Daily roundup 4 November: Youth justice, ministerial resignation, and foetal alcohol syndrome

The decision to reveal the identity of the 16-year-old boy convicted of murdering Leeds teacher Ann Maguire last April is not in the public interest, Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform has said. Writing in the Guardian, Crook said the lifting of reporting restrictions preventing his identity being revealed is the latest example of judges being swayed by “the prurient media”. “Children who commit crimes are afforded additional protection in international and domestic law, but this is being flouted increasingly by courts who are supine in the face of media pressure,” she added.


Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker has resigned as crime prevention minister, saying working in the department was like "walking through mud". Baker has clashed with Home Secretary Theresa May over drug policy and immigration in the past year. He told the Independent that support for “rational evidence-based policy” was in short supply at the top of her department.

 
Campaigners and doctors are calling for stronger warnings about drinking during pregnancy, ahead of a legal test case on foetal alcohol syndrome. The case will decide if a child born with serious disabilities caused by her mother's alcohol consumption should be compensated as a victim of crime. Some estimates suggest thousands are born every year in the UK with serious health defects caused by alcohol, reports the BBC.


Home Secretary Theresa May has publicly apologised to child abuse victims over her handling of the government’s inquiry into historic paedophile allegations. Speaking in the Commons, May told MPs it is “very disappointing that we do not have an inquiry chairman…for that I want to tell survivors that I’m sorry”. Fiona Woolf quit as chair last week over her links to the Tory peer Leon Brittan, and May said it will be difficult to find a replacement “who has had no contact with an institution or individual about whom there are concerns”, the Express reports.


Pupils from poorer backgrounds do worse at university than wealthier peers with the same A-level grades, research has found. The study – published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies – tracked students in England who began studying at a British university from 2004/05 to 2010/11, the Mail reports. Among those who began with similar grades and took the same course, those from the poorest backgrounds were more likely to drop out of their studies within two years of starting them and less likely to achieve a first or 2:1, than those from wealthier backgrounds.


A new free resource to help professionals identify neglect and emotional abuse in children has been developed by the NSPCC and Cardiff University. The tool will help practitioners to spot signs of neglect and emotional abuse in children aged five to 14 – ahead of anticipated changes in the law which will make emotional abuse a criminal offence for the first time next year in England and Wales. Covering issues such as children’s behaviour, school performance and relationships with peers, the Core-info resource is based on a global review of the latest research into the features of neglect and emotional abuse in children.