Recovery 19th May 2013
I trot round the park today and listen to the Navy lark. I Oh dear, oh dear
Troutbridge is back on the old island. And Pertwee has indented for enough parts to build another Frigate and flogged them to a local scrap metal dealer. Nunky has bought them including the four inch guns and is on the war path. Priceless.
A quiet wet day no gardening just reading and enjoying the sound of the rain on the roof.
The Fosdyke saga: Fleur has a row with another lady Soames calls her a traitoress and the law in involved. Enter a rather wooden American.
Mary wins at Scrabble today, just and gets just under 400, I might get my revenge tomorrow, I hope.
Obituary:
Paul Shane
Paul Shane, who has died aged 72, made the leap from provincial stand-up club comedian to television stardom when he played the lowbrow holiday camp compère Ted Bovis in the popular 1980s BBC sitcom Hi-de-Hi!
Paul Shane as Ted Bovis Photo: MOVIESTORE/REX
6:34PM BST 17 May 2013
Jimmy Perry, who co-wrote the series with David Croft, was watching Coronation Street in 1979 when he spotted Shane playing a minor character called Frank Roper, a Post Office official. The scene lasted only two minutes, but Perry immediately realised that the bull-necked Shane would be perfect as Bovis, the resident comic at Maplin’s holiday camp.
In an ensemble cast typical of the Croft-Perry canon (Dad’s Army; It Ain’t Half Hot Mum), Shane was perhaps the character with the greatest individual heft, a wily, vulgar, end-of-the-pier throwback concerned to raise a belly-laugh at every turn and, in so doing (as one commentator has observed), elevate low comedy to the status of a high art.
Amid the shabby splendour of Maplin’s Hawaiian Ballroom, Ted Bovis unceasingly strove to fashion his latest “belter” by way of a gag or comedy routine. Moreover, Shane as Bovis — squat, pie-faced, garishly dressed, with a ragged moustache and heavily-greased slicked back hair — was the ideal foil for his sidekick, the lanky, gormless novice comedian, Spike Dixon (Jeffrey Holland).
Shane’s path to fame had started in the late 1960s when he was invalided out of his job as a coalminer and determined to make a career as a singer, borrowing from the repertoires of stars ranging from Matt Monro to Elvis Presley. His bookings took him from venues like the Cemetery Road Social Club, Scunthorpe, where he played to an audience of steelworkers impatient for the glamorous grandmother competition final, to cabaret dates at leading nightspots across Yorkshire and Lancashire.
As an unreconstructed provincial entertainer, it was Shane’s good fortune to emerge into the national consciousness before television sitcoms became neutered by the dictates of political correctness, relying instead — certainly in the case of Hi-de-Hi! (1980-88) — on the saucy humour of the seaside postcard. This was given full rein in the portrayal of Maplin’s Yellowcoats, the cadre of young women led by the man-eating Gladys Pugh (Ruth Madoc), charged with keeping up the campers’ flagging esprit de corps.
Although the series became the programme Butlins loved to hate for perpetuating the stereotypical image of holiday camps as chilly, regimented and down-at-heel, in 1985 the company hired Shane to appear as Ted Bovis in a publicity stunt – assisted by a leggy Redcoat.
The son of working-class parents, Paul Shane was born George Frederick Speight on June 19 1940 at Thrybergh, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Leaving Spurley Hey school, Rotherham, he took a job as a miner, so impressing his workmates at Silverwood Colliery with his singing at the coalface that they urged him to turn professional. When, in 1967, he injured his back slipping on soap in the pithead baths, he was pensioned off at the age of 27.
With his compensation he bought the equipment he needed to launch himself as a singer in the clubs and pubs of South Yorkshire, encouraged by his mother, who herself occasionally sang at weddings. Initially calling himself Paul Stephens, he made his debut as a vocalist at a local pub, followed by his first club booking at St Ann’s Club, Rotherham, for which he was paid 30 shillings (£1.50).
Making the transformation from singer to comedian, Paul Stephens began with a “straight” rendition of Green Green Grass of Home, but eventually made it a comic send-up of the Tom Jones hit. Warned by Equity that there was another entertainer called Paul Stephens, he decided to change his name to Paul Shane after seeing the Alan Ladd Western Shane (1953) on television.
As his career as a club entertainer around the pit villages flourished, Shane started to pick up small parts on television. In 1977 he appeared for the first time in Coronation Street as a disc-jockey called Dave-the-Rave, and in May 1979 he was cast as Frank Roper, the appearance noticed by Jimmy Perry, who offered him the part of Ted Bovis in Hi-de-Hi!
When the series ended in 1988, Perry and Croft offered Shane the part of the butler Alf Stokes in their next sitcom You Rang, M’Lord?, a comic parody of dramas like Upstairs, Downstairs, which ran until 1993. Although in 1991 ITV had given Shane his own series, Very Big Very Soon, in which he starred as a northern variety agent, it fared badly in the ratings and was pulled after one series.
In Oh, Doctor Beeching! (1995-97), Shane played the acting stationmaster Jack Skinner. Other television roles included appearances in Holby City, Muck And Brass, Kavanagh QC and Emmerdale. In 1981 he was the subject of an edition of This Is Your Life.
Shane’s stage work included roles in Run For Your Wife at the Whitehall Theatre, as Mr Bumble in a revival of Oliver! at the London Palladium, and in tours of Fur Coat And No Knickers and Ray Cooney’s Out Of Order. His numerous pantomime appearances included Dame Trott in Jack and the Beanstalk in 2008. His last film role was as a retired bank robber in The Grey Mile (2012).
Paul Shane’s wife, Dory, died in 2001. Their three daughters survive him.
Paul Shane, born June 19 1940, died May 16 2013
Guardian:
In more than 30 years of clinical practice, mostly in general practice, I have encountered much mental illness and experienced it in family members also. To polarise the debate between organic psychiatry looking for elusive biomarkers and promoting drug-based treatments versus Oliver James’s assertion that “abuse is the major cause of psychosis” is unhelpful (“Medicine’s big new battleground: does mental illness really exist?”, News).
Primary-care physicians, who see and treat the vast majority of mental illness in the UK, are trained to see presentations of illness in biological, psychological and social terms. All are relevant. To classify abnormal behaviours as distinctly separable “disorders” or “diagnoses”, as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual seems to be trying to do, is as unhelpful as, say, classifying diabetes as an eating disorder.
In The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better, Wilkinson and Pickett demonstrate quite clearly that health and social problems, particularly the prevalence of mental illness and drug and alcohol use, are highest in those countries with the greatest income inequality. The UK rates very badly in this respect. This realisation, and action to tackle it, is the “paradigm shift” that is needed, not a sterile debate about nomenclature.
Dr Ed Morris
Witney
Oliver James claims that “it is becoming apparent that abuse is the major cause of psychoses”. Unless accompanied by strong evidence, that statement is highly irresponsible, given that it points suspicion at the families of people suffering from an often devastating disorder. Such families, often already mistakenly burdened with shame, do not need yet another witch hunt. There is some evidence that rates of exposure to abuse are elevated in people who develop some forms of psychosis, but that is far from evidence that abuse is “the major cause”.
Although he is unknown in the scientific community as a researcher into the origins of psychosis, James must know very well that correlation does not equal causation and that the sort of study he mentions cannot make it “apparent” that abuse makes any causal contribution. That he then attributes a causal link between abuse and psychosis to an unspecified and, as far as I know, non-existent mechanism he calls our “electro-chemical thermostats” does not change that.
Michael O’Donovan
Professor of psychiatric genetics/honorary consultant psychiatrist
Cardiff University
The argument about whether mental illness exists or is a construct of the psychiatric profession is a retrograde step. It is not helpful to the thousands of people who contact Sane and who struggle with mental ill-health, or to those who are responsible for their care. Nor does it advance research into understanding underlying causes.
We do not ask similar questions about the existence of cancer, heart disease or diabetes. There, the focus is on the search for more effective treatments and cures.
Marjorie Wallace
Chief executive, Sane
London E1
No one has identified the real villains of the piece. In the US, the insurance giants rule the mental health world and it is they that require a diagnostic map to enable them to determine who gets treated for what, by whom and for how long. The clinician assesses the client and informs the insurer, which pays him/her, including a DSM diagnosis. The insurer then ticks boxes and replies something like “six sessions of cognitive-behavioural therapy”. I found that approach appalling.
In this country, psychiatrists leading large multidisciplinary teams make these decisions and are hardly likely to relinquish the power and enormous salaries they enjoy should any model other than the medical be used. I find that approach pretty dreadful too.
Dr Mary Wrightson
Oundle
Northamptonshire
Barring any unforeseen twists in the tale, José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix will soon return to his adoring British public with a second stint as manager of Chelsea. While the return of the “Special One” (© Mourinho J) will largely be a matter for celebration in south-west London, there’s also a huge and ready constituency nationwide, licking their lips in anticipation of more fun from this much-loved pantomime villain, currently serving his last days at Real Madrid.
