When the victim opened it, he describes feeling physically sick."

Quizzed about the package, Dawson made a full admission but denied being a racist, saying it was revenge for the treatment he had received at the hands of the victim and his cohorts whilst serving his sentence.

Defending, Richard Scott said Dawson had been 'relentlessly bullied' over claims that he had fed seagulls at his window, which had disturbed other prisoners with their constant noise.

"He says he was not responsible, but he was accused of being the 'bird man of Acklington'," he said. "These people made it their business to make his life as difficult as possible, and he was also assaulted in the showers by the victim.

"It was against this background that he wrote this nonsense. In a tin-pot way he was trying to get his own back. It was infantile."

The fact that the 'victim' is not some innocent lamb but a violent rapist is barely mentioned - and frankly the whole thing makes me feel physically sick.

Jamaican Lesbian Fights Deportation

A lesbian drug dealer is claiming that deporting her to her native Jamaica would breach her human rights. We, of course, are paying for the privilege of exploring her right to stay here:

A drug dealer is appealing against her deportation on the grounds it will violate her human rights as a lesbian.

The Jamaican argues she will be persecuted for her homosexuality if she is returned to her home country at the end of her sentence.

She had a boyfriend before her conviction for supplying class-A drugs, but has since had several same-sex lovers in prison.

Yesterday the Court of Appeal heard that the woman, called A for legal reasons, wants to stay in the UK where she says she has found love with a fellow inmate.

But the Home Office refuses to accept the relationship is genuine and said it was just a ruse to get her deportation order returned.

They argue her same-sex relations were merely the result of the lack of male alternatives - similar to one of the lesbian flings depicted in prison dramas such as Bad Girls. Her case is set to cost the taxpayer tens of thousands of pounds.

A, who is 24, was introduced to drugs by a former boyfriend, but since her conviction in 2005 she claims to have had at least six lesbian lovers.

She says in Jamaica she faces the threat of criminal gangs who would set out to kill her because of her homosexuality.

Her legal case is that deporting her would violate her rights to life, freedom of expression, a private life and freedom from discrimination.

But the Home Office believes her alleged relationship is 'part and parcel of a campaign to be allowed to stay in the UK'.

They claim that as A's alleged girlfriend is also Jamaican, there is nothing stopping the couple returning to the Caribbean and setting up home there together.

The Court of Appeal was told that A met the woman she says she loves while they were both inmates at Downview, in Surrey.

Carine Patry Hoskins, for the Home Office, said that it 'did not accept' that the relationship was genuine.

She added that it was little surprise that A had been a lesbian when in prison. 'If she wanted to be sexually active, there was no other option,' she said. 'There was no other choice but celibacy.'

A, who is fighting her case using legal aid, said she was 'lost and frightened' when she left Jamaica as a teenager, but is now more confident-about who she is.

She says she had homosexual and heterosexual relationships before being imprisoned, but had become 'more socially confident' behind bars, and as a result, had confirmed in her mind her lesbianism.

She is challenging her deportation notice, served earlier this year. Her barrister, S Chelvan, said that as a lesbian she would be in danger if returned to Jamaica.

He also attacked the Home Office for withdrawing two concessions it had made to A before her asylum appeal was heard.

Mr Chelvan said officials had agreed that if it was found she was a lesbian then she would be 'at risk' in Jamaica, and had also accepted she was in a lesbian relationship.

He said the Home Office's behaviour was a 'public disgrace' and had 'undermined public confidence' in the immigration system.

The Home Office conceded that A's case will have to be remitted to an appeal tribunal to decide whether she will be at risk if returned to Jamaica, but still disputes her claim to be involved in a lesbian relationship.

1,000 Dangerous Criminals at Large

Earlier this week it was reported that up to 1,000 dangerous convicts have not been returned to prison after committing further offences whilst out on licence.

Incredibly, some police forces have refused to identify the men they are seeking - claiming that it might breach their right to privacy under data protection laws.

From the Mail:

Incredibly, some police forces are refusing to identify the danger men, citing data protection laws.

The Government knew little or nothing of the fiasco until after a review was ordered two years ago.

The findings were made public yesterday, sparking a belated police hunt to find the fugitives.

Those who remain on the run include 20 murderers, 15 rapists and five paedophiles.

Of the 954 criminals wrongly at large, at least 59 have re-offended, including crimes of rape.

The figures reignited concerns about the ability of the police and probation service to protect the public, and privately some ministers were known to be unhappy with the police.

Last month, both services were heavily criticised when it emerged that Dano Sonnex was free to kill French students Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez despite being recalled to jail.

The scandal, which was announced jointly by Home Secretary Alan Johnson and Justice Secretary Jack Straw, has echoes of the foreign prisoner fiasco in which 1,000 overseas convicts were mistakenly freed without being even considered for deportation, leading to the sacking of of Charles Clarke as Home Secretary in 2006.

