One in eight schoolchildren has English as a second language

More than one in eight schoolchildren in England do not speak English as their first language. These shocking figures are a direct result of Labour’s open-door immigration policy, and shows just how stretched schools are since the Eastern European countries joined the EU in 2004. In four areas of the country there are two thirds of children who have English as their second langauge.

It costs £30,000 a year to educate a non-English speaking pupil, and more money will be needed as the numbers increase rapidly. Schools’ minister Jim Knight has even indicated that the problems arise from the fact that the British teachers do not speak the language of their pupils! He said: “Undoubtedly there can be problems where we don’t have a workforce that has the native language that the children speak at home. They have to become skilled fairly quickly in that language sufficient to be able to teach the children well.”

In Suffolk, for example, there are more than 100 languages spoken in schools. This is bound to have a negative effect on the schooling of native British children.

More here.

Help for black grouse

A group of wildlife charities is hoping to extend the distribution of the black grouse after the population of males has increased and the bird’s decline in the North Pennines has reversed.

Conservationists are hoping to move the birds into north west Northumberland and the Yorkshire Dales. They hope to provide the right conditions to allow the birds to thrive. the birds need dense vegetation, cover for nesting and protection from predation and mature woodlands to provide food in winter. They also need boggy areas which will provide insect food on which to rear chicks.

The North Pennines Black Grouse Recovery Project is a 12-year partnership between the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, Natural England, RSPB, Ministry of Defence, North Pennines Areas of Outstanding Natural Bea Partnership and Northumbrian Water.

More here.

Harris Tweed company axes jobs

A Stornoway-based Harris Tweed mill is to axe 36 jobs and reduce the number of tweed patterns it produces.

The Kenneth Mackenzie Mill says that the cuts are necessary to enable the industry to survive.

The mill is owned by Yorkshireman Brian Haggas, who announced last year that he planned to streamline the industry. He wants to reduce the number of patterns produced to five, and concentrate on the production of upmarket men’s jackets.

Discover more about the history of Harris Tweed here.

Events in History – 27th April

London Zoo opened in 1828

On 27th April 1296 the English Army, led by Edward I, defeated the Scots in the Battle of Dunbar.

On 27th April 1828, London Zoological Gardens opened in Regent’s Park. Women were told not to poke the animals through the cage bars.

On 27th April 1927 Shelia (Christine) Scott was born, She broke more than 104 light aircraft records and was the first to fly solo over the North Pole.

Three bitten by rabid dog

Three kennel staff at a quarantine kennel in Essex have been bitten by a puppy suffering from rabies.

The puppy had been imported from Sri Lanka, where the viral disease is rife. The puppy was in a kennel in the Chingford area of Essex. Staff who were bitten by the animal have been vaccinated.

The dog arrived at the centre on 18th April, and died in quarantine, containing any possible risk and ensuring the UK’s continued “rabies free” status. It died on Friday, and other animals which may have been in contact with it are also being checked.

This should be a wake up call to all the foolish, sentimental people who say that quarantining an animal is cruel. What is worse – spending six months in kennels to ensure good health, or being freely allowed to go where it pleases and possibly bringing one of the nastiest diseases known to man into the country?

More here.

“Fighting is good” terrorist tells baby daughter

One of the Islamic terrorists who murdered 52 innocent people in London on 7th July 2005 was shown on a video telling his seven month old daughter that fighting was “good” and he did what he did “for Islam”.

The video was shown in the trial of three men who were alleged to have helped the terrorists to find bomb targets in London. Waheed Ali, Sadeer Saleem and Mohammed Shakil deny helping the terrorists months before the attacks on 7 July 2005.

The video was made in November 2004 before Mohammed Siddique Khan flew off to Pakistan to go and fight against British troops in Afghanistan.

There are several news sites carrying this story. However, as they are also showing the video this despicable individual made, we decided not to post a link to any, as we believe it is more important not to offend those who suffered on 7th July than to show the face and voice of one of the murderers.

Driver who left toddler brain damaged given paltry sentence

Boparan, on the right, with his father Ranjit

The son of a multi-millionaire who left a toddler with severe brain damage after hitting him at 72mph in a 30mph zone has been given a paltry jail sentence of 21 months.

Antonio Singh Boparan escaped the maximum jail sentence for dangerous driving after the incident in November 2006 which left one year old Cerys Edwards with severe injuries. The little girl is now paralysed with permanent brain damage and needs a ventilator in order to stay alive.

Boparan had pleaded not guilty to one count of dangerous driving but was found unanimously guilty by the jury at Birmingham Crown Court int he trial earlier this month.

Boparan had passed his test only six months before the incident, and two months after mowing down the toddler he was again involved in speeding, this time at 95mph in a 50mph zone.

Disgracefully, Boparan will only serve 11 months of the paltry sentence handed down to him. Cerys Edwards has received a life sentence after this individual’s careless and selfish act. It is time that such criminals were handed proper sentences – such a crime should be punished by life imprisonment, and not a day less, at the very least.

More here.

