Taking Out The Trash

Listen again to the Childhood and the Media conference

The Childhood and the Media Conference which took place at Bath Spa University (and which led to the Daily Mail story detailed in the earlier blog post),was organised by David Niven Associates in association with the university.

It featured a range of speakers looking at issues around the representation of young people and the media. You can open a PDF about the conference by clicking here.

I've clipped some of the talks from the conference and you can listen to them below. I've not kept in the Q&As because the quality is not good enough.

First up is Simon Milner who is UK Policy Director for Facebook with an 11 minute talk covering its safety policy and young people.

Milner

Then there is Naomi Gummer who is UK Public Policy Analyst at Google with an 11 minute talk on protecting people online.

Gummer

After Naomi comes Mike Jempson, director of MediaWise and a fellow journalism lecturer at the University of the West of England, with a 15 minute talk about representations of young people in the media.

Jempson

Then there is a series of short talks totalling 25 minutes from Charlotte Dewar, head of complaints at the Press Complaints Commission, followed by Dr Fleur Fisher, chair of the Teenage Magazine Arbitration Panel, and finally Sue Steel who is the co-ordinator of the Anti-Bullying Alliance.

First panel

They 30 minute keynote talk was given by Jim Gamble who resigned as head of Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre after a row with Home Secretary Theresa May over its future.

Gamble

Finally, David Niven (click here for a pdf outlining his wealth of experience in child protection and parenting) wrapped up events on the day over 9 minutes.

Niven

 

Protecting young people online

Update 26/4/12: In his evidence to the Leveson inquiry this morning, Murdoch talks about the Google story in the Daily Mail outlined below. This from the Guardian live blog.

Murdoch is sidetracked on to the Daily Mail's front page story on Tuesday, which attacked Google for not filtering out pornography on its search engine.

He says:

"Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I happen to agree with every single word of it. But that was a very, very strong attack. If a company is doing wrong, I think it's fair to debate it and debate in strong terms".

Update 25/4/12: Australia's Herald Sun pick up on the story, as did The Telegraph over here and Daily News & Analysis from India. Chris Matyszczyk comments on the story in an article for CNet . He highlights Gummer's content lite Google+ entry. It is interesting that someone working in the social media field has (as far I as I can tell) no twitter or Facebook account and this bare Google entry.

Meanwhile The Observer this Sunday is carrying a debate on the issue in the Review section.

******

The Daily Mail is carrying an article by myself and Daniel Martin on a talk given by Facebook's head of public policy Simon Milner and senior Google analyst Naomi Gummer at the Childhood and Media Conference held at Bath Spa University and organised by David Niven Associates.

A Google executive says it is a ‘myth’ that laws can protect children from internet pornography.

Naomi Gummer insisted it was up to parents to keep their children safe from disturbing material.

She told a conference that legislation would be a blunt instrument because of the pace of technological advance.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2134148/Google-says-parents-blame-children-view-porn-Online-giant-attacks-legal-curbs.html#ixzz1sueFwukX

 

Lessons from the Barbed project

Some time ago the Guardian agreed to take an article on an innovative prison work scheme which was sabotaged by the Prison Service. It was a follow-up to a series of articles I had done with a colleague on prison labour. The paper eventually decided not to run the piece and, as sometimes happens, I moved on to the next job and never developed it. Then an email from Solidarity Magazine reminded me. So below is the piece...

A report on an axed prison work scheme says it offers a valuable case study on how such projects might help rehabilitate offenders.

The Barbed project was set up at HMP Coldingley in 2005 by the Howard League for Penal Reform. The graphic design studio employed outside professionals to train and manage prisoners to carry out work for outside clients. Employees were paid a wage with tax and national insurance deducted.

It was praised by various people and organisations interested in prison reform and rehabilitation including Cherie Blair (pictured below visiting the project) and Iain Duncan Smith's Centre for Social Justice.

In 2008 Barbed folded after the Howard League said that the constant movement of prisoners and the decision by Revenue and Customs that prisoners could not pay tax made it impossible to continue.

Prof Penny Green, from Kings College London, was asked by the League to track what happened to the prisoners and trainers in the time since.