Yesterday's revelations are understood to stem from reviews ordered in the wake of that debacle to see what other 'horrors' were lurking in the corridors of Whitehall.

Officials were asked to check how many criminals released early from jail on licence were subsequently recalled to jail by probation officers worried about their conduct.

Names were checked against police records of who had actually been arrested. It was discovered that 19 offenders recalled between 1984 and 1999 remain at large, including a murderer wanted since 1984.

A further 142 have been on the run for between five and ten years. In addition, 180 criminals released early from prison since June 2007 under a controversial scheme to reduce overcrowding are still free.

Harry Fletcher of Napo, the probation union, said: 'It is of real concern that nearly one thousand offenders who have been recalled to custody have gone missing. Many pose a threat to the public.'

Baby P's Killer Bids to Become a Muslim

The 32 year old who tortured the child known as 'Baby P' to death (along with his own mother) was also convicted of raping a 2 year old girl.

He now languishes at taxpayers' expense in HMP Belmarsh, Britain's most secure prison, serving ten years for his involvement in Baby P's death and life for the rape of the toddler.

Prison sources say that he is only interested in watching television, has a cell described as 'cushy', and is understandably seen as the lowest there is even by Britain's most dangerous and notorious criminals.

Some interesting news emerged today, however - this sub-human has approached the prison imam with a view to converting to Islam:

The stepdad of tragic Baby P is trying to become a Muslim.

The fiend, 32, approached the prison imam but Islamic inmates blocked the move.

A source at Wakefield jail, West Yorks, said: "He knows he's a marked man and this was his attempt at getting in with a large group, but no one wants to be seen with someone who's committed such heinous crimes."

The beast was jailed for life last month for raping a girl of two and causing or allowing the death of 17-month-old Baby P in Haringey, North London. The People has told of a £10,000 lags' plot to maim him. The insider added: "He's shown no remorse. All he cares about is watching the telly and getting his dinner. Everyone in here thinks he's the lowest of the low. "

What is interesting here is that the Muslim element in this prison is seen to have such power and influence.

Very, very disturbing on many levels.

Muslim Prisoners Segregated at Own Request

H.M. Prison Winson Green in Birmingham has agreed to give Muslims prisoners their own private cells after some inmates complained about having to eat and pray near non-Muslims.

From the Mail on Sunday:

A prison has agreed to give Muslims their own cells after they complained about sharing with other inmates.

They were said to be unhappy at praying and eating near non-Muslims at Birmingham’s Winson Green jail.

It is thought to be the first time inmates have been segregated by religion. Prison bosses have decided to place them with other Muslims, or give them single cells when space is available.

More than 1,400 inmates, including murderers and robbers, are housed at the jail.

‘So far around 15 Muslim inmates have been accommodated either by being moved to a cell with another Muslim or put on their own,’ said a prison source. ‘They initially asked for their own wing but this was turned down.’

In June 2006, a High Court judge warned that Ministers must find cash to cope with growing prison numbers and called for an end to forced cell sharing. Mr Justice Keith’s concerns were included in his report into the racist murder of Asian prisoner Zahid Mubarek by his cellmate Robert Stewart at Feltham Young Offenders’ Institution in West London.

The judge called for a new concept of ‘institutional religious intolerance’ to combat prejudice against Muslim inmates.

There has also been concern among the 200-strong Muslim contingent in Winson Green about the halal meat served there. It had been prepared on site but, after complaints, is now brought in by an authorised supplier at what is thought to be extra cost.

One prison officer said: ‘This has caused resentment because it is felt the Muslim inmates are getting special treatment.’

A Prison Service spokesman said: ‘Prisoner requests to share cells can be accommodated in some circumstances, such as prisoners sharing religious and dietary needs. All requests are subject to a risk assessment.’

About ten per cent of the 80,000-strong jail population in England and Wales is Muslim.

British Prison Cells not Islam-Friendly

The Criminal Justice Inspection report examined 21 custody suites in police stations in Northern Ireland.

Although it ruled that the cell blocks were perfectly suitable for short-term detention, a 12 point programme was issued with a list of improvements which could be made to improve conditions for long-term detention.

Among these was installing a treadmill so that prisoners detained for longer than 36 hours could get some exercise.

This is where it gets interesting and we verge into 'Cromer's Believe it or Not' territory. Because the cells are also used for immigration offence detention, the report decided that they must cater for people from a range of cultural backgrounds.

Here is what was actually said, courtesy of the BBC:

The inspectors said greater efforts should be made in all of the custody suites to cater for diverse backgrounds and cultural differences.

They pointed out that no copies of the Qu'ran or other religious texts were available and that there were no directional arrows pointing to Mecca.

Yes, that's right. Prisons in this country are already being referred to as 'universities of terrorism' - but what we need is to give criminals better access to the Koran and draw an arrow on every cell floor, just in case a Muslim happens to take up residence (an increasing likelihood, granted).