And, boy, does he need to get away from Madrid. On Friday night, Mourinho described this season as the “worst” of his career, following a 2-1 Copa del Rey defeat to city rivals Atlético. This came at the end of a season in which he had been feuding, it seems, with almost all of the Real squad, and kept Iker Casillas, the Spanish goalkeeper – chief feudee – on the bench for much of the time. Well, he’s always enjoyed a drama.
For most of us, our first Mourinho Moment came in March 2004, when his Porto team scored a last-minute goal at Old Trafford, to send Manchester United crashing out of the Champions League. Dramatic as Costinha’s winner was, it paled next to the unbridled celebrations of his manager. Mourinho ran the length of the touchline before sliding to his knees – to scowls of disdain from Alex Ferguson – and pumping his fist at the shell-shocked crowd. It was to be the first salvo in a decade of lively encounters between the two.
José Mourinho was born 50 years ago in the port city of Setúbal, 30 miles south of Lisbon. Football was in his blood. His father, Felix, was capped by Portugal and Mourinho played to a middling level at Belenenses and Rio Ave. Yet it was coaching that caught his imagination. He went to Lisbon’s Polytechnic of Physical Education, where he studied sports science and, on graduating, started out on a familiar route into soccer management, coaching Vitoria’s youth team back in Setúbal.
The 1992 arrival of Bobby Robson as manager of Sporting Lisbon was, by common consent, the game-changer for Mourinho. Starting out as his translator, he quickly earned Robson’s respect for the intense detail of his preparatory notes. When Robson left for Porto, then Barcelona, he took his trusted match analyst with him, a journey that ended with promotion, when Mourinho took over as Porto coach in 2002. On arrival, he wrote a letter of welcome – a mission statement – to every member of his squad. It began: “From here on in, each practice, each game, each minute of your social life must centre on the aim of being champions…”
In his first season, Porto won the Portuguese league and the Uefa Cup, winning the league again the following year – and then came that memorable 2004 Champions League run. After dispatching Manchester Utd, Porto went on to win the competition outright, an achievement that brought Mourinho to the attention of Roman Abramovich.
If we’d thought his Old Trafford celebration was entertaining, it was as nothing compared to his first interview in the Chelsea hot seat. He said that his predecessor, the well-liked Claudio Ranieri, had deserved the sack for “failing”. He said that he, too, would expect the sack if he were to fail, but for Mourinho, failure was inconceivable. Why? Because he was special.
“Please don’t call me arrogant. I’m European champion and I think I’m a special one.”
Mourinho had spoken. The Special One was born.
And he was special, or at least different. He set his stall out from the offset, eschewing the arriviste Surrey lifestyle of his Chelsea squad. Rather than an off-plan Oxshott monster-mansion, he moved his family to an elegant Eaton Terrace townhouse in south-west London. Mourinho embraced the capital immediately and fully, defying Ron Manager stereotypes by dining at San Lorenzo and taking his young family to the zoo, the theatre, the galleries.
It didn’t harm Mourinho’s stock, either, that he was so easy on the eye. A classically handsome Iberian, he looked just as good in his training gear as he did in his immaculately tailored suits. ITV chief Kevin Lygo, whose children attended the same school as Mourinho’s, recalls with amusement the frisson when Mourinho would arrive to collect his kids – and that was just the men. With his soulful, slightly baggy eyes, the Special One was acutely aware of his own magnetism, an asset he’s put to excellent commercial use over the years. He even licensed his trademark stubble to Braun shavers.
Yet there was never, would never be any prospect of his making the gossip columns. A huge part of Mourinho’s brand, and his value, is his clear and present devotion to his family.
Mourinho is also supremely skilled at manipulating the media and enraging the opposition – players, supporters and managers alike. With one well-timed soundbite, he would set the cat among the pigeons. Coming to Chelsea the summer after Arsenal had gone a whole season unbeaten, Mourinho said: “Look at the way your teams play against Arsenal. They don’t believe they can win.”
The emphasis on “your” and “they” was genius, implying that he, an outsider, was about to show the Premier League how it should be done. It worked a treat. The usually phlegmatic Arsène Wenger allowed himself to be drawn into a slanging match, commenting on any and every Chelsea slip-up. This apparent obsession led Mourinho to label him a “voyeur”. He added: “He likes to watch other people. He speaks, speaks, speaks about Chelsea.”
Another great foe has been Rafa Benítez. To this day, Mourinho refers to the defining moment of the 2005 Champions League semi-final when Liverpool won with “the ghost goal” that might or might not have crossed the line. There’s a school of thought that this bullish, antagonistic persona is just that – a mask, a smokescreen, carefully cultivated to take the pressure away from his players so they can fully focus on the task in hand.
In doing so, he creates a siege mentality that is predicated on loyalty to the crown – that crown being worn, of course, by the Special One. There’s a counter-argument that Mourinho craves the limelight and is addicted to praise, describing all his teams and their achievements as Me, My and Mine.
What’s for sure is that he’s a Machiavellian operator who picks his spats as adroitly as he picks his teams. Having incensed Alex Ferguson in 2004, Mourinho was quick to realise it had been a Pyrrhic victory. He began to court Ferguson, buttering him up with praise and playing to his self-image as a man of superior taste, fond of fine wine, something of which the Portuguese knew a little, too. (He is honorary president of a collective dedicated to ousting the screw-top wine bottle.)
There was method to his acting, of course. After being sacked by Abramovich in 2007, Mourinho regularly spoke of his desire to land another “top job” in England. And, for all that he’d continue to call Chelsea “my boys” (usually after a win), Mourinho was solicitous in his praise of Manchester United, their “legend” and, particularly, Ferguson. He as good as treated this year’s Champions League match between the clubs as an open audition, praising his venerable opponent.
Madrid won and Mourinho was well aware that Ferguson himself would have a huge say in the anointment of his successor.
There’s something irresistible in the notion that the wily Ferguson was on to Mourinho all along. He was all too aware that the faithful dad and husband was a serial adulterer when it came to football clubs. That the same devout family man who raised £25,000 for Tsunami Relief and donated his Uefa Ballon D’Or to the Bobby Robson Trust in 2011 is also the man who poked Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova in the eye then ran away; who boasted of his €15,000,000 salary to the Italian media; who is regularly censured and sent to the stands for his outbursts; and who sprinted down the Old Trafford touchline, pumping his fist at the crowd.
Mourinho is all these things and more. He’s a narcissist. He’s a sore loser. He’s pathologically loyal to “his boys”. He’s a born winner. Above all else, though, the comment you always hear said of Mourinho is that he’s “a breath of fresh air”. He would guarantee great copy, give great headline, ruffle a few feathers, then go home to the wife and kids. Welcome back. We’ve been expecting you.
THE MOURINHO FILE
Born 26 January 1963, Setúbal, Portugal, son of a footballer father, a Portuguese international. Married Matilde “Tami” Faria in 1989. Two children, Matilde and José Junior.
Best of times One of only four managers to win the league in four countries (Porto, Chelsea, Internazionale, Real Madrid). On the basis that your first is often the best though, he looked pretty excited on the night that Porto ousted Manchester United en route to winning the Champions League in 2004.
Worst of times The “ghost goal” against Liverpool in the Champions League? Or being sacked by Chelsea in September 2007, after a baleful 1-1 draw with Rosenborg at a half-empty Stamford Bridge. The only time he has – thus far – been shown the door.
What he says “Sometimes you see beautiful people with no brains. Sometimes you have ugly people who are intelligent – like scientists. I am both.”
“I hate to speak about individuals. Players don’t win you trophies, teams win trophies, squads win trophies.”
What others say “José likes to talk.” Chelsea caretaker manager Rafa Benítez.
Will Hutton’s interesting analysis of the social consequences of the segregation of privately educated students from those in state-funded schools concluded (surprisingly and without evidence, apart from his visit to one school and Andrew Adonis’s personal account of his reinvention of the comprehensive schools) that academies are the solution (“We all lose when we separate our children at the school gate”, Comment).
Does he really believe that contracting each of 20,000 schools to the secretary of state and thereby creating the most centralised control over education in western Europe since Germany in the 30s is the way forward?
Certainly not on the basis of the evidence so far available. Despite the extra funding that such schools received (including the £1bn over the budgeted sum) and despite (according to the recent RSA report) the apparent manipulation of admissions to improve results, the academies as a whole do not compare well with those schools that remain accountable to the local community.
Professor Richard Pring
Green-Templeton College
Oxford
Women denied abortion rights
Your report on the threat to the life of “Beatriz”, if denied her pregnancy’s termination, showed the brutal limits on reproductive choice in El Salvador (“‘Let me end my pregnancy’: one woman’s plight grips El Salvador”, News). However, women face similar repression in the neighbouring countries of Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, though the latter two allow therapeutic abortion to save the mother’s life. Anti-abortion laws in all three states not only regulate access to safe abortion, but also ban the use of the emergency morning-after pill and restrict the content of sex education.
In the Central American region, 95% of all abortions are unsafe and a leading cause of maternal death. As religious extremists abuse their power to deny basic freedoms, campaigners will step up our battle for women to have control over their own bodies.
