Gscene - James Ledward's - Blog

Brighton & Hove police have issued a warning to club goers following the death of a man in London after he took what is believed to have been an ecstasy tablet. Police are particularly concerned as the tablets are being distributed in LGBT venues.

Officers were called at approximately 4.30am on Sunday May 11, 2008 after reports of a man collapsing at The Fridge nightclub in Brixton, south London.

On arrival they found two men had collapsed. London Ambulance Service were already in attendance.

The men had taken a controlled drug - believed to be ecstasy - before collapsing.

They were taken to a south London hospital where one of the men - aged in his 30s - was pronounced dead at approx 5.30am on the same day. The other man remains in a serious but stable condition.

Police were later alerted to a man - believed to be aged in his 20s - collapsed at Fire nightclub in Vauxhall at approx 7.30am on Sunday May 11, 2008. He was taken to hospital where he remains in a serious condition. It is believed he had also taken ecstasy.

Officers urged other club goers to seek immediate medical assistance if they feel unwell after taking controlled drugs.

The tablets that the police are concerned about are described as pink with small white dots on them. Another is a white tablet with the letter G pictured on it with various numbers appearing on the reverse of the pill. One example is the number '0030'.

Although there is nothing to suggest that the tablets are in circulation in the city, Brighton & Hove police are urging anyone who is offered such tablets to contact them on 0845 60 70 999 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Were you at Dukes Mound at about 2:00am in the early hours of Friday May 23? A man was approached by two men in the temple and during an altercation one of them punched him in the face. The first male was described as young, 5ft 7" tall with very short blond cropped hair with a slight build. The second male was described as 5ft 8" tall with short dark shaved hair and a long thin face with thin lips.

Did you see either of these men?

If so, you can talk in confidence and to Nick Antjoule, the Police LGBT Liaison Officer for Brighton & Hove on 0845 6070999 ext 50149. The police are eager to pursue this crime rather than investigating the reason for witnesses being there on the night.

Sussex Police are hunting this man (Matthew Wilkins), a suspect in a spate of residential burglaries. Wilkins is believed to be sleeping in a tent, possibly on the Downs, in parks, fields or local farmland. Police have warned he is not to be approached.
Anyone with any information regarding his whereabouts should contact Sussex police on 0845 60 70 999 quoting serial number 834 OF 15/05/08.

Brighton Council have been ordered to pay £34,765.18 for twice victimising and discriminating against a transgender ex-employee.

In June 2007 the Brighton Employment Tribunal ordered Brighton and Hove City Council to pay compensation of £34,765.18 to a former employee, in a case supported by the Equal Opportunities Commission. The identity of the teacher is subject to a restricted reporting order by the Tribunal.

The compensation order followed the decision of the Tribunal in November 2006 that Brighton and Hove City Council, and one of its senior managers, had discriminated against and victimised the former teacher on grounds of gender reassignment.

In 2003 the teacher registered with a teacher requirement agency in order to seek work and sought a reference from her previous manager at the Council. However she lost the opportunity to obtain work as a result of her previous manager revealing her change of gender to the recruitment agency, despite a request that this should not be disclosed.

Her previous manager initially delayed responding to the request for a reference. When he did respond, he faxed a secret side memo that disclosed her former name, stated her previous gender, and referred to her as both "he or she", "him" and "her". The side memo also revealed to the agency that she had previously raised proceedings alleging discrimination and speculated that he had "no reason to suppose that he or she is any less effective a teacher as a result of the gender change, unless publicity around the case has caused social difficulties which make effective teaching a problem". He also offered to have further telephone conversations with agency staff.

This treatment was held by the Tribunal to amount to discrimination and victimisation of the teacher, for which the Council and her previous manager were liable.

It was only after the teacher had contacted the agency directly some months later, because the agency had refused to provide her with any work, that she discovered the existence of the secret fax. The Council had failed to reveal its existence when originally asked.