Perhaps a knife behind glass on every cell wall, 'in case of sudden Jihad syndrome', would also be appropriate, along with a line drawn on the policemen's throats for easy jugular-severing.

Some days I have no hope at all for this country's future.

A Muslim Microcosm from Britain & the U.S.

A Labour Minister has called for the Red Cross symbol to be abandoned by the humanitarian organisation, because its link to the Crusades risks 'undermining its work'.

MPs are currently debating whether or not the cross and the crescent symbols should be replaced in certain areas by the 'Red Crystal' symbol, which apparently has no religious connotations.

The Mail tells us:

The founding Conference of the Red Cross Movement in 1863 adopted a red cross on a white background – the reverse of the Swiss flag – as the emblem of the voluntary medical personnel who assisted the wounded on the battlefield.

It was never intended to have any religious meaning and is thought to have been intended as a tribute to traditionally neutral Switzerland, which hosted the conference.

However, the symbol unintentionally raised suggestions that it was somehow linked to the Hospitaliers, a military order which took part in the Crusades, the centuries long series of military campaigns waged by Christians from Europe.

Subsequently, a red crescent emblem was adopted in tandem.

No mention, of course, of the centuries of brutal war waged by Muslims against Europe and against Christians - a conflict which continues to this very day.

I may be wrong, but it was my understanding that the ridiculous 'crystal' symbol came into use at least in part because Muslims refused to allow the addition of a Star of David symbol to represent Israeli membership and Jewish contributions to the organisation.

Speaking of ridiculous, politically correct pandering, a prison magazine has been withdrawn because a satirical cartoon about swine flu 'offended' Muslim inmates, who make up 17% of Britain's prison population.

From UK Media Watch:

The Jailhouselawyer’s Blog carries news that Inside Time, a monthly magazine distributed free to prisoners in the UK, has recalled 50,000 copies of its latest issue because of fears that a humorous article on swine flu and an accompanying cartoon could be offensive to Muslim inmates.

The column by Andy Thackwray, a prisoner at HMP Hull, was entitled “Porky’s Revenge“. It hypothesised that swine flu was the result of a failed plot by Osama Bin Laden “eradicate every pig in Christendom”:

Yes, not too long ago in a cave somewhere in deepest Afghanistan, our bearded foe created his halal flu virus to totally wipe out the pigs of the Western world, and hopefully see the end of pork as we know it. Only trouble was, the young terrorist Bin Laden hand-picked to fly across the Atlantic to carry out the wicked deed was not only a goat short of a full flock, he’d also never ventured out of his village before. So, with geography not being one of his strong points, coupled with his poor command of the English language, it’s not surprising that he got off the plane one stop early thinking he was in Kansas, America when really he was in Cancun, Mexico. There, he set the Bin Laden flu virus free on a Mexican pig farm instead of on an American one as planned – what a knob!

The article was accompanied by a cartoon of a bearded, turbanned pig standing on its hind legs and sneezing.

Just roll over, give in and submit. It is what Mohammed would want.

Speaking of prisons, crime and Islam, here are two more interesting stories from the United States, which seems a little more reluctant to give in to the demands of convicted criminals.

'Shoe bomber' Richard Reid, a convert to Islam with a British passport who attempted to blow up a transatlantic jet, is on hunger strike in an American jail because he feels unable to practice the tenets of his Sunni Muslim faith.

Presumably the guards are supposed to throw him an infidel to kill every so often, but no - they are force feeding him instead.

Still, the authorities refuse to throw out a lawsuit Reid has filed against his prison to the effect that he is not free to practice his faith - but then not being free to do things is rather the point of prison, isn't it?

Reid's lawsuit alleges prison authorities have repeatedly prevented him from following the tenets of his Sunni Muslim faith.

A U.S. District Court judge in Denver recently denied the authorities' request to throw out Reid's lawsuit.

Reid, 35, has refused food since March at the Supermax prison, the United States' highest-security federal lockup, 90 miles south of Denver, a federal government lawyer said in the court filings.

Traci Billingsley, spokesman at federal prison headquarters in Washington, D.C., said the bureau does not comment on inmates' conditions and would not say whether Reid's hunger strike is related

The government attorney, in a previously undisclosed court filing dated April 14, wrote that prison officials determined on April 7 'that medical intervention was necessary" and Reid was being force-fed and hydrated.

Also from the United States, we have news that Syed Haris Ahmed, 24, a former student at Georgia Tech, has been found guilty of conspiring to provide support for terrorist groups.

He faces up to 15 years in prison.

His father offers us some interesting information, however - information which I and most people who will read this know already, but many more need to hear:

“You think something and you’re guilty of something,” said Ahmed, somber and weary as he stood outside a federal courtroom. “He’s not guilty of any crimes in the eyes of Allah. He’s guilty of U.S. laws.”

