Archive

  • 'Fifty Shades' gag by PM has guests tied up with laughter

    DAVID Cameron turned 50 shades of red when he was roped in to help launch this year’s Chipping Norton Literary Festival. Speaking in support of the fourth annual festival, the Prime Minister revealed that wife Samantha got him thinking she’d taken

  • Arctic convoys veteran set to celebrate his 100th birthday

    A ROYAL Navy veteran who was awarded an Arctic Star for his services on convoys to Russia during the Second World War is celebrating his 100th birthday today. John Lloyd, who lives in Southmoor, near Abingdon, will be joined by family and friends

  • Downton Factor returns to town for a sixth series

    STARS from the hit television period drama Downton Abbey were spotted filming at Cogges Manor Farm, near Witney, on Monday. Hugh Bonneville, who plays Lord Grantham, and Laura Carmichael, who plays lady Edith Crawley, were seen on set. It is understood

  • Wet wipes caused sewage flood in garden

    FLUSHING wet wipes down the toilet nearly led to a family home in Blackbird Leys being flooded by raw sewage. Waste from an overflowing manhole cover in Vetch Place began seeping out on Friday evening. Thames Water, which is responsible for

  • Osney Lock on River Thames closed after fault

    Osney Lock is closed following a fault to the lock gates earlier this morning. A fault with the operating mechanism for the downstream gates has led to a temporary closure of the lock. The Environment Agency said its engineers were on their

  • Paloma Faith joins the line-up at Feastival

    DANCE superstars Groove Armada and pop icon Paloma Faith have been announced as headliners for this summer’s Big Feastival. The artists will make their debut at the West Oxfordshire festival of music and food, topping the bill on Friday and Sunday

  • Use this military land to tackle bed-blocking

    I REFER to your article about military land surrounding Arncott. I would suggest that the appropriate authorities should consider building the accommodation, previously planned to house asylum seekers but cancelled, for the use of patients ready for

  • An excellent education is needed for all state pupils

    YOUR opinion article in yesterday’s Oxford Mail is absolutely right: we must aim to provide an excellent education for all pupils the State educates. Sadly, Oxfordshire hasn’t done so and consecutive Labour and Tory governments have under-funded

  • Vote to save the Abbey Meadow Swimming Pool

    OH NO, not again! Surely the Vale district council has learned not to risk closing Abingdon’s Abbey Meadow Swimming Pool! The Conservatives almost closed the pool in 1980 but didn’t. The LibDems closed it in 2005 but reopened it. Now the Conservatives

  • Seeking any relatives of the Shackleton family

    I RECENTLY attended a commemoration of the Liberation of Gennep in Holland and I was able to discover that a Richard Alnwick Shackleton was buried in the same cemetery as my uncle. Lieutenant RA Shackleton MC was the son of Colonel CO Shackleton

  • A name change denies existence of town

    WE note with interest your report that Chilton Railways held a public meeting on February 17 to share its plans for the station and to consult on a possible name change. It is very concerning that so few people knew of this meeting, including the

  • What about Bicester Garden Town for a name?

    I, TOGETHER with numerous other local residents, welcome the major upgrading of the Bicester to Oxford railway, in particular since once open again it will alleviate pressure on the A41, and in particular the A34 to Oxford and beyond down to the South

  • Use city sites for development before asking for co-operation

    WE WERE not surprised to see that Cllr Elizabeth Gillespie, South Oxfordshire District Council cabinet member for development and building control, is now on record as challenging the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) figures (Oxford Mail,

  • Westgate developer is blamed for jam after 'ignoring advice'

    LONG delays faced by drivers on Oxford’s ring road yesterday could have been avoided had the county council’s advice been heeded by contractors working on the Westgate redevelopment, it has been claimed. Motorists were stuck in congestion as temporary

  • Rome is alright as a holiday haven - but not as a home

    ROME, the cradle of civilisation and coincidently the location for a lovely weekend away for me. In order to prepare for my trip I bought a book: Rome. It’s a popular history book about how Rome came to be. The book starts with the formation of

