Here's a link to an interview with Richard Corbett MEP for the Peoplesnewss

https://www.thepeoplesnewsonline.co.uk/single-post/2017/11/28/Hard-Brexit-is-a-dramatic-threat-to-workers-rights-says-Labours-leader-in-European-Parliament

On-street Grooming of children for Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) has been reported in the mainstream media for some time. The Rotherham scandal made national news and has resulted in several convictions. The landmark trial of a large grooming gang in Rochdale was made into a TV drama. There have also been Police investigations in Bradford, Sheffield, Oxford and many other cities. These have led to hundreds of convictions for offences such as rape, conspiracy to commit rape, sexual activity with a child, facilitating child prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation. 

I contacted Ella, (not her real name) who is a Grooming Gang survivor who now gives Grooming Gang Awareness talks to students and professionals. She told me her story and her reasons for speaking out. She wishes to remain anonymous because her abusers still walk free.

Ella was groomed twice. She was just 14 when she was first groomed by a man who was in his 30's, who was a customer at her place of work where she had a Saturday job.

She got to know the man over several months and says he was "polite and charming". He gained her trust. He had a car and a house. He was already in an adult relationship but he hid that fact from Ella. He bought Ella gifts and the 14 year old developed a crush on him. He started to drive her out to remote places where nobody would see them together. She says she doesn't remember their first kiss, but she does remember the first time he exposed himself to her. She says "I was shocked, it hadn't crossed my mind that he might do that. He gradually persuaded me to do more and more things. After a few months of dating, he took me back to his house. I lost my virginity to him, in his bed".

She reflects "It was an inappropriate relationship but he never hurt me or hit me. My parents found out and they were naturally concerned. My Dad went to speak to him, but he just told my Dad we were in love. I told them I was happy, but looking back I wish an adult had done something to stop it. The relationship lasted several months. Eventually I realised that I wasn’t mature enough for an adult sexual relationship, because I was only 15. So I ended it, and a couple of years later we moved away".

But sadly that’s when things turned much worse.

Within a week of moving to a new town in Yorkshire, she was groomed again. She was still a teenager, and again, he was in his 30's. She had been clothes shopping in town, and was walking home alone when the man started talking to her. It was the middle of the day.  At first she wasn't interested but says he was very persuasive. "He wore nice clothes and smiled a lot. He complimented me saying I had nice eyes. I was flattered I suppose. I was single and wanted a boyfriend”.

The man was a Pakistani Muslim.

They started dating and he would pick her up two or three times a week. At first he seemed friendly and became her boyfriend. He was funny and generous and she fell in love with him. Ella says "he then became more controlling and abusive, telling me what to wear and where I could or couldn't go. I was a good girl so I tried to keep him happy by doing what he wanted. It was very much an adult-child relationship. He had all the power.”

She later found out that he had other girlfriends at the same time and says she was stunned to hear he didn't believe in monogamy. He became jealous, violent and aggressive with her. Although initially the sex had been consensual, within a couple of months it was “just rapes”. She told me that there were "no more meals out or gifts. He beat me really badly, sometimes for hours at a time, always ending with rape.. I wanted it to end but he wouldn't let me go. I couldn't stop it. He was bigger and stronger than me - he sat on me and pinned me down, strangling and suffocating me until I felt like I was dying. He pulled my hair out, hit me to the ground, kicked me and stamped on me. He threatened to kill my parents if they tried to stop me seeing him, so I kept it secret from them. He warned me things would get worse if I went to the police. All the time I was still going to lessons and doing my exams, while my teachers had no idea what was happening to me. Under my clothes I was constantly covered in bruises. This went on for a year".

He then starting introducing her to his friends in neighbouring towns and cities. "They were all Pakistani Muslim men" Ella told me, "They instantly hated me - they called me a fucking Gori (which I was told means white trash), white bitch and white slag, over and over. I was very afraid of them. My perpetrator started to take me to different flats and houses to be, what he called ‘gang raped’; sometimes by two men, sometimes more. I desperately tried to get out of it. The whole idea was unbearable. I was so gutted that the man I had trusted was doing this to me. I couldn't believe that he knew so many evil people. I felt deeply betrayed".

Ella, even today still finds it difficult to reveal the details of what these men did to her, she says "I'd rather not say the details but he put me through a lot of pain. It was disgusting. It makes me angry to think about it. They threatened me with kidnap and gang rape when I tried to escape. They had weapons. I fought and tried to talk them out of it".

Eventually the Police told Ella's parents to move her away. They sent her to her Aunt’s and they were forced to sell their home. 

Ella says she no longer feels threatened by the gang because she has the support of a partner and family who know what went on, and she hasn't seen the men for some time. She says she is older and wiser now. The abuse has impacted her life in many ways. Although she has never attempted to commit suicide she does still have PTSD, nightmares and panic attacks sometimes.