Her report found that of the 11 prisoners employed by the studio the League maintained contact with nine and seven gave evidence to the report. Two have been released and are now working as graphic designers. A third was deported to Albania and is apparently hoping to continue his design career in that country. Of those who remain inside, four have been transferred to other prisons and have used their skills to develop projects there. The rest have been unable to carry on with design work.

One employee was Stewie (not his real name), 36, from London, who joined Barbed in October 2005 until he was transferred to an open prison in November 2006. He is now employed as a graphic designer by the Howard League.

For him the one thing that stood out was a very personal memory.

“When I talked to my son and he’d ask me what I’d been doing usually I’d make up some bullshit because I’d mopped the landing or something,” he said. “Instead I could explain what I had learnt at work that day and talk to him about that.”

The report by Prof Green (pictured left) says that alongside practical skills such as using design software and managing budgets and projects Barbed gave prisoners a sense of achievement, self-belief, patience and tolerance.

Another prisoner, Terry, who was still inside when the report was written, said: “Barbed gave me a way to provide for my family and contribute in their lives positively. I was able to help pay bills, provide in new ways and support myself. I felt I was less of a burden to my family financially and this has had a great impact on all our relationships.”

Dominic, who has gone on to higher education, said: “It’s not a single skill but the whole experience that I had I take with me.”

Barbed employees, recruited after passing two interviews, would turn up for work between 8am and 8.30am. The day would start with a team meeting and then it was down to business.

Visitors to the light and vibrant room would immediately notice the difference from the dour sign-making shop next door.

Stewie said: “It was a bit like a zoo. If there were any important people visiting then the governor would bring them down and they would stare at us through the door windows.

“We put things up on the wall so that it was like any other workplace. The prison staff thought of it as that funny project going on in the corner.”

Nicci Shepherd, one of the trainers, called the Barbed studio “a little bubble of creativity” at Coldingley.

“These were the most committed people I ever worked with,” she said. “They gave 100%. In the end we became quite a close knit team.”

Like other trainers Shepherd said she was very much affected by her experience.

Much as Barbed attempted to run as a normal business the report says the prison regime made that difficult.

There were mandatory two-hour lunch breaks and the prison week ended on Friday lunchtime. Barbed employees talk about the frustration at being locked away until Monday morning. More problematic were the sudden lock downs, transfers or prisoners called for drug tests which.

Coldingley’s Independent Monitoring Board said that Barbed needn’t be a single experiment. It’s a view Prof Green’s report supports.

“It really is the way forward if you are serious about reducing re-offending,” she said. “Engagement in meaningful work is good for prisoners, good for prisoners and good for society. It is a no-brainer.”

Lording it in Wiltshire

Evidence that breeding, good schooling and an early career ordering soldiers about doesn't necessarily lead to noblesse oblige comes with two stories from Wiltshire's upper classes.

Sir James Fuller, right, has just won permission to re-open a stone mine on his huge country estate in Neston, about eight miles from Bath. However he has been adamant that the lorries serving it not travel past his house. Instead they will go on a longer rout via narrow country lanes thus affecting his neighbours. A spokesman for Ham and Doulting Stone Ltd, which has the licence to quarry and will be resonsible transporting the stone, said that the route would only be used by a couple of HGVs a day.

However residents have accused Fuller of not caring about the fact that HGVs will bring noise, pollution and congestion in his efforts to extract profit from the mine and peace for his country pile. (There's a good map in this Daily Mail report). A petition signed by 450 residents was met with seemingly arrogant disdain according this report from campaigners. Wiltshire Council's cabinet member for transport is against the plan, as is MP Duncan Hames. Probably the only neighbour not to object was the owner of the Great Chalfield Manor estate - but then that's another member of the Fuller clan.

Fuller, a baronet, was schooled privately at Milton Abbey in Dorset and, aged 21, joined the Life Guards (just like his grandfather) serving for seven years. He then walked into a job on the board of the family brewing firm and remains a non-executive director. However his main interest is the family's 4,700 acre estate. It has a profitable organic farm shop and shoots for the well-heeled. He has also been accused of using cruel and inhumane methods of animal control - a charge Fuller denies. 

