UK NEWS

UK NEWS: LAST WEEK OF MAY 2004

Independent panel: Speaking at a joint press conference with Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski, Mr Blair said it would be "unfortunate" if the issue became politicised and stressed it had been made by an "independent panel". "You can only imagine what you guys [journalists] would have been saying to me if I had interfered with that process," he told a news conference. "[Mr Scarlett] is someone who is a fine public servant who served both Labour and Conservative governments over many, many years and I think it's very unfortunate if it becomes a matter of political comment."

Public figure? Mr Blair acknowledged the ever-increasing role of intelligence in the light of new threats from international terrorism adding that people saw it as "an important part of our constitutional system". He said the issue of greater openness in the security services was something the government was keeping under review. Mr Scarlett will be the first head of MI6 to be pictured in the media. Conservative leader Michael Howard said it was "vital" that the public had the "every confidence in members of the secret intelligence service".

Greater openness? He said no decision on Mr Scarlett's appointment should have been made until the government-appointed Butler inquiry into the use of intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war had made its report. "John Scarlett is clearly at the heart of the investigation currently being carried out and his appointment at this time is inappropriate," he added. Sir Menzies Campbell, Liberal Democrat deputy leader, said the appointment could only be justified if Mr Scarlett proves to be an effective leader of MI6. He said it was down to the prime minister to ensure MI6 and Mr Scarlett, whose close working relationship with former Downing Street communications chief Alastair Campbell came under the spotlight during the Hutton inquiry, did not get "embroiled in political controversy". Sir Menzies said the key test was "the extent to which MI6 is able to continue its essential contribution to the campaign against terrorism".

'Merit': Mr Scarlett succeeds Sir Richard Dearlove who is becoming Master at Pembroke College, Cambridge. His appointment, by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, came after a recommendation by a selection panel chaired by the prime minister's security and intelligence co-ordinator Sir David Omand. But Mr Straw said: "The Secret Intelligence Service [SIS] is in the front line of our defence against terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and other threats. "John Scarlett has the operational background, personal qualities and wide experience to be a worthy successor to Richard Dearlove." Mr Scarlett's career saw him holding a succession of operational postings both in the UK and overseas. That included being head of SIS's station in Moscow. The Russian and French-speaker left Magdalen College, Oxford in 1970 having taken a first in modern history and has spent his entire career in MI6. He is married with three daughters and one son. Like his predecessors, Mr Scarlett will not give interviews or make public appearances. -BBC

Police defeat in transsexual case

Scales of justice West Yorkshire Police were guilty of sex discrimination in refusing to recruit a male-to-female transsexual, law lords have ruled.

The five law lords ruled unanimously that the woman, Miss A, was unlawfully discriminated against in breach of the Sex Discrimination Act. They upheld a decision by the Court of Appeal last November. West Yorkshire Police had argued that Miss A would not be able to carry out certain duties, such as body searches.

Sex change: Lord Bingham said that, under European law, transsexuals were entitled to the same protection against discrimination as any other individual and to be recognised as belonging to their "acquired gender". Nobody searched by a post-operative transsexual police officer who was, visually and for all practical purposes, of the same gender could reasonably object to the search, he said. Lords Steyn, Rodger and Carswell and Baroness Hale agreed in dismissing the police appeal. As a result, Miss A is entitled to compensation for discrimination dating back to September 1999, when an employment tribunal found in her favour. Miss A underwent sex change surgery in 1996 and now has no outward male characteristics. She successfully completed a police assessment course, but her application to join the West Yorkshire force was rejected in 1998. She was told that the force operated a blanket ban on transsexuals because there were difficulties when they were asked to carry out intimate body searches and therefore could never be fully operational. In 1999, an employment tribunal upheld Miss A's complaint of sexual discrimination, ruling that if she was accepted as a woman, "nobody would be any the wiser".

Continues on the following pages.