UK supreme court denies tobacco firms permission for plain packaging appeal

All cigarettes sold in the UK must have standardised packaging from next month after the supreme court refused permission to the tobacco industry to appeal against the new laws.

This is the final domestic legal decision, meaning that plain packaging of cigarettes will come into force on 20 May, the Department of Health said.

Rules requiring tobacco to be packaged in drab, dark brown packs with no graphic branding came into effect in May 2016, with branded packs subsequently being phased out.

Tobacco companies went to the supreme court after the court of appeal last November rejected their attempt to prevent the introduction of mandatory plain packaging of cigarettes in the UK.

British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco International (JTI) and Philip Morris International claimed that the law would infringe their human and intellectual property rights.

The new packs are the same shape, size and colour, with two thirds of the front and back surfaces covered by pictorial health warnings, and written warnings on the sides.

The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, welcomed the supreme court’s decision, saying: “Standardised packaging will cut smoking rates and reduce suffering, disease and avoidable deaths.”

Smoking remains the biggest cause of premature mortality in the UK, killing more than 100,000 Britons annually, despite Public Health England figures showing a decline in the number of smokers to fewer than one in six adults.

Widespread use of e-cigarettes, nicotine patches and gum helped a record 500,000 smokers kick the habit in 2015, the agency said, bringing the number of ex-smokers in England to 14.6 million.

In 1974, more than half of men in Britain smoked, but that fell in England to just 19.1% by 2015. The rate for women declined from just over 40% in 1974 to only 14.9% in 2015.

The chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies, said: “Smoking is the biggest preventable killer in this country and this legislation will save lives, so I am thrilled that the tobacco industry will not be allowed to appeal. After years of hard work, I look forward to seeing this policy now brought in, and smoking numbers fall even further.”

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the health charity Ash (Action on Smoking and Health UK), said the ruling finally ended attempts by “big tobacco” to overturn the UK legislation on standardised packaging.

“This is the latest in a long line of crushing legal defeats for the tobacco industry. Over the years the industry has squandered many millions of pounds of its own money in futile legal challenges, but worse still it has wasted public time and money, which could have been much better spent improving public health.”

In a sign that tobacco companies acknowledge that the tide of public opinion is turning against them, the boss of Marlboro maker Philip Morris has predicted a “phase-out period” for cigarettes.

André Calantzopoulos made the comments in November as the company launched a new product it claimed was less harmful than traditional smoking. The iQos heats tobacco but does not burn it, releases fewer toxins and is capable of replacing cigarettes in the long term, according to Philip Morris.

However, campaigners and analysts questioned whether e-cigarettes or other products such as the iQos would ever replace cigarettes.

Arnott said at the time: “Philip Morris claims to be moving towards a post-smoking future but, like other tobacco companies, it is still actively promoting smoking around the world, using methods that would be illegal in the UK.”

UK supreme court denies tobacco firms permission for plain packaging appeal

Surgeon jailed over patient"s death wins appeal against conviction

A surgeon who served a jail sentence over the death of a patient at a private hospital has won an appeal against his conviction.

David Sellu, 69, was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter in November 2013 and handed a two and a half year prison term at the Old Bailey.

On Tuesday, three court of appeal judges in London allowed his challenge against the conviction relating to the death of James Hughes, a father of six from Northern Ireland.

Hughes, 66, died at the Clementine Churchill hospital in Harrow, north-west London, after falling unexpectedly ill after surgery on his left knee.

The retired builder had a planned knee replacement on 5 February 2010. The operation went well, but he developed abdominal pain during his recovery and was transferred to Sellu’s care.

It was the standard of the doctor’s care of Hughes over a period of about 25 hours that formed the basis of the case against him.

At a recent hearing the appeal judges heard that the “essence” of the prosecution case was that the doctor, a “respected consultant colorectal surgeon”, should have performed an operation to repair a perforated bowel “at a much earlier time”.