His son waived the right to a jury trial so that he could use the 45 minutes allocated to close the case to 'deliver the message of Islam' to the court:

Ahmed quoted nine passages from the Quran in Arabic while giving his statement to Duffey, who presided as judge and jury. By delivering “the message that has been revealed by Allah,” he said, “the promise of protection from evil will also apply to me.”

I personally feel that being convicted of plotting to plant bombs designed to kill countless innocents delivers the message of Islam quite aptly, however.

Here is what Ahmed's father calls 'thought crime':

Prosecutors said Ahmed began plotting acts of terror in early 2005, when he and his alleged co-conspirator, Ehsanul Islam Sadequee of Roswell, met with suspected terrorists in Toronto. The men talked big, discussing attacks on military bases and oil refineries, even using lasers to disable the GPS satellite system.

A month later, Ahmed and Sadequee drove to Washington and took 62 amateurish “casing videos” of area landmarks, such as the Capitol and World Bank. Some of the recordings were later found on the computers of two men now convicted of terrorism crimes in Great Britain.

Prosecutors said Ahmed and Sadequee took the videos to earn the respect of terrorists overseas by proving they could take risks and showing how close they could get to potential targets.

Ahmed's sister claims that because he has spent three years in solitary confinement, he has suffered enough - and seeing as he has used that time to memorise the Koran, he is now 'a better person'.

You really couldn't make it up.

Prison Violence on the Rise

According to the Howard League for Penal Reform, there were more than 40,000 violent acts among prisoners last year - more than 100 a day.

My take on this is that prisons are not punitive in the correct way. Often the atmosphere is surprisingly relaxed, the authorities not really in control. It is other prisoners whom convicts must fear, not the law, governor or officers.

The hilariously-named Frances Crook, director of the Howard League, insists that the reason for the rise in violence is overcrowding and the mistreatment of mental health problems. Crook says that studying 141 English and Welsh prisons revealed that incidents of self-harm, assaults and fires had gone up by 180,000 in five years.

The solution of Crook and the Howard League is to get more young prisoners community sentences, and generally look to alternative punishments to prison.

There's a huge problem with this - arguably the shocking rise in violent crime on Britain's streets is caused by inadequate punishment.

Prison serves at least one function - it keeps dangerous people off the streets and away from the law-abiding public, thus interrupting their criminal career.

Reform groups also wish to see more criminals diagnosed with mental illness. The problem with such a definition is that it takes the onus not only off of punishment, but off of the protection of the public, and puts it squarely on the needs of the individual who has been 'diagnosed' or convicted.

Take the case of Christopher Clunis. In 1992, the 18 stone Schizophrenic plunged a knife through the eye of an innocent man, Jonathan Zito.

Zito, who had just got married, was simply waiting for a train when Clunis struck. After the arrest of Clunis it was revealed that he had previously been very violent, but he had been released under the controversial 'Care in the Community' scheme after the closure of the old mental hospitals.

Clunis is now being prepared for release back into the community.

Like most Leftist impulses, the destruction of the mental hospitals or 'asylums' was driven by good intentions. The problem is they never took the trouble to seriously think of a viable alternative. They spent a lot of time focusing on those who did not deserve to be locked up - and forgot those that did.

Why would the same not be true for the destruction of automatic prison sentences for most crimes?

We already live in a society with one of the most liberal justice systems on earth. Murderers rarely spend twenty years in prison, the restoration of the death penalty for murder is simply unthinkable, and most repeat offenders have to do something pretty serious before they go to prison for the first time.

In return, this is rapidly becoming a very violent society. If the law can't control people in prison, then where can it control them?

Britain's Immigration Policy - the Gift That Keeps on Giving

Meet Roberto Malasi, 20.

As a very young child, he was brought to London as a refugee from Angola. His family here subjected him to 'years of wanton malevolence'. This was brought to the attention of Southwark social services - but they didn't wish to appear racist, so they abandoned him to his fate.

He was taken to the Democratic Republic of Congo at 11 years old by his father, who then abandoned him there, in the middle of a civil war.

At 15, he was back in London, with 'indefinite leave to remain'. His father abandoned him yet again, but Southwark Council found him a flat and a place on a business studies course.

Instead he embarked upon a campaign of violent robbery, which culminated in Zainab Kalokoh being shot in the head during the christening of her niece on a Peckham estate.

She was holding the baby in her arms as she was shot dead, and Malasi pulled the trigger. As she lay dying, Malasi and three accomplices ran around the Wood Dane Estate community hall, collecting the guests' valuables.

When they left, they were heard arguing about which one of them had shot the innocent woman dead.

Fifteen days later, Malasi pulled teenager Ruth Okechukwu out of her car in Walworth and stabbed her to death. She had 'disrespected him' during a phone call with one of his friends.

These crimes took place just over two years ago, when Malasi was 18. At his trial, much was made of the fact his childhood was spent in parts of war-torn Africa. Prison chaplain Reverend Paul Fitzpatrick wrote a letter to the court:

Roberto feels a massive sense of guilt and appropriate responsibility for the crime he has committed and the life he has led." The chaplain went on to say it was a tragic irony that Malasi was actually quite intelligent and, had he had the proper education, he could have achieved a great deal in his life.

