Tuesday 15 December 2009

FIREARMS

Firearms register - why the delay?

9 years after the Dunblane school shooting and a report on the tragedy from Lord Cullen, the UK Government has still not managed to build a national firearms register.

With incidents of gun crime rising it seems appropriate to ask why a database has not been established? In Northern Ireland the Police Service has maintained a gun register for many years.

Whitehall seems unable to commission and successfully implement large scale IT projects. Advice on establishing the Firearms database was initially offered to Civil Servants by The British Computer Society (BCS) . With a membership drawn from over 100 countries, BCS is the leading professional and learned Society in the field of computers and information systems.

Civil servants rejected the offers of help.

Lets hope that the database is completed long before some sections of the Dunblane report are released after the 100 years blackout.


Lords dig heels in over firearms database bill
Sarah Petrie, Computing 15 Feb 1997

The House of Lords is piling pressure on the Government to speed up the creation of a computerised register of all firearms owners, after inflicting a third defeat on ministers over gun control.

Tory peer Lord Marlesford insisted that a database accessible online by all UK police forces is an urgent necessity to help prevent another massacre like Hungerford or Dunblane. He also cast doubt on plans to use the police national computer Phoenix system for such a database.

Marlesford said government talks about setting up a register - which would include .22 pistol owners who are required to store their weapons in secure gun-club armouries - on Phoenix were 'not good enough'.

He said he was demanding action because it was five years since a report complained that police firearms departments are not routinely informed when a firearms certificate-holder has been jailed for an offence.

He contrasted the delay with the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Authority computer system, which has been online since 1973. It is 'a tool without which the police would not be able to operate effectively today', he said.

Marlesford insisted the provision for a database should be in the bill, and he was prepared for further amendments.

'I have heard some pretty indifferent reports on the progress of Phoenix,' he added. 'The (Home Office) minister does not give me great confidence that Phoenix is necessarily the vehicle for the rapid implementation of a system which I believe is urgently required.'

He said that with a register 'there would be a better chance of picking up people with a firearm certificate who did something they should not'.

He added: 'It would be a ... way of making it less likely that people unsuited to do so would be able to hold firearms.'

Earl Attlee declared: 'It seems incredible that members of the Metropolitan Police do not know, when investigating a potential criminal, whether there is a possibility of a legal firearm being involved.'

Viscount Brookeborough said that police in Ulster maintain a register which records details of every weapon owned.

Parts of the project chronology is shown here.

UK Politicians embrace information technology

Computing magazine (October 18th) 1996 reported on how IT featured at the political party conferences.

Politics has dominated the news over the past month as the party conference season came and went, with each party promising that the country was only safe in its hands. Each also tried to show that it had a handle on information technology.

For many politicians, IT has extended no further than the Internet and there was little to suggest that this has changed. It seems the politicians peppered their speeches with IT references just to make themselves appear up-to-date.

Liberal Democrats in Brighton spoke of getting Internet providers to exclude child pornography from the Net, and Labour reiterated its commitment to increased use of IT in education in Blackpool.

But this year has seen a number of government plans which rely heavily on IT. One such scheme is the benefit payment card to tackle benefit fraud, announced by secretary of state for social security Peter Lilley, in early spring. With it came a huge IT contract award to an ICL-led consortium to develop and install the systems in Post Offices around the country.

Lilley told Tory conference delegates in Bournemouth last week that the card will eliminate order book and giro fraud. 'Before the month is out I will launch the first cards in the Post Offices,' he said. These cards will be for child benefit payment - the easiest for a young system to handle, because it is universal and standard.

Lilley also announced plans for a Fraud Bill to extend the capabilities of those fighting benefit fraud. 'A Fraud Bill is on the way in and fraudsters are on the way out,' he sound bit. New powers would allow for cross checking information on different databases, and data-matching to highlight cases worth investigation.

This week, the Government took delivery of Lord Cullen's report on firearms control. The report is expected to call for a centralised database of firearm owners - a move which would meet both pan-political and gun club approval.

The British Shooting Sports Council (BSSC) has not only called for the database, but also for better information flow between the police and gun clubs. But firearms dealer John Hoare, a member of the BSSC, claimed laws covering firearms records are archaic. 'Firearms records or transactions can't be kept on a computer,' he said.

Civil servants in fear of private sector encroachment on public sector IT jobs were dealt a blow when Ian Lang, trade and industry secretary, said he would penalise trade unions for public sector strikes. His timing was impeccable. Last week the Public Services, Tax and Commerce union began the ballot procedure for industrial action among its DSS IT Services Agency members. They are unhappy with some of the terms and conditions which they feel have been unreasonably forced upon them, and plan an overtime ban.

The Tories have realised the value of trumpeting IT achievements, and are scrambling to claim to have presided over major technology leaps this century. At least, at the Parliamentary IT Committee (Pitcom) fringe meeting, science and technology minister Ian Taylor gave a modern view, claiming that Labour is only comfortable when 'cuddling up to a monopoly'.

'I'm not prepared to let a Johnny-come-lately take the credit (for advances in technology),' he said of labour leader Tony Blair. He was, in part, referring to last year's BT and schools announcement by Blair.

Education was a dominant theme in his speech. As technology improves, online teaching will be used more widely, Taylor predicted. He said schools lacking skills in a particular subject could borrow an online teacher - a prospect which filled the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) with horror.

Taylor left his biggest shock until last, and slammed the door shut for IT analysts who have been calling for a moratorium on whether European monetary union should be dropped in favour of the millennium issue. 'The idea that we can stop one doesn't correspond with reality. So it's "heads down and get on with it" time,' he said.

