…there are some honourable MPs. Mine’s giving her £1000 pay rise to charity.

Blimey…..you’d think there was a general election coming! :rolleyes:

Yes, without doubt…..it is a world-class collection. Don’t be too put-off by the apparent criticism of RAF Hendon; in my recent experience (and I hadn’t been for years previously) it exceeded my expectations with a few notable exceptions.

It feels to me that there is something of a ‘bully’ mentality about some of those willing to do harm to Jon Venables; almost as if they imagine that he is still ten years old (rather than twenty-seven, built like a brick-outhouse, and working as a nightclub bouncer). I’d also suggest that possibly some of those being persecuted because of a suspicion that they are Jon Venables are probably ‘vulnerable’ people themselves and that they are being persecuted by groups rather than by individuals; and that those groups are either not very bright (because isn’t Jon Venables supposed to be in prison at the moment) or that those groups know damn well that their victim isn’t Jon Venables and are just taking the opportunity to ‘bully’ some other vulnerable person. Either way I don’t really care for all this vigilantism.

As to Jon Venables ever getting a fair trial I doubt that is even possible but then I do think that the whole jury system is deeply flawed generally and should never have been used for a case such as the murder of James Bulger.

In general I don’t agree with giving new identities to criminals; if their crime was so serious to warrant a new identity then they should probably have never been eligible for released in the first place!

Mr Lee [Venables ex-solicitor] said…..someone even with “nerves of steel” would find it extremely difficult to start a new life with a new identity, “the pressures on him to live this lie and constantly have to lie to make friends and fit in with society, I think are what made him breach his licence.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8557191.stm

No suggestion from his ex-solicitor that Venables, (allegedly) turning to drink and drugs, were to do with guilt or remorse then? :rolleyes:

‘It was still almost dark when U-707 was spotted at 07:25 almost below Fortress FL459. The U-boat immediately opened a heavy accurate fire but the tail-gunner and mid-upper-gunner returned fire as the Fortress circled. Diving down the Fortress dropped four depth-charges from 40 feet after which the submarine was seen to be down by the stern and coming to a stop. As the bow of the submarine came clear of the water a second attack was made from 30 feet during which a further three depth-charges were dropped. Following an underwater explosion the submarine sank stern first leaving survivors, wreckage and a large slick of oil in the water. Returning half-an-hour later, in better light, a survivor was seen swimming in the sea and the Fortress crew dropped a K-type dinghy and rations to him.’

U-707 was commissioned on 01/07/1942, this was its third patrol and it had sunk two merchant ships, having left St Nazaire on 02/10/1943. There were no survivors from the fifty-one strong crew of this submarine.

(Mostly) from ‘Search, Find and Kill’ by Norman Franks.

Flight Lieutenant G A Grundy, Navigator, crew of Fortress IIA FL459, 220 Squadron, that sank U-Boat Type VIIC U-707 on 09/11/1943?

Chinook HC1 ZA715

David Vincent BROWNING
Wayne John HOPSON
Unidentified Ghurka Soldier

Venables should ‘have a chance’ says his ex-solicitor:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8557191.stm