The betrayal will alarm parents of sick children
THERE can hardly be a more wicked betrayal than that of Myles Bradbury, the doctor who specialised in treating children with cancer and other very serious diseases at Addenbrooke's Hospital and then abused them.
He has been sentenced to 22 years having admitted 25 offences over a four–year period, including sexual assault, voyeurism and possessing 16,000 indecent images of boys aged between 10–16.
When a child is gravely ill parents need to be able to place absolute trust in the specialist who is overseeing a course of treatment. One victim who told his mother about Bradbury's activities was told: "He's a doctor, it must be necessary."
Cases such as these mean that parents have an additional cause for concern. Not only will they worry about whether the recommended treatment is the right one they will also wonder whether their children are safe.
There will probably be new procedures and guidelines put in place as a result of this case, which is necessary to protect children from monsters such as Bradbuy.
Yet these will make life more difficult for the majority of health professionals who do a wonderful job but may find themselves viewed with suspicion nonetheless.
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One victim who told his mother about Bradbury's activities was told: 'He's a doctor, it must be necessary.'
NEARLY 70 per cent of home buyers now pay stamp duty compared with less than half in the late-1990s. This is because the thresholds have barely changed while house prices have soared.
Stamp duty is universally loathed as is any tax where you pay thousands of pounds for nothing. Tens of thousands of people every year pay a bill of £2,000 when buying a home at the UK average of £190,000. This tax not only prevents many from getting their first foothold on the housing market but it also deters many from moving.
If the duty had kept in line with house inflation then the tax would be one per cent for properties of over £145,000, three per cent for properties over £295,000 and four per cent for those over £590,000.
In line with the Daily Express crusade End The Stamp Duty Rip-Off, The Nationwide building society has written to Chancellor George Osborne ahead of this week's Autumn Statement urging him to change the way the bill is calculated. Let's hope he takes notice.
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A SURVEY of 50somethings found that as they get older they no longer care so much what others think about them. It just goes to show that age may not always bring wisdom but it does bring freedom.