But a QC argued on behalf of Sellu, who served 15 months before being released in February last year, that his conviction for gross negligence manslaughter was “unsafe” on a number of grounds.

Sellu, of Hillingdon, west London, was present in court to hear Sir Brian Leveson, who heard the case with Lord Justice Irwin and Mr Justice Globe, announce that the conviction should be quashed.

Leveson gave the prosecution 24 hours to make an application if they wished to seek a retrial.

Surgeon jailed over patient"s death wins appeal against conviction

Doctor wins appeal over shaken baby syndrome trials evidence

A doctor barred from practising over evidence she gave in criminal trials involving so-called shaken baby syndrome has had her licence reinstated.

Dr Waney Squier, a consultant paediatric neuropathologist, won a high court appeal battle when a judge cleared her of dishonesty on Thursday.

Squier, who worked at John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, had her name removed from the medical register at a medical practitioners tribunal service in March.

The tribunal concluded she gave deliberately misleading and dishonest evidence for the defence in trials between 2007-10 regarding four babies and a 19-month-old who died after sustaining deliberate head injuries.

On Thursday, Mr Justice Mitting overturned the decision, saying it was flawed because her views were not misleading. However, he said she had failed to work “within the limits of her competence, to be objective and unbiased and pay due regard to the views of other experts”.

A spokeswoman for the General Medical Council, which brought the case against Squier, said: “Mr Justice Mitting has confirmed that this case was not about scientific debate and the rights and wrongs of the scientific evidence, but the manner in which Dr Squier gave evidence.

“The ruling makes clear that she acted irresponsibly in her role as an expert witness on several occasions, acted beyond her expertise and lacked objectivity, and sought to cherry-pick research which it was clear did not support her opinions.”

Doctor wins appeal over shaken baby syndrome trials evidence

Scottish court rejects appeal against minimum alcohol pricing

Scottish judges have rejected an appeal against the Holyrood government’s plans to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol.

The ruling by the court of session in Edinburgh is the latest in a long-running legal battle led by the Scotch Whisky Association after the Scottish parliament voted in favour of minimum pricing in 2012.

Ministers set the minimum price at 50p per unit of alcohol, a measure that would mean whisky could be no cheaper than £14 a bottle.

Last year the European court of justice ruled that the policy was in breach of EU free-trade laws. The European court of justice said the policy could be justified on health grounds under EU law only if it was more proportionate and effective than using general taxation.

However, in a written judgement issued at the court of session on Friday, the three judges ruled that the government’s policy was not illegal. In the judgement, Scotland’s most senior judge, the Lord President Lord Carloway, wrote that the policies didn’t contravene laws set by the ECJ.

Quoting from the judgement issued by the judge who earlier considered the matter, Lord Doherty, Carloway wrote that drinking was important to Scots.

“For many, the consumption of alcohol is a great social lubricant. It’s use in a responsible manner is an important and positive feature in Scottish culture. The general intent, as the Lord Ordinary noted (Opinion para 54) is to ‘get people to build a healthy and sensible relationship with alcohol’; not to stop them drinking altogether or even to drink moderately at all times.”

More details soon …

Scottish court rejects appeal against minimum alcohol pricing

Parents of baby awaiting heart transplant appeal for public"s help

The parents of the youngest child waiting for a heart transplant in the UK are hoping that the plight of their 19-week-old baby will help change the law on donor transplants.

Marnie Brace was born with a serious heart condition in May, and her parents have been told that without a heart transplant she will not survive. Nick and Amy Brace are calling on the public to sign a petition to urge Westminster politicians to follow Welsh lawmakers and create an opt-out organ donor system. Currently people wishing to donate their organs after their death have to sign the organ donor register or inform family members of their wishes.

Marnie’s father said he hoped their baby’s situation would move people to sign the register and lobby politicians for a change in the law. “We know that Marnie will die without a new heart, so every day we are waiting for a call. We are on tenterhooks, we can’t sleep – it is obviously very, very hard,” he said.