A short drive away from Neston, just before you get to Calne, is another large and profitable country estate - Bowood House. It is owned by the 9th Marquis of Lansdowne (pictured left). After a period of soldiering followed by winning local authority seats as a Tory he now runs the family business.

One of the big issues dominating Calne is a proposal by local waste disposal firm Hills to increase the size of its established waste management facility on the outskirts of the town. Hills needs to handle a lot more waste because it is the contractor for Wiltshire Council which is collecting a lot more from residents.

This application has sparked protests because Calne residents fear that it will increase the number of  HGVs going through the town which has no bypass but a key trunk road running through it.One of the leading lights in the campaign – and who chaired the main public meeting against it – is Lord Lansdowne.

He has other interests, though, beyond fighting for the civic good and running a very profitable estate.

He has put in an application to build 154 homes in Calne (currently being appealed) and one would think this would surely generate quite a bit of traffic both in the building and from homeowners.

Lord Lansdowne has tried several times to build here without success. Interestingly, Hills has a home builder division which put in an application for 200 homes on the outskirts of Calne. One of the seven people to originally object to that scheme was…Lord Lansdowne.

Surely he couldn’t be so vociferous in his role with the A4 Say No More group because a rival builder might threaten his development proposals?

Full disclosure: I have provided public relations advice in the past to Hills.

Blacklisted construction workers prepare IPCC complaint

I've a piece in Union News revealing that blacklisted construction workers are putting together a complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. They want an investigation into alleged collusions between the police and the industry blacklisters. It follows a letter from Home Secretary Theresa May (right) to John McDonnell MP refusing a public inquiry and suggesting a police complaint instead.
You can read the full article here.

Meanwhile Tribune carries an article on how an employment tribunal has criticised the law which offers little protection to agency workers. The judgement was made in a case brought by blacklisted engineer Dave Smith.

Employment judges have criticised the lack of legal protection for an engineer blacklisted because of his trade union activities. Dave Smith, 46, took construction giant Carillion to an employment tribunal after he discovered his name was on the secret blacklist.

Carillion admitted that two of its subsidiaries had used the blacklisting services of the now defunct – and discredited – Consulting Association. But it argued it was not liable because Mr Smith was employed by an agency.

This argument was accepted by the tribunal at a hearing in January. But now, in a damning full judgement just released, the tribunal chair explained why they had to disallow Mr Smith’s claim.

You can read the full story here.

And finally, a quote from the Blacklist Support Group re the IPCC complaint arrived after I'd already filed, but is below:

"The blacklisting scandal is a festering sore in the construcion industry. The directors and senior managers of the supposedly most respectable blue chip firms have been involved in the sysematic breach of human rights for decades. Now we have the evidence that the state security services and the police are also involved.

"We demand answers:
How has confidential persoanl sensative information and operational surveillance material collected by the state ended up on an illegal blacklist operated by private companies?
Which officers were involved in the collusion?
What sanctions will they suffer for this abuse of power?

"Leverson has shone a light on the hidden links between the media and the police but we have been denied a similar investigation. Theresa May has forced us to go down the IPCC route but we will continue to demand a full public inquiry until we discover the truth about the web of the corruption between the state and big business."
ENDS

Blacklist inquiry calls on both sides of the border

A second Labour MP has called for a public inquiry into the construction industry blacklist and alleged links with the police and security services.

And now a motion has gone before the Scottish Parliament asking the government there to investigate.

Former Labour Cabinet Minister Michael Meacher MP (left) has written to the Home Secretary Theresa May demanding an inquiry into blacklisting. He has also asked her to refer the Consulting Association scandal to the Director of Public Prosecutions in order to prosecute the 44 construction firms involved in the illegal blacklisting of building workers.

Labour MP John McDonnell has also written to May calling for an inquiry. It follows allegations in The Observer of collusion between the police and the Consulting Association, which maintained the blacklist on behalf of construction companies.

David Clancy, an investigator from the Information Commissioner’s Office, gave evidence at a recent industrial tribunal that details in some of the files could only have come from state security sources.
Meanwhile the Scottish Government has been asked to mount its own investigation.