Taylor emphasised the need for Government to be seen to be promoting IT. He said. 'We must not be on the back foot. It's our revolution and if we're defensive, it will be picked up by the public and they will worry about their jobs.'


It is hard to escape the conclusion that since then some elements remain unconcerned at the failure and delay of large Government IT projects.

More recently Transport Secretary Alistair Darling has floated his vision to deliver road pricing and reduce traffic congestion using satellite technology and a sophisticated database of all Britain's millions of vehicles. Tony Blair is pushing for the introduction of Identity Cards - requiring another massive real-time database.

Such schemes seem pie in the sky given the following:

U.K. government hit with another large computer failure
The computer crash is being called the biggest in U.K. government history
News Story by Laura Rohde

NOVEMBER 26, 2004 (IDG NEWS SERVICE)

IT system failures continued to plague the U.K. government this week, when as many as 80,000 civil servants working for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) had to deal with what is being described in the local press as the biggest computer crash in government history.

The DWP was carrying out a "routine software upgrade" on Monday when the system crashed, leaving around 80% of the department's 100,000 desk machines disrupted or completely shut down, a DWP spokeswoman said today. The problems lasted through most of yesterday, but the "majority of our system is up and running now," she said.

Microsoft Corp. and Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) run the DWP's network as part of a $3.8 billion information technology contract.

Microsoft issued a short statement today saying that it worked closely with its partners to help rectify the situation and support the DWP, but declined any further comment. Representatives from EDS could not immediately be reached for comment.

The head of the DWP, government secretary Alan Johnson, has promised an internal inquiry into the systems failure and the role Microsoft and EDS, of Plano, Texas, played in the crisis.

The DWP, which is responsible for providing a variety of state benefits to about 24 million people, attempted to downplay the effect the computer problems will have on its customers, saying that the department's mainframe computers were not affected. "There will be delays with new and amended benefit claims, but we have been dealing with the problems though our contingency plans and the disruptions will be minimal," the DWP spokeswoman said.

It is believed that the crash was caused when an incompatible system was downloaded on to the entire network, forcing employees to send faxes because they couldn't access their e-mail accounts and to fill out some payment checks by hand.

The IT failure was only the latest in a string of serious computer system problems experienced by the department. The DWP's Child Support Agency (CSA) has been struggling with a $863 million system from EDS that has made payments to only one in eight single parents awaiting them. Last week, Johnson told a House of Commons Parliamentary Select Committee that he is considering shutting down the child-support case management and telephony system, and Doug Smith, the head of the CSA, resigned from his job.

Today the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, Mark Serwotka, called on the government to hold off on its plans to cut 30,000 jobs in the DWP on the basis of IT improvements, in light of the computer crisis. Earlier this year, the government announced plans to eliminate 104,000 civil servant jobs across the government based in part on increased efficiencies gained though new IT systems.

Since 2001, the DWP has spent around $8.04 billion on various IT projects, including the CSA system. According to a report it submitted to a Parliament Select Committee, the department has spent $579 million on management and IT consultancy, $97.4 million on staff substitutions and contractors and $102.7 million on professional services.

The U.K.'s public sector IT projects in 2003 and 2004 are expected to cost more than $23.4 billion, but U.K. government IT projects have often been accused of being over-ambitious and prone to disastrous delays and cost overruns.

Beyond the DWP, further examples include the benefit-payment card program from the Post Office, the Department of Social Security and International Computers Ltd. (ICL), which fell apart after three years and $567 million; software problems that delayed the Swanwick air traffic control center and have since been blamed for a near collision between two airplanes; the disruption wrought on thousands of people with travel plans in 1999 by the Passport Office's new computer system, and the National Probation Service's case-record and management system which was abandoned in 2001 after it was revealed the project was expected to be two years late and 70% over budget.

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Back to the Firearms Register

From Hansard 17 Jan 2005
David Heath (Somerton & Frome, LDem)

..I agree, too. The learned society, the British Computer Society, offered to give advice to the Government some years ago—an offer that was refused. Is it possible to take up the offer on behalf of the commission and the National Audit Office, to provide expert advice on the construction of IT projects? Could the Home Office be under continual review in that respect, as it is the author of the most spectacular failures of IT and has still not implemented a requirement of section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 to set up a central register of holders of shotgun and firearms certificates? That was introduced seven years ago and not a single operation or programme has been constructed.


Home Office blames IT trouble for register delays

Government admits problems revealed by Computing
Parliamentary Correspondent, Computing 11 Nov 2004

The Home Office has admitted 'technical difficulties' are to blame for the latest setback to the much delayed computerised firearms register, as revealed in Computing (Computing 28 October).

The Home Office was criticised heavily last week during a House of Lords debate last week after admitting that the National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS) will not go live until the New Year, some seven-years after it was recommended.

Computing reported two weeks ago that the system - a searchable register on the Police National Computer - had suffered further problems at the pilot stage.

Home Office minister Lord Rooker admitted in the House of Lords last week that 'unacceptable delays' had plagued the system developed by Anite Public Services. He said they were partly caused by restrictions on resources but claimed this had since been resolved.

Rooker said the pilots highlighted two key disabling difficulties: the system was unable to print firearms certificates and it ran too slowly for police operational services, but said 'those matters are being dealt with'.

Conservative minister Lord Marlesford described the continuing delays, which span seven years, as 'a scandal bordering on an outrage'.

Liberal Democrat Lord McNally said it was totally unacceptable for Rooker to blame technical problems so long after the register was required by law, claiming the Home Office resisted it at the time and is suspected of resisting it still.

The requirement for the register was enacted in the wake of the Dunblane massacre in 1997. An enquiry revealed faults in manual police registration.