Virginia Lopez Calvo
Co-ordinator, Central America Women’s Network, London N1
Peace flames broke no law
Your article states that the symbolic flying of five Peace Flames from five continents into the UK would have “breached aviation laws” (Church concerns over ‘peace flame’ plan”, News). Had you asked us how this took place, you would have been informed that the flames were flown by airlines in specially designed safety lamps in the same manner as the Olympic flame is flown, and of course without breaching aviation laws.
The World Peace Flame organisation is an education and awareness-raising initiative that works at grass roots level. Our education packs are used in schools and youth projects in several countries to give thousands of young people the skills and awareness to deal constructively with conflict in their own lives.
The World Peace Flame monuments celebrate the heroic efforts that individuals and communities make to build bridges and find common ground where differences exist. As your article points out, they burn in several European cities and remind us that aggression is all too often an instinctual and tempting option where misunderstanding threatens to prevail. I think that it is high time that London had its own monument in a suitable place of prominence.
Those responsible for the World Peace Flame have always been open about their initiative and all the information about the peace flame can be found on its website at worldpeaceflame.com
Savitri MacCuish
Director, the World Peace Flame Foundation, the Netherlands
Tax reform to get the big ones
Your leader did not discuss an option that could be a simple but effective solution to tax evasion by companies: to tax gross turnover separately in each of the countries in which they operate (“Time for a moral crusade against tax scams”, Comment). There would be but one deductible allowance – company taxation agreed for the previous tax year.
Regular PAYE and other taxpayers would see their contributions fall as a percentage of the total tax take necessary to run the country, as the likes of Google, Amazon, Boots and Starbucks pay their fair share.
Mike Gotch
City councillor, Oxford
Rebirth of the history man
Tristram Hunt was correct to draw attention to the need for progressive historians to challenge the rightwing ideology underlying much current historical writing (“History is where the great battles of public life are now being fought”, Comment). This is one of the main reasons that we are editing a book, EP Thompson and English Radicalism. Its main aim is to show how Thompson’s writing on history and political ideas, his peace campaigning and his socialist-humanist philosophy are as relevant today as they were when they were written. They constitute a very powerful challenge to the current historians of the right.
Roger Fieldhouse and Richard Taylor
Thorverton
Exeter
Manc overboard
I enjoyed nearly all of the tribute to Sir Alex Ferguson (Supplement). But oh my, Paul Morley’s mythologising of Manchester, that “molten, international” city with “preserved mongrel integrity”. I trust that Manchester is as wary as ever of the pretentious and the opportunistic.
Sean Cordell
Manchester
After more than four decades of a failed war on drugs, calls for a change in strategy are growing louder by the day. In Latin America, the debate is positively deafening. Statesmen from Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and Uruguay are taking the lead for transformations in their own drug regime, which has set a strong dynamic of change across the region and around the world. Their discussion has expanded to the US, where public opinion toward regulation is also changing.
For the first time, the majority of Americans support regulated cannabis for adult consumption. Nowhere has this support been more evident than in Colorado and Washington, states that recently approved new bills to this effect. This shift in public opinion presents a direct challenge to the US federal law, but also to the United Nations drug conventions and the international drug policy regime.
The Global Commission on Drug Policy, building on the call for a paradigm shift formulated by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, has called loudly for precisely these kinds of changes since 2011. Twenty global leaders have highlighted the devastating consequences of repressive drug policies on people, governance and economies not just in Latin America, but around the world.
Our flagship report – War on Drugs – sets out two main recommendations: (i) replace the criminalisation of drug use with a public health approach, and (ii) experiment with models of legal regulation designed to undermine the power of organised crime. By brokering a genuinely global conversation on drug policy reform, we broke a century-old taboo.
A new unexpected voice was added to the debate on drug policy reform. The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) José Miguel Insulza presented Colombian President Santos with the findings of a much anticipated report on alternative scenarios for drug control and regulation for the Americas. The study itself was originally the idea of Santos and endorsed by all heads of American states at the 2012 Summit of the Americas in Cartagena.
The OAS-backed study proposes four possible scenarios for future drug policy reflecting an emerging consensus across Latin America. Fortunately, none of the scenarios call for the status quo. Most experts endorse the first three scenarios – the shift from repressive approaches to ones that privilege citizen security, the experimentation with different approaches to regulating illegal drugs, and the strengthening of community resilience. Obviously, all serious leaders agree that the fourth scenario, the threat of creating narco-states, is to be avoided at all costs. Taken together, the report represents the first comprehensive treatment of drug policy reform from a multilateral organisation.
The OAS study sets out complementary, rather than mutually excluding paths. They are based on the realistic expectation that demand for psychoactive substances will continue to exist over the coming decade and that only a small proportion of users will become dependent. In fact, many states are already decriminalising drug use and experimenting with cannabis regulation, while also investing in harm reduction programmes including the medical supply of harder drugs. Rather than causing problems as predicted by their critics, they are generating positive and measurable results.
The OAS and countries across Latin America are positively contributing to the breaking of the taboo that blocked for so long the debate on more humane and efficient drug policy. It is time that governments around the world are allowed to responsibly experiment with regulation models that are tailored to their realities and local needs. The leadership demonstrated by President Santos and the OAS secretary general is welcomed. But the report is just the start – leaders across the Americas need to take this study seriously and consider how their own policies can be improved. In doing so, they will be breaking the vicious cycle of violence, corruption, and overcrowded prisons and will put people’s health and security first.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
former president of Brazil, chair
Cesar Gaviria
former president of Colombia
Ricardo Lagos
former president of Chile
George P. Shultz
former Secretary of State, United States, honorary chair
Paul Volcker
former Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve and of the Economic Recovery Board
Louise Arbour
former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, President of the International Crisis Group
Ernesto Zedillo
former president of Mexico
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Democracy
I am a hospital doctor by trade but have just finished four years on secondment to the Civil Service (“Mandarins to become ‘chief executives’”, 12 May).
All I ever saw was bright hardworking people desperate to protect, support and advise ministers and very respectful of the democratic process and mandate, often with detailed knowledge of their field. What are they faced with? Ministers who, even if competent, take a year or so to master their brief and each in turn having their own vanity project to implement “at pace”. Their special advisers generally have no relevant experience in the field, compounding the naivety.
It is absolutely right and proper that officials give detailed, impartial advice on the risks and pitfalls of policy decisions. Perhaps, if overconfident, inexperienced politicians took more notice of this advice, we would have avoided many recent fiascos and about-turns, with Michael Gove and Andrew Lansley being the worst offenders.
As for the Civil Service being a cushy sinecure – check how many floors of Whitehall departments have been cleared out since the election due to redundancies.
Professor David Oliver
Former national clinical director for older peoples services, Department of Health
…
Your article “Campaigners warn against rise of the mega-farms” (12 May) fails to tackle the survivability of smaller family farms. Lashing out against large-scale farms will not solve the problem of how we support, promote and recompense family farmers for the value they deliver to the community and society. It is naive to attack big farms while we only produce around half the chicken, pigmeat and dairy products we consume; doing so just plays into the hands of foreign competitors who want to flood our market with inferior food produced to a lower standard.
And let’s get our facts straight: we have very strong regulation in welfare and environment; the intensive Foston development actually moves UK pig welfare in a very positive direction; and the Powys dairy is by no means a precedent – there are already at least 20 dairy farms in Britain with over 1,000 cows, operating quietly and successfully.
So let’s drop the doomsday scenario and plough efforts into finding sustainable ways to support our family businesses so that they can continue to contribute to our domestic production.
Amy Jackson
Vie email
…
Sir Roger Moore describes large-scale farms as “concentration camps for animals”, which they are (“Campaigners warn against rise of the mega-farms”, 12 May). However, all factory farms are concentration camps for animals and that is where the majority of “food animals” are kept. Even if all farm animals were kept in humane conditions, they still face the horrors of the slaughterhouse.
If people choose to eat animals, they should face up to the unnecessary cruelty and suffering animals are forced to endure, as well as learning about the other issues involved.
Sandra Busell
Edinburgh
…
Without a doubt, any interpreter found to have served the British Army will suffer a fate worse than death if captured by the Taliban upon the allied withdrawal from Afghanistan (Letters, 12 May). I am against unlimited immigration and asylum into the UK. However, Britain has a moral duty to these courageous interpreters.
Dominic Shelmerdine
London W8
…
Years ago, we were looking for F Scott Fitzgerald’s grave in Frederick, Maryland, and asked at the police station (“Fitzgerald buried in near anonymity”, 12 May). The surly lieutenant had heard of neither Fitzgerald nor his grave. He turned to his large busy office. “Anybody heard of some guy called Fitzgerald?” A black patrolman moved hesitantly towards us. “I think he was some sort of writer, Lieut.” Left alone with us, his directions were impeccable. And his knowledge of Scott’s life and work second to none.
Roger Betteridge
Shardlow, Derbyshire
…
Rupert Cornwell shouldn’t be too downcast by his experience in Rockville cemetery. Fitzgerald is commemorated with style in St Paul, Minnesota, where he spent his early years. He even has a statue in a park there. Visitors have photos taken with their arms around it.