John Finnie, the SNP member for the Highlands and Islands (left), submitted a motion to the Scottish Parliament which said any collusion between the police and blacklisting was completely unacceptable. It was back by more than a dozen fellow MSPs.
The motion was amended by Labour MSP Drew Smith  (right) to “call on the Scottish Government to report to the Parliament on the question of whether territorial police forces or other agencies in Scotland have been involved in collating or passing on information that has been used to inform blacklists”.

(H/T to the Better Nation blog for the details on the Scottish blacklisting motion)

In These Times

The latest blacklisting revelations have made it across to America where the radical magazine In These Times carries a report by Michelle Chen.

For years, they wondered why they kept getting turned down for jobs, even when they seemed well qualified. The workers might have all just chalked it up to bad luck if they hadn’t eventually discovered they were at the center of an extraordinary conspiracy.

You can read the full article here.

The story continues to find its way into new outlets with the magazine Public Service also reporting the issue.

Call for inquiry into new blacklisting claims

Following the front page in The Observer at the weekend (with, cough, some material supplied by the author) Labour MP John McDonnell has written to the Home Secretary calling for a public inquiry.

Dear Home Secretary,

You will be aware of the article in the Observer on Sunday concerning the involvement of the Police and Security Services in the compilation of a blacklist of workers by the Consulting Association used to deny these workers access to employment.

The operation of the blacklist is contrary to law and morally reprehensible but to also discover that the Police and Security Services have been involved in the blacklisting process is extremely worrying and a matter of considerable public interest.

I am writing therefore to ask whether you are intending to make a statement to the House on this important issue.

I am also writing to urge you to establish an independent public inquiry into the operation of blacklisting in this country given that over 3200 workers were found to have been blacklisted and given the severe effect this has had on their lives.

I would welcome a prompt response to these questions.

Yours,

John McDonnell MP

Meanwhile Dave Smith from the Blacklist Support Group was on Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show yesterday lunchtime talking about the issue (fast forward to 36mins after Kate Bush).

For the sake of 'balance' I guess (or just because it would be boring to simply talk about an injustice, you need some controversy or because union members can't be allowed to talk unchallenged) they had an alternative point of view from Alex Singleton. He is a blogger with the Daily Mail having previously worked for the Telegraph. So when he said: "I think a blacklist is entirely sensible and quite reasonable." it wasn't that unexpected. It doesn't matter whether the implications have been thought through or the contradictions addressed. It's just enough to spout something controversial and get the phone lines buzzing. I don't blame Alex - he's doing what he's paid to do (and probably even believes). But the programme makers need to try a little harder.

Anyway: Alex appears to run two PR companies. One is Alex Singleton Associates and the other us Incorporated PR. I am sure that no firms implicated in the blacklisting scandal have been clients. He's very keen on freedom and liberty is Alex considering the number of organisations he is associated with that have the words freedom or liberty in their name or reason for existing. He jointly wrote a report for the Adam Smith Institute on Labour's first 500 days in office and its record on individual freedom. Seems slightly contradictory that the report should bemoan the fact that teenagers can't buy cigarettes and fox hunting bans but when people want to express their views on trade unions or health and safety they should be put on a blacklist. Perhaps personal freedom only extends so far as it doesn't impact on a corporation.

Ikea accused of using French police files to vet employees

Update March 15: The Guardian reports on the story. Better late than never I guess.

Update: French trade union files complaint (h/t @cheshire_puss).

Allegations a multinational used state security files to vet employees have emerged in France.

According to a Swedish news site, the furniture giant Ikea paid 80 euros a time to check the files which included details on political affiliations. Ikea said in a statement that it was investigating the claims.

The story can be read at The Local.

The allegations surfaced as a result of emails obtained by  the French satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaîné and investigative website Rue89. They say that the company used French security companies to gain access to documents held in the Système de traitement des infractions constatées (STIC). This centralized records system groups together data from police investigations, including both suspected criminals and their victims.

Accessing the documents without authorization is an offence.