“But we hope that we can use Marnie’s life to get the message across that the law needs to change, so we can stop other children and their parents going through this. Everybody you know is willing to give their organs, but the law doesn’t reflect that attitude.”

Marnie was born at the Evelina children’s hospital in London after doctors noticed at her 30-week scan that her heart was not functioning normally. After the birth Marnie was diagnosed as having Noonan’s syndrome and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. “She gets tired very quickly,” said Brace. “If you hold her, you can hear her working so hard so we can’t really pick her up.” When Marnie was born her parents were told to prepare for the worst, he said. “She has already exceeded expectations, she is a real fighter and a real spirit.”

For Marnie to get the care she needs the Braces have moved from Eastbourne and are living with their 21-month-old son, Jonah, at a Ronald McDonald charity house in London. Friends have set up a Just Giving page to help support the family, as both parents have had to give up work. “Like Marnie we have good days and bad days, but we take it in turns – if I spend the day crying, Amy will tell me to be strong and that we will find a heart, and if she is low, then I will be the strong one,” said her husband. “But I can’t even put into words how amazing the nurses who care for Marnie have been.”

Because Marnie’s heart is so tiny the chances of her finding a match are greatly reduced. According to NHS statistics, almost 49,000 people in the UK have waited for an organ transplant in the last 10 years and more than 6,000, including 270 children, have died before receiving the transplant.

“Our priority is to help our girl, but we really want people to sign the donor register, sign the petition and share it,” said Brace. “Don’t just like the page on social media – we don’t need niceties, we need change.”

Parents of baby awaiting heart transplant appeal for public"s help

PrEP HIV drugs: court hears NHS England appeal

A legal battle is being fought out in the court of appeal over who pays the bill for a service to block HIV infection.

The high court ruled that NHS England has the power to commission PrEP, which has been described as a “game-changer” in the fight against HIV/Aids.

NHS England is appealing on the grounds that local authorities have the legal responsibility to arrange services to “prevent” the spread of HIV, while its own responsibilities are limited to treating those already assumed to be infected.

PrEP, short for “pre-exposure prophylaxis”, is a prevention strategy that involves people who are HIV-negative but at high risk of infection taking the anti-retroviral drug Truvada to reach optimal levels of protection.

The anticipated cost of providing PrEP services is £10m-£20m a year.

When taken consistently, it has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection in people who are at high risk by more than 90%.

The legal battle is important and urgent because of its potential impact on the provision of other services, including hearing implants for children with deficient or missing auditory nerves, prosthetics for lower limb loss, and a drug for treating certain mutations in children aged two to five with cystic fibrosis.

Nine new treatments and services NHS England had planned to make available to patients have been put on hold pending the outcome of the appeal.

In May this year NHS England’s specialist services commissioning committee decided not to commission PrEP, saying it lacked power to do so under NHS legislation and regulations.

But Mr Justice Green, sitting in London’s high court, ruled on 2 August that it did have the power under the NHS Act 2006 and under regulations made in 2012 which came into effect in April 2013. The ruling was a victory for the National Aids Trust (NAT), a charity, with backing from the Local Government Association (LGA).

Jonathan Swift QC, appearing for NHS England, is asking the appeal judges – Lord Justice Longmore, Lord Justice Underhill and Lady Justice King – to rule the high court decision wrong in law and to conclude that provision of PrEP services does indeed fall outside NHS England’s legal powers.

Swift said the case was a matter of general public importance because it involved the balancing of the division of health responsibilities between NHS England, the health secretary and local authorities. The QC drew a distinction between “PrEP” and “PEP”. He said NHS England has provided PEP – the post-exposure prophylactic service – since 2013.

He described PEP as an emergency service provided in cases where there was “an assumption” that the person being treated was HIV-infected at the time of treatment – in contrast to PrEP, which was for people not infected.