Professor David Head
Times:
Political vision needed to boost UK trade in EU
YET again the membership of the EU has become central to political debate and once more the approaches taken by our leaders are reactive and lack a larger political vision (“Haunted by the ghosts of Tories past”, Focus, “So tell us, prime minister, what would make you quit Europe?”, Comment, and “Tory civil war erupts over Europe vote”, News, last week).
Where are the big ideas in politics these days? Nigel Lawson says as an “economist” that we would not be worse off if we left the EU. As a “businessman”, why would he remove 40% of his established market in the hope of expanding more actively into others? Usually the rule is to consolidate to secure a base for the cost of expansion into new markets.
The answer for Britain may lie not in leaving but in increasing its free trade area. The French include their EU territories such as Réunion as offshore departments of France. Why don’t we, in a similar vein, propose adding the Commonwealth realms — the 15 countries that along with the UK acknowledge the Queen as their monarch?
They could increase the trading area of the EU directly by some 20%, generating a considerable boost to all the EU economies. Surely this would be a more positive negotiating base for us with the EU.
Michael Holden, London NW11
Speak up
What gets me about all this is the stunning silence of the left. If anyone should know the devastating effects of 50% EU-style levels of youth unemployment and of general joblessness on communities and families, it ought to be them. Why is Labour so silent?
Kevin Henry, Manchester
Market forces
The notion that the UK can just substitute “the rest of the world” for the EU — as if one were merely trying on gloves — is unworthy of any serious intellect. Free trade with the United States is a nice concept but most Americans are used to buying from China. How exactly does the UK plan to compete with Chinese labour?
The most profitable existing EU client base is the European elite. Dealing the euro a body blow by divorcing from the EU will change how Britons are regarded on the Continent, as well as in Ukraine, Russia, China and Japan.
Knee-jerk Euro-bashing has little conviction. What is needed is level-headedness, cold reflection, unbiased perspective and tactical genius — qualities for which the British were once famous.
Maria Ashot, London W8
Auf wiedersehen, EU?
If Britain had a referendum, I would expect other EU states to follow suit. Quite a few members of Germany’s governing party are more than sceptical of Europe and might also call for a vote, which I think would not only be democratic but also take the pressure off politicians.
Peter Huuck, Hildesheim, Germany
Win-win
Perhaps David Cameron should simply introduce a bill for the withdrawal of Britain from the EU. If it were defeated, he would have effectively undermined those arguing for a quick referendum. If it passed, because of MPs looking out for their own interests with UKIP snapping at their heels, he could probably win a snap election. Just a thought.
Geoffrey Butcher, Nassau, Bahamas
Chef’s special
Jamie Oliver does more than most to better our lot — an awful lot more, in fact. His frustrations are genuine and I guess he has earned the right to say what he thinks (“Mmm, UKIP — they’re pukka”, News, last week). I don’t like UKIP but I agree with Oliver that “what I love is that UKIP are stirring it up”.
Martin Neil, Eastbourne, East Sussex
Hands off: groping will no longer be tolerated
THANK you, India Knight, for “Just shrug at gropers of the past — and your child could be next” (Comment, last week). It has needed a high-profile statement that Operation Yewtree is not a witch-hunt.
At 61 I’m from an era of constant groping, and for a period in the early 1970s it was so bad that I wouldn’t go to the pub. Always, when I objected, I was attacked as a party pooper. Later, as a teacher, I needed to report situations of concern a couple of times regarding colleagues. And guess what. Nothing was done and the underage girls were blamed. It was little short of hellish.
Condemnation, and the naming and shaming of those who made us feel revolted and revolting — that is the right thing. It retrospectively vindicates all of us who knew it was exploitation, for a start. More importantly, as Knight points out, it acts as a warning to today’s gropers that women and girls are not fair game.
Barbara Thompson, Dunfermline, Fife
Rushing to judge
Have you ever considered that the “groupies” of the time could have been the actual offenders in these historic allegations? In my experience as a police officer in the 1970s and 1980s, groupies were often guilty themselves of indecently assaulting their “favoured” celebrities. Naturally these big names did not want them charged — it would have been bad publicity.
While I have no knowledge of what happened in dressing rooms or elsewhere in private, there are two sides to these stories. These allegations demonstrate the clear need for a statute of limitations as in most other civilised legal systems elsewhere.
Brian Vallance, Lefkimmi, Greece
Abuse of friendship
The problem has not gone away. Recently I saw a mixed group of five or six probably university-age friends heading for a nearby beach. One of the boys came up behind one of the girls and grabbed both triangles of the bikini top and squeezed their contents. The girl protested but the group all carried on walking together.
Geof Gibbons, Bournemouth, Dorset
State schools fall short
I FULLY agree with William Urukalo’s comments about the fact that state education does not produce cabinet members (“Cabinet makers”, Letters, last week). I taught in state schools for about 30 years before retiring, and it became noticeable during my last decade at work that youngsters were being infantilised rather then helped to maturity. Most did no chores but expected pocket money and seemed to have a sense of entitlement. We reap what we sow: if we wish to produce individuals from the state system,we must think less about league tables and more about responsibility.
Marilyn Pyke, via email
Making the grade
What does it indicate for the future if a 15-year-old boy such as Urukalo believes that “state education cannot produce people to challenge” Old Etonian cabinet members? I would love this evidently clever lad to visit my local state comprehensive. Pupils leave with strings of A and A* exam results and go on to good universities including Oxbridge. I fear that the class system is embedded in this country and likely to continue for generations to come.
Marianne Lederman, Hitchin, Hertfordshire
Outside the circle
The name of Michael Gove stands out as not being from a “chumocracy” (News Review, May 5). He is an adopted child from Scotland who won a scholarship to Oxford.
Madeleine Ashmore, London SW10
Telegraph:
SIR – Peter Mandelson (Comment, May 17) claims that unless Britain remains within the EU we will not be able to enjoy the potential benefits of the free trade agreement that Brussels is negotiating with America. This is simply untrue.
America has concluded free trade agreements with countries far smaller than ourselves, including Australia, Jordan, Bahrain, Singapore, Morocco and Chile. It is currently negotiating similar deals with Ecuador and Qatar.
As a signatory to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), even if America would want to impose high tariffs in the future on an independent Britain, it could not do so because of the WTO’s Most Favoured Nation principle, which outlaws the imposition of tariffs that are higher than those levied against other member economies. In any case, the WTO has succeeded in creating free trade for 75 per cent of exported goods.
The central reality Lord Mandelson and other pro-EU advocates wish to ignore is that the EU is a declining part of the world, economically and demographically. It now accounts for 19 per cent of world GDP.
Citibank estimates this will go down to 7 per cent by 2050. We need to adopt a more internationalist perspective if we are to survive and thrive in future decades.
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18 May 2013
Stuart Coster
Director, Democracy Movement
London W1
SIR – Peter Mandelson writes of Britain becoming isolated if we were to leave the EU, but no one knows for sure what will happen if we were to leave. Such scaremongering from Lord Mandelson is baseless and akin to that employed by those campaigning for Britain to join the euro – a campaign he supported.
Surely the trump card for the eurosceptics is that the EU demands not just the sacrifice of sovereignty but also of democracy. Do we really want to be ruled by powerful, unelected officials whose bureaucracy is laced with accusations of waste, profligacy and corruption?
David Taylor
Lymington, Hampshire
SIR – Persuading 26 other countries to “reform” the EU is about as likely to succeed as is David Cameron standing in a herd of wildebeest trying, by an effort of will, to turn them into gazelles.
Mick Andrews
Doncaster, West Yorkshire
SIR – I believe that I have a suggestion for an in/out European referendum that will satisfy all parties and could be carried out well before the next election. I refer to the Eurovision Song Contest, which is about to provide us with our annual televisual embarrassment.
Surely even Nick Clegg could be expected to join the rest of Britain in voting to preserve our sanity and dignity by extricating ourselves from this humiliation.
John Ellis
Truro, Cornwall
Sublime estates
SIR – Michael Gove’s remarks about Nimbys and the proposed planning reforms (report, May 17) make one question his aesthetic judgment.
Mr Gove quotes Nash’s Regency terraces, Salisbury Cathedral and Chatsworth as examples of development in the now
not-so-sacred countryside that could “ravish the eye and lift the soul”.
Quite apart from the fact that our most beautiful villages and towns are so because of regulated and strict planning control, does he seriously believe that suddenly a host of Nash-inspired architects will appear and give us sublime housing estates, putting the economy and profit low on their list in favour of beauty and soul?
Roger Payne
London NW3
SIR – A beautiful view is something that soothes the mind and those who possess such a view from a property they own have usually paid a price for its advantage.
Removing that view for the benefit of others is one of the many forms of redistribution of wealth, and contrary to the right to property.
Kenneth Hynes
London N7
Asian gangs
SIR – Responsibility for the police failure to act effectively in the Rotherham and Oxford gang rape cases (report, May 15) can be laid firmly at the door of the Macpherson Inquiry, which labelled the police as “institutionally racist”.
With the police being given such a label their natural reaction would be to treat any criminal activity that may have a racial content as “proceed with caution or preferably not at all”.
This label seems to have rubbed off on the local social services too, so that the institutions which should have protected these vulnerable girls failed them.
