Suicide Minister slammed for joke
A police spokesman said: “At approximately 2am, British Transport Police officers came across a car showing signs of damage stationary at the roadside in Shooters Hill Road, Woolwich.” CHILDREN should be taught more about the legacy of the British Empire, colonialism and the slave trade, Jeremy Corbyn will say.
The Labour leader is calling for schools to give pupils a greater awareness of the role played by black Britons in shaping the country’s history.
Mr Corbyn will today set out plans for an Emancipation Educational Trust aimed at educating future generations about slavery and the struggle to end the trade. A SWEET-TOOTHED Cadbury fan is handing over 5,000 pieces of memorabilia to the company’s archives after accumulating tins, boxes and mugs over 40 years.
Gill Cocks is preparing to part with six cabinets chocfull of collected items – which even survived a flood caused by the Beast from the East.
The collection boasts some extremely old and rare pieces, such as Richard Tapper Cadbury’s bible from the 1800s, and some quirkier items such as a milk churn and mini-Cadbury vehicles. Mrs Cocks said the company believes it is the “biggest private collection” of Cadbury memorabilia in the world. THE minister appointed by Theresa May to oversee suicide prevention efforts once joked about throwing herself off a cliff, it has emerged.
Jackie Doyle-Price told a local newspaper that she would “sooner jump off Beachy Head” than join the Eurosceptic party Ukip.
The comment was branded “inappropriate” and “unacceptable” by a senior Labour spokesman.
Among the Thurrock MP’s responsibilities as minister for suicide prevention will be to try to end the stigma which prevents people from seeking help.
Ms Doyle-Price spoke to the Thurrock Gazette in 2014 to deny rumours that she might follow Clacton MP Douglas Carswell in defecting to Ukip.
She said then: “I would sooner jump off Beachy Head than join Ukip.
“I am a Conservative. I have never run away from a fight and I am not going to start now. The stakes are too high.”
Around 20 people a year kill themselves by throwing themselves from the chalk cliffs at Beachy Head in East Sussex, and patrols are carried out in the area in the hope of dissuading people from jumping.
After beginning her search for the chocolatier’s merchandise in the late 1970s, Mrs Cocks said she feels it is now the right time to give it up because the collection has “got a life of its own”.
As a gesture of thanks for handing her collection over, the Cadbury Foundation made
Asked about Ms Doyle-Price’s comments, a senior Labour spokesman said: “Any comment which increases stigma or disrespect or lack of understanding for mental health issues – in particular in this case mental health issues and suicide – is obviously completely inappropriate.
“These kinds of comments are unacceptable.”
A Downing Street source said he was not aware of the comments, but added: “There is a serious job she will be taking forward in this very important new position.
“She will have access to some of the nearly £12 billion that we already spend on mental health in this country and will want to ensure that services improve further to a £5,000 donation to Mrs Cocks’s chosen charity, We All Matter, which builds and strengthens positive and supportive relationships in Gloucestershire.
The memorabilia will be catalogued and dated at the Cadbury archive in Bournville, Birmingham, and go on display at Cadbury World. make sure that people in vulnerable situations get the support they need.”
The controversy over her 2014 remark has overshadowed the news of Ms DoylePrice’s appointment as what is thought to be the world’s first minister for suicide prevention, announced by Theresa May on World Mental Health Day yesterday.
Around 4,500 people take their lives every year in England and suicide remains the leading cause of death among men under the age of 45.
The Prime Minister has also pledged up to £1.8 million to ensure the Samaritans’ helpline remains free for the next four years, to help those most in need.
Labour said a focus on suicide prevention was “long overdue” and warned that a lack of funding had forced people to wait months for treatment in some areas.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the suicide rate it at its lowest for seven years, although each is a tragic but “preventable” death.
“We need to do more to challenge the stigma that people with mental ill-health face and make sure they feel they can reach out for help,” he said.