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Fix My Campkin Road
Lots of elements of the road environment on Campkin Road, Cambridge, are in a poor state of repair. I recently reported some of the issues via FixMyStreet which makes it easy to alert the relevant councils to problems. Stealth Hump As you enter Campkin Road from Arbury Road you are met with stealth speed hump. […]
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Cambridge Accommodation – Views Based on My Experiences
Around a year ago I moved into my own house on Milton Road in Cambridge. I know that I am very lucky and fortunate to have somewhere secure (in all senses), healthy and practical to live and I’m aware very many in the city and beyond do not. When I moved to somewhere decent I […]
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Woman Urinated on Cambridge Bowling Green As Public Toilets Are Locked in Evenings
On the 23rd of August 2013 Cambridge based artist and singer Robjn Barker tweeted to report: My mother said she had to piss on the bowling green because there isn’t a toilet open in Cambridge Cambridge City Council runs twenty public toilets in the city. None, not even the coin-operated ones, are open after 8pm […]
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Universities Can Sue for Libel
Recently, in relation to my volunteering to help administer mySociety’s freedom of information website WhatDoTheyKnow.com, I came across the February 2013 High Court judgement in which Judge David Eady ruled universities could sue for libel. In my view Mr Eady took it upon himself to substantially change the law via that judgement as previously the […]
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UK Libel Law Has Chilling Effect on my Retweeting
The state of UK libel law has what is often called a “chilling effect”; it restricts people’s freedom to communicate, to report on things, and to participate in public debate. Writing the wrong thing risks a completely disproportionate response from the state. The impact on me, and the effective punishment, which I would expect to […]
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Minister Eric Pickles Cites My Tips for Reporting on Local Councils
Local Government Minister Eric Pickles has this morning cited my recent article Tips for Observing and Reporting on Public Meetings in Local Government in an official Department for Communities and Local Government press release. The release is sub-headded: “Abuse of state powers as councils threaten bloggers with arrest” and states: Local Government Secretary, Eric Pickles, […]
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More Security Guards in Cambs Seeking Police Powers
On Wednesday the 21st of August 2013 the Cambridge News carried an article: “Concerns as private security firms seek police powers in Cambridge“. This refers to handing out police powers to those who are not police officers under the “Community Safety Accreditation Scheme” (CSAS). This article arose from the “Operational Update” provided by Cambridgeshire Police […]
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Cambs Police Urged to Adopt Anti-Terror Style Stop-Search to Defend Allegations of Racism
Cambridge University researcher Dr Barak Ariel is recommending Cambridgeshire Police stop and search people in crime hotspot areas even if the officers have no specific grounds for suspicion in relation to an individual. Dr Ariel’s idea is that if the police move their justification for a stop and search away from factors relating to an […]
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More Mud for Stourbridge Common
Cambridge City Council is proposing to spend £15,000 on making a muddy bit of Stourbridge Common even muddier. The published proposal, which the council are currently seeking comments on, states: Cambridge City Council is proposing to create a small ‘scrape’ in the Common, by excavating a small area of land within an existing wet area. […]
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Arrested Suspected Drug Dealers Held Until They’ve Defecated Three Times
Cambridge’s East Area Committee on the 25th of July 2013 was told that Cambridgeshire Police have adopted a policy of keeping arrested suspected drug dealers in custody until they have defecated three times so the police can recover any swallowed drugs. Two days earlier the city’s Community Safety Partnership had also been briefed on the […]