Mr Swift argued the 2012 regulations only required NHS England to provide services, for patients already believed to be infected. Responsibility for funding PrEP fell to local authorities since they were under an express obligation to make arrangements for services to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

The high court judgment which is being challenged said the case was about “the allocation of budgetary responsibility in the health field”.

Mr Justice Green said: “No one doubts that preventative medicine makes powerful sense. But one governmental body says it has no power to provide the service and local authorities say they have no money.

“The claimant is caught between the two and the potential victims of this disagreement are those who will contract HIV/Aids but who would not were the preventative policy to be fully implemented.

“In my judgment the answer to this conundrum is that NHS England has erred in deciding that it has no power to commission the preventative drugs in issue.”

Alternatively, said the judge, NHS England has “mischaracterised the PrEP treatment as preventative when in law it is capable of amounting to treatment for a person with infection”. In any event NHS England had the power to commission preventative treatments because that facilitated, or was incidental to, “the discharge of its broader statutory functions”.

NHS England is asking the appeal court to rule the high court wrong on all counts. Campaigners have said that while the majority of gay men use condoms to prevent being infected with HIV, there is also an “ethical duty” to provide PrEP to those who do not. And they say the drug would provide an additional defence against HIV, and would not be used simply as an alternative to safe sex.

PrEP HIV drugs: court hears NHS England appeal

Victorino Chua: "angel turned evil" hospital nurse fails in appeal bid

A hospital nurse who murdered two patients and poisoned others has failed in a bid to challenge his conviction and sentence.

Victorino Chua was jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years in May last year after being convicted by a jury at Manchester crown court.

His applications for permission to appeal against both conviction and sentence were rejected on Thursday by judges at the court of appeal in London.

The father of two, 50, who was described by police as a narcissistic psychopath, injected insulin into saline bags and ampoules while working on two acute wards at Stepping Hill hospital, Stockport, in June and July 2011.

These were unwittingly used by other nurses, causing a series of insulin overdoses to mainly elderly victims.

When the self-styled “angel turned evil” was sentenced, the trial judge, Mr Justice Openshaw, described his actions as “indescribably wicked”. He said it was a “strikingly sinister and truly wicked feature of the case” that Chua did not know who would fall victim to his actions.

Lord Justice Treacy, sitting with two other judges, announced that the one proposed ground of appeal against conviction was not arguable, and rejected an argument that the minimum term of 35 years was “manifestly excessive”.

Victorino Chua: "angel turned evil" hospital nurse fails in appeal bid

Poland to appeal against EU ban on flavoured tobacco

Poland is the second greatest producer of tobacco in the EU. Photograph: Janek Skarzynski/AFP/Getty Photos

Poland is to appeal to the European court of justice above an EU ban on flavoured tobacco products, saying it will be unfairly affected.

The ban is a component of EU-wide anti-smoking legislation, due to be implemented in 2016, which also consists of tougher rules on packaging and advertising and marketing.

The appeal is becoming manufactured in spite of help for the ban from the country’s health minister, Bartosz Arłukowicz. However, financial arguments prevailed, with Janusz Piechocinski, the deputy prime minister, saying menthol-flavoured cigarettes should be considered a conventional merchandise, like the Swedish snus – powdered tobacco positioned under the lip – and be exempt from the directive.

In accordance to the World Lung Basis, Poland is a single of the EU’s biggest buyers of cigarettes, with yearly consumption of 1,586 per capita, twice the degree in Britain.

Practically 1 in 5 cigarettes sold is menthol-flavoured, in contrast with 1 in 10 in Sweden and significantly less than one particular in a hundred in Spain, Austria and Slovakia.

“Menthol cigarettes were introduced to Poland in 1953 and Polish smokers have designed a unique taste for them,” said Magdalena Włodarczyk, representing British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco, Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco Worldwide, which together have a 99% share of the Polish market. “There is no purpose why they need to get hit so tough more than this.”