Firearms database delayed once again

Pilot projects highlight slowness of systems and inability to print certificates
Emma Nash, Computing 27 Oct 2004

The much-delayed firearms database has been put on hold once again after problems with the system were identified in pilot tests.

The National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS), a searchable gun register on the police national computer, was recommended seven years ago after the Dunblane massacre, but has suffered numerous delays ever since.

Computing has now learned that shortly after this testing began, Michael Gillespie, head of the Home Office's Public Order and Crime Issues Unit, sent a letter to Police forces throughout England and Wales detailing problems with NFLMS and delayed its general rollout once again.

Home Office Minister Lord Rooker announced the pilot in May 2002, with the full roll-out anticipated in May 2003.

By October of that year, the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), admitted NFLMS will be delayed until at least 2004 following an 'unsuccessful' procurement process.

And in March 2003, it said the system would be live by summer 2004, despite further delays in the procurement process.

Three months ago, Pito said most forces would be expected to migrate by January 2005. But it confirms there have been problems with the system.

'We are working with the supplier to resolve technical issues that arose during the first phase of the National Firearms Licensing Management System pilot testing,' a Pito spokesman told Computing.

'While the testing has shown that the system's functionality works well, the issues detailed in the letter to forces need to be resolved before rollout can begin,' he said.

The main problems concern the system's extremely slow operation, and its inability to print actual firearms license certificates.

PITO says the printing issue has now been resolved, but says it will not confirm new migration or rollout dates until the issues are fully resolved.

Anite Public Sector has developed the technology that will provide the searchable register of all guns on the Police National Computer in Hendon.

'The system supports a very important part of the police business and we to be confident that it is ready before handing it over to the police service to use,' the PITO spokesman said.

The news coincides with publication of Home Office figures last week that show gun crime grew three per cent last year.

Police forces start firearms database trial

Testing to begin in September
Emma Nash, Computing 14 Jul 2004

Two English police forces will start a pilot of the national firearms database in September - seven years since the system was first recommended.

Lancashire and Metropolitan Police will be the first to trial the National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS).

Initial user acceptance testing begins in August, before the full system is tested the following month.

Some 42 police forces in England and Wales are expected to migrate to the new system by January next year, according to the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), which is co-ordinating the project.

One force is expected to have problems with the migration, so the final deadline is April 2005.

The NFLMS was originally recommended in the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 but suffered numerous delays, with work finally beginning at the end of 2003 (Computing, 18 December).

A further delay has caused the pilot to be put back by a month, but a spokesman for PITO told Computing it was not technology-related but a result of 'mundane things'.

'The original target was ready for service in August,' he said. 'That has slipped into September, but as far as we know the project remains on target.'

Supplier Anite is developing the technology, which will provide a central, searchable gun register on the Police National Computer in Hendon. Forces will be able to search for all people holding firearms and related certificates, instead of using local registers.

The NFLMS is based on an Oracle database, developed with Java and reporting tools from Business Objects.

The Anite application will be used in England and Wales. A separate system has been devised for Scottish forces.

Work starts on national gun register

Firearms Licensing Management System will link to Police National Computer
Emma Nash, Computing 18 Dec 2003


Work has finally started on the national gun register, seven years after it was first recommended.

Systems integrator Anite is developing the Firearms Licensing Management System that will link into the Police National Computer (PNC), allowing police forces across the country to share information about licensed guns.

The system will replace individual databases used by forces across England and Wales, and meet regulations stipulated under the 1997 Firearms (Amendment) Act.

"Forces will have an interface through the firearms licensing system that will link to a national certificate register on the PNC," said a Police IT Organisation (Pito) spokesman.

Anite has been working on the project for four months, and will roll it out in stages before it becomes fully operational in August 2004.

The supplier has submitted a proposed architecture to Pito and is now looking at commercially available components to implement the Firearms Licensing Management System.

"We expect there will be a database made available to forces by internet technologies," said Anite business development director Neil McIntyre.

"It will have the appropriate security controls to ensure the integrity of the information. At present there's a fragmented approach that is done on a force-by-force perspective.

"There's been a strong push by Pito and the government to provide information and intelligence across boundaries. Police will now have a national perspective."

A national firearms database was first recommended by the Association of Chief Police Officers in 1996, following the Dunblane massacre. It then appeared in the Firearms (Amendment) Act in 1997.

Gun database due in summer 2004

PITO admits further purchasing delay
Emma Nash, Computing 26 Mar 2003


The national firearms register will be up and running by summer 2004, despite further delays to the procurement process.

The central database of gun ownership has suffered several hold-ups since its recommendation in the Firearms (Amendment) Act in 1997.

Development work should have started in September last year, but problems with the procurement process forced a further delay of around a year (Computing 10 October), with 1 April pinpointed as the new date work would begin.

According to a Police IT Organisation (PITO) spokesman, the tender process has now been extended further by almost a month until 25 April, at the request of one of the bidding suppliers.

'The focus here is getting it right,' he said. 'Our target implementation date is now summer 2004. We're a bit behind on the tender process but we are not expecting that to impact on the go live date.'

The spokesman says the decision making process will commence after 25 April, but it is not known how long that will take.

The National Firearms Certificate Holders Register will be held on the Police National Computer, replacing local forces' existing systems.

The Association of Chief Police Officers first suggested a guns database in 1996. 'A central firearms register would bring clear benefits in crime detection and prevention,' it said at the time.


UK guns database delayed again

Seven-year delay comes under fire
Emma Nash, Computing 10 Oct 2002

The introduction of a national firearms database has been delayed again.

The central gun register will not be active until at least 2004, seven years after it was first proposed.