In 2005, in the absence of having received any employment, the teacher approached her previous manager for a reference again but was refused. The Tribunal found that both the Council and the manager had further discriminated against and victimised the teacher by refusing the second reference request and by refusing to hear her grievance over the refusal. The Council also failed to adopt existing Criminal Records Bureau procedures for transgender people, and ignored EOC guidance on the employment of transgender people. Although the Council applied for a review of the ET's findings of discrimination and victimisation, and then lodged an Appeal, both were unsuccessful.

As well as awarding the teacher compensation of £34,765.18 for her loss of earnings and injury to feelings, the Tribunal made a recommendation that the Council provide any prospective employer or employment agency with a
non-discriminatory reference.

Paul Elgood, Former Chair of Equalities, Brighton & Hove City Council, Lib Dem Counsellor for Brunswick & Adelaide, said:

“Everyone needs to know they will be treated equally and fairly by an Employment Tribunal. It is sad that a restricted reporting order is necessary to keep the identity of a plaintiff secret in order to get a fair hearing. If Brighton and Hove Council had adopted my request for andindependent whistle blowing policy’ as part of last years Equalities Review, cases like this would be less likely to happen. A refusal to implement an independent whistle blowing policy is in my view an acknowledgement that all is not well by the City Council.”

James Ledward, Editor, Gscene, Brighton Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Magazine said:

“It should not be necessary to have a restricted reporting order on a case for someone to get a fair hearing. This case highlights that an employment black list operates in Brighton and Hove. Now we need to know exactly by who and where. We also need to explore the relationship between the Tribunal and Brighton and Hove Council as I doubt this case would have been successful if the plaintiff had been named at the Tribunal.”

“At the very same time the Council were unsuccessfully fighting these cases they were also forced to do an internal investigation into victimisation and bullying. This uncovered a “culture of fear” throughout. Results showed serious victimisation and bullying is endemic. People raising issues are seen as “problems” and the victims
blamed. This is exactly what happened to X.”

For further details contact Equality and Human Rights Commission Press Office: 020 3117 0251.

A huge turnout in the public ballot to select the concept for the proposed Aids memorial has overwhelmingly chosen Romany Mark Bruce’s sculpture as the people’s choice for the project.

With 887 valid votes cast, the results of the ballot are:

Pagoda Concept: 51 votes: Digital wall concept: 155 votes: Sculpture: 681 votes

Mark’s concept sees a modern landmark sculpture as the centrepiece of a memorial site, which would be a place of reflection and remembrance. The proposed location is New Steine Gardens in the heart of the gay village in Kempt Town.

The ballot gives the sculpture preferred concept status, which means that the artist will be offered a small grant to develop the idea into a final design. It is hoped that the design and development stage will be completed by World Aids Day 2007 on December 1, 2007, with the project completed and the artwork installed by World Aids Day 2008.

The votes were cast in a public ballot between September 3 and 23. Six comments were left on the REALBrighton message boards. In addition, the organisers received one request to reopen the shortlist and a further request to have a ‘reopen the shortlist’ option on the voting site. The Argus ran an online poll on the issue and found that approximately 62 per cent of its readers were in favour of the project.

The final design will be subject to planning consent, council permission and a final consultation with local people or residents living adjacent to the proposed site. Discussions have already taken place with the city council on how the project moves forward from here, and the project organisers will work with the council’s public art specialists to ensure that a suitable final piece of public art is successfully commissioned and installed.

Simon Burgess, Prospective Labour candidate for Kemp Town and chair of the Memorial Consultation Group, said: “There is plenty more work to do on the technical side but I’m so pleased that the community has spoken loud and clear in support of a memorial, and for one concept in particular. It’s terrific to see this bottom-up approach enthusing people - well done to all those who raised the money and have put so much time and effort into this project, not least the three design proposers.”