Poland is also the 2nd biggest producer of tobacco in the EU, with Polish tobacco farms using a lot more than 60,000 people. It is the seventh biggest producer of cigarettes in the planet, with five processing internet sites and six factories.

Lech Ostrowski, head of the National Union of Tobacco Farmers, representing seven,000 producers, mentioned burley, the tobacco utilised in the manufacturing of menthol cigarettes simply because of its flavour-absorbing properties, accounted for nearly 40% of Poland’s production.

“We can’t all switch to expanding Virginia, since the market will simply not accommodate it and rates will fall,” he stated.

A report commissioned by Poland’s tobacco market explained the new legislation would ruin 30,000 jobs in production, manufacturing and distribution. It would price the nation up to 9bn zloty (£1.75bn) in misplaced tax income every yr, simply because menthol smokers would swap to cigarettes smuggled in from Belarus and Ukraine.

Poland to appeal against EU ban on flavoured tobacco

"Do not resuscitate" orders not a matter for national policy, appeal court hears

Addenbrooke’s hospital: health department attorneys explained the position on DNRs was a decision for nearby health trusts rather than nationwide policy. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

Forcing medical doctors to adhere to a national policy on choices about whether or not to attempt resuscitation of critically sick individuals would run counter to the political will of ministers on how the NHS is run, judges have been told.

Attorneys for the Division of Well being (DH) and the hospital trust at the heart of a family’s challenge on the concern also informed the appeal court in London that courts need to not rush in to prescribe or override the judgment of physicians.

The husband and daughters of Janet Tracey, who died at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge, want Jeremy Hunt, the wellness secretary, to institute a national policy requiring medics to seek advice from patients and family members ahead of putting ‘do not resuscitate’ (DNR) orders in the notes of critically sick individuals.

Tracey, who broke her neck in a auto accident quickly right after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, died in March 2011, aged 63, possessing had two this kind of notices.

Vikram Sachdeva, representing the DH, stated the place on such troubles was for nearby well being trusts “and a matter of expert obligation rather than binding national policy”. Problems that arose from such an arm’s length technique could be dealt with in a variety of ways, such as audits, patients’ or coroners’ issues, analysis groups and other avenues that could bring accountability.

The Tracey family’s want for Hunt to phase in was, Sachdeva stated, “inconsistent with the clear political will” on how well being companies were presented.

Lord Pannick QC, for Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation trust, of which Addenbrooke’s is portion, earlier said the court need to be “exceptionally slow” to override the judgement of medical professionals acting sensitively and in very good faith.

Tracey’s death had occurred regardless of the medical doctors and health-related personnel delivering “devoted” care, attempting to involve Tracey and her household, and “undertaking their very best in situations that had been difficult for all concerned”.

"Do not resuscitate" orders not a matter for national policy, appeal court hears

Loved ones goes to appeal court in fight over patient resuscitation selections

Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, in which care residence manager Janet Tracey died. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

A family members says it hopes to carry a lot more clarity to finish-of-existence decisions for 1000′s of other folks as its prolonged-working legal challenge in excess of the way physicians determine whether to attempt resuscitation of critically sick individuals returns to court.

The husband and daughters of Janet Tracey, a care residence manager who died at Addenbrooke’s hospital, Cambridge, want a national policy requiring medics to consult individuals and relatives ahead of generating such choices.

There is Uk-wide guidance for wellness experts on how they need to figure out whether or not to try cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but in England official policy is left to regional NHS trusts.

Tracey, who was 63, broke her neck in a vehicle accident quickly after she had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. She died in March 2011 right after getting two “do not resuscitate” (DNR) instructions positioned in her notes, prompting a dispute with her household. Their fight for a national policy on DNRs goes to the appeal court in London this week.

Kate Masters, 47, a single of Tracey’s four daughters, explained the household had realised as the case progressed how a lot of individuals had been affected by DNRs each and every year.