Roy Silvester
Gillingham, Dorset
SIR – Joanna Simons (report, May 16) says her gut feeling is that she is not going to resign as the chief executive of Oxfordshire county council. My gut feeling is that, on a salary of £217,000 per annum, an index-linked pension and free of the uncertainties and performance-related monitoring of the private sector, of course she will cling on to her position.
Were she, and the many others of her type who inhabit the secure world of state employment, ever to leave that cosy existence, they would starve.
Michael R Gordon
Bewdley, Worcestershire
Oil prices
SIR – Oil companies employ thousands of people around the world and take major financial risks, exploring in inhospitable, dangerous and often politically unstable places. Their work requires huge capital reserves and any reduction of these through fines or costs (report, May 16) will inevitably result in higher prices to us, the customers.
Anthony P M Pilling
Harome, York
Miserable now
SIR – I was comforted and filled with hope having read your report on sad songs (May 16). However, having now sung a rousing version of Elton John’s Candle in the Wind at both the petrol station and the local supermarket, I am, alas, still miserable thanks to the prices of diesel fuel, tangerines and soap powder.
David Biggins
Filey, North Yorkshire
Women prisoners
SIR – Roma Hooper (Letters, 16 May) says women who have not been convicted of violent offences should not be imprisoned.
While I accept that there is an argument for a reduction in the number of custodial sentences awarded to non-violent criminals, I believe that it is highly discriminatory to treat female prisoners in a more lenient manner purely due to their sex. It undermines both the criminal justice system and the concept of equality before the law.
Ms Hooper’s statistic that 45 per cent of female prisoners reoffend within one year of release may also be applied to men, and is particular among prisoners who receive relatively short sentences.
The real issue is that the majority of those imprisoned are automatically released at the mid-point of their sentences. This should be the concern of the authorities, as opposed to making sexist assumptions.
Keeley Cavendish
London SW1
SIR – To think that criminal behaviour could be undone through light gardening or painting a wall is laughable. In reality it requires the most intensive one-to-one treatment and as a consequence is both impractical and unaffordable.
Trevor Williams
Old Windsor, Berkshire
Cover story
SIR – I too have been duped by a misleading cover (Letters, May 17). I have just purchased a copy of Hugh Laurie’s new album Didn’t it Rain.
On the front is Hugh Laurie playing a piano, but he is only singing on about eight of the CD’s 13 tracks. The other songs are sung by a female singer from his new band.
When I buy a CD with Hugh Laurie on the front I expect all the tracks to be sung by Hugh Laurie.
Peter Martin
Swanland, East Yorkshire
Wired for sound
SIR – Perhaps the residents of Marden and Thurleston (Letters, May 15) might arrange for a pair of copper wires to be provided between the two telephone boxes. Then, using the technology brought to us by Professor Alexander Graham Bell, residents of the two villages would be able to speak with one another at any time.
David Sumner
Southwater, West Sussex
RAF Northolt could solve London’s air problems
SIR – Sir Howard Davies says that better links between Heathrow and regional airports are critical to solving London’s aviation capacity problem (report, May 16).
A solution lies in the proposal that I made in a letter to your newspaper 23 years ago in response to an idea which you had reported, that RAF Northolt should be developed for civil use.
RAF Northolt lies approximately five miles to the north of Heathrow, and a significant part of the land between them is undeveloped. The two airports should be connected by a high-speed non-stop rail link, and all domestic flights should be operated to and from RAF Northolt.
For domestic passengers who do not wish to travel onwards from Heathrow, the location of RAF Northolt offers much better access to central London via the Western Avenue and Westway, which could relieve some of the traffic on the M4.
Hew Goldingham
St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex
SIR – It is madness to allow aircraft carrying hundreds of passengers to fly at low altitude over highly populated urban areas, where the potential for disasters is so very obvious.
We hear many reasons in favour of actually taking such risks at Heathrow, but the safest possible option is to approach and depart from airports over water. Sadly, many places do not have that advantage to consider, but we do.
If this perfectly sensible proposition is accepted, and a site adjoining the Thames is considered for development, I would recommend that the plan for such a project should include a new Thames Barrier, new bridges, and national rail and road links.
This would avoid the congestion of central London, thereby directly connecting the airport with the rest of the country, which would in turn bring ease of access to Europe and the rest of the world.
Ron Brennan
Chislehurst, Kent
SIR – We have serious misgivings about the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, which seeks to legalise gay marriage.
As imams and Muslim leaders we have a responsibility to fulfil our sacred trust to God and present our view on these proposals on behalf of the Muslim communities we serve.
Marriage is a sacred contract between a man and a woman that cannot be redefined. We believe that marriage between a man and a woman is the cornerstone of family life and the only institution within which to raise children.
We are concerned that this radical change to the institution of marriage will impact on what is taught in schools. Muslim teachers will be forced into the contradictory position of holding private beliefs, while teaching a new legal definition of marriage. Muslim parents will be robbed of their right to raise their children according to their beliefs, as gay relationships are taught as something normal to their primary-aged children.
We support the numerous calls from other faith leaders and communities who have stood firmly against gay marriage and instead support marriage as it should be, between a man and a woman.
Shaykh Suliman Gani Shaykh Dr Haitham al-Haddad Shaykh Shakeel Begg
Imam, Tooting Mosque, London Chairman, MRDF Imam, Lewisham Islamic Centre
Maulana Shah Muhammed Anas Shaykh Shams Adduha Muhammad Maulana Sarfraz Madni
Principal, Imam Zakariya Academy, London Director, Ebrahim College Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB)
Mufti Mohammed Zubair Butt Imam Wasim Kempson Shaykh Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf
Chair, Al-Qalam Shariah Panel Al Muntada Al-Islami, London Imam, Masjid-Quba, Stamford Hill, London
Shaykh HM Abu Sayeed Imam Abdul Qayum Mufti Muhammd ibn Adam al-Kawthari
President, Da’watul Islam UK & Eire East London Mosque, London Director, Darul Iftaa, Leicester
Shaykh Abdul Hakim Murad Hafez Mohammed Ali Imam Mohammed Shahid Akhtar
Imam of Noor Ul Islam, Leyton Central Jamia Mosque Ghamkol Sharif, Birmingham
Imam Junaid Shaykh Haytham Tamim Imam Mohammad Talha Bukhari
Masjid-e-Ghousia, Lea Bridge Rd, Leyton Chairman, Utrujj foundation Birmingham Central Mosque
Imam Mirza M Z Akbar Dr Ahmad Al-Dubayan Dr Sheikh Hojjat Ramzy
Kingsway Masjid, Luton Director General, London Central Mosque Imam and Islamic Adviser (Oxford Islamic Information Centre)
Imam Dr Muhammad Shabir Usmani Imam Hafiz Nageen Imam Yousuf Patel