Her main abuser was arrested a couple of times, when he hurt her particularly badly, but was always released without charge. Ella feels the Police failed her badly "like many other victims around that time".

She says most Police officers she met at the time were unsupportive and unsympathetic (although a couple have since apologised for the forces failings). "They didn't even do basic investigations or photograph my injuries" she says, "At one point I was hospitalised, so in my view they were incompetent. There could have been evidence from witnesses and phone records, but they didn't even try to collect it. They just weren't interested." 

She went on to add "some Police just seemed to do the bare minimum and make excuses for not doing any more. What makes me most angry is knowing that it turns out there were so many victims similar to me, some having to endure much worse, and yet still the Police didn’t try to warn people, or try to stop the perpetrators”.

After recently re-reporting her abuse, the Investigators told Ella that there is insufficient evidence, so none of her attackers have been prosecuted, despite the ‘criminal injuries compensation authority’ being satisfied with the amount of evidence and awarding her compensation earlier this year. 

Ella now finds the strength to speak out to raise awareness on the issue. 

She says "I'm one of the 99% of victims who won’t see justice in the courts. It’s horrible knowing that they got away with it, especially as we know that they did it to so many other girls too.

“It’s only recently that the public has become aware of the scale and severity of this problem. Of course all types of Child Sexual Exploitation are bad, but some are really, really bad. My first grooming experience was what they call an ‘inappropriate relationship’ and it was fairly mild. He was Irish Catholic, and it wasn’t driven by racial or religious hate. (He had a Lolita fantasy). But my second experience with a Pakistani Muslim ‘Grooming Gang’ was horrific and especially sinister. Through listening to other survivors, I realised that the ideology and the ways of victim-blaming haven’t changed over the past 20 years. Although the majority of CSE perpetrators in the UK are white, Grooming Gang perpetrators are 75-95% Pakistani Muslim. 

Gang groomers still use the same reasons to justify what they do… For example, saying that all white girls are slags, and that if they dress immodestly they deserve rape as punishment. (‘Immodestly’ means dressing like a normal Western teenager, in jeans and trainers). This is so wrong. They blame Parents, teachers, social services, the children; anyone except themselves. With phones, internet, social media, porn, sexting and gaming, things are getting even worse. Cultural issues including ideas about Honour, loyalty and forced marriage also play a part. My perpetrator also used quotes from the Koran as he beat and raped me. I’m not saying this to stir up hate. I’m saying it because it’s important that we speak about these things so that we can bring them into the light and address them.

I strongly believe that Young People need educating about the risks of becoming a victim of Child Sexual Exploitation.  And I believe that boys need educating about risks of being drawn into gang crime, drug dealing, and sexual offending too. With ‘Grooming Gang Awareness’, boys can be educated about the laws around consent, rape, coercion, trafficking and prostitution of children. They can be made aware of the ways that a gang will groom or coerce them into getting involved and committing crime. Then they can then see more clearly what are the good influences and the bad influences on them. It’s about taking control of their own lives and leading a life they can be proud of; And having healthy, loving, sexual relationships.

I hope that by bringing awareness we can bring changes to ensure that fewer young men will perpetrate these crimes in the future. I know I can only speak to a few boys, and many won’t be interested in what I have to say, but hopefully some will be saved from either becoming victims, or perpetrators, by hearing my story.

I asked Ella whether she thinks children in Sheffield, Rotherham, Rochdale and Oxford are still being abused.

Chillingly she told me "Unfortunately, kids are being abused in every part of the UK right now, as you are reading this. CSE is an epidemic. The stigma and shame is bad for all survivors so it can be difficult to talk about. Victims are all ages" she warns, "boys and girls, from all backgrounds. I've been to Swinton Lock in Rotherham for support, and they told me that they are still getting many new referrals of recent victims of CSE. Of course familial child sex abuse is a huge problem too ".

I asked Ella if more should be done in schools and for parents to eradicate the problem, she said "Barnardo's Grooming Line gives a good basic understanding of how grooming works. I think that once people heard about the problem, many people looked back, and they realised that some things they had witnessed had in fact been Child Sexual Exploitation. Education is an ongoing task, and the level of awareness now is much better than it was when I was young. People are learning that it isn’t the victim’s fault. I also think that a lot of Police forces are now definitely doing a better job tackling it. The government has also made CSE a Public Health priority, which I’m very happy about. Next we need a National Grooming Gang Prevention Plan.

I’d like to see more prevention programs provided for boys who are at risk of committing all sorts of crimes. This is because 95% of Sexual crimes, and most violent crimes, are committed by males. If the boys already know people in Gangs, drug dealers, live near grooming hotspots, or hold the same misogynistic beliefs, or racist beliefs about women and girls, we need to be talking to them before it’s too late".