“[The] stats we have been provided had been that approximately seven out of 10 people die in hospital and that 80% of that variety die with a ‘do not resuscitate’ on their files. That is a lot of men and women,” she mentioned. “An situation like that, when it comes to the end of life, wants clarity. At the moment we will not come to feel there is any. There surely was not any for Mum, or for us.”

The problem was not about providing consent, Masters stated. “It is a decision that the physicians make due to the fact they believe CPR would be damaging or it would not function … There is no obligation at the moment for them to communicate that to you, to discuss it with you or locate out your wishes,” she stated.

“However what they try to do is make a decision what would be in your very best interests, what high quality of existence you will accept, and issues they actually cannot know with out getting a chat with you.”

Issues had to change so that no other households were “left like mine”, Masters stated. “How somebody’s finish of life is dealt with truly does live with the household for ever.”

Yet another daughter, Alison Noeland, 43, mentioned healthcare pros had contacted her household, as effectively as patients and their families: “They are hoping we can deliver some adjust.”

Tracey’s husband Dave, 66, stated: “It has been very tough. It has been going on so long … I personally can not turn a corner in my life while this is all sort of hanging in excess of [us].” There was a national policy in Scotland: “Can not it operate right here?” he asked.

The family’s solicitor, Mary Varney, from law company Leigh Day, mentioned it was crucial to set up no matter whether sufferers had a proper “to know medical doctors are contemplating withdrawing CPR from them, to have an chance to give their views, to know the fat attached to people views, to know what the last choice is, and what to do if they disagree.”

The case is getting heard at the court of appeal in London after judges overturned a large court decision that it ought to go no further. They said there were “issues of some standard significance” more than consultation and obtaining a 2nd viewpoint

Judge Nicola Davies had made the decision soon after a seven-day hearing to decide the details in 2012 that a judicial overview on the legal issues would be neither acceptable nor proportionate. She explained the very first DNR had “minimum causative result” as it had been revoked when Tracey’s family objected. The physician involved had spoken to 1 of Tracey’s daughters and believed she had agreed to the notice. Before the 2nd DNR discover was imposed, hospital staff spoke to the household but not to Janet Tracey, the judge explained.

Tracey was by that time very sick and did not want to go over it. “The proof of medical and nursing employees was that Tracey and her loved ones have been in denial as to her prognosis. The truth is plainly documented in the medical information, I discover it is also reflected in the proof of the loved ones …”

The case is going straight to the appeal court rather than becoming heard at the higher court initial, partly since of the money it has currently value.

The Division of Overall health said it was not able to comment since of the legal proceedings.

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Basis trust, of which Addenbrooke’s is element, stated: “The problems that will be regarded as by the court of appeal have now been considerably diminished. It would be inappropriate to comment more at this stage. Previously the high court judge ruled that that Addenbrooke’s hospital doctors acted professionally and in the greatest interest of Mrs Tracey.”

Loved ones goes to appeal court in fight over patient resuscitation selections

Teenager"s cancer appeal set to raise £3m

Stephen Sutton: ‘It’s nonetheless a case of taking every day as it comes.’

Donations to a cancer charity appeal organised by 19-year-outdated Stephen Sutton, whose fundraising efforts while terminally unwell have brought acclaim from celebrities and a deluge of contributions from the public, were on Sunday on the verge of hitting £3m.

Sutton was diagnosed with bowel cancer aged 15, and remains significantly sick in a Birmingham hospital despite what he has described as a seemingly miraculous recovery from a collapsed lung triggered by strain from a secondary tumour. The teenager, from Staffordshire, originally hoped to increase £10,000 for the Teenage Cancer Believe in.

Sutton has maintained an irregular series of updates to his hugely common Facebook page, describing the minute doctors explained that the collapsed lung could kill him, and gaining however far more tweets from celebrities urging people to donate, with current backers such as Coldplay and David Tennant.

