Tuesday 29 November 2011

St. Andrew's Day Greetings

I offer warm congratulations to all my constituents of Scottish descent who will be celebrating St. Andrew's Day on the 30th November.
St. Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland and since 2006, St. Andrew's Day has been a Bank Holiday in Scotland.
St. Andrew's Day is an occasion when Scottish people celebrate pride in their nation and I am pleased to join with them in their celebrations.

Friday 18 November 2011

Roger Godsiff urges backbench committee to reconsider a Commons debate on Babar Ahmad

Birmingham MP Roger Godsiff has asked a parliamentary committee of backbenchers to reconsider listing a full debate on the ‘longest-serving’ detainee Babar Ahmad in the Commons’ main chamber.
Despite a government e-petition requesting that Babar Ahmad undergo trial in the UK attracting over 140,000 signatures, the Backbench Business Committee instead listed the debate to form part of a pre-existing discussion on extradition, led by Dominic Raab MP, in Westminster Hall on 24th November 2011.

In support of the ‘British justice for British Citizens’ campaign, the Birmingham Hall Green MP insisted that the backbench committee reverse its decision in order to ‘to reassure UK citizens that short cuts are not a growing feature of [the UK] system’.

In a letter to the committee chair, Natascha Engel, Roger Godsiff said:  “Perception is all and failure to schedule this debate in the Main Chamber whilst scheduling others there further strengthens people’s long held view that UK Governments - in the interests of the ‘special relationship’ – have not been prepared to fight as hard as it might for the rights of UK citizens in the operation of an extradition treaty which many believe is loaded in favour of the USA.

Mr Godsiff continued: “I am sure that you are aware that feelings are running particularly high regarding the functioning of the extradition treaty between our Government and that of the USA and its impact on other UK citizens such as Gary McKinnon, Richard O’Dwyer and others.”

Babar Ahmad campaigners
needed 100-thousand signatures on an online petition that would make his case against extradition eligible for debate in the House of Commons to help prevent him being extradited to face US terror charges. 
Babar Ahmad’s petition is in the top three of all government e-petitions and is one of only six to have achieved the amount of signatures required.

Tuesday 8 November 2011

Roger Godsiff says metal thefts are “sickening and dangerous attacks.”

Birmingham Hall Green MP, Roger Godsiff MP is calling on the Home Office to take urgent action to tackle metal theft:
"Metal theft is becoming an epidemic, and urgent action is needed from the Home Office to put a stop to these sickening and dangerous attacks. The Government should back the police in their fight against metal theft by pledging to change the law to make it easier to stop this organised crime.
"The vandalising and theft of war memorials is shocking and disgraceful, undermining the respect that all our communities want to show to fallen heroes.
“In addition households face repeated power cuts, commuters face increasing delays, churches and public buildings are being damaged, all as a result of escalating metal theft. In my own constituency, four churches have had lead or copper taken at least twice.
"This out of touch Government needs to get a grip and crack down on this crime. It is still too easy to trade stolen metal. We need a much tougher licensing regime for scrap metal dealers, including requiring people selling to metal dealers to prove their identity, and stronger powers for the police to investigate. We need to support legitimate trade but make it easier to stop organised crime.

“When cases are becoming this serious, the Home Office shouldn't turn a blind eye or just leave it to the police. We need action and we need it now.”

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Cuts to the BBC Midlands

‘Broadcast economics gone crazy’ and ‘self-defeating’ says Hall Green MP, Roger Godsiff on cuts to BBC Midlands

Birmingham MP, Roger Godsiff, believes that it is: ‘Self defeating to dismantle capacity in the second city in the country and move it to Bristol’.

Mr Godsiff has written to Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC, regarding the reported intentions of the BBC to end the production of Factual television and radio in Birmingham by the end of 2012 and to move the majority of programmes that are currently made in Birmingham to Bristol.

He commented: ‘Birmingham is in the heart of the country whereas Bristol, although a pleasant and attractive place, is most certainly not in the centre of the country’.

 ‘More practically, the BBC will have to pay out significant relocation or redundancy packages to around 100 members of staff. They will also be abandoning the state of the art technical facilities at the Mailbox where the BBC is situated in Birmingham that cost £40 million to install.  The lease for the Mailbox has no break clause and the BBC will be paying 2.4 million pounds a year to rent the Mailbox space, whether there are any people in it or not. This is broadcast economics gone crazy and a complete waste of the licence fee’.

Mr Godsiff thinks that before you take a knife to regional programming the first savings should surely be targetted at the BBC’s London headquarters and the tiers of staff which service the centre and the expenditure of huge sums of monies on ‘celebrities’ such as the £2 million spent on Jeremy Paxman and the millions that were formerly spent on Jonathon Ross, former presenters of the ‘One Show’ as well as Gary Lineker and his pundits on the Saturday night football highlights show.

Roger Godsiff concluded: ‘The BBC should be setting higher standards and you ought to have up and coming talents in the BBC capable of taking the place of the millionaire celebrities.  If not then senior management are not doing their job’.