Development was due to begin last month, having already been held up since the database was recommended in the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997. But vnunet.com's sister title Computing has learned that the project has stalled.

"The initial procurement exercise has not been successful," said a Home Office spokeswoman. "Because of that, some slippage has been inevitable."

The National Firearms Certificate Holders Register database will be held centrally on the Police National Computer, replacing local forces' existing systems.

It will allow police across England and Wales to view information about licensed rifle and shotgun owners across the country.

The Police IT Organisation (Pito) re-tendered the contract this week. The project is now expected to start on 1 April 2003, and go live in April 2004.

"An original tender to provide interfaces between forces' firearms systems did not provide a satisfactory solution for the police service," said a Pito spokesman.

"It was decided that a fresh approach was needed to produce a more advanced technical solution while testing value for money."

Opposition MPs have suggested that the government is not taking crime seriously enough.

"This is yet another example of the government failing to deliver on promises," said James Paice, Conservative front bench spokesman for home affairs. "One has to wonder just how much of a priority it is for them."

The Association of Chief Police Officers first suggested a guns database in 1996. "A central firearms register would bring clear benefits in crime detection and prevention," it said at the time.


Whitehall pilots firearms register

Database was recommended five years ago
Emma Nash, Computing 30 May 2002

The government is to start developing a national firearms database in September - five years after the legislation that recommended its introduction.

Home Office Minister Lord Rooker last week said that a pilot gun register will start this year with a full roll-out anticipated in May 2003.

The database was first proposed in the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997, which was passed following the Dunblane massacre in March 1996 when 16 school children and their teacher were killed.

The Act did not specify timescales for the register, but a series of government targets have been missed.

The government claims it is committed to the register but says it had to establish more urgent projects such as the sex offenders register.

'The time-scale for delivery has been affected by the need to complete the national DNA database and to upgrade the police national computer,' Lord Rooker told the House of Lords.

But some are dismayed by the delays.

'This is something that has been going on and on,' said Lord Marlesford, former Conservative MP for Birmingham Erdington. 'The Home Office doesn't wish to do this because they didn't think of it.'

Crimes involving firearms are rising. According to Home Office figures, in 2000/2001 there were 7,362 recorded crimes in which firearms other than air weapons were used - an eight per cent rise on the previous year, which was 31 per cent up on the year before that.

Some 8.6 per cent of murders committed in 2000/2001 involved firearms, and the number of robberies involving a gun increased four per cent between 1999 and 2001.

The Association of Chief Police Officers' recommended a national guns database in 1996.

'A central firearms register would bring clear benefits in crime detection and prevention,' it said at the time.
return to meditations

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Firearms register - why the delay?

Firearms register - why the delay?

9 years after the Dunblane school shooting and a report on the tragedy from Lord Cullen, the UK Government has still not managed to build a national firearms register.

With incidents of gun crime rising it seems appropriate to ask why a database has not been established? In Northern Ireland the Police Service has maintained a gun register for many years.

Whitehall seems unable to commission and successfully implement large scale IT projects. Advice on establishing the Firearms database was initially offered to Civil Servants by The British Computer Society (BCS) . With a membership drawn from over 100 countries, BCS is the leading professional and learned Society in the field of computers and information systems.

Civil servants rejected the offers of help.

Lets hope that the database is completed long before some sections of the Dunblane report are released after the 100 years blackout.

Saturday 22 August 2009

22-Jun-2003 - NotW - The UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

22-Jun-2003 - NotW - The UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

News of the World,

Dunblane: The unanswered questions;Exclusive

By: David Leslie

Page: Scotland 4

Picture Caption: HAGGER: Testified for probe;TAYLOR: Warning;NORTH: Heartache
;UTTLEY: Took over ambulance;CULLEN: Inquiry;FACE OF THE
BEAST: Monster Thomas Hamilton with kids at one of his
camps, above, and, right, leering at camera;SCENE OF THE
CRIME:Primary school where horror unfolded


Shocking claims as duo demand a second probe

A NEW inquiry should be held into the Dunblane massacre because dozens of questions about the tragedy remain unanswered, according to two concerned campaigners.

The pair have spent months drawing up a detailed dossier about the horrific shootings.

And they claim that there are discrepancies between the official inquiry, presided over by Lord Cullen, and statements from witnesses at the time.

One woman, Sandra Uttley, was a local ambulance worker.

The other, Doreen Hagger, gave evidence at the Cullen inquiry.

They believe there may have been a cover-up. Questions they now want answered include:

WHO did killer Thomas Hamilton meet and talk to on the way to Dunblane primary school?

WHO was the off-duty police officer at the scene and why has his identity been concealed?

WHY have Hamilton's post mortem results been kept secret?

WHY ambulance service records are not being made public, and WHY was there confusion over the number of guns Hamilton had at the school?

The women - who have drawn up a 50-point, 5,000 word dossier on the affair - are furious that many of the official reports are being kept under wraps.

Horror

Government ministers have ruled that much of the evidence about the tragedy should not be made public for 100 years.

Last night Uttley said: "A new inquiry is now urgently needed.

"There may be other individuals who should face prosecution."

The horror unfolded on March 13, 1996, when 43-year-old misfit Hamilton gunned down 16 pupils and teacher Gwen Mayor at the Stirlingshire school.

The atrocity shocked the nation and an official probe was launched under Lord Cullen.

But Uttley and Hagger believe too many mysteries remain.

They point to the statement of one local, Cathleen Boswell Kerr, who said she'd seen the killer standing beside - or climbing from - a large grey saloon car before he travelled to the school.

It was parked outside his Stirling home sometime between 8am and 8.40 on the fateful day.