The sum collected, coming from about 200,000 primarily tiny donations, is much more than three instances bigger than any prior single legacy for the Teenage Cancer Believe in, some thing the charity says will transform its perform with younger people.

In a Facebook update on Sunday Sutton, whose loved ones are at his bedside, stated his breathing had deteriorated markedly the previous afternoon, and in spite of receiving oxygen he felt as if he was choking. He then violently coughed up an oval-shaped reliable, after which his breathing improved.

He wrote: “The doctors have discussed what’s happened and the only plausible conclusion is that I’ve actually coughed up a tumour that was blocking my airway. I have had an X-ray this morning which seems to display my proper lung has inflated slightly, suggesting the substance I coughed up was also a substantial pressure that was triggering a restriction on the collapsed lung. Physiologically a tumour breaking away like this is possible, but it all just would seem amazingly surreal – thoughts, I am not complaining!”

He additional: “It’s even now a situation of taking every day as it comes, but at the minute the days just hold on coming!!”

A lot more money was currently being raised through an event on Sunday evening organised by the comedian Jason Manford, which offered out in 4 minutes. “I want all my gigs have been like that. I am telling you I may have to get him to do my PR,” Manford told LBC radio.

Teenager"s cancer appeal set to raise £3m

Abortion services to appeal towards £200,000 fine above hacked web site

Ann Furudi, head of BPAS, stated the scale of the fine did not reflect the truth that the charity was a victim of a critical crime. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

The UK’s main abortion provider is to appeal towards a £200,000 fine imposed after an anti-abortion campaigner hacked its website and accessed the names and telephone numbers of 1000′s of females requesting suggestions.

The hacker threatened to publish the names and addresses of females making use of the British Pregnancy Advisory Support, but was prevented by a court injunction. He was sentenced to 32 months in jail.

The Data Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which imposed the fine, said the charity did not realise its website stored the names, addresses, dates of birth and phone numbers of ladies who asked for its guidance.

But ignorance was no excuse, said David Smith, the ICO’S deputy commissioner and director of data protection.

“It is specially unforgiveable when the organisation is handing data as delicate as that held by the BPAS. Data controllers must take active actions to ensure that the personalized information they are accountable for is kept secure.”

The info commissioner mentioned the personal data was not stored securely and a vulnerability in the website’s code allowed the hacker to entry the program and locate the data.

BPAS also breached the Information Safety Act by maintaining the particulars of callers for 5 many years longer than was needed for its functions, the ICO stated.

BPAS mentioned it was appalled by the hacking, which it reported immediately to the police, but was also shocked by the dimension of the fine, against which it would appeal.

“We accept that no hacker need to have been able to steal our information, but we are horrified by the scale of the fine, which does not reflect the reality that BPAS was a victim of a critical crime by someone opposed to what we do,” the chief executive, Ann Furedi, explained.

“BPAS is a charity which spends any proceeds on the care of girls who require our help and on bettering public training and knowledge on contraception, fertility and unplanned pregnancy.

“This fine seems out of proportion when in contrast with individuals levelled against other organisations who have been not themselves the victims of a crime.

“It is appalling that a hacker who acted on the basis of his opposition to abortion should see his actions rewarded in this way.”

The hacker broke into the site on 8 March 2012.

“He defaced our internet site with anti-abortion messages and obtained names and phone numbers of folks who had utilized a internet form to request a callback from BPAS staff to go over problems relating to pregnancy, contraception and sexual well being,” the charity explained in a statement.

But the names, details and health-related records of girls who had utilised the abortion support have been never ever at risk, the charity extra.

Abortion services to appeal towards £200,000 fine above hacked web site

Lord Saatchi"s personal appeal

The marketing guru, Maurice Saatchi, is attractive to Telegraph readers to join him in his battle to alter healthcare practice in the treatment method of cancer in the hope of promoting an eventual cure for the ailment that killed his wife, the novelist Josephine Hart, in 2011.

