SAOIRSE32

Irish News
By Seanin Graham
19/01/08

A PATIENT who discovered his medical files may have been leaked by a hospital worker to paramilitaries has said he is “disgusted” at the hospital’s handling of the case.

Confidential information concerning 10 patients at Craigavon area hospital is alleged to have been passed on to the LVF by a woman employee, who was sacked last year.

A second hospital worker has been disciplined following an internal investigation.

Police have confirmed that two women were questioned in relation to “the leaking of medical information” and that a file is being prepared for the Public Prosecution Service.

It is understood that the medical files contained details about patients who had been attacked by the LVF.

One of the those affected said he only became aware of the case following an article on a chatroom website.

He contacted the hospital and learned that two files relating to himself and his son may have been illegally accessed by the former woman employee.

He has taken legal action on the grounds that his personal security and privacy were breached.

“I was disgusted with the hospital to be honest as I thought they would have got in touch with me to tell me what had happened,” he said.

“Instead I had to get a solicitor and go to them myself when all sorts of rumours started flying around the town.

“Surely there should be stricter controls in place so this information isn’t so ‘loose’ and cannot be accessed by so many people.

“This is private and personal information. If someone had cancer for example and wanted to keep it to themselves – suddenly, this hospital worker can access these details and tell whoever they want.”

It is understood the nine other patients are taking legal action on similar grounds.

A spokeswoman for the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, which has responsibility for Craigavon area hospital, said it could not comment on individual patients or staff involved in the case for legal reasons.

She also declined to comment on what procedures are in place in relation to informing patients if they are at risk of potential breaches of personal information.

However, she confirmed that an investigation has been carried out into allegations of a “serious breach” of patient confidentiality.

“The trust takes any allegations of this nature extremely seriously as maintaining the integrity and privacy of all patients is paramount,” she said.

Indymedia Ireland
19 January 2008

New national website launched

Following on from our AGM in December ‘07 the National Executive of the 32CSM has commenced the task of implementing the decisions of our membership. First amongst these is the development of our internet organisation at National, International and Local level. We hereby announce the launching of our new National Website which will assist us in the parallel process of building our organisation for the coming year.

http://www.32csm.info

Related Link: http://www.32csm.info

BBC
20 Jan 2008

A report on the legacy of the Troubles will be published privately even if the government refuses to do so, its authors have said.

The co-chairmen of the Consultative Group on the Past have given details of their pact to the BBC.

Lord Eames and Denis Bradley said that all members of their group agreed with the decision.

Asked if he was certain the report would be published, Mr Bradley said the group had pledged to do so.

“We have kind of taken a solemn convenant among ourselves that we will publish it if no-one else, we have taken that commitment among ourselves.

Lord Eames added: “There are those who will do it for us, those who will publish it for us if it is not published officially.”

The coppermine photo gallery at Éire32 has been off for so long, but I see it is back today. It has all the murals from Crazyfenian and the Bobby Sands photos and the Oliver Curran artwork, amongst other pictures. I am so relieved to see it back. Pictured here is an original work by Irish artist Oliver Curran, whose webiste is not up at this time, but you can view his work at the gallery.

‘Newry’s Born Again Reformation’

Web SiteL: http://www.theplough.netfirms.com/
Vol 5-No 1
Sunday January 20th 2008

e-mail newsletter of the Irish Republican Socialist Party

1) Editorial:
2) Three areas of struggle
3) Book Reviews
a. The Politics of Enmity
4) From the newspapers
5) Facts
6) Without comment
7) Letters
8) What’s On

Please read the opening address at SAOIRSE32 at Lj, or read the entire ‘Plough’ at the site. The text does not present well on this location, sorry.

BBC

A laptop containing confidential information linked to the inquiry into the murder of loyalist paramilitary Billy Wright, has been stolen.

The computer, belonging to a barrister who represents prison service staff in the inquiry, contains the details of a number of people in Northern Ireland.

The PSNI and the Crown Solicitor’s Office are notifying them and assessing any implications of the theft.

The laptop was stolen from the barrister’s office in London.

An NIO statement said the theft was being investigated by the City of London Police, in liaison with the PSNI.

It added that the secretary of state viewed it with serious concern.

Wright, the 37-year-old leader of the loyalist Volunteer Force, was shot dead inside the Maze Prison in 1997 by members of the republican Irish National Liberation Army.

Former Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy announced the public inquiry into Wright’s killing in November 2004 following allegations of security force collusion in his murder.

Sunday Life
By Brian Rowan
Sunday 20, January 2008

Sunday Life today publishes details of another spy story - this time at the very top of the UVF.

We reveal how a Shankill loyalist who directed that organisation’s murder campaign was paid for information.

But even though the UVF carried out numerous killings and a catalogue of other serious crimes, this highest ranking agent supplied information that was “mainly political”.

The revelation comes hard on the heels of our exposé earlier this month that one of the UDA’s so-called ‘brigadiers’ is a long-serving spy for the security services (inset, right).

Sunday Life also reveals how the Special Branch used its influence inside the UVF to have one of its most senior and best known leaders expelled.

These latest spy revelations come as the Eames-Bradley Consultative Group on the Past prepares to end its public consultation and begin a process of private contacts.