Loner

According to Kerr, Hamilton looked cheerful. He waved as the grey car left, then walked to his white hire van.

But Kerr DIDN'T give evidence at the Cullen inquiry.

And the two women want to know what steps were taken to trace Hamilton's mystery visitor.

Mum-of-six Hagger helped out at a children's camp organised by the oddball loner who went on to become Scotland's worst mass murderer.

Her daughter Vikki, then seven years old, was one of the youngsters who attended.

Both were concerned about his behaviour and complained to cops about him. Though he had already come to the attention of Central Scotland Police after official complaints about his camps and the clubs he ran for boys, Hagger believes her warnings about him went unheeded.

She told us: "I was overwhelmed with a feeling of guilt that I had not done more to stop Hamilton.

"We still have a lot of work to do and much evidence to cover.

"But I feel everyone has been robbed of justice."

Vikki later wrote to Lord Cullen to tell of her nightmare over not being taken seriously.

Her mum also appeared before the judge at his inquiry in Stirling.

Cullen's intensive probe lasted from May 29 until July 10, 1996.

But, according to Uttley and Hagger, his investigation FAILED to reveal the identity of the off-duty police officer they believe to
have been first on the scene.

The man followed the primary school's headteacher Ron Taylor into the gym where the carnage had taken place.

He then warned the head- master, and the school janitor John Currie, not to touch a gun which lay next to Hamilton's body on the gym floor.

But despite his key role, the officer's name has never been released to the public. And the two campaigners want to know WHY his identity has been concealed.

They also want to know why the public hasn't been given access to the results of a post mortem carried out on Hamilton.

Uttley explained: "We know that a full dissection was carried out.

"Pathologist Anthony Busuttil said the cause of death was gunshot
injury.

"But this does not explain the manner of Hamilton's death.

"Some sources suggest his body was discovered lying close to a wall in which there were TWO bullet holes, six inches from the floor and a couple of inches apart.

Fatal

"But what did the wounds on Hamilton's body show?

"The post mortem results would surely clear up this point and explain whether or not he suffered other gunshot injuries that were not fatal."

Uttley could have been one of the ambulance staff who raced to the scene, just minutes after Hamilton's killing spree ended.

She was on a day off from her job at the ambulance station in nearby Callander and only learned of the horror from a friend.

She was called in to work later that day.

The crew she relieved had raced several of Hamilton's young victims to hospital, and were traumatised as a result.

But Uttley and Hagger claim the role of the ambulance service has been obscured.

They claimed: "Lord Cullen said in his report the ambulance service arrived at the school at 9.57 and the police at 9.50 am.

"Our own sources suggest ambulancewoman Alison Irvine made a statement indicating that when she and colleague Leslie Haire arrived at the school at 9.57am there were NO police cars or police officers there - just the mystery man who claimed to be an off-duty policeman.

"Ron Taylor met them and said they were the first to arrive.

"The ambulance staff then radioed their control room to say they were dealing with a major incident.

"Police witnesses said at the inquiry they arrived at the primary school at 9.50am.

"But the Accident and Emergency Department at Stirling Royal Infirmary received notification of a shooting incident at Dunblane at 9.48am. Who from? We want to know why details about the ambulance service's role should be hidden for 100 years."

The two women are also puzzled by the confusion over the number of weapons found at the scene.

Uttley - the former partner of Dr Mick North, whose daughter Sophie died that day - added: "Some witnesses suggest Hamilton had two guns at the primary school, others say he had four.

"Malcolm Chisholm and David Gould, the ammunition and bomb disposal experts, also differ over their examination of the guns.

"Why were these vital issues not properly clarified at the inquiry?"

Amok

Some of the discrepancies, they claim, might have been cleared up by the Scene Of Crime report.

But they added: "It's been hidden away until 2096. Why?"

Uttley and Hagger also want to know why photographs of the crime scene weren't taken until late afternoon - though Hamilton ran amok shortly after the school first opened.

Hagger added: "There were concerns that Hamilton's body might be booby trapped.

"Why then was the bomb disposal centre not alerted until 2.30pm? And why on earth were there people present in the gym when the bomb disposal expert arrived?

"The gym was supposed to have been evacuated at noon because of concerns about a booby trap."

Among the other queries raised by the couple's dossier is the question of where Hamilton went between leaving his home and arriving at Dunblane primary school.

Uttley revealed: "A policeman said CCTV cameras picked up Hamilton's van leaving Stirling on the morning of March 13, 1996 at 8.44 and 8.46.

"The journey to Dunblane school would normally take just 15 minutes.

"Yet Hamilton did not arrive there until 9.30. Where did he go in the half hour that's unaccounted for?"

The pair are also intrigued by the matter of Hamilton's finances.

Hagger told us: "Some sources suggest he obtained two credit cards and spent freely at the end of 1995 and the beginning of 1996.

"But he was unemployed - and this has never been fully explained."

The duo say they are determined to battle on until they win a fresh inquiry into the horror.

Uttley - who has written a series of articles about male violence and guns - began work on her dossier in December last year.

In February, she wrote to Hagger asking for her help. They claim they have examined and cross-referenced every word of the Cullen report since then.

Uttley told us: "I will never give up on this until we get to the truth."

And Hagger added: "This has caused us a lot of stress.

"Some of what we've uncovered makes me despair.

"Yet I think it is only right that people should know about this and decide for themselves whether or not a new inquiry is merited."

But last night the officer who headed the Dunblane investigation was adamant that Central Scotland Police left no stone unturned.

Theories

Detective Chief Superintendent John Ogg, who has now retired from the force, told us: "I can reassure you that the investigation into the Dunblane incident was absolutely thorough, and we covered every angle.