Mr Fitzpatrick said one of Roberto's ambitions was to work for the United Nations, although this was unlikely ever to be realised because of his crimes.
The chaplain said: "Roberto at no point expressed self-pity but was horrified by what he had become capable of."

Malasi isn't really a violent thug - it was all extenuating circumstances, you see. Still, he was ordered to serve 30 years and will then be deported.

He's still up to his old tricks, however - at HMP Moorland in Doncaster, South Yorks, a prison officer had the audacity to tell Malasi off.

Malasi jumped on the man and repeatedly punched him in the face, fracturing his cheekbone. When explaining why later, Malasi said that the officer had 'disrespected' him.

Yes, that will be the guilt-ridden innocent the reverend described in his letter.

Muslim Gangs Recruit Prisoners & Say Crime is a Form of Jihad

Most people probably feel a sense of relief when a potentially dangerous Muslim extremist is sent to prison.

That relief could be premature, however - for it seems that British prisons are now a fertile breeding ground for all sorts of violent Islamic rhetoric.

Muslim gangs are not only recruiting other Muslim prisoners to their extremist creed, but also converting non-Muslim prisoners to Islam.

They preach that committing crime is allowed in Islam - so long as it is aimed at undermining infidels and their societies and furthering the cause of the Ummah.

The Prison Service is now so alarmed that spot checks have been ordered at Muslim prayer meetings, and Imams will be strictly screened (it's hard to believe they aren't already, but then that's probably due to naivety or political correctness). They also claim that Imams will never be left to manage prisoners alone, and that at high security jails no inmate will be able to lead prayers, even if no Imam is available.

Early last year, Channel 4 made a documentary about Islam's growing influence in prisons, and recommended that Imams fight the extremist rhetoric by revealing the 'true nature of Islam'. Needless to say, it hasn't worked.

By all accounts, 'the Muslim Boys' gang are still terrorising other inmates at HMP Belmarsh in south London.

On 25th April it emerged that radical cleric Abu Hamza and several of his followers, currently languishing in the High Security Unit at HMP Belmarsh, had refused cooked food all week because they objected to a Muslim prisoner being strip searched by an officer.

The Prison Service deny they are on hunger strike because they were caught gorging on crisps and snacks - but this isn't the most telling part of the story. This is:

The weak-willed backlash came after a Muslim prisoner objected to a strip search along with two other inmates. All three lashed out and were placed in the segregation unit.

The officer who tried to search them received death threats and was moved to a new job.

So not only do they think they have the power to change prison rules and policy, but the Prison Service agrees to the point where it will move any officer who challenges them - for the officer's own safety.

This should be unbelievable. But it's not - this is simply the pattern which emerges when Muslims are given their way on anything.

As soon as one concession is made, it becomes an affront not to make the second.

This was demonstrated quite aptly earlier this year, when Kemal Bourgass, the Algerian al-Qaeda fanatic who stabbed police officer DC Stephen Oake to death during a police raid, demanded that female prison officers and staff who dealt with him wear the veil.

Bourgass, who was plotting a cyanide attack on the Tube, was described thus by a prison source:

"He is very abusive and confrontational and says female officers in prayer meetings are a breach of his human rights and demands they wear a veil. He preaches hatred and is attempting to radicalise prisoners."

Well, quite. But then he has nothing to lose, and he knows it. If there were no prayer meetings, there would be no problem.

Abu Qatada al-Masri Issuing Edicts from Prison

It has been reported that the British authorities suspect that terrorist leader Abu Qatada al-Masiri may be getting messages to his followers from his high-security jail cell.

Described as 'Osama bin Laden's spiritual leader in Europe', Qatada has been in prison since just after the 7/7 London bombings in 2005.

He was briefly released after the Human Rights Act scuppered plans to deport him to Jordan, but was re-arrested after breaking his bail conditions. His second appeal was turned down by the Law Lords, and he is now appealing to the European Court of Human Rights to allow him to stay in this country.

Recently, several letters said to be written by him have been published on various extremist websites, in both Arabic and English, despite the fact he is held in isolation in secure Long Lartin Prison.

The anti-terrorism Qulliam Foundation claims the leaks may be occurring either through his visitors or his lawyers, but say the breach of security is serious as he is inciting violence against the British government and authorities:

In the statements, the writer using the name Qatada congratulates al-Qaeda fighters, claims that the British government opposes Islam and says Muslims should never join the police or army in a non-Muslim country.

The most recent posting appeared on a jihadist forum last month and details life inside a British maximum security prison.

There is no direct proof that the statements were issued by Abu Qatada - but Quilliam says evidence links the posts to Islamist associates of Abu Qatada. The content of the messages is also consistent with Abu Qatada's previous statements.