Rare bird in Aberdeenshire reserve

Great white egret – pair in Scotland for first time

A nature reserve in Aberdeenshire has welcomed two examples of a rare bird. The great white egret has been seen at the RSPB reserve Loch of Strathbeg near Crimond.

The egret arrived on Monday, and is only the seventh of its type to be seen in the north east of Scotland. Then another one arrived the following day, making it the first time that two have been seen together in the country.

The egret is related to the heron, and is all white. The nearest breeding colony is in the Netherlands and it is believed the birds were blown here on recent easterly winds.

The reserve is also currently inhabited by a little egret, which has been in residence since Christmas.

More here.

Birmingham – first ethnic majority city in UK?

Trevor Phillips – praising the “virtues” of immigration

The eyes of Europe are on Birmingham as it becomes the continent’s first ethnic majority city, Britain’s equalities chief has said.

Speaking at the same Birmingham hotel on the 40th anniversary of Enoch Powell’s ‘rivers of blood’ speech, Trevor Phillips called for a fresh debate on immigration which he said was “vital”
for the country’s economic future.

And he described how he thought Birmingham’s unique ethnic make-up would eventually be the model for the majority of large cities in Europe.

Phillips, chairman of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, described the prospect of ethnic minorities becoming the majority of Birmingham’s population as “a very very big deal”.
He added: “I think it’s a very important issue. It’s important because in Europe this won’t happen in the way it has happened in America, where one lot of people takes over from another.

“There will be a lot of groups of different ethnicities, and that is going to take a new kind of thinking. This is what most European cities in 15 or 20 years’ time will look like, and that’s why I’m so interested in what’s happening in Birmingham.”

Calling for a new debate on immigration laws, Phillips said mass immigration had led to a ‘cold war’ between ethnic communities in Britain, and failed immigration policies risked nurturing racism.
He also invoked the memory of Warwick University student Kevin Gately as an example of how disputes between communities had affected him personally.

Mr Gately was killed in 1978 while protesting at an anti-racist demonstration in London, after students were urged into action by Phillips, head of the NUS at the time. Phillips said he still felt some personal responsibility for Mr Gately’s death.

But despite the social problems that he said immigration created, Phillips said immigrants were a ‘tide of talent’ that had contributed hugely to life in Britain, and were “indispensable” to the country’s economy.

Making his speech at the Burlington Hotel in Birmingham, where 40 years ago Enoch Powell called for the suspension of all immigration, Phillips said the UK would become “an economic backwater” if highly-skilled immigrants were not encouraged by new legislation to come to the UK.

He added: “If we fail, our children and our grandchildren won’t be arguing about how many immigrants are coming in, they will be wondering how they can get a work permit into dominant economies like India and China.

“The real question will be whether we can, as a modern economy, seize the restless tide of talent that is currently sweeping across the globe.

“So far we are lagging behind our competitors. While we cower in fear and fret about whether to admit clever foreigners from other nations, America, Australia and Canada are already sailing on that tide of talent. Managing immigration is not always the same as reducing immigration numbers.”

Phillips’s comments were welcomed by the crowd at the speech, which took in representatives of many local faith groups, charities and public bodies.

Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham, said: “We are built on immigration, we are a race of bastards. Birmingham is the youngest city in Europe, because we are founded on immigration.”
And as the Aston Villa players were beating their Birmingham rivals 5-1 just up the road, Mr Phillips said the Premier League could be an example of how managed immigration could be a success.

He said: “Nobody asks where players come from, only what they bring. The shared desire to win means players make compromises for the common good. The fact we have found players in our game does not make our home-grown players less bankable. None of this happens by accident. There has been control and regulation.”

I wonder if those Britons who no longer feel safe in their own communities would agree with that sentiment?

St George parade scrapped – in case Muslims are offended

A march to celebrate St George’s Day was axed – because the authorities feared it could spark race riots.

About 1,500 children were due to take part in a parade to commemorate the patron saint of England on Wednesday.

But council bosses in Bradford, West Yorks, ditched the event over concerns it could upset the Asian community, many of them Muslim.

They feared a repeat of riots that hit the city in 2001, when an Asian man was stabbed by National Front supporters and 300 police were injured. Officials suggested making the route shorter to avoid areas where the riots took place.

But the Rev Tony Tooby, chairman of governors at St Philips Primary School, said: “We wanted the route to include where the riots took place to educate our young people.

“But the police and council proposed another route which was ridiculously short.

“The march would have been over before it began.

“Unfortunately, there’s a fear someone may have used it to cause violence.

“The day seems to have been taken off us because of fear of thugs.” Tory MP Philip Davies, 36, added: “This was a prime opportunity to promote integration in a celebration of being British.

“The police and council – whether it’s through political correctness or whatever – have failed miserably. Frankly, it’s pathetic.”

About 10,000 people were expected to line the streets.

But council leader Kris Hopkins, 44, said: “The council has not banned the St George’s Day parade.

“Given the involvement of 1,500 children, including six and seven-year-olds, we suggested a slightly safer route.

“We have got a responsibility to look after our children.”

Ladbrokes have cut the odds of St George’s Day being made a Bank Holiday after a flurry of bets by patriotic punters.