"I don't subscribe to any of these allegations at all."

And he added: "I have no idea why someone would wish to come up with theories like these."

Speaking from his home in Perthshire, Mick North told us: "I have been asked by Sandra about what happened on the day, and have answered her questions. There are areas that I feel could do with better explanation, but I am not prepared to go into specifics.

"I think it's most unlikely that the conspiracy goes as far as is being alleged."

During the investigation, it was claimed that student teacher David Scott witnessed Hamilton kill himself. However, Scott did not himself give evidence, and when asked if he did see the killer commit suicide, he refused to make any comment at all.

He told the News of the World: "I have not spoken about this before, and have no intention of doing so."

Headmaster Ron Taylor blasted the pair's findings and said he could not understand why they would wish to open up old wounds.

He added: "It is rubbish. There is no substance to it at all.

"Hundreds of statements were given, and only a select few were actually used for Cullen, to spare those affected by the incident the trauma of going through it again.

"Every single person who was in the school on the day gave a statement to the police.

"Only a few people gave verbal evidence to the Cullen Inquiry.

"The vast majority of the report was about the police. There is no cover-up."

Tuesday 18 August 2009

ANNOUNCEMENT

Hi,

I have literally hundreds of documents on the Dunblane Affair.

I shall include details of Lord Cullen's corruption of the Public Inquiry and his unlawfull concealment of some 26 shelf feet of documentary evidence pertinent to the Inquiry.

Copies of correspondence exposing the abuse of children, institutional sexual abuse of children, the death of Thomas Hamilton and so very much more - including the Formal Complaint to Central Scotland Police, regarding allegations of sexual and physical abuse of children at Queen Victoria School, Dunblane between 1989 and 1992.

Due to the difficulty of presenting so much material for scrutiny I shall load up material where possible based on the date of that material.

This will also involve linking to a document site as to load 175 page books and similar length reports would prove difficult on this blog system.

ALL postings will be listed as having been posted by 'Dunblane' unless the poster wishes to add supplimentary details.

I hope this is of help in understanding the institutionalised form of child abuse amongts an establishment elite in Scotland.

I shall also address matters such as The Spec. (The Speculative Society of Edinburgh) and the involvement of such individuals as Gordon Brown, Geoffrey Rippon, Robertson the local MP etc. etc. in terms of the many allegations and where available together with both provenance and speculative connections.

It is interesting to remember that Thomas Hamilton killed those 16 children and their teacher on 13-Mar-1996 and also there was the death of Thomas Hamilton but at whose hand is still far from clear.

10 years ago in November Lord Burton requested, as Hansard will show, that the report of Sergeant Hughes to Lord Cullen's Inquiry be placed in the House of Lords' Library but it became clear that their Lordships were willing to collude in the corruption of the inquiry primarily orchestrated in the most dishonest manner by Lord Cullen totally corrupting the due process of Justice.

Just who was Lord Cullen protecting by unlawfully hiding evidence?

Let us hope that by adding our own small glimmer of light with the fresh air of honest intent will expose the dishonesty of Lord Cullen's corrupted Inquiry was.

IF you have material available on the matter by all means contact me personally and my details are readily available if you CLICK HERE

Thank you for your help, your patience as I try to get the info. loaded and also your support in trying to expose the truth.

Regards,
Greg L-W.

Monday 17 August 2009

W.W. SCOTT > EDITORS re: Sgt. HUGHES & HoL LIBRARY

W.W. SCOTT > EDITORS re: Sgt. HUGHES & HoL LIBRARY

William W. Scott,
**CUT by G.L-W.**
North Berwick,
East Lothian,
EH39 4PY.

Tel: 01620 **CUT by G.L-W.**
Fax: 01620 **CUT by G.L-W.**

17/08/09

Dear Editor,

10 years ago I heard and read in Hansard that Lord Burton had requested, on the floor of The House of Lords, that a copy of a report to the Cullen Inquiry into the Dunblane Tragedy by a Sergeant Hughes be placed in the House of Lords library. The request was refused as this crucial key report was subject to a 100 year closure order.

There are of course many questions that were unanswered:

01. Where did Hamilton get the finance to enable him to buy and afford the upkeep of a cabin cruiser on Loch Lomond?

02. What happened to the photographs that went missing from his house?

03. Where is the inventory of the many boxes of material removed from Thomas Hamilton's home by the plain clothes officials who ordered the local police out of the house?

04. Why was it accepted that he left Stirling on the road to Dunblane when that was not the case?

05. Why was there confusion over the phone calls made to the police from the school?

06. Who signed the letter of 'good character' that authorised the issue of a Fire Arms Certificate?

07. Where is that letter & why was it not presented as evidence?

08. Who signed his firearm certificate?

09. Why was a junior officer overruled when she recommended that Hamilton’s firearm certificate should not be renewed?

10. Why did the local authority allow him to run clubs when he did not have any of the legally required qualifications?

11. What was Thomas Hamilton's legal status regarding Queen Victoria Boys School (as it was then)?

12. On what grounds was Thomas Hamilton able to obtain overnight release on 'exeat' of boys from QVS?

13. When boys returning in a distressed state with money from exeats with Thomas Hamilton and various other establishment figures who investigated their well being?

14. On what authority did Thomas Hamilton use the grounds of QVS for his own purposes?

15. What was Thomas Hamilton's influence at QVS such that he could get people jobs at the school?

16. Who were the many visitors to his house?

17. What was Thomas Hamilton's relationship with his MP?

18. Had Thomas Hamilton's relationship with his MP anything to do with his MP being promoted OUT of British politics to become Secretary General of NATO despite his lack of relevant experience of any substance?