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It was always in the Public interest

David Lean was a child destined for a great future in football. He loved football and can’t remember a time without it in his life. He explained “Two older brothers and a sporting dad saw to that. Although my dad played Rugby for Fylde until a bad injury at a young age he was a star, playing for the first team at just 17 as a winger. He was also the fastest in Lancashire at school”. Like many young boys, David played football all day, every day; but David was good. He also dreamed about football every day.

He played for his Primary school at 9 years old. He recalls the school team manager, who doubled up as a teacher, told his parents at parents evening that “my brains were in my feet! Dad was happy but a little worried about this comment. Mum was devastated!”

From the age of two he had played every week at his local YMCA and soon joined their team. He also played for his high school team and his home town Blackpool school boys. He had trials with Blackpool FC before spending 2 years with Burnley until he left school, winning competitions and leagues with regularity as well as individual awards. By the age of 16 he had collected around 40 trophies for his hard work.

He says humbly “My Pro career was short! I was with Preston North End from October 1983 to May 1986, after Burnley let me go just three weeks before I left school. That was hard to take”.

He went on to play Sunday football in most of the local leagues, winning the Sunday Premiere League twice. He also played many seasons in the North West Counties and West Lancashire leagues as well as a short spell with Fleetwood Town in the late 90’s.

It was as an 11 year old though that David’s life was changed forever. On a holiday in Wales in the Summer of 1979, he met a professional football coach.

He had links to a professional club and told me I was a star of the future.

“He wrote to me in total for 11 months, grooming me before I eventually spent two nights attending a football course at his house in April 1980 as a 12 year old. I was Sexually Abused by him over a sustained period on both evenings”.

Despite being devastated by the abuse on those two nights he bravely returned home in silence, telling no one of his ordeal.

The Police were the first people I ever told

“My mum made comments about Childhood Sexual Abuse after a TV programme and told me she would not have been able to cope if that had ever happened to me ! I decided there and then I would never disclose till after mum had passed. This was in 1997 and I disclosed in February 2013. I kept my secret promise and I'm glad I did, although I went through many years of wanting to Disclose and suffering because of my decision. I do not regret it at all. I went to the police just 5 days after mums funeral and disclosed. The police were the first people I ever told”. He told me.

“If I'm honest having to Disclose and put my elderly dad through all this was such a hard decision to make, but if I was to have any chance of a conviction and justice I would need my dad and his evidence. It broke my heart him telling me about his police interview. He saw my abuser convicted before he passed away just 6 months after, on his deathbed hours apologising to me.  It was NEVER his fault or my mum's! My abuser was a professional and the best at what he did!”

I asked David about his experience of disclosing to the Police,

“after disclosure the police took my case seriously but it was later when the first mention of Public Interest came into play. The two CPS tests are evidence test and public interest as well as you needing to be credible. In June 2013 the CPS dropped my case saying it was not in the public interest! On their own website at the time it stated the following are almost always in the public interest...If the child is 12 years or younger,

If it's planned/ groomed for a period,

If the Abuser is in a position of trust,

If there is a significant age difference.

I ticked every single box!

They also said I was credible and the evidence test met too!!!”

Asked how he felt when he was told by the CPS that his abuser would not face prosecution, he says “I could not agree, Ever! So I appealed to the National Childhood Sexual Abuse review panel, which had just been formed. I was the test case. I appealed and after 7 months eventually after 2 meetings of a group headed by the Top officials of both police and CPS I won !!  The CPS were told to 're look at my case with the NEW prosecution guidance my case had brought in. Effectively my case changed the law allowing cases of CSA where only a short sentence may be handed down could still be seen as within the public interest.

I will never forgive the CPS I went through hell. My case was always in the public interest. It's just a money thing, So many CSA cases are dropped on these grounds it's disgraceful”.

The hurt doesn’t go away after conviction. David still finds it difficult to speak about his ordeal and had to take several breaks during this interview.

After one such break he told me “I feel as angry today with the CPS as I did in June 2013. Nothing will ever take that feeling away. The more I hear about the way cases of CSA are dealt with, the angrier I get. You hope it's a one off with your own case but it's far from it!! It's about money and guaranteed convictions. They care about nothing else. You are just a reference number to them”.

I would always encourage Survivors to come forward. But I would always ask them to make sure they have some support before they do. I would also tell Non recent cases coming forward to ensure they are coming forward for more than Criminal Justice. It will be a difficult road and can take 2 years and often does. I know many, including myself who have and are moving forward with life after disclosing our horrible secrets. We have taken back our life's 

“having support is vital after disclosure. I don't just mean professional support either.  Teresa my wife has been my rock since disclosure. I am fully aware how hard this has been for her. Teresa has no idea when we met and although she was the first loved one I told after disclosure to the police we had only been together around 4 years at that time. I had no idea how she would take it. To make matters worse within her role in Nursing  at times she was dealing with CSA Offenders. Soon after she changed roles within nursing !  My case has since gone public so she has had to cope with so much and I am very lucky to have her. We married on December 15th 2016 so are almost at our first anniversary although we will have been together just short of 9 years when that date arrived..