The Quilliam Foundation are now urging an investigation into the leaks. However, the Justice Minister said:

The Justice Minister said the Quilliam Foundation's comments were "very very surprising".
He added: "Their so-called research doesn't actually have any evidence, there's no basis for these comments.

"The fact is this is alarmist, there's no evidence that's been given to us, the research seems pretty lame at best, and I've got to say this is good for the Quilliam Foundation because they're all about publicity, they've generated a lot of that.

"But it is alarmist, it is unhelpful, it is sensationalist."

Who would this Justice Minister be, exactly?

That's right, it's Shahid Malik, the man who a few months ago called for a Muslim dominated Parliament in the UK.

What he doesn't mention of course is that he doesn't care for the Qulliam Foundation, because it's run by Muslims who are against extremism - so I fully understand why he would resent it getting any publicity.

Most of the UK's prominent Muslims, including Malik, Lord Ahmed and Sadiq Khan MP prefer the Muslim Council of Britain, with its shady links and standard interpretation of Islam, and as we know, they don't care much for those who break ranks.

Nothing quite like an agenda, is there?

Al-Qaeda Inmate Escape Plan Foiled

The Daily Mail reports that an escape plot involving 9 al-Qaeda terrorists held in Yorkshire's HMP Wakefield has been foiled.

The 9 men planned to kidnap the prison Imam during prayers with smuggled weapons, then use him as a human shield as they made their way to the sports field.

Accomplices on the outside were to hire a helicopter on business then hijack it at gunpoint, forcing it to land in the prison grounds until the men could jump aboard.

The escape attempt was allegedly scheduled for Friday, and prison officers discovered the weapons haul just hours before the attempt was due to take place.

It is said that the 9 men have been segregated and will now be transferred to separate prisons.

A prison source confirmed these reports, which were originally revealed in 'The Sun', and said that the escape attempt involved some of the most dangerous known al-Qaeda men in Britain and was rumbled just in time.

One of the terrorists held at Wakefield is Omar Khyam. He was sentenced to 20 years in 2007 for leading a terror cell which planned to blow up the Ministry of Sound nightclub in London and Bluewater Shopping Centre (Europe's largest) in Kent.

The Prison Service is investigating further.

Apt Headline: 'Lord Ahmed's shame at jail sentence for texting while driving'

It was indeed a moment the entire nation can be ashamed of; 'Lord' Nazir Ahmed's ridiculous 12 week jail sentence for killing a man, automatically reduced to 6 weeks, reduced to 20 days, reduced to 16 and a suspended sentence on appeal.

However, I think he sees things slightly differently than I do - he feels shame that he actually received a jail sentence at all.

This interview, in the much-maligned Mail on Sunday, opens with a snivelling run down of the events that saw Ahmed jailed, and just how bad he must feel. This simpering opening concludes:

'It is 6.20pm on Christmas Day 2007 – the moment when the Labour peer’s life changed for ever and 28-year-old Slovakian Martyn Gombar’s life ended.'

I don't personally feel that there's a comparison to be made between the two. But then, it's quite clear where the sympathy of the Mail's editors/owners lies:

'That Lord Ahmed had most recently been lauded for securing the release of British teacher Gillian Gibbons, jailed in the Sudan for calling a teddy bear Mohammed, only added irony to the interest.

On February 25, Lord Ahmed was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison. His solicitors spoke of their respect for the court’s decision but launched an immediate appeal against the sentence.'

Excuse me? Gillian Gibbons was released on 3rd December 2007 - is that really the last significant thing that occurred in Ahmed's career?

Oh no, that's right - the last significant thing to occur in his career was a mere 13 days before he was sentenced, when he ensured a Dutch politician was banned from the United Kingdom for disagreeing with him.

How did he do this? By threatening to lead 10,000 Muslims on Parliament, of course. What else would a good, moderate Muslim committed to democracy, free speech and other British values do in his position? Oddly, his respect for this country and its ways seems to correlate with his solicitor's respect for his sentence - actions speak louder than words.

If I'd written the article, the above passage would read:

'That 'Lord' Ahmed is now in prison is deliciously ironic; for it's where, in my opinion, he should be after his treasonous remarks and intentions during the Geert Wilders fiasco'.

The nonsense continues:

'Lord Ahmed’s lawyers persuaded the court that his community work would be ‘irreparably and permanently damaged’ if he remained in prison.'

You can read some more about how ridiculous this statement is and the potentially dangerous precedents it sets here. However, from what I've read about some British prisons and their extensive 'Muslim communities', I would have thought Ahmed felt right at home. Maybe he just doesn't like preaching to the already converted, so to speak?

The article continues:

'Justice Hallett found that he was ‘neither legally nor morally guilty for Mr Gombar’s death’.
But, however relieved he may be to be home, guilty is what Lord Ahmed feels. Speaking for the first time about the crash, court case and his time in prison he admits:

‘That man’s death is a burden I will carry for the rest of my life. It is a terrible thing that happened. I didn’t know it at the time, but Mr Gombar was over the legal alcohol limit, which may have been why his car had spun out of control and why he was standing there like he was.