When asked by myself about the vetting of potential staff in the UK, the IKEA UK Deputy Country Manager said in a statement (March 1): “The IKEA ethical business standards are crystal clear. We do business in an honest and straightforward way - no matter where we operate. Respect for one’s privacy is of highest importance for the IKEA Group and we strongly disapprove of any practices that would infringe on these values.

“In IKEA UK we only perform checks on predetermined co-worker and manager positions prior to their employment.  These are done with the individual’s permission and include standard Criminal Record Bureau, County Court Judgement and reference checks, all undertaken by a contracted specialist supplier in this field.  We do not use companies or individuals to gather any other information on potential or current employees and we would never ask for or keep hold of information on personal beliefs or political views.”

This is the entry for Ikea in the Information Commissioner's database of data controllers. Actually it does say it records employees "religious or other beliefs of a similar nature" but one could understand why that might be necessary for managing staff or knowing what the make-up of the company is.

(Cartoon from Insert Clever Title)

Blacklisting firm opened file on oil industry academic

A secret blacklisting file opened on an academic who researched health and safety following the Piper Alpha oil rig disaster alleges the offshore oil industry threatened to cut funding to his university if he “continued to cause problems”.

Prof Charles Woolfson published extensively on safety regimes in the North Sea while he was industrial relations professor at the University of Glasgow and wrote a well-regarded book Paying The Piper.

However, having his work reported in the media led to him having a file opened on him in 1995 by The Consulting Association. An extract is pictured below.

The Association was funded by the construction industry to maintain blacklists on thousands of union activists to prevent them being employed. It was shut down by the Information Commissioner’s Office in 2009 and its records seized. Ian Kerr, the man paid to run the Association, was later fined £5,000 for breaching data protection laws.

“This is frankly an unwelcome surprise,” Prof Woolfson told me. “There is a clear intent to do me professional harm. This organisation and the industry obviously felt sufficiently threatened by critical academic research on safety to put me on a blacklist.

“I am aware of the activities of Ian Kerr and the next time I am in the UK I would like to meet him.

 “When I started the work I said to the university that there might be some reaction from the industry. I was told that as long as I could substantiate my work they would support me whatever the circumstances. I think the university deserves credit for that.

“It is good to know that the tradition of critical scholarship cannot be influenced by threats from powerful corporate interests.”

There is no evidence that any funding was withdrawn and Prof Woolfson says he is not aware of having suffered any detriment as a result of the file. He is now professor of Labour Relations at Linkoping University in Sweden and continues to publish widely on safety in the oil industry.

The file was opened in 1995 following media reports of what the file describes as Prof Woolfson’s “contradictory findings on Health and Safety after Piper Alpha tragedy”. His research showed that safety lessons following the oil rig explosion in 1988 which killed 167 people were not being followed. One of his book’s on the topic is now considered a set text for Shell executives.

Six months later the file reports: “Funding from oil industry to Glasgow University may be cut if aboves activities continue, or there may be a reduction in his activities to prevent this happening.”

There is no further evidence beyond the file that the industry made the threat or tried to make good on it. The rest of Woolfson’s five-page contains numerous clippings from the media.

A spokesperson for the University of Glasgow said: “The University of Glasgow is founded on the premise of academic freedom and we would never compromise on that. As an institution we would never seek to influence the work or research of colleagues on the basis of any real, perceived or implied threat from an external body or agency.”

Jake Molloy from OILC, the union representing off-shore oil workers, told me: “It is quite shocking and appalling, no question about it. But it is appalling that anybody should be targeted because they are talking about health and safety.

“I am aware of an incident where a journalist from a global journal became aware that a major oil company had contacted his employer and they were considering pulling all their adverts because of what he was writing.

“This is the nature of the business you are dealing with. The oil and gas industry is renowned for putting pressure on anybody who challenges or questions them.”

The industry operated what was effectively a blacklist called Not Required Back (NRB) whereby a contractor could end ensure that troublesome personnel were not re-employed on off-shore platforms. Following years of pressure that policy was changed in 2009 and is now much more transparent, though Molloy says there are still issues over the treatment of union members.

There is a reference in Woolfson's file to another Consulting Association file on OILC, but that was not among documents seized by the ICO when it carried out its raid in 2009.