..I had asked Teresa after my mums funeral, during a weeks annual leave we had both booked for one day to myself. I told her I had something I needed to do which wasn't great but I would tell her when I got back from doing it exactly where and what I had just done. 

I arrived back from disclosing and we sat down and spent the evening crying with each of us supporting the other. It was a very hard night. Just 2 days later we would go together to do my videoed evidence. Teresa has been my rock and I am forever grateful! 

The police went to see my dad, cold so to speak. They wanted to talk to him before I did, which was fine by me. I told my 3 brothers together soon after”. 

It seems unthinkable that this sort of abuse could happen at professional clubs. I asked David what measures he’d like to see clubs take to ensure the abuse he suffered never happens to other innocent children, left under adult supervision. He says “the abuse scandal that is happening within football at this time is on going. The inquiry being carried out by the FA is on going too.  I am sure things will come out of this to improve the situation but can you stop sexual abuse within football or anywhere else?  

Mandatory reporting will certainly help and is as always being looked at. Things have no doubt improved since the 70s and 80s, but the facts speak for themselves and it's still going on today!  Football Coaches have a unique position of getting both children and parents close and supportive and a chance to spend time each week to worm thier way into families. Parents and clubs need to improve communications and hold club safeguarding nights - As well as starting to talk to the children directly”. 

Every 3 months the statistics produced within football continue to increase! 

I believe more will continue to come forward, especially when the current situation comes to the forefront early next year.

The whole system needs review when dealing with cases of CSA especially non recent cases. No priority is given to the cases from the start, unless the accused is seen as a current safeguarding concern. Resources are very tight and investigations take far too long. The process is far to slow. 

Communication along the way can be poor. 

The key tests to get through the CPS are difficult to prove in non recent cases also.

Often no support is offered to the Survivors.

So many things could be improved within the system.

Most important though is people in these positions have to be fair and professional as well as consistent in their approach. 

Survivors are treated differently by all police forces and CPS regions.

Schools and parents should open their eyes to CSA. It's happening all around them every single day.

Training is essential as schools could and should play such a massive role. Around 70% of Sexual Abuse to a child is done by a family member very often in the child's own house, which makes it a very hard situation to report to other family members. Schools need to pick up on the signs which are very recognisable with training. Parents need to understand the scale of this and again look for change.

First and foremost it's understanding this.

I campaign now to raise awareness of CSA and have run 3 half Marathons and 1 full Marathon this year as well as completing a 24 hr walk all to raise awareness and Counselling funds for Survivors of CSA for Blackpool based Charity

I have also run a successful awareness Campaign called #purplefriday on the 15th September which was so successful it reached almost 12 million people on Social media alone. Due to this we are also running a very similar campaign to raise awareness of both CSA and CSE on 15th December this year called #purplechristmas to raise awareness to hopefully keep this subject on peoples minds as we lead upto this special period for children and keep them safe so hopefully many more have a Merry Christmas this year.

Talk to your children. Know where your Children are. Listen to your children. 

I lost 2 decades of my life. That's not OK!

Sammy Woodhouse was just 14 when she consented to sex with a 24 year old Pakistani Man. That was the damning and irresponsible verdict of the government’s criminal injuries compensation authority.

Ms Woodhouse, who bravely waived her right to anonymity in order to help prosecute her attacker and two of his brothers who were part of gang that groomed and abused 50 girls, was abused by four men as a child.

The Oxford dictionary defines the age of consent as the age at which a persons consent to sexual intercourse is valid in law.

That age is of course 16. The law is quite clear. It does not allow for anomolies where the victim was persuaded, threatened, or beaten. It does not allow for exceptions when the attackers are not from this country, nor does it allow exceptions for cases where the victim is poor or vulnerable – it is clear, if the person is under 16, that person can NEVER give consent.

Prior to being groomed and abused Sammy was perfectly happy. She told me that she had lots of friends, was happy, confident and good at school. Life was great!

All that changed when she met her main attacker and three other men at her local shop. A lot of kids hung around there.

As with many victims of grooming she first thought she was the man’s girlfriend. At 16 though she recognised the violence and harassment and made a statement to police. It wasn’t until about 5 years ago that she fully came to terms with what had actually happened to her and gave herself the label of victim, not girlfriend.

When she went to the Police at 16 she had hoped they would help, although she knew that many of them were helping her attacker.

I asked her if she blamed the authorities for not protecting her and the dozens of other victims and she said “the people who are to blame are the men that abused me and the people who helped and were involved.”

