MAIL COMMENT: An insult to the memory of 7/7

If ever an image summed up this Government's craven surrender to human rights law, it is the picture we print on our front page today.

Abu Qatada, Osama bin Laden's ambassador in Europe, strolls down a London street looking as if he hasn't a care in the world.

To add insult, this was the third anniversary of the July 7 bombings in the capital, in which 52 innocents died.

No one – not least our courts – disputes that Qatada is a 'truly dangerous' individual.

Wanted by his native Jordan on suspicion of plotting atrocities, he is closely linked to a string of international terrorists. Grounds, then, in any sane world, to send him packing.

Yet, for the past six years, he has inflicted defeat after defeat upon this Government.

He was freed from detention in Belmarsh prison by the Law Lords; told he could stay here indefinitely by the Appeal Court; and granted bail by immigration judges (hence Monday's stroll in the sunshine).

And the common factor in these rulings? Labour's Human Rights Act, backed, of course, by European Courts that place the right of terrorists not to be ill-treated ahead of any threat they pose to the British public.

The Appeal Court's ruling was that Qatada – while a grave danger – could not be sent to face trial in Jordan in case any witnesses called against him had been tortured.

So is the Government planning to repeal the Human Rights Act, or pressure the European Court to give us the same deportation rights of our EU neighbours (who regularly send fanatics packing)? No prizes for guessing the answer.

Far easier to carry on paying Qatada and his family £50,000 a year in benefits, and hope for the best.

If the stakes were not so high, it would be laughable. With Qatada, it is criminal.

The baby factories

For a woman to arrive at a maternity ward without enough beds, toilets or showers is a disgrace.

Yet, according to today's report by the Healthcare Commission, this lack of even the most basic facilities is commonplace.

In some parts of the country, says the watchdog, beds are in such short supply they are being used like conveyor belts, for an average of 1.4 births every day.

It is a far cry from Gordon Brown's 2002 promise to make our NHS the world's best, in return for a 1p in the pound hike to National Insurance contributions.

So where did all our money go? Endless bureaucracy and Soviet-style five-year plans and reviews, concentrating services in larger, centralised hospitals.

Consequently, dozens of local maternity units were closed or downgraded at the precise time Britain was undergoing a baby boom, brought about in no small part by increased immigration.

The result? Services were overwhelmed, with women hurried out of hospital within hours of giving birth, or driven halfway across the country while in labour.

The answer? Ministers should stop meddling, stop axing vital local services and start at least getting the basics right.

Is Hazel nuts?

Hazel Blears is so desperate for people (core Labour supporters, in particular) to vote in local elections that she wants to offer gimmicky badges and prize draws at the polling station, by way of a reward.

Yet, in the same report, the Communities Secretary suggests our elected local representatives need not bother to turn up at council meetings.

They should be able to simply cast their votes by text, or some other 'remote' method.

Is it any wonder local democracy is all but dead?