Links
Note (November 2008): This is an old list of links, and many are now obsolete or largely out of date. But some are still active and worth a visit.
Some links to sites reflecting current and past activities, interests and experiences:
For a list of links from my blog to (mainly) other favourite blogs, please click here, and find the ouch-named ‘Blogroll’ in the right-hand panel (it should be at the top of the screen but you might need to scroll down to it). If you don’t see a list of clickable links under ‘Blogroll’, just click on the double down-arrows against ‘Blogroll’ to open it out. Some of these are more fully described below; most of the rest on this page are links to websites but not necessarily blogs.
- The website and (especially) blog of the re-designer and architect of this website, Owen Barder, a mine of information on all matters to do with politics, economics, international development, running, cycling, diet and a few hundred other topics. You can go straight to his blog if you wish. (Yes, we are by some chance related.)
- My granddaughter Lily’s website, recording her career so far as actor, singer, dancer, and all-round performer, still in her early teens.
- The website of an expert on the history and practice of diplomacy, Professor Geoff Berridge, full of information on the teaching and study of diplomacy (he is also one of the two editors of the Dictionary of Diplomacy for whose two editions so far I have been the editorial consultant).
- There’s the web site of The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability which needs your money to help it to continue its work for the severely disabled (see, for example, the home page of someone who knows it well because he lives there: Peter)
– and the organisation that helps him to talk on-line, U CAN DO I.T. . . .) - The excellent blog of Tony Hatfield, on politics and much else.
- The websites of the civil liberties organisations Liberty and Justice. Please join one or the other, or both.
- A lively message board written by Tom Berney and Peter Harvey for controversial but courteous discussion of politics and current affairs, “UK and World Politics”.
- What has happened over the years on my birthday.
and a few more that connect in their various ways to my own career and interests:
Pictures of the St Catharine’s College (Cambridge) Six (1954-57) and some of their ladies, at their first reunion in nearly 45 years – June 2000 (click on the thumbnail below to see full size picture).
Postscript: In May 2003 one of the most active of the original Cath’s Six, John Ockenden, died after a short illness. John played an indispensable role in maintaining contacts between us all, encouraging us to attend College dinners, and providing his own generous hospitality. We shall always miss him.
and, not least, –
the British Labour Party in spite of everything
The Centre for Speech and Debate of the English-Speaking Union
Hi, firstly many thanks for your very informative website, especially as I am in despair with son who has gone pass this IPP tariff and is getting more frustrated with more courses, etc.
The main question I need an answer to and help is do you know of any specific cases where someone has successfully appealed their IPP sentence recently, or do you know of the case where the defendant successfully appealed his IPP sentence on the basis off that when he was assessed it was done by a probation officer and not by a psychologist or psychiatrist as that level of expertise is and should have been required before someone is really sentenced to life.
Brian writes: Thank you for your comment and question, Jane. I’m not a lawyer and don’t know the answer to your question, which a good solicitor should be able to deal with for you — or you could put the question in a letter to Inside Time, which is read by many lawyers and other experts. Personally I would be very surprised if any court would overturn an IPP sentence on the grounds that the trial judge had failed to consider any particular form of assessment in deciding what kind of sentence to pass, unless there was a statutory requirement to take a specific category of assessment into account before sentencing — and to the best of my knowledge there is no such requirement in law. (Equally it seems to me unlikely that any court would overturn a parole board decision to reject an IPP appeal for release after tariff on such grounds.) But as I say I’m not a lawyer and I hope my unhelpful opinion is wrong. Perhaps a lawyer reading this would comment?
Incidentally I don’t think it’s necessarily the case that prison psychiatrists’ or psychologists’ reports and assessments are more helpful to the defendant or IPP prisoner than those of the probation officer.