Senior Hadith Researcher, Maidstone Islamic Centre Jamia Masjid, St Albans Head Imam, Noor Ul Islam Mosque, Leyton, London
Moulana Muhammad Umar Nazir Imaam Jahangir Ahmed Shaikh Dr Khaled Fekry
Masjid Noor Luton Al Jalal Masjid, Luton Educational Secretary, Wembley Mosque
Imam Mustapha Sefiane Imam Fakhrul Islam Yusuf Hansa
Islamic Centre, St Albans Hockwell Ring Masjid, Luton Chairman of Noor Ul Islam, Leyton, London
Imam Shahid Ahmed Ustadh Ahmed Bux Imam Abdul Qadeer Baksh
UKIM Madina Masjid, Luton Jamea Masjid, Preston Luton Islamic Centre, Luton
Imam Abu Talha Imam Shaqur Rehman Imam Muhammad Iqbal Awan
Al-Ansar Islamic Centre, Ilford Redbridge Islamic Centre, Ilford UKIM Madina Masjid, Luton
Imam Muhammad Latif Mufti Gul Rehman Shaikh Mufti Md Sadek
Masjid al-Furqan, Birmingham The Islamic Centre, Birmingham Chairman Baitul Abraar Jami Masjid, Luton
Imam Muhammad Abdus Salam Imam Mohammad Arif Cllr Salim Mulla
Redbridge Islamic Centre, Ilford Al-Hijrah Mosque, Birmingham Chairman, Lancashire Council of Mosques
Imam Huzaifa Kolia Mohammed Kozbar Moulana Abdul Mateen
Masjid Abu Bakr, Walthamstow Director, Finsbury Park Masjid Headteacher, Quwwatul Islam Society, Upton Lane, London
Abdul Ahad Miah Mufti Ibrahim Maulavi Maulana Khalil ibn Ilyas Laher
Trustee, Al-Imdaad Foundation UK Imam of Leytonstone Mosque Headteacher, Weekend Madrassa, Masjid Upton Lane, London
Dr Mohammed Fahim Quresh Ali Sabir Hussain
Quranic Murkuz Trust, Woodford Al Hikmah Learning Centre, Bradford Solihull Muslim Community Association, Sollihull
Maulana Haroon Sidat Shaykh Suhel Ishaq Moulana Safee Ahmad Razvi
Lecturer/Scholar, Darul-Uloom, Blackburn Jamia Hanafia Mosque, Derby Head Imam, Noor-ul- Uloom, Birmingham
Imam Aurangzeb Qazi Muhammad Atiqur Rahman Imam Bilal Toorawa
Al-Quraan Islamic Academic Centre, Birmingham Islamic Forum Europe Imam, Masjid-e-Anwaar, Blackburn
Ustadha Loatifa Khan Yusuf Patel Daud Juneja
Instructor, Imam Zakariya Academy, London Founder, SREIslamic Chair of Trustees, Alnoor Cultural & Educational Trust, London
Imam Khalid Mahmood Rahimee Imam Saeed Pathan Imam Khalid Mahmud
Madani Masjid, Luton Ashville Masjid, Leytonstone Chairman, Jamia’t Us Salam Educational Centre, Birmingham
Hafiz Mohammed Arshad Fazlul Karim Chowdhury JP Imam Shukri Majouli
Ibrahim Masjid, Burnley Magistrate City of London Court Finsbury Park Mosque
Arif Mateen Zainul Kazi Imam Abdul Salam Rashdi
UKIM, Boston President, Birmingham Jame Mosque Paigham-e-Islam Birmingham
Imam Rahmat Aziz Salik Imam Iftikhar ul-Haq Imam Zaka’ullah Saleem
Senior Imam, UKIM Hull UKIM Southend Mosque Green Lane Masjid, Birmingham
Imam Mohammed Hafeez Ullah Khan Dr Abdul Majid Katme Imam Muhammad Abdullah Shakir
Witton Islamic Centre, Birmingham Islamic Medical Assocation UK Greenwich Islamic Centre, London
Imam Faruk Said Imam Shoaib Nurgat Moulana Imran Hanslod
Al-Huda Mosque, Bethnal Green Masjid-e-Umer, Walthamstow Imam at Church Rd Mosque, Manor Park, London
Imam Zubair Baiyat Mufti Asad Waqas Haji Gaus Uddin
Masjid Dawatul Islam, Ilford Masjid Usman Ghani, Lancs Jami Masjid and Islamic Centre, Small Heath, Birmingham
Mufti Imam Mohammad Ali Falahi Moulana Ali Asad Imam Moulana Akhtar Ali
Masjid e Anisul Islam, Blackburn Madina Masjid, Newcastle Tower Hamlets
Asim Wadiwala Mufti Saleem Imam Abdullah Hasan
Bolton Darul Uloom Neelu Mosque, Rochdale
Moulana Safdar Khan Imam Mufti Ziyaul Haq Patel Abdullah Kola
Masjid Muadh ibn Jabal, Leicester Newcastle Upon Tyne
Imam Abuzar Imam Azad Miah Imam Aziz Ibraheem
Masjid Abu Bakr, Burnley Masji al-Bilal, Luton Masjid imaan, St Helens, Merseysid
Imam Mohammed Abbas Khan Imam Md Ilyas Moulana Farooq Raja
Lewsey Farm Masjid, Luton MCA Centre, Docklands, London Al Hashim Academy, Dewsbury, Yorkshire
Moulana Yusuf Mama Moulana Ejaz Mufti Moosa Badat
Retired Imam, Batley Sharia Council, Dewsbury Senior Imam of Masjid e Mahmoodiya Batley
Moulana Imam Khalil Ahmed Kazi Moulana Abubaker Barber Moulana Mohammed Bhula
Madina Academy, Dewsbury Scholar/Teacher, Batley Senior Imam of Masjid e Umar Darlaston, Walsall
Moulana Muhammad Asad Moulana Shoeb Patel Moulana Ilyas Dalal
Scholar/Teacher, London Scholar/Teacher, Batley Head teacher, Ilaahi Masjid, Dewsbury
Moulana Imam Mohammad Kola Moulana Samiullah Kholwadia Moulana Imam Abdul Gafoor Salloo
Darul Ilm, Dewsbury Scholar/Teacher, Batley Stoke on Trent
Moulana Mubrak Aiyub Natha Moulana Wasif Sacha Moulana Imam Salim Patel
Scholar/Teacher, Bolton Scholar/Teacher, Batley Thornhill Lees Central Mosque (Darul Ilm) Dewsbury
Moulana Imam Mohammed Mota Moulana Umair Kola Moulana Imam Abdullah Kola
Jame Masjid Batley Scholar/Teacher, Dewsbury Madina Masjid Newcastle
Moulana Arshad Bhula Moulana Suleman Makda Moulana Imam Ismail Kathrada
Scholar/Teacher, Darlaston, Walsall Scholar/Teacher, Batley Makki Masjid Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire
Moulana Farhan Miyanji Moulana Sulaiman Sacha Moulana Imam Afzal Vali Mulla
Scholar, London Scholar/Teacher, Batley Makki Masjid Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire
Moulana Ihsan Meer Moulana Haroon Hans Mufti Imam Hasan Mota
Scholar, Dewsbury Scholar, Dewsbury Masjid-e-Mahmoodiya, Batley
Moulana Maqbool Moulana Mustaq Bilakhdi Moulana Imam Azhar Patel
Secretary of Darul Ilm Dewsbury Scholar, Batley Dawatal Islam Mosque, Batley
Moulana Ubaidul Haq Moulana Imran Esa Qari Imam Ibrahim Mayet
Scholar/Teacher, Dewsbury Scholar/Teacher, Dewsbury Dawatal Islam Batley
Moulana Idris Bulbulia Moulana Shahid Hussain Moulana Imam Mohammad Shoaib
Scholar/Teacher, Dewsbury Scholar/Teacher, Dewsbury Makki Masjid, Stoke on Trent
Moulana Riyaz Sayed Moulana Tariq Hussain Moulana Abubakr Diwan
Scholar/Teacher, Dewsbury Scholar/Teacher, Dewsbury Assistant Secretary, Rabetah Al Ulama Al Islamiyyah
Moulana Shezad Hussain Moulana Haroon Kara Moulana Yusuf Sufi
Scholar/Teacher, Dewsbury Scholar/Teacher, Dewsbury Vice chair, Rabetah Al Ulama Al Islamiyyah
Moulana Ibrahim Kara Moulana Hasan Musa Mufti Javid Pathan
Scholar/Teacher, Dewsbury Scholar/Teacher, Dewsbury Head Teacher, Preston Muslim Girls School
Moulana Mohammed Zakaria Shah Moulana Elyas Aswat Moulana Imam Imtiyaz Kamal
Scholar/Teacher, Batley Scholar/Teacher, Batley Masjid-e-Saliheen, Preston
Moulana Abdullah Nana Moulana Moosa Ali Moulana Imam Qari Jamil Ahmed
Scholar/Teacher, Batley Scholar/Teacher, Nuneaton Masjid-e-Uthman, Huddersfield
Moulana Hafiullah Kholwadia Moulana Mohammed Atif Moulana Imam Naseebur Rahman
Scholar/Teacher, Batley Scholar/Teacher, Huddersfield Masjid-e-Umar Huddersfield
Moulana Farook Dawood Moulana Ilyas Patel Moulana Imam Qari Akram
Scholar/Teacher, Dewsbury Scholar/Teacher, Bolton Masjid-e-Bilal Huddersfield
Moulana Siddiq Hikmatulla Moulana Imran Hussain Mufti Zubair Dudha
Scholar/Teacher, London Scholar/Teacher, Huddersfield Islamic Tarbiyah Academy, Dewsbury
Mufti Muhammad Motara Qari Abdul Aziz Shaikh Shaykh Ahmed Ali
Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Founder and Head of Al Mahad Islami, Bradford
Moulana Asad Dhorat Hafiz Sajid Ravat Imam Habil Makda
Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Former Imam, Snowdon Masjid, Batley
Moulana Tanweer Akhtar Moulana Muhammad Delair Moulana Hashim Sacha
Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Chair, Rabetah Al Ulama Al-Islamiyah, Batley
Moulana Shoaib Mulla Hafiz Hussain Abid Mufti Yusuf Sacha
Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Board member of Al Qalam
Moulana Yusuf Bismillah Hafiz Abdullah Kadia Moulana Mohammed Amin Pandor
Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Secretary Rabetah Al Ulama Al-Islamiyah- Batley
Moulana Aftab Kothdiwala Moulana Haroon Imam Imran Pijvi
Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Thornton Heath Islamic Centre