For people like most of us, who have never experienced such vile actions would expect the police to take such matters seriously and act with the full force of the law to protect the children but that simply didn’t happen. When asked if she thinks the authorities that turned a blind eye should be prosecuted she told me “yes I do- there is a difference in someone raising the alarm and being ignored (I don’t blame them), to deliberately doing nothing.” she says that the blame should always start with the attackers “but in my case, they met him and helped him further, so they are also to blame.”

Sammy was let down repeatedly by people and organisations that should have protected her.

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion was forced to resign her shadow cabinet role after writing in a newspaper article that Britain has a problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls.

Ms Champion has said her comments were edited and stripped of nuance, but resigned from her position in Jeremy Corbyn’s team.

I asked Ms Woodhouse if she thought Champion was right to resign. She said “Sarah was very accurate and should not have stood down, she should have stood her ground.” she added “it’s important we don’t only talk about one race, but we do have to address it. Otherwise, victims voices will be lost.”

Some people have called for South Yorkshire Police to be disbanded since the scandal. I asked Sammy if she thought the force were fit for purpose. “No! They weren’t fit for purpose” she said, “a lot has changed but it’s no where near good enough. If the system was fit for purpose we wouldn’t have so many abused and failed children. The Government need to recognise and step in. The Police are over worked and under staffed and don’t understand grooming properly. There is a lot of work to do!”

Sammy Woodhouse has shown amazing strength courage and resilience to become one of the most prominent campaigners for victims of child abuse, making regular appearances on daytime TV, receiving huge support. She is championing Sammy's Law, a campaign to change the law to allow victims of grooming and abuse to have their criminal records expunged where they were directed to commit those crimes by their attackers. The campaign is being backed by several Police Chief’s, MP’s and child protection experts in a bid to minimise the impact on victims.

I asked Sammy where she found the strength to be a survivor and no longer a victim. She told me she had always been a person that didn’t like to sit around moping and feeling sorry for herself. She said “I also don't like to be seen as a victim as it always makes me feel weak. We have to get on with life. There’s only one person that can really change things in my life, and that is me. I want my legacy to be something my children are proud of. I want to be able to say when I look back at my life that I made a difference and helped others. I can say that now as before I couldn’t. To do this I had to accept help and support and not avoid it.”

On her campaign she says “Yes! Victims and survivors records should be quashed. We shouldn’t be blamed and criminalised for being abused, We need to take into consideration if those people are now a risk and still offending as some do. We need to look at people as individuals. I have started Sammy’s law asking for this to be put in place. The first step is common sense and people getting a fu##ing grip. IT’S NEVER A CHILD’S FAULT.!!!!!!”

I asked her if she believes children in Rotherham are still at risk from grooming gangs. She told me “of course children are still at risk. It will always happen, we have to prevent as much as possible and keep the awareness going. We will never stop it but we can prevent it. Things are much better in Rotherham but abuse happens everywhere not just here.”

Despite the torment that Sammy endured she appears to be coming out of the other side a proud, selfless, articulate woman who family and friends must be extremely proud of and an inspiration to the hundreds and thousands of victims out there still searching for justice.

My final question to to the remarkable Sammy Woodhouse was what her future aspirations are and whether she can have a normal life.

Her reply was “I want to prevent child abuse as much as possible and make national changes, I’d like to be part of knowing every child in the country is more safe”. Her parting comment was “Define normal! What happened will always remain with me but I’m determined to move forward from it and not let it hold me back. I’ve lost two decades of my life. My life is only starting now at the age of 32 – that’s not OK.”

Thirty five years ago I watched in awe as Sheffield United romped through the fourth division finishing a fantastic season as champions, breaking records along the way. As a member of the junior Blades I was able to watch in wonder from the terribly named “pen” for just 70 pence a game. My hero, Keith Edwards was top scorer in all four divisions notching up 36 in all competitions. I had the pleasure of interviewing him a couple of years ago for a blog article and he remembered the season as warmly as I did.  It was the first season that 3 points for a win was introduced and United managed to reach 96 points, winning 27 matches and scoring 94 goals. They lost just 4 games all season and were unbeaten at home. Liverpool were crowned League champions that year, with 87 points after scoring 80 goals and winning 26 games. Obviously one could argue that Liverpool were playing against much better teams but most Blades fans of a certain age remember that season fondly as it was the first trophy they had won for 29 years and the last trophy the club lifted. In the final game of the season away at Darlington the attendance was in excess of 11,000 with some claiming 10,000 of those were travelling Blades fans. In the previous game some 23,923 packed into Bramall Lane to see the final home game. I knew that day that I too would one day be a professional footballer – I was wrong.

