The Church of England has appointed a former government minister as
its first independent chair of safeguarding. A note on Meg Munn's appointment said she would provide "a level of independent scrutiny and challenge" to the
church and its safeguarding practices. Munn has said
"apologies for past wrongs will mean nothing" if the C of E isn't prepared to do everything in its power to protect children and vulnerable young adults.
A new Westminster inquiry is to examine whether the Government has a
responsibility to reform abortion laws in Northern Ireland. Meanwhile MPs will vote on
whether to relax NI's abortion laws next month.
A woman is challenging a decision to
prosecute her for obtaining abortion pills for her pregnant underage daughter in a potential landmark case for abortion rights in Northern Ireland. The case was
adjourned on Thursday.
A Lib Dem peer has called
for labelling of meat taken from animals that are slaughtered without pre-stunning at the party's conference.
The Ritz Hotel in London has refused to
serve two people who turned up to celebrate a friend's birthday wearing niqabs.
Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector at Ofsted, has expressed concerns
over "a growing religious strand of people who want to protect their children's faith and make sure that everything about the child's education experience
happens within the faith".
Campaigners are demanding an
anti-FGM law in Somalia after two girls bled to death. Meanwhile Burkina Faso police have arrested at least 28
people for FGM after 50 girls were hospitalised.
The Dalai Lama has admitted he has
known about sexual abuse committed by Buddhist teachers in Europe since the 1990s.
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