19. Why was a request to study a film showing a hole in a door which experts believed was caused by bullet fired from outside the gym refused?

20. Why was Hamilton neither charged, cautioned or investigated when two ladies lodged a formal complaint against him?

21. Why was Hamilton’s connection with Queen Victoria School not investigated?

22. Why were the allegations by the house master at Queen Victoria School not followed up?

23. Why did the Head Master of QVS collude with the police in breaking down the door of a house master who had lodged complaints?

24. What was found such that no charges were made but the house master was so intimidated that he surrendered his career and relocated first to The Isles and now Spain (I gather)?

25. Why did the head of the Scottish Ambulance Service stop a crew member who attended the scene speaking to me?

26. Why did the matter arrive on his desk?

27. Why was the peer who requested that the report be put in the House of Lords library warned to drop the matter?

28. Why indeed was The Peer roughly handled instead being given a simple refusal?

29. Why did Lord Cullen unlawfully hide evidence without having the integrity to show it was hidden unlawfully in his corrupted Inquiry?

30. Why was it only as a result of the questioning by myself, Tom Minogue, Greg Lance-Watkins, Billy Burns and others that the fact that 'The Inquiry' was corrupted come to light, as shown in outline by journalists such as Marcello Mega & Tamzin Lewis?

31. Why was there no autopsy of Thomas Hamilton presented either at the inquiry or to the public? Nor were the bullets or shell cases presented as evidence!

I thought that strange and so started a lengthy correspondence with officialdom. After all my efforts over such a long period I have to admit I am no nearer to finding the truth about that dreadful event other than the fact that 16 children and a teacher died with of course Thomas Hamilton.

As long as elected representatives will not make an effort to discover the truth it will no doubt remain hidden for a further 87 years. Of the many I approached the majority informed me they could not help as I was not a constituent. This they claimed was due to parliamentary protocol which of course is nonsense as it rightly refers to constituency affairs but not to national or international matters.

Those who acted on my behalf unfortunately accepted the letter they received from the Crown Office without question even although it was a standard letter sent to anybody enquiring about the Dunblane Tragedy. That there was a strong possibility a paedophile ring was in some way involved was not enough to motivate any of them. You would have thought they would have been anxious to make sure such practices were not continuing. A house master at Queen Victoria School alleged that there was abuse of pupils at the school and Thomas Hamilton was known to have connections there.

It was claimed that the 100 year closure was necessary to protect the identity of children. This was found to be ridiculous when it was discovered that there were tens of thousands of pages covered by the closure. Lord James Douglas-Hamilton stated that there was no evidence of criminal behaviour on the part of Thomas Hamilton prior to the shootings. This was confirmed by Lord Cullen. Who then are the children who we are told must have their identity protected?

The Crown Office stated that it was the Keeper of the Records of Scotland who was responsible for the closure but this was not true and brought to light the fact that there was no statutory basis for the closure. Dr. Lynda Clark, Q.C. when Advocate General for Scotland wrote “under Scots law there is no legislation which provides for a hundred year closure”.

The Crown Office eventually admitted that was the case but declared that police records are routinely closed, the identity of witnesses must be protected, distress must not be caused and the terms of the Data Protection Act had to be taken into consideration.

They also stated that the Public Records Act 1958 applied to Scotland even although the legislation passed by Parliament only covers England and Wales. None of these conditions were mentioned before it became clear that there was no statutory basis for the closure. This is hardly the clear and concise language that should be expected from the highest legal office in Scotland.

The closure was actually agreed at a meeting on 13th January 1997. Those attending were Ms. Glynis McKeand, Clerk to the Inquiry, and representatives of the Police, the Scottish Records Office and of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

It is not known who proposed the closure but it is a strange coincidence that the officer who salvaged Hamilton’s cabin cruiser on Loch Lomond represented the Police at that meeting. Another strange thing is that although Lord Cullen agreed with the decision of that group he later wrote that they did not have the authority, individually or collectively, to impose a closure order.

Colin Boyd Q.C., Lord Advocate at the time, authorised the release of a number of the 106 closed productions which can be inspected at the National Archives of Scotland. He always insisted there was authority for the closure so who gave permission for their release? I have not viewed them but two colleagues did and were of the opinion that they might as well have remained closed as they had been so severely redacted that it was impossible to obtain any information from them.

One M.P. assured me that there had to be a good reason for the closure but it did not occur to him that the good reason could be to spare powerful individuals embarrassment or even from being arrested.

The Inquiry left many questions unanswered. At the time of the tragedy many felt that Central Scotland Police should have been in the dock instead of being responsible for the investigation. No attempt was made to delve into Thomas Hamilton’s background to see if friends and acquaintances had any influence on his actions.

There was doubt about who he spoke to outside his house before leaving for Dunblane. There was no explanation as to why he took 45 minutes to travel what is normally a 15 minute journey from his home to the school.

The Lord Advocate claimed that a student teacher saw Hamilton shoot himself. That teacher was not called to give evidence but his statement was read to the Inquiry and it did not state that he saw Hamilton shoot himself.

The off-duty police officer who was the first person into the gym apart from school staff wrote a statement that contradicted the evidence of the scene of crime officer. That statement was not transferred to the National Archives of Scotland and would have remained hidden if a request for a copy had not been made under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act. There are many discrepancies but the most glaring example is that the police officer stated that Hamilton had one holster.