Lib Dem councillor Paul Elgood said: “When we opened the voting, we said we wanted a public debate on the issue, and we certainly got that! It has been an exciting process and we believe that Romany Mark Bruce’s design will provide the basis for the project to move to the commissioning stage. There is considerable development work still to be done as we were only choosing a concept design at this stage. We would like to thank all three proposers for their ideas and creative thinking. There is no doubt that this project has captured the community’s imagination and I think we’re on track to produce something very special.”

Paula Murray, Head of Art and Creative Industries, B&H Council said: “We congratulate the Brighton and Hove AIDS Memorial Group on their success to date in raising the funds for the establishment of a memorial and such a degree of positive public profile around their proposal. This memorial is proposed for a public place in a designated conservation area in the city. As such, there are a number of detailed issues that the council will need to resolve in partnership with the AIDS Memorial Group before seeking planning permission. We are confident we can work with the Memorial Group, responding to the clear mandate from the public to establish this memorial, in developing sufficiently robust and appropriate designs for the proposed site.”

The organisers would like to thank all three proposers who gave their time to put their ideas forward.

Additionally, they would like to thank REALBrighton and all the supporters of the project for their ongoing backing.



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Not happy with local NHS services?

Want to have your say?

Hear about options for reorganising hospital services to improve care for patients, at one of the following public meetings.

Saturday September 29 between 1pm-3pm at The Banqueting Suite, Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove
Creche facilities available.

Thursday October 4 between 6.30pm-8.30pm at The Banqueting Suite, Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove.

Places are limited so telephone 0800 013 0251

or email fitforthefuture@bhcpt.nhs.uk

KEMPTOWN Parliamentary candidate for the Greens, Ben Duncan is calling on Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to halt the deportation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender asylum seekers to Iran, after it emerged that a lesbian living in Sheffield was due to be sent to Tehran next week to face imprisonment for her sexuality.

Pegah Emambakhsh is an Iranian lesbian who fled to the UK after her partner was arrested in 2005. Her asylum application, claiming refugee status on the basis of her fear of imprisonment in Iran, was rejected, and she is due to be deported to Tehran today. Since she fled Iran in 2005, she has become a high-profile Lesbian rights campaigner.

Cllr Duncan, who also sits on Brighton and Hove City Council’s Equalities Forum, said:

“The fact that there are 77 countries around the world which continue to punish the ‘crime’ of homosexuality with imprisonment or death should shame us all. As the old saying goes, ‘until we are all free, none of us are free’.

“The Government should be bringing pressure to bear on its counterparts in these countries to stop discriminating against their LGBT communities and begin respecting universal human rights for all. In the meantime, we certainly shouldn’t be deporting LGBT asylum seekers to face further persecution at their hands.

“That’s why I’ve urged the Home Secretary to intervene in this case – and grant Pegah the same freedom from persecution and discrimination we would expect her to enjoy if she was from Brighton rather than Tehran.”

Ben Duncan is the Green Councillor for Queens Park.

In October, the Sussex Gay Professionals will merge with Village Drinks, the London based social event group for gay professionals, and all events after will be named ‘Village Drinks Brighton’.

This week, the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, endorsed Village Drinks as “a key social and professional network.”

Events are now being planned for October through to April 2008. Invites are also going out to other professional gay networks and groups in the Brighton area, as well as to various local businesses that might have interested members.

You can sign up at:

http://www.villagedrinks.co.uk/signup.php as the present meetup.com website is due to close shortly.

The date for the first Village Drinks Brighton event will be announced to members soon.

Vote for your choice at www.realbrighton.com/aidsmemorial from September 3, 2007

In July a public call was made for expressions of interest from people and groups to develop proposals to create a Brighton & Hove AIDS Memorial. The closing date for this process is the August 31, 2007 at 9am. A process of shortlisting the proposals will then be convened by former council leader Simon Burgess.

On September 3, 2007 all submitted proposals will be published on the specially constructed website, kindly hosted by Real Brighton, and a public ballot will open and run until midnight September 21, 2007. Shortly thereafter the winner of the ballot will be announced.