Hafiz Ashraf Dadipatel Hafiz Habib Khatib Mufti Sajid Patel
Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Wifaqululamah
Moulana Zakariyah Chotia Moulana Abu Bakr Diwan Shaykul Hadith Maulana Ayoob Surti
Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Senior lecturer, Darul Uloom Leicester
Hafiz Kamran Hussain Moulana Shakeel Bashir Aziz Raje
Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Trustee, Finsbury Park Masjid, London
Mufti A Karolia Moulana Imam Abibakr Dadipatel Maulana Imam Suleman Bodiyat
Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Masjid Umar, Dewsbury Mount Pleasant Mosque, Batley
Moulana Abdul Mumin Moulana Imam Ejaz Bashir Yusuf Raja
Madrassah Islamia, Dewsbury Masjid Heera, Dewsbury Lecturer in Dewsbury Markaz
Moulana Adam Yusuf Moulana Imam Muhammad Qasim Imam Mohammad
UWT Zakariya Masjid, Dewsbury Musjid Khazra, Nottingham
Moulana Imam Farooq Rekhad Moulana Imam Rashid Kola Imam Mohammed ibn Saeed
Zakariya Masjid, Dewsbury Masjid Heera, Dewsbury Masjid Abu Hurairah, Leicester
Moulana Imam Ilyas Mullah Moulana Yusuf Patel Moulana Mehabub Shervani
Masjid Umar, Dewsbury Madrassah Taleemud Deen, Dewsbury Teacher, Masjid-e-Boot
Moulana Khabbab Raja Moulana Imam Abrar Khalaqan Mufti Imam Salim
Al Hashim Academy, Dewsbury Masjid Hidayah, Dewsbury Selwyn Rd Masjid, Plaistow
Moulana Khalil Kazi Moulana Imam Amin Moulana Imam Abrar
Madina Academy Masjid Hidayah, Dewsbury Masjid al-Hidayah, Dewsbury
Moulana Musa Jasat Moulana Imam Yusuf Siqander Imam Munawar Surti
Madrassah Taleemud Deen, Dewsbury Darul Ilm, Dewsbury Balham Mosque, London
Moulana Imam Noman Moulana Imam Abdul Hakim Imam Hafiyyullah Bhayat
Masjid Umar, Dewsbury Darul Ilm, Dewsbury Zakariyya Masjid, Preston
Moulana Imam Yunus Siqander Moulana Imam Muhammad Marghoob Mufti Imam A Samad
Masjid Bilal, Dewsbury Masjid Bilal, Dewsbury Masjid al-Bukhari, Leicester
Moulana Abid Hussain Moulana Imam Maqbool Imam Inamul Haq Malik
Madrassah Islamia, Dewsbury Darul Ilm, Dewsbury Croydon Mosque and Islamic Centre
Moulana Imam Saleem Hafiz Umer Kola Mufti Yusuf Danka
Darul Ilm, Dewsbury Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Croydon Mosque and Islamic Centre
Moulana Imam Yusuf Munshi Moulana Imam Haroon Ismail Imam Ismail Pijvi
Masjid Heera, Dewsbury Zakariya Masjid, Dewsbury Norbury Islamic Academy
Moulana Shabir Munshi Moulana Suhail Desai Imam Nagib Khan
Masjid Heera, Dewsbury Masjid Umar, Dewsbury Quran Academy
Moulana Mubasher Iqbal Moulana Muhammad Desai Imam Tehsin Abo Barirah
Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Masjid Umar, Dewsbury Bait ut-Tawheed, Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury
Moulana Imam Zakariyah Muqeet Moulana Ghulam Desai Imam Qasim Ahmed
Masjid Umar, Dewsbury Masjid Umar, Dewsbury Iqra TV/Alkhair Foundation
Moulana Masihullah Bulbulai Moulana Ismail Dadipatel Faiz Ahmed
Masjid Umar, Dewsbury Masjid Umar, Dewsbury Masjid Hazrat Aisha
Moulana Yusuf Dadipatel Hafiz Ghulam Mustafa Molana Imam Sameer
Masjid Umar, Dewsbury Masjid Bilal Majlis e Dawatul Haq
Moulana Imam Ismail Bulbulia Hafiz Farhan Adam Kassim Essak
Masjid Umar Masjid Umar, Dewsbury Central Jamia Mosque, Southall
Moulana Sadiq Patel Mufti Khursheed Alam Imam Mus’ab Panjwani
Madrassah Taleemud Deen, Dewsbury Masjid Bilal, Dewsbury Rawdhah Academy, Chesham, Buckinghamshire
Moulana Muzafer Iqbal Hafiz Yaqub Mayat Shuaib Palejwala
Islamic Tarbiyah Academy, Dewsbury Masjid Umar, Dewsbury Madrasah Islamiyyah, Leicester
Hafiz Malik Dad Moulana Bilal Aswat Imam M A Rahim
Masjid Uthman, Dewsbury Al Furqaan Prep School, Dewsbury Masjid Aisha, Leicester
Hafiz Suliman Moulana Yaseen Badat Arif Malek
Masjid Umar, Dewsbury Islamic Tarbiyah Academy Masjid Abu Hurayrah, Leicester
Mufti Salahudeen Moulana Shiraz Khan Imam Sabahul Haque
Masjid Bilal, Dewsbury Madrassah Hira, Dewsbury Brentwood Cultural & Youth Society
Moulana Ilyas Patel Qari Irshad Imam Ijaz Ahmad Shaami
Dawatul Islam Masjid, Dewsbury Ilahi Masjid, Dewsbury Hazrat Sultan Bahu Trust
Moulana Abu Bakr Mayat Moulana Maseehullah Patel Imam Obaydullah Suleman
Masjid Noor Masjid Hidayah Northfields Education Centre, Leicester
Moulana Ebrahim Lachpuri Moulana Suheb Shaykh Imam Sohaib Peerbhai
Masjid Bilal Masjid Umar Craven Arms Islamic Centre, Shropshire
Moulana Zubair Raja Moulana Yusuf Sacha Imam Abdul Razzak
Masjid Hidayah Madrassah Taleemudeen Epsom Islamic Centre
Moulana Muhammad Kola Shaykh Muhammad Farooq Imam Arshad Qasmi
Masjid Bilal Masjid Umar Mitcham Masjid, London
Moulana Idris Patel Moulana Hasan Bhula Imam Ahmed Bismillah
Masjid Umar Masjid Umar Central Jami Masjid, Southall
Hafiz Musa Sacha Hafiz Imtiaz Mullah Siraaj Sidat
Masjid Umar Masjid Umar Masjid Abu Hurayrah, Leicester
Hafiz Ahmad Mia Hafiz Abdus Salam Sacha Imam Ahmed Peerbhai
Masjid Umar Masjid Umar Masjid Noor, Nottingham
Hafiz Suliman Mulla Hafiz Afzal Adam Imam Waqas Rashid
Masjid Umar Masjid Umar Muslim Education Centre, High Wycombe
Moulana Muhammad Tariq Moulana Abul Qasim Imam Khubaib Raja
Masjid Umar Masjid Umar Muslim Education Centre, High Wycombe
Moulana Abu Bakr Mulla Moulana Muhammad Nana Imam Ashfaq Patel
Masjid Umar Masjid Umar Central Mosque, Blackpool
Amman Abdurrauf Imam Khalid Patel Suleman Sidat
Teacher, Jame masjid, Leicester Masjid Uthman, Leicester Teacher, Islamic Da’wah Academy – IDA, Leicester
Imam Yahya Musa Imam Minar Ali M F Kazi
Islamic Centre, Upton Park, London East End Islamic Centre, Plaistow Al-Ansaar Welfare & Education, Preston
Abubaker Hikmatullah Zakariyya Mohomed Umar Teladia
Madina Masjid, Clapton, London Masjid al-Imam Bukhari Madressa Falah-e-Darain, Birmingha
Imam Sajid Barber Rayan Mahmud Imam Imran Patel
Masjid Zakariya, Wakefield Iqra TV Leytonstone Masjid, London
Imam Atikur Rehman Syed Neaz Ahmad Imaam Mohammad Asif
Islamic Association of Lincoln Anchor, NTV Europe Wernet Jamia Masjid, Oldham
Imam A R Azher ul-Quadri Imam Asjad Nizam Hussein
Raza Islamic Mission, London Abu Bakr Mosque Southampton Principal, Leicester International School
Imam Shaikh Tahir Shahab Din Imam Shokat Syed Arshad Nadeeem
Hillingdon and UMO Abu Bakr Mosque Southampton Chairman, West London Islamic Centre & Greenford Masjid
Imam Sajid Irshad Imam Zahoor Imam Mohamed Anas Shaikh
Masjid Farooqe Azam, Burnley Abu Bakr Mosque Southampton Assalam Centre, Manchester
Imam Nasir Akhtar Imam Junaid Molana Aboobakar Kolia
Abrahamic Foundation, Birmingham Abu Bakr Mosque Southampton Al-Ansaar Welfare & Education, Preston
Imam Muhammad Asif Bilimoria Umar Kika Basma Elshayyal
Ashford and Staines Community Centre Masjid ul Madni, Aston, Birmingham Head of RE, Islamia Girls’ High Schoo
Imam Shuaib Sufi Imam Sufiyan Bora Yusuf Haffejee
Masjid Uthman, Dewsbury Rugby Mosque Head Teacher, Academy for Excellence in the Holy Qur’an
Imam M Z Vania Moulana Riyaz Atcha Nurul Alam
Green Academy Trust, Nottingham Al-Huda Education Academy, Preston President, Islamic Association of North London, Finchley
Imam Ashraf Ali Lorgat Moulana Zakir Atcha Sameer Ismail
Jamia Masjid, Bristol Al-Huda Education Academy, Preston Teacher, Majlis-e-Da’watul Haq
Imam Shafi Chowdhury Moulana Yusuf Atcha Imam Faik Khamkar
Masjid al-Huda, Leicester Al-Huda Education Academy, Preston Masjid Aisha, Leicester
Imam Sayyed Ali Moulana Yasin Atcha Mohammed Lockhat
Masjid Salahuddeen, Leicester Al-Huda Education Academy, Preston Chairman, As-Salaam Trust, Thurnby Lodge, Leicester
Imam Ismail Nurgat Allama Khalid Mahmood Moulana Hamid
Leicester Royal Infirmary Director, Islamic Academy of Manchester UK
Zubair Kola Hafiz Ibrahim Kapodrawi Moulana Hanif Dudhwala
Headteacher, Al-Islamia Forest Gate, London