The scene of crime officer said in his evidence that Hamilton had four holsters strapped around him. If the difference had been between three and four then it could be argued that the police officer made a mistake. But a man with four holsters strapped around him must have looked like a Mexican bandit and the police officer could not have been mistaken in what he saw. The police officer also wrote that he saw two pistols and yet the scene of crime officer in his evidence said there were two pistols and two revolvers beside the body.

If the police officer had been called as a witness or even had his statement been read to the Inquiry then the matter might have been cleared up but he was not called and it was intended that his statement remained hidden. There is also confusion over whether Thomas Hamilton’s body was temporarily removed from the gym.

A doctor who attended the scene informed journalists at a press conference on the day of the shootings that he did not see Hamilton’s body. When giving evidence to the Inquiry the same doctor stated that he saw many dead and injured children and one dead adult. When asked he confirmed that the dead adult was the body of a teacher.

There may be a simple answer but the questions will continue to be asked as long as there is no explanation as to why the police officer’s statement differs from the scene of crime officer’s evidence and why from the doctor’s evidence it would appear that at some stage Hamilton’s body had been removed from the gym and why was his clothing obviously altered.

There might have been more criticism of the Inquiry but the campaign to ban hand guns dominated the headlines. I accept that many sincerely believed in the campaign but who, I wonder, actually started it and for what purpose. Any sensible person knows that legally held guns are not used to commit crime and in fact gun crime has increased nearly every year since the ban was imposed.

I realise Hamilton was entitled to own guns but that was not a failing in the law but sheer incompetence or favouritism on the part of Central Scotland Police. Hamilton’s action should not have been used to destroy a sport and many livelihoods.

There are of course many questions that remain unanswered, though it does not in any way imply an end to the search for the truth:

01. Where did Hamilton get the finance to enable him to buy and afford the upkeep of a cabin cruiser on Loch Lomond?

02. What happened to the photographs that went missing from his house?

03. Where is the inventory of the many boxes of material removed from Thomas Hamilton's home by the plain clothes officials who ordered the local police out of the house?

04. Why was it accepted that he left Stirling on the road to Dunblane when that was not the case?

05. Why was there confusion over the phone calls made to the police from the school?

06. Who signed the letter of 'good character' that authorised the issue of a Fire Arms Certificate?

07. Where is that letter & why was it not presented as evidence?

08. Who signed his firearm certificate?

09. Why was a junior officer overruled when she recommended that Hamilton’s firearm certificate should not be renewed?

10. Why did the local authority allow him to run clubs when he did not have any of the legally required qualifications?

11. What was Thomas Hamilton's legal status regarding Queen Victoria Boys School (as it was then)?

12. On what grounds was Thomas Hamilton able to obtain overnight release on 'exeat' of boys from QVS?

13. When boys returning in a distressed state with money from exeats with Thomas Hamilton and various other establishment figures who investigated their well being?

14. On what authority did Thomas Hamilton use the grounds of QVS for his own purposes?

15. What was Thomas Hamilton's influence at QVS such that he could get people jobs at the school?

16. Who were the many visitors to his house?

17. What was Thomas Hamilton's relationship with his MP?

18. Had Thomas Hamilton's relationship with his MP anything to do with his MP being promoted OUT of British politics to become Secretary General of NATO despite his lack of relevant experience of any substance?

19. Why was a request to study a film showing a hole in a door which experts believed was caused by bullet fired from outside the gym refused?

20. Why was Hamilton neither charged, cautioned or investigated when two ladies lodged a formal complaint against him?

21. Why was Hamilton’s connection with Queen Victoria School not investigated?

22. Why were the allegations by the house master at Queen Victoria School not followed up?

23. Why did the Head Master of QVS collude with the police in breaking down the door of a house master who had lodged complaints?

24. What was found such that no charges were made but the house master was so intimidated that he surrendered his career and relocated first to The Isles and now Spain (I gather)?

25. Why did the head of the Scottish Ambulance Service stop a crew member who attended the scene speaking to me?

26. Why did the matter arrive on his desk?

27. Why was the peer who requested that the report be put in the House of Lords library warned to drop the matter?

28. Why indeed was The Peer roughly handled instead being given a simple refusal?

29. Why did Lord Cullen unlawfully hide evidence without having the integrity to show it was hidden unlawfully in his corrupted Inquiry?

30. Why was it only as a result of the questioning by myself, Tom Minogue, Greg Lance-Watkins, Billy Burns and others that the fact that 'The Inquiry' was corrupted come to light, as shown in outline by journalists such as Marcello Mega & Tamzin Lewis?

31. Why was there no autopsy of Thomas Hamilton presented either at the inquiry or to the public? Nor were the bullets or shell cases presented as evidence!

To date we have failed to expose the truth but we hope others with more clout and further contacts will take up the cudgels and that the truth will out.

It is interesting to note that Lord Cullen having been implicated in the corruption of 'The Public Inquiry Into The Shootings At Dunblane Primary School 13-Mar-1996' for the full text CLICK HERE.

Lord Cullen was also implicated in the Inquiry into The Catastrophic Failure of Pan-Am 103 over Lockerbie - a case which would seem to have provided no acceptable answers, many unanswered questions and the unsound conviction of a man for whom there would seem to be absolutely no evidence of connection with the matter beyond what seems to be a disgraceful, unjust and corrupt summing up by Lord Cullen.

It also is worthy of note in the case of Thomas Hamilton, Dunblane & QVS that there seems to be a mallign connection with 'The Magic Circle', institutionalised pederasty indulged in by members of the Scottish 'establishment' and a seemingly mallign involvement of the clandestine and secretive Speculative Society of Edinburgh.

It is to be hoped that further investigation of the facts by others will help to bring out the truth in these matters which are so clearly obfuscated, seemingly deliberately, from the top down!

Yours sincerely,