‘His car had been clipped by two other vehicles before I hit him. But, of course, I regret everything from that night. I am so sorry that he died in such a way.’ '

...I shouldn’t have been texting when I was. It was wrong, wholly wrong. That’s why I pleaded guilty when the charge was read out in court. I am filled with remorse and regret, of course I am.
‘It was a couple of weeks after I had returned from the Sudan after rescuing Gillian Gibbons, and I was getting a lot of calls and texts from journalists. The texts were between me and a journalist.'

So sorry that, in the space of two paragraphs, you try to exonerate yourself and pin the blame firmly elsewhere? All I can hear above are excuses.

If Gombar had collided with Ahmed's car and then died, his blood-alcohol limit would be relevant, and I'd have a degree of empathy with the man.

But it's not, and I don't. Whatever led Gombar to spin out of control had already occurred; his car was a road hazard, the sort of thing that any safe, responsible driver must attempt to be prepared for, especially on a motorway when the speeds used leave very little margin for error.

But, Ahmed continues his whining. The police investigation stretched over 14 months, during which he was interviewed a grand total of four times. Again, I get the distinct impression that I'm supposed to feel sorry for him at this point. I wonder how many terrorists and anti-semites had to miss their tour of Parliament due to this unforgivable inconvenience?

He continues, still in 'poor me' mode:

‘I found out that I was being charged last October when a journalist called to ask for my reaction to my files being sent to the Crown Prosecution Service,’ he says.
‘The circuit judge who heard the case [initially at Sheffield Magistrates Court] asked for a probation report. It recommended a 12-month ban and financial penalty.’

The night before sentencing, Lord Ahmed met his legal team: ‘I asked my QC, “What if the judge sends me to the cells?” He replied, “If that happens, then tomorrow’s the day I lose faith in the British judicial system.” ’

Isn't it curious how two independent minds can have a completely opposite impression of the same event? I lost faith in British justice (well, even more so) when he only got 12 weeks, and I knew that only meant 6 anyway.

'The next day, Lord Ahmed arrived at Sheffield Crown Court with a train ticket to London in his pocket. He planned to go straight to the House of Lords after sentencing. ‘I saw my grandchildren off to school that morning,’ he recalls.
‘I said goodbye to my wife and told her I would call her that evening when I got to London.’

But, while Mr Justice Wilkie accepted that Lord Ahmed was blameless in the collision, the matter under consideration was, he concluded, no less grave.
‘By reason of the prolonged, deliberate, repeated and highly dangerous driving for which you have pleaded guilty,’ he said, ‘only an immediate custodial sentence can be justified.’ '

Ah well, I'm sure he claimed the ticket on his expenses anyway. Who does this man think he is? Am I supposed to feel sorry for him because he's so cocky and arrogant that he thinks sentencing is a foregone conclusion for someone like him? The fact that he was so confident he would get away with it does him no favours.

Although it's quite long, I will reproduce here his experiences after sentencing and arrival at prison:

Recalling that moment now, Lord Ahmed admits: ‘I nearly crumbled. I was devastated. I turned to the Group 4 security guard, who cuffed me and led me down to the cells. I was told to hand over my watch, my wallet, my tie, my belt, empty my pockets and take the laces out of my shoes.

‘I just stood there looking through the officers as they spoke to me. I had been a magistrate myself for eight years. I had been to prison before in that capacity, working with young offenders.

'My maiden speech to the House of Lords in 1998 was about Muslim prisoners, prison conditions and rehabilitation. Now here I was, in handcuffs.’

Lord Ahmed describes the journey from court to prison as ‘the most terrifying journey of all’.
He says: ‘I was loaded into a bus, split up inside with steel cages. You can’t stretch out your legs and you have a window but you can’t see the other inmates on the bus. You just hear them.

'They were glorying in their crimes, shouting about what they had done, the acts of violence they had committed or the drugs they had taken. They swore loudly and vilely, words I would not repeat.’

Hang on a moment; his maiden speech to the Lords was about prison conditions and reform, rehabilitation and Muslim prisoners. In my book, a criminal is a criminal - black, white, Jewish, Christian, Muslim. There should be no special treatment for any particular group. But more than that, Ahmed's attitude concerns me; he acknowledges that the people who had been jailed deserved to be, yet he was once a lobbyist for what amounts to releasing them and absolving them of any blame for their actions.

Can it be that these people are good enough to mix with the public in the street, yet not good enough to keep Ahmed company at lock-up? Maybe serving 12 weeks would have done him some good, by penetrating the nonsensical liberal fuzz which surrounds his brain.

He goes on:

'Forty-five minutes later, Lord Ahmed arrived at HMP Marshgate, known locally as Doncatraz. It is a remand facility built to house Category A offenders.