The previous season had been a disastrous one. Neighbours Wednesday finished 10^th in the old 2^nd division while United finished 4th from bottom in the 3^rd division (in those days the bottom 4 went down). In the final game of the season, just needing a point for safety against a Walsall side also in the relegation battle, former Republic of Ireland international Don Givens missed a penalty in the dying minutes consigning the Blades to a 0-1 defeat and relegation to the bottom tier for the first (and only) time in their history.

Last season Sheffield United finished 11^th in league 1, winning 18 games and struggling to 66 points. They scored 64 times. After 6 years in league one the fans were becoming hostile and the club seemed in trouble. Following the appointment of Stocksbridge born, former player Chris Wilder, this season has been reminiscent of those 4^th division glory days.

With two games remaining United have already been crowned champions, and have won 28 games. If they win the last two matches they will reach 100 points. They have scored 86 league goals. Top scorer Billy Sharp has netted 27 times and is just one away from his 200^th career goal. He is the top scorer in all 4 divisions and the team have more points than any other. Their average home gates have been in excess of 21,000 with that number set to rise even higher with a sold out last game of the season against relegated Chesterfield.

Hopefully it wont be another 35 years before Sheffield United fans experience another title winning season but I wonder if Wilder, Sharp and the team realise the size of their achievement and the impact a season like this could have on thousands of young fans that have adored their heroes this term.

Blaming immigrants is the oldest right-wing game in history says Former Europe Minister.

Denis MacShane is a former journalist and MP. He was the youngest president of the NUJ in 1979 and went into exile when Margaret Thatcher was elected to work for the international trade union movements helping the Solidarity union in Poland, black trade unions in South Africa, Lula’s metalworkers in Brazil and the unions whose general strike in South Korea toppled the military dictatorship in 1987. He is unusal amongst British political activists in speaking European languages.

While an MP he was Minister of state for Europe. An active campaigner against antj-semitism while in Parliament, the former Rotherham MP who left the Common in 2012 was once chair of an anti-Semitism think tank called The European institute for the study of contemporary Antisemitism.  He wrote a book Globalising Hatred: the New Antisemitism in 2008. The BNP targeted him for attacks because of a chapter exposing its leader anti-semitic record. Since leaving office Dr MacShane is working “pretty much all the time on Brexit”. He says he writes or speaks on Brexit almost every day and has spoken on the subject all over the world from Washington to Tel Aviv. In January 2015 he published his book Brexit: How Britain Will Leave Europe, which predicted the outcome of the June 2016 referendum. He has written a new book on what happens next, which will be published in June 2017, on the anniversary of the referendum.

As a respected authority on the EU and Brexit, MacShane is well placed to answer the questions I put to him;

Was immigration the biggest factor in the Brexit vote? I asked.

“Yes. The focus of the anti-Europeans was on the number of European workers in the UK. The slogan “taking back control’ was direct from the UKIP line that the UK and to “take back control’ of its frontiers. At the Tory Party conference in October 2015, Theresa May, then the Home Secretary said “The number of immigrants coming in from Europe is unsustainable’ to thunderous applause. Staring with William Hague in 2001, then Michael Howard in 2005 and David Cameron in 2010, the Conservatives took the old language of Enoch Powell and updated it against European who came to work in the UK. There were some who genuinely did not like the EU and saw the problem as one of sovereignty but the dominant issue in every meeting and on every doorstep or in every radio phone-in was immigration”.

I asked if the referendum result had led to genuine rise in race related hate crimes or if the reports were being exaggerated? He told me “The police have stated quite clearly that the up to 100 per cent rise in hate crimes have clearly linked these attacks to the xenophobic attacks on the presence of Europeans in the UK which was at the core of the Brexit campaign. The Community Security Trust which reports on anti-Semitic attacks in the UK has also noted a major increase in anti-Jewish attacks since the referendum campaign with its focus on xenophobic themes”.

But did the electorate really understand the consequences when they voted to leave the EU and did they think that the cost (yet to be seen) a price worth paying or were they mislead into voting for something different to what they will end up with? Not according to Macshane, he says “the plebiscite it is now widely acknowledged was won on the biggest lies ever seen in a national vote - that £350 million a week would be available for the NHS, that 75 million Turks were about to arrive, that the Queen’s Speech was mainly written in Brussels or that a European Army was about to be formed. There was no effective discussion on the costs because we will not now these until the middle 2020s. The referendum was lost 15-20 years ago when a well-funded political campaign was launched with support from the Conservative leadership - forget UKIP – and powerful off-shore owned media networks to rubbish the EU and create the climate which made Brexit inevitable”.