All signatories of the original online AIDS Memorial petition will be directly notified and all members of the public are encouraged to participate.

Simply go to www.realbrighton.com/aidsmemorial, take a look at the proposals and have your say. The process is designed to be as open and transparent as possible and the ballot is run independently to ensure this.

Paul Elgood commented: ‘People will have a real choice as to how they want to see the project come to fruition. We already have received a great range of proposals, which we think will inspire debate and discussion. The winner is really down to you, so make sure you have your say."

If you want to run in one of the fastest marathons in the world, the Berlin Marathon, then contact the Sussex Beacon who are offering guaranteed places.

Not content with being one of the fastest marathons in the world, the course route takes in more sights than an open top bus tour of Berlin!

Join the Sussex Beacon Team who will support you all the way, from fundraising advice to your very own Sussex Beacon running vest. Not forgetting the pre-race pasta party!

All you need to do is raise £1000 in sponsorship!
The Berlin Marathon is on Sunday September 30 and starts and finishes near the Brandenburg Gate, one of Berlin's most famous landmarks and attracts a field of more than 40,000 athletes. It’s a fast and furious course – perfect if you want to get that Personal Best time or for a first marathon.

• To support the Sussex Beacon and run the Berlin marathon call Lucy Brandram on 01273 694222 ext 232 (during office hours). Alternatively, email lucy.brandram@sussexbeacon.org.uk

SPA 9 - £19,647 - £21,501

The Anti-Victimisation Unit (AVU) based at Brighton Police Station has a vacancy for the post of LGBT Community Liaison Officer. The AVU is a unit consisting of 16 police and support staff providing an investigative and operational response to homophobic/biphobic/transphobic and racist/religious crime and domestic violence.

The role of the liaison officer is to:-

• Encourage the reporting of LGBT hate crime and to ensure members of the LGBT community receive an appropriate service.
• Provide protective measures to victims of and witnesses to LGBT hate crime.
• Perform a witness liaison role following a homophobic incident – keeping victims and witnesses updates on the progress of cases through the Criminal Justice System and to link with other supportive agencies to facilitate ongoing support to victims and witnesses.
• Establish and maintain links with the community to build trust and confidence between them and the police.
• Perform an advisory role to police officers investigating LGBT hate crime and to police managers with regards to the needs of LGBT individuals and the wider community.
• Participate in development work around LGBT community safety in the city of Brighton and Hove.

We are looking for candidates who possess the following skills:-
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• A proven knowledge and understanding of diversity issues within the LGBT communities.
• Excellent organisational skills – including a high degree of IT skills.
• Resilience and the ability to challenge internal structures and processes.
• An open-minded approach to problem solving and community engagement.

The post involves working 37 hours per week as well as weekends as directed. A significant number of meetings are held outside of normal office hours.

For an application pack, please write to the HR Unit, Brighton Police Station, John Street, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 0LA. Alternatively you may e-mail Brighton.HR@sussex.pnn.police.uk

Closing date for applications – Wed 22nd Aug 2007.

Gaydar.co.uk becomes the official online sponsor of Manchester Pride in a new three-year deal which also gives the leading personals site and its sister brands exclusive sponsorship of the main festival stage during one of the biggest street parties the City has ever seen.

Online sponsorship of the festival website, www.manchesterpride.com will combine banners and special promotions with click throughs to the gaydar portals and the chance to win Gaydar.co.uk and GaydarGirls.com upgrades.

The Manchester site is a first port of call for gay and lesbian people visiting the city and forms part of the Manchester Gay Destination Campaign.

GaydarRadio will broadcast live from Manchester Pride on the opening day, August 24, with further inserts across Saturday and live coverage of the Parade.

Manchester Pride takes place this year from August 24-27. More than 250,000 people are expected to watch the main Parade on August 25.