‘I was taken to a small room where a guard told me, “You’re not allowed to wear a suit. Only the governor and lawyers wear suits.”

Then they put on their gloves and I was told to strip. I was handed a tracksuit to wear and my photograph was taken. What few possessions I had were put in a bag and sealed.
My money was taken and I was told it would be banked for me. I’m diabetic and, bearing in mind I had been up since eight in the morning, I asked about my medication and was told I could see a nurse.

‘I was given a small bar of soap, a packet of Polos, a toothbrush, toothpaste and a packet of crisps. Then I was taken to my cell.

‘By then, my fear had really accelerated. There was a toilet in the corner and a powerful smell of urine, a bed with a dirty towel on it and a chair. There was a small window with bars on it.

'The moment I stepped out of my cell, I was afraid. I asked a guard if I could use the bathroom and take a shower. They watched me throughout.
‘Lockdown was at six o’clock and the cells are locked until eight in the morning. That was a long, long night.’ '

I imagine Martyn Gombar's widow has had a few long nights since some egotistical moron wiped out her husband with his Jaguar, to be honest.

Why was that again? Oh yes, because the poor chap was just so popular and full of his own importance after coming back from Sudan that he would have needed surgery to remove him from his mobile phone.

Ahmed then goes into some detail about being transferred to an open prison, HMP Moorlands, and what life was like there. There is also more whining about how sorry he apparently is. But his true colours are revealed once more near the end of the article:

'But his mood is not one of celebration. Lord Ahmed is aware of the criticism that continues to be levelled at him: ‘People have said that my sentence was suspended because of who I am. But that’s not true. I feel my sentence was a custodial one because of who I am.
‘One police officer told me he didn’t think they would be pressing charges were it not for the fact that I was Lord Ahmed.’

It is not possible to escape the fact that his reputation as a standard bearer for British Muslims and as a political force has been tarnished.'

Right, so despite being so full of guilt, he thinks he was only punished for the crime he committed and pleaded guilty to because of 'who he is'. The maximum possible sentence for dangerous driving is two years in prison. He was sentenced to 12 weeks, in reality more like 6.

Just the other day a man got 6 months for riding his motorbike at over 100mph with his 14 year old son on the back. Reckless and foolish, yes - but no one died.

As for 'who Ahmed is' - I doubt anyone could think as highly of him as he clearly does himself. I only know who he is for negative reasons, and they go far beyond this car crash.

Incidentally, does the Mail not think that threatening to lead 10,000 Muslims on Parliament if a controversial speaker he did not agree with was invited, when he'd been responsible for several controversial invitations in the past himself might have tarnished his reputation?

In fact, that entire article does not mention said incident once, even though it was initially reported by Mail columnist Melanie Phillips.

Sickeningly, Ahmed ends by thanking his supporters, claiming he got over 25,000 messages of support 'from all communities'.

I'll bet. I wonder how many he got condemning his actions and the leniency of the sentence?

The Mail insists that he received no payment for the article; perhaps they just donated it to a charity for the worthy cause of equipping Jihadists around the world?

Lord Ahmed is Free on Friday (II)

As of today, renegade Peer and official bad driver Lord Ahmed of Rotherham is out of jail.

A miscarriage of justice if ever there was one. Liberty, Mine sums up the situation very succinctly here.

To cheer us all up at this miserable time, I tracked down these pictures of Ahmed sweeping up whilst he was actually in the clink.

Taken from Jailhouselawyer's Blog, originally from The Sun I believe:

Another ray of hope; he may be kicked out of the House of Lords over this, and he's already been expelled from the Labour Party.

According to the JHL blog, the sly so-and-so has been in HMP Moorlands, an open prison, since 26th February when he was transferred from tougher HMP Doncaster.

I suppose, to quote Marge Simpson, that some people simply can't afford justice, and Mr Gomabr's widow falls into that category.

It's the Ambiance, Dear

I read many strange things about Britain every single day, but this one stood out.

After a psychologist did some research, the governor at HMP Hull, a Victorian-built prison, spent £1,800 on 5 tropical fish tanks to 'help inmates relax'.

HM Prison Service are facing officer strikes over pay disputes, and many officers argue staffing levels in some prisons are at dangerously low levels.

Couple this with the fact there aren't enough prison places, and Justice Minister Jack Straw recently pleaded with Magistrates to avoid passing custodial sentences unless it was absolutely vital (in his world that presumably would only apply to some sort of double murder).

Psychologists defended the cost, saying that the 'improved ambiance' would 'calm stressed inmates and therefore improve life for staff''.

Yes, it's all about the ambiance, a word I often associate mistakenly with hotels rather than prisons. What next? A star ranking system? Officers moonlighting as waiters?

Maybe if the inmates had just kept fish as children, they'd have been less stressed and wouldn't have turned to crime in the first place.

How simple the world is for some.