Imam Imran Sayed Moulana Imam Aamir Aziz Moulana Haroon Patel
Majlis Dawatul Haq, Leicester Muslim Education Centre, High Wycombe
Omar Ibrahim Moulana Imam Abdul Awwal Moulana Hasan
Jame Masjid, Leicester Imam of Masjid Al Farouq, Walsall
Imam Zuber Vawda Moulana Abdul Kader Suleman Moulana Hasan Bodhanwi
Imam Abdul-Rahim Moulana Abdur Rahim Mir Moulana Hashim Limbada
Founder, Radio Seerah
Imam S Khadim Moulana Abdur Rahman Ahmed Moulana Huzaifah
Masjid Salaahuddeen, Leicester
Shaykh Ismail Dhorat Moulana Abdus Salam Kokni Moulana Ibrahim Danka
Baytul Ilm, Leicester
Moulana Ismail Karmadi Moulana Abdus Samad Moulana Ibrahim Patel
Moulana Ismail Limbada Moulana Ahmed Sarkar Moulana Ibrahim Tarapuri
Moulana Ismail Pijwi Moulana Ajaz Moulana Idris
Moulana Issa Mansuri Moulana Arif Polli Moulana Idris Patel
Moulana Masud Aalam Qazi Moulana Ashraf Moulana Iftikhar Hussain
Moulana Mohammed Anas Moulana Ayub Bande Elahi Moulana Ilyas
Moulana Mohammed Patel Moulana Ayub Shah Moulana Inamul Haq
Moulana Mohammed Saeed Mulla Moulana Dilawer Moulana Iqbal Rangooni
Whitechapel, London
Moulana Mohammed Thawa Moulana Farid Patel Moulana Irshaad Qasmi
Moulana Mohammed Yunus Moulana Farook Kazi Moulana Ishaq Aswat
Moulana Muaz Moulana Habibullah Munshi Moulana Ishaq Kachholvi
Moulana Munawwer Surti Moulana Habil Moulana Ismail
Moulana Muzammil Kara Moulana Najib Khan Moulana Nazir
Moulana Qari Annis Moulana Shamsuddin Moulana Imam Fakhruddin Sadhiq
Al-Falaah Learning Centre, Birmingham
Moulana Qari Irshad Moulana Shamsuddin Ibn Bodra Alom Abdul-Basir Sidiq
Moulana Qassim Moulana Sohail Bawa Suleiman Kibuka
Islam Channel
Moulana Saeed Pathan Moulana Sulaiman Wadi Shaikh Abu Eesa Niamatullah
Director, Prophetic Guidance
Moulana Salim Makda Moulana Tariq Imam Nurul Amin
Hitchin Jaami Masjid, Hertfordshire
Moulana Salim Moulana Thameerudin Qasmi Moulana Uthman
Moulana Yakub Kawi Qasmi Mufti Abdul Muntaqim Mufti Ismail Kachholvi
Moulana Yaqub Mufti Arif Ravat Mufti Javaid
Moulana Yunus Mufti Ashfaq Surti Mufti Khurshid
Moulana Yusuf Ali Mufti Faizul Rahman Mufti Mohammed Ash’had
Moulana Zuber Adia Mufti Ibrahim Musa Mufti Mohammed Ghaibee
Mufti Salim Taylor Mufti Umer Farooq Desai Mufti Sajid Patel
Mufti Zakaria Akudi Mufti Yusuf Akudi Mufti Salim
Mufti Zubair Butt Qari Mustaq Qari Zubair Surti
Qari Mohammed Saeed Ravat Qari Tayyab Jhangwi Shamim Chowdhury
Darul Ummah Mosque, London
Imam Tahir Awan Moulana Ismail Badat Imam AbesamadAbdellaoui
Hayes Muslim Centre, London Jame’ah Uloomul Qur’an, Leicester Kingston Muslim Association
Imam Arqam Shaikh Ali Amjad Mufti Shah Sadruddin
Hayes Muslim Centre, London Ebrahim College, London Chairman of Jamiat Ulama Europe
Hafiz Ahmed Bismillah Imam Qasim Imam Tahir Fayyaz
Central Jami Masjid, west London Central Jami Masjid, west London Abu Bakr Mosque, Southall
Imam Abdullah Imam Arqam Momaya Imam Inayatullah
Abu Bakr Mosque, Southall, London Hayes Muslim Centre, London UKIM, Ealing
Imam Abdul Khalil Awan Imam Muhammad Saddiq Imam Qari Amin
Hayes Muslim Centre, London Acton Mosque Jamia Masjid Islamic Centre, Southal
Imam Mujahid Ali Shah Mohammed Shuib Imam Ahmed Ilmi
Poplar Mosque, London Teacher, Imam Zakariya Academy, London Darussalam Mosque, Southall, London
Maulana Imam Shahid Raza
Shah Yahya Ahmed
Head Imam, Leicester Central Mosque Teacher, Al-Falah Primary School, Clapton
Shah Safwan Ahmed
Teacher, Al-Ashraaf Secondary School, Hackney
Shah Talha Ahmed
Teacher, Al-Ashraaf Secondary School, Hackney
Shah Shahan
Headteacher, Al-Ashraaf Secondary School, Hackney
Irish Times:
Irish Independent:
Our Government needs to face up to the harsh reality of the current situation that thousands of families are faced with across Ireland, a country that is ravaged by austerity and poverty.
I have heard of hundreds of cases where people are going to bed cold and hungry. The thought of this alone is sickening.
Ordinary, decent people, including thousands of children, are paying dearly for problems created by others.
I am proud of my country but ashamed of my Government. We have all heard about the massive wealth in Ireland that remains untouched, the super-rich and bankers who caused the crash but who escaped with exorbitant pensions and salaries, while low and middle-income families bear the brunt.
The Government has promised much but delivered little. Local charities are under huge pressure, with poverty forcing people to beg.
There is a substantial rise in arrears on ESB, home heating bills, mortgage repayments and personal bank debt.
Our Government must act fast on this crisis and face up to the reality that austerity isn’t working and won’t work.
There are continuous attacks on our frontline services. This is shameful.
People’s lives are at risk, there has been an increase in home burglaries and crime generally, yet there has been a reduction in the number of garda stations.
We have a two-tier health service with massive numbers on public waiting lists, awaiting procedures. The public health service is under extreme pressure with staff working long, unsociable and unhealthy hours.
Health service employees are now facing unfair pay cuts, along with other unjust taxation on their family homes.
It is a disgrace that hard-working people and their families should have to pay for the mess that was created by greed, inept politicians and bankers.
We now have former Taoiseach John Bruton calling on us to tighten our belts and put up with austerity while he enjoys a pension of €140,000 a year, plus a fat pay packet.
Shane O Ceallaigh
Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny
Irish Independent
I overheard the most pathetic conversation on the train last week. I won’t repeat it. The conversation involved two girls and the subject was Twitter.
I felt physically ill as I alighted at my stop. I am a man, I have a job, a family, I read a lot and I never thought myself better than anyone else until that day. We have surely lost our way as humans.
Twitter should come with a health warning: MAY CAUSE INTELLECTUAL REGRESSION OR STUNTED INTELLIGENCE, etc.
It seems that very clever people keep coming up with ways to keep idiots occupied. Please tell me I’m not alone. Please tell me I’m not the only one who doesn’t care what celebs are saying, doing or wearing.
Just shut the hell up for a while, look around, listen. . . do you hear that? That’s your brain. It’s welcoming you back, and if you listen to it long enough, it will give you back your soul.
Gore Ighla
Blessington, Co Wicklow
It would appear that for the higher echelons in the Roman Catholic Church, like Cardinal Keith O’Brien, the wages of sin have been changed to spending a vacation somewhere hot, but not too hot.
It doesn’t set a very good example to those of us who may end up as guests of Old Nick and asking to petition the Man in Charge to spend a few weeks on holidays while we consider the error of our ways.
Liam Power
Sn Pawl Il-Bahar, SPB 3572,
Why is it necessary to have a licence to own a TV when we have a constitutional right to be educated by the organs of public opinion. It is a scandal that people who have done nothing wrong are imprisoned while rapists, murderers and the crooks that brought Ireland to her knees walk the streets.
The time has come for the State to respect the citizens’ right of free speech and scrap the licence fee.
RTE performing groups and artistic programmes could be financed out of the Lotto.
If the well-paid people in RTE want ‘pay TV’ it is possible for all or part of its output to be ‘pay per view’ or ‘pay as you go’.
Television gives us a window on the world. So the smart thing to do is to scrap this ancient law that has no place in the modern world.
Edward Lee
Passage West, Co Cork