The Labour party recently managed to hold on to Stoke on Trent in a bi-election, where UKIP’s new leader Paul Nuttall was a candidate. I asked the former member of Tony Blair’s cabinet if the victory signalled a change of heart and the beginning of the end for UKIP. He told me “Ukip is finished in March 2019 assuming that a political Brexit is unavoidable and the UK will elect no more MEPs to the European Parliament. UKIP is a one pony party. It has no programme for national or local government. It is simply an anti-European party with two linked demands - to win a plebiscite and to use it to amputate the UK from Europe. David Cameron conceded the former and UKIP fellow travellers like Boris Johnson, Liam Fox, David Davis and Michael Gove are hoping deliver the latter”.

Are we yet to see the consequences touted before Brexit around the stock markets crashing and the pound falling or were the claims just scare mongering?

Dr MacShane says “We have not left the EU so Brexit has not happened and the economic impact will not be known until the middle 2020s. But the announcements about moving work to Europe to guarantee access to the Single Market are not scare-mongering but cold reality. The Brexit devaluation is feeding into higher prices and inflation and the Government has had to abandon its economic programmes to increase debt and deficits to keep the economy afloat. Brexit is causing uncertainty in all sectors of economic activity and above all in FDI which only comes to the UK on the promise that any firm investing in Britain would have full, unfettered access to 450 million middle class consumers in Europe. Brexit breaks that promise”.

If UKIP are finished, I asked Can Labour win back the voters from UKIP or are they likely to go to other parties such as Conservative or more far right groups?

“Labour won back voters tempted by anti-immigration populism from Enoch Powell and Margaret Thatcher. Labour needs a convincing offer for many who feel with justification they are losers in the modern economy. Blaming immigrants is the oldest right-wing game in history - Jews in the 1930s, West Indians in the 1950s, Indians and Pakistanis in the 1970s and 1980s, Kosovan and asylum seekers in the 1990s, Poles, Slovaks, and other citizens of new EU member states in the last 15 years. When Labour has convincing policies and convincing spokespersons it will start to do well again!”

Ranieri sacked just 9 months after Prem success.

 

 

 

When Leicester City sacked Nigel Pearson and replaced him with Italian Claudio Ranieri many fans raised an eyebrow. Yes, he had managed some of the biggest and richest, most glamourous  clubs in the world; Napoli, Fiorentina, Athletico Madrid, Chelsea, Juventus and Monaco, but he had also been dismissed from a series of failed reigns, including a spell in charge of the Greek national side, where his team lost to the Faroe Islands.

In 2003 as Chelsea manager, he spent £120million on players including Juan Sebastian Veron and Hernan Crespo, yet finished runners up to Arsenal.  During his time at Monaco, Raneiri took the French outfit to the Ligue 2 title for the first time in the clubs history. The following year his team finished runners up to PSG but his contract was not renewed.

In July2014 Rome born Ranieri took over as Greece manager on a 2 year,  1.6m euro deal. He lasted just 4 games before been relieved of his duties following the humiliation of losing to the Faroes. So when in July ’15 he took over at the midlands club Marcus Christenson of the Guardian called his appointment baffling. The man he replaced, former Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough defender Nigel Pearson had taken the club from 12^th in the Championship to the Premier league but was sacked after a series of bazaar incidents including calling a journalist an Ostrich and grabbing an oppositions player by the throat during a game.

Ranieri  inherited a team Pearson had put together, narrowly avoiding relegation under Pearson after putting together an impressive run the season before, the bookies gave generous odds of 500-1 on premier league success.  To put that into perspective, the odds currently being offered on non-league Lincoln City winning the FA Cup this season are currently 250-1. Despite the doubters and the odds being heavily against Leicester they went on to win the Premier league by 10 points in an amazing season that saw the Foxes qualify for the Uefa Champions League for the first time.

Their 2-1 defeat in that competition to Sevilla on Tuesday night, just 9 months after winning the Premier league was Ranieri’s last game in charge. Tonight he was sacked with Leicester 1 point above the drop zone with just 21 points from 25 games and apparently in free fall. Early favourites for the job are former Palace manager Alan Pardew and the man that took the team to the Premiership Nigel Pearson.

Former Leicester striker and Match of the day pundit Gary Linaker, who famously said he would present the show in his pants if they won the title, said “after all Claudio has done for the club, to sack him now is inexplicable, unforgivable and gut wrenching”.

The Daily Mirror are claiming that it was the players who knifed their manager the back after complaining to the board but Match of the day presenter Ian wright tweeted “wonder how I’d feel if I was a Leicester player right now – could I have done more?”

Alan Shearer posted “wow. Staggering” on his twitter page.

It is sad that there is little loyalty left in the game. With so much money at stake in the game clubs can no longer afford the luxury of patience. Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, the longest serving manager in the premier league, currently in his 20^th year is a rarity. The second longest serving premiere league manager by comparison has been at Bournemouth just four years.

