The head of news at the BBC, Fran Unsworth, has said that the judgment “creates a significant shift against press freedom.” No. It doesn’t.
Category: Jill’s Legacy
A date to remember: 6 March
The 6 March was an anniversary that Jill and I couldn’t forget. Even though she is no longer here, I still won’t forget.
We need to talk about Geoffrey Robinson’s Organ Donor (Deemed Consent) Bill
A new law won’t increase organ donation. Talking about it will.
No, not all men are perverts; but this isn’t a “toxic time for masculinity”
Responding to comments by Martin Daubney on the Sky News newspaper review about Jane Moore’s column in The Sun today, Gavin Drake argues that it is right to create a “toxic time” for abusers.
Should we really be surprised by the Oxfam sex abuse scandal?
The Oxfam sex abuse scandal isn’t an Oxfam-problem but one that affects all of society; and we all need to act to time to call time on abuse – wherever it occurs.
Recent events have a lot to teach us about attitudes towards violence against women
A disturbing attitude towards gender-based violence links the Presidents Club furore and complaints about Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s handling of the accusation against Bishop George Bell. Both cases reveal one of the most pervasive rape-myths that frustrates justice for too many victims.
Violence against women is a sin
Yesterday, during an interview with Ed Stourton on BBC Radio Four’s Sunday programme, I mentioned a video produced by church leaders in Fiji (listen here, from 12’22”). The ecumenical campaign saw Anglican, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Salvation Army, Methodist, evangelical and other church leaders deliver a very clear and unambiguous message: “violence against women and children […]
It is time to end the secrecy and infallibility of the Parole Board
The Parole Board has come in for a lot of attention in the past few days, after its decision to release serial predatory rapist John Worboys was announced on Thursday afternoon. But despite this attention, its work is shrouded in secrecy. Unlike any other aspect of the criminal justice system, the Parole Board’s work is […]
How many times can a man get away with killing his wife and girlfriends?
In 1981 Theodore Johnson killed his wife, Yvonne by hitting her over the head with a vase before pushing her off the balcony of their flat in Wolverhampton. He claimed manslaughter by provocation, saying that his wife wouldn’t let him go to church because he wasn’t dressed well enough. The CPS accepted his plea and […]
At last, my annus horribilis is coming to an end
I make no claim to be a prophet, but this time last year I made a prediction that, within days, was to become chillingly true. On Facebook and Twitter, I wrote: “2017: If you thought 2016 was bad, you ain’t seen nothing yet.” This was a sentence that haunted me all year: three days later, […]