It is known they hope to talk to the paramilitary leaderships - including the IRA, the UVF and the UDA.

But how that is done, and whether it can be achieved, are matters that have yet to be fully discussed.

When it was put to one source that the group could end up talking to paramilitary leaders who doubled as agents, he replied: “Exactly, exactly, I quite agree with you.”

Asked what would be achieved in any such contacts, he responded: “A lot depends on them.”

The nationalist politician Alex Attwood, who was part of an SDLP delegation that met Eames-Bradley last Monday, suggested the group “have a much bigger page to write on than many people thought”.

“Their minds are opening up all the time,” he said.

“If Eames-Bradley are to have authority in what they report, they must go into all the dark places of the last 40 years, including agents of strategic influence in republican and loyalist paramilitaries,” Mr Attwood said.

“The State won’t give up the names of their agents. So, when Eames-Bradley talk to people, particularly leadership people, it will be very hard to know if they are talking to an agent or not,” he continued.

Irelandclick
By Alana Fearon
18 Jan 2008

A North Belfast victims’ campaigner has expressed “massive fears” over police moves to begin Taser training – a move which he says will see “trigger happy” officers reboot a policy of aggressive policing.

With CS Spray used “willy-nilly” in North Belfast, in fact 28 incidences from January to September last year, JJ Magee of Relatives for Justice fears the launch this week of Tasers across the north could see “shocking” Taser-related Canadian deaths mirrored on home soil.

4 people died

In October and November alone four people died after being shot by the 50,000 volt stun-guns in Canada, the most high profile death captured on home video and broadcast nationally, sparking a massive outcry surrounding the safety of Tasers.
In all, Canadian authorities have recorded a total 18 Taser-related deaths since their introduction in 2003 and JJ fears that their deployment to Specialist Operations Branch officers will be a “dark and negative” step back in time.
Despite PSNI assurances that, out of the 425 times Tasers have been fired in Britain in the last five years, “a serious incident has been brought to a safe conclusion with no death or serious injury to the police or members of the public”, JJ has concerns Taser-related deaths will replace the 17 plastic bullet killings across the north throughout the Troubles.
“All I can say is that I have massive reservations about the introduction of Tasers to officers here,” he said.
“You only need to look at the statistics in America and Canada to understand how dangerous these weapons are.

Aggressive policing

“I thought we were supposed to be moving away from aggressive policing but instead we seem to be moving back in time.
“In North Belfast especially officers have been very quick to pull out their CS Spray and things can only get worse when Tasers hit the streets.”
A the end of November last year, the United Nations Committee Against Torture concluded that the use of the electric pulse Taser constitutes a “form of torture” and “can even provoke death”.

Admitted

The manufacturers themselves, Taser International, have admitted in a training bulletin that repeated blasts of a Taser can “impair breathing and respiration”.
It is also reported police officers in at least five US states have filed lawsuits against Taser International claiming they suffered serious injuries after being shocked with the 50,000 volt stun-guns during training classes.
But despite the fact there have been more than 100 Taser-related deaths worldwide in recent years, Assistant Chief Constable for Operational Support, Roy Toner said that the introduction of Tasers in the north will “ultimately save lives”.

Training

A number of specialist firearms officers this week commenced training in the use of Taser as part of a PSNI pilot scheme “to increase the range of tactical options available to reduce the risk to officers, offenders and members of the public”.
“The PSNI, like Police Services nationally, is constantly seeking less lethal options in order not to have to resort to lethal force when dealing with violent criminals,” ACC Toner said.
“It would be an appalling situation if an officer had to use a gun and a person is shot dead or seriously injured because Taser or another less lethal option was not on issue to us.”

Sunday Life
By Stephen Breen
Sunday 20, January 2008

An explosive book on one of the most controversial murders of the Troubles is set to be published later this year.

The book - Justice For Raymond - highlights campaigning dad Raymond McCord’s 10-year fight to bring his son’s killers to justice

The former RAF man, also called Raymond (right), was murdered in November, 1997 by the notorious Mount Vernon UVF unit.

Since then, the murder-victim’s father has defied numerous death-threats to fight a high-profile campaign in a bid to see the killers and their Special Branch handlers in court.

Although the book concentrates on McCord’s fight for justice, it will also:

? focus on the issue of collusion;

? highlight former Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan’s report into the murder, and;

? reveal the names of loyalist killers who were also police informers.

McCord believes his book will send “shockwaves” across Northern Ireland.

He said: “The book is now completed and it’s just with the lawyers at the minute.

“It will only be a matter of a few months now before it’s out.

“I think people will find the book quite revealing because it proves that collusion did take place between senior Special Branch officers and top UVF members.

“I think there will be a lot of worried people out there when the book comes out.

“Names will be mentioned in the book and all the issues surrounding Raymond’s case in the last 10 years will be explored.

“But I have also highlighted other murders which the UVF in Mount Vernon were involved in and I genuinely think people will be shocked at the amount of collusion that went on during the Troubles.”

It’s also believed a film could be made after the publication of the book.

The book - co-written by leading Belfast investigative journalist John Cassidy - is due to be published by Gill & Macmillan in May.

sbreen@belfasttelegraph.co.uk