"The fear of death follows from the fear of life; a man who lives a full life is prepared to die at any time" - Mark Twain

When most of us lose a loved one there is no chance to celebrate the achievements of their life. It is perfectly normal when we suffer a bereavement to feel sadness, emptiness, even anger and often guilt. There are often thoughts of “I can’t go on without her”, or “if only..” or “why didn’t I tell him”. There will always be people saying to us “it gets easier” or “remember the happy times”, I’ve heard people say that it’s the circle of life, if a grandparent dies before their children and their children’s children it’s a good day- that’s how it should be, none of which of course make it any easier.

2016 has finally been carried out and left us to our thoughts at the wake. A miserable year, in which we voted to leave the European Union and saw terror attacks murder innocents all around the world. It was undoubtedly one of the worst years for losing celebrities in a very long time. The world mourned Bowie in January and George Michael in December, but do we really grieve celebrities that most of us have never and will never meet or know. Yes, we will miss out on any new materiel they might have made but many of those that have passed away have been relatively inactive for years and most have already made their impact on the world.

Bowie is often mentioned as an influence by modern musicians and no doubt a generation growing up the 80s will always remember Wham! and George Michael. They were both talented and gifted artists and their death gives us a chance to celebrate their work. What we always seem to forget though is that behind the flashing lights and the headlines, these are real people that have left behind loved ones that will miss them as real people. Those who died in ’16 will have been someone’s Son, Daughter, Mum, Dad, Brother Nephew, Niece or friend. We would do well to remember that.

David Bowie, Terry Wogan and Alan Rickman all died in January.       

                                     

In February critically acclaimed author Harper Lee passed away. Her 1^st book, to kill a mocking bird won the Pulitzer prize in 1961 yet her second book, the sequel Go set a watchman was only published in 2015.

TV Agony Aunt Denise Robertson died in March. The 83 had pancreatic cancer. Ronnie Corbett and magician Paul Daniels also died in March.

It’s hard to believe it was April when the world said goodbye to Prince. He passed away in his recording studio soon after apparently suffering from flu. 62 year old comedienne Victoria Wood also passed away in April.

Bread creator Carla Lane, who also wrote classics Butterflies and Liver birds died in May.

June saw the passing of boxing legend Mohammed Ali, he was voted sports personality of the millennium. The former world champion had suffered from Parkinson’s disease for decades.

 

In July comedy actress Caroline Aherne lost her battle with cancer she was just 52. She starred in the Royle Family as well as playing her alter ego Mrs Merton. As Mrs Merton she famously asked Debbie Mcgee “what first attracted you to millionaire Paul Daniels?”.

August 29^th saw us lose comedy actor Gene Wilder. The 83 year old was best known as Charlie in Charlie and the chocolate factory as well as roles in Blazing saddles and Young Frankenstein.   

  

 

 

Alexis Arquette, actress and transgender rights activist passed away on 11^th September aged 47.

LA Confidential director, Curtis Hanson died on 20^th September. The Oscar winner also directed 8mile and Wonder boys.

Golfing legend Arnold Palmer died on the 25^st September. He is considered by many as the man responsible for turning game from country club pursuit to one enjoyed by the masses. He was 87.  

   

Dead or Alive frontman Pete Burns passed away suddenly on October 23^rd. The following day US 60s idol Bobby Vee died. He was 73.

Singer song writer, Leonard Cohen died on the 10^th November. He was best known possibly for the hit Hallelujah .

 

 

 

 

The Man from U.N.C.L.E, Robert Vaughan passed away on November 11^th aged 83. He enjoyed a glitzy career, appearing in classic Western The magnificent Seven and The blockbuster Supermanlll. He was known in recent years as Milton in Coronation Street.

Comedy actor Andrew Sachs , most famous for his hilarious role in Fawlty Towers died on the 1^st day of December. He was 86.

 

Greg Lake, part of 70’s super group Emerson, Lake and Palmer died on 7^th December, his track, I believe in Father Christmas is a seasonal favourite.

Hollywood legend Zsa Zsa Gabor left us on December 18^th aged 99. The Hungarian born actress shot to fame as an actress although to many she was possible more well known for marrying and for the many delightful quotes attributed to her. She is quoted as saying “a man in love is incomplete until he is married, then he is finished” and “being jealous of a beautiful woman is not going to make you more beautiful”. She also quipped “I’m a marvellous housekeeper- every time I leave a man I keep the house”

 

 

On Christmas day we settled down in the evening, full of dinner and Christmas cheer to the news that George Michael had died at lunch time. The former Wham star apparently passed peacefully at home aged just 53.

 

 

On December 28^th we lost Debbie Reynolds tragically just the day after her daughter Carry Fisher. Reynolds was described as Hollywood royalty, staring in musicals such as Singing in the rain. Fisher of course had suffered years of addiction but seemed to be back on track when she had a heart attack on board an aircraft two days before Christmas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                             Jean Holyhead 1946-2016