  • FOOTBALL: Captain Dan Fraser is spot-on in victory

    CAPTAIN Dan Fraser bagged a brace of penalties as Marston Saints overturned a two-goal deficit to beat Broughton & North Newington 3-2 in the Oxfordshire Senior League Premier Division. Laurence Caro and Richard Whitton struck for the visitors

  • Only an independent inquiry will give us proper answers

    SO here we are again. Another day and another weighty report detailing the disgusting sexual abuse of underage girls lands with a thud. But for the people of Oxfordshire, this one is different. The grooming, trafficking and rape of vulnerable

  • MP calls for a public inquiry into failures to protect girls

    CALLS for an independent inquiry into the Bullfinch child abuse scandal and police and social services’ failings were growing last night. Oxford East MP Andrew Smith led the charge, saying the Serious Case Review released yesterday – which did

  • Evidence of gang's organised abuse was ignored for years

    CHILD protection authorities feared an organised gang of paedophiles was prostituting vulnerable girls four years before Operation Bullfinch was launched – but nothing was done. The extent of catastrophic failures by authorities – predominantly

  • This was an honest review, says Hudspeth

    THE leader of Oxfordshire County Council said “everyone was open and honest” about the failings exposed by the Serious Case Review. Speaking after the report’s publication yesterday, Ian Hudspeth said it was now important that agencies work together

  • County council chief executive says she will not quit early

    JOANNA Simons has resisted calls for her resignation and refused to say if she would take a pay off when she leaves Oxfordshire County Council. The chief executive yesterday apologised to the victims identified by Operation Bullfinch on behalf

  • Building trust to get justice for victims

    IN the wake of Operation Bullfinch it was decided that a new team was needed to focus specifically on Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). So in November 2012, Oxfordshire County Council, Thames Valley Police and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust jointly

  • FOOTBALL: Great comeback by Tower Hill Ladies

    Tower Hill Ladies moved up to third in the Southern Region Women’s League Northern Division 1 table with a thrilling 3-2 victory over New Forest. Samantha Bevan-Talbot was the star, hitting a hat-trick as Tower Hill came from two goals down to

  • PM promises action to tackle 'abuse on an industrial scale'

    MILLIONS of pounds to support hundreds of potential sexual exploitation victims in the county was announced yesterday as Prime Minister David Cameron called for concerted action to tackle the problem. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan announced

  • Campaigner calling for heads to roll

    A CHILD safety campaigner last night accused Joanna Simons and Sara Thornton of lacking integrity for refusing to take personal responsibility for Oxfordshire County Council and Thames Valley Police’s failings. Both women yesterday repeated earlier

  • Community leaders give views on report

    LEADER of Oxford City Council Bob Price said child abuse victims were “badly let down” by organisations which should have protected them. Mr Price said: “The crimes inflicted on these young girls over several years were horrific and will have devastating

  • Asian community leaders tell of shock as scandal unfolded

    COMMUNITY leaders in East Oxford and Cowley have spoken of their shock at the child sexual exploitation scandal which unfolded on their doorstep. Hojjat Ramzy, director of the Cowley-based Oxford Islamic Information Centre, said members of the

  • Gang put their victims through 'sheer torture'

    DURING a four-month trial at the Old Bailey a jury heard how the Bullfinch gang raped, prostituted and sexually abused young girls in Oxford Opening the case in January 2013, prosecutor Noel Lucas QC said: “This case concerns the sexual exploitation and

  • 'Top to bottom changes have turned child services around'

    THE head of children’s services at Oxfordshire County Council said his department has seen a “top-to-bottom change” after Operation Bullfinch. Director Jim Leivers said the council has spent almost three years working with the police, schools,

  • FOOTBALL: Dominant Oxfordshire Schools Under 16s reach final

    Oxfordshire eased past Norfolk 3-0 in the ESFA Under 16 Inter County Trophy semi-final on Oxford City’s 3G pitch. They now face Durham, who beat Greater Manchester 1-0 at Manchester City’s Etihad Campus, in the final on a date to be arranged.

  • FOOTBALL: Holders Long Wittenham crash out

    HOLDERS Long Wittenham Athletic were dumped out of the North Berks Cup in the quarter-finals as hosts Berinsfield romped to a 5-0 victory, writes PHIL ANNETS. David Murphy and Max Palmer scored two each and Luke Holdsworth was also on target for