Writing of the “calamity” that afflicted his household, Lord Saatchi highlights the current “innovation averse” culture in the NHS, with cancer sufferers routinely prescribed a “standard procedure” that is “degrading, medieval and ineffective” and “leads only to death”.

He believes that dread of healthcare negligence circumstances – which price the taxpayer £1.two billion final year alone – is preventing physicians from trying new treatment options that may possibly not save the men and women concerned, but which will advance the pursuit of a remedy for cancer.

In 2013, Lord Saatchi launched a Personal Member’s Bill to market “responsible” innovation, without having the dread of negligence claims. It has now been adopted by the Well being Secretary, Jeremy Hunt. Subsequent month, a Department of Overall health consultation is launched on the proposals, with legislation promised if adequate folks back them.

“We need to say loudly and obviously,” Lord Saatchi urges readers, “that we want to try new treatments for cancer exactly where the outdated ones are identified to lead only to death. We want to escape becoming doomed to repeat an limitless cycle of failure.”

Lord Saatchi"s personal appeal

Specs appeal: German physics instructor brings cost-effective glasses to Rwanda | Mark Tran

OneDollarGlasses technicians can be trained in a fortnight, although it can take two sessions to perfect their expertise. Photograph: Martin Aufmuth

It took Martin Aufmuth three years to bring to fruition his concept to generate a device that can make low cost glasses.

Aufmuth, who won prime prize at the Siemens Stiftung award in October, explained his OneDollarGlasses venture was inspired by the book Out of Poverty by Paul Polak, which he read in 2009.

Aufmuth, who teaches maths and physics in Erlangen, Germany, is a huge fan of Polak’s idea of developing useful options that harness the power of markets to lessen poverty. “It showed me the relevance of innovations that sell for about $ one [60p],” he says.

Costing only $ one to make, the glasses will be offered for in between $ two to $ seven, so OneDollarGlasses opticians can earn their living from them. The spectacles are created by hand on a specially developed bending and milling machine, which requires no electrical energy. Virtually servicing-free of charge, it is made to function in the most remote villages. All the products fits into a wooden box with outer dimensions of 30cm x 30cm x 30cm.

The light-weight and flexible frames are produced from rustproof, hypoallergenic 1mm-spring-steel wire,and the polished, unbreakable lenses are made of polycarbonate with a hardened surface.

The OneDollarGlasses optician has a box with 25 lenses (manufactured in China) varying in strength from -six. to +6. diopters in methods of .5 diopters (a diopter is a unit of measurement of the optical energy of a lens).

Polycarbonate is a lot much more resistant than glass or resin, which are typically utilized in glasses. The lenses, which have notches, can be simply clicked into the frame by hand. Since the glasses – individually adjustable and virtually unbreakable – are lightweight, they do not demand standard nose bridges.

Technicians can be educated in just 14 days, despite the fact that it can consider two sessions to excellent their skills. Eye testing is carried out with a straightforward chart that can be connected to a wall or a tree. Three to four people can operate one manufacturing unit to make 5,000-ten,000 pairs of glasses a yr, Aufmuth says. Following a pilot undertaking in Uganda, Aufmuth and his teams have been instruction individuals in Rwanda since April.

The device, like the bending machine, optical equipment and material for the very first 500 pairs of glasses, costs €2,400 (£2010). Aufmuth realises the startup expenses are unaffordable in target nations, so they are covered fully by donations.

In accordance to the World Well being Organisation (WHO), about 150million people suffer from defective eyesight that could be rectified with a pair of glasses.

“Extreme poverty does not only imply hunger, but also illness, hopelessness, missed opportunities in existence,” Aufmuth says on his site. “Many of them can not go to college for that explanation, can not work and can – as a consequence – not provide for themselves and their families. This is what I want to alter.”

Specs appeal: German physics instructor brings cost-effective glasses to Rwanda | Mark Tran