30 June 2003

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"Child abuse" evidence questioned

Parents who claim the questionable evidence of expert witnesses has led to them being accused of abusing their children staged a protest outside the High Court in London.

John Sweeney investigated high-profile cases including those of Trupti Patel, who was found not guilty of murdering three of her babies, and Sally Clark, cleared on appeal of killing her two children - which have led to criticism of the use of medical experts.

Hunting

Hunting supporters staged a noisy protest outside the House of Commons as MPs defeated the government's compromise which would have allowed fox hunting to continue but under a strict regulatory regime. Instead, parliament voted on an all-out ban.

Click here to watch the discussion

Prisons

Contrary to public perception, judges are giving tougher custodial sentences and the prison population has grown. Why is public perception so out of synch with the reality and what are politicians doing about this?

Southern Iraq

It emerged on Sunday that the government had been warned of the risk of a security breakdown prior to the attacks in Majar al-Kabir last week.

Some leading figures say that dark forces encouraged by Tehran are operating in the area. How dangerous is the breakdown of security? How much influence do these radical groups have?

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