Cameron wants to abolish 'twisted' human rights laws to set up 'British Bill of Rights'
- Rioters could lose their benefits, says Iain Duncan Smith
National Citizen Scheme offers teenagers chance to abseil and canoe
War declared on gangs who have made people's lives 'hell'
By Anna Edwards
Last updated at 5:19 PM on 15th August 2011
David Cameron wants to make 16-year-olds across the country join a non-military national service programme in a bid to solve the 'very modern problem of alienated, angry young people.'
In his social fightback speech the Prime Minister announced he wanted to roll out the voluntary National Citizen Service scheme - currently undertaken by just a few thousand volunteers a year - as part of the government's effort to 'reclaim the country's streets'.
He also pledged to tackle human rights laws which have been so 'twisted and misrepresented' that they have had a 'chilling effect' on society by creating a 'British Bill of Rights'.
Fighting talk also came from Iain Duncan Smith today, as he said rioters cold lose their benefits even if they were not jailed.
Following Cameron's announcement Ed Miliband accused the Premier of resorting to 'knee-jerk' responses.
Cameron has pledged to wage war on gangs that make people's lives a 'misery'
In what was billed as a 'fightback' speech after the turmoil, the Prime Minister said that, while there were local triggers, most of the disturbances had been down to 'criminality' and 'indifference to right and wrong'.
He said gangs had been allowed to spiral out of control: 'It is a major criminal disease that has infected streets and estates across our country.
'Social problems that have been festering for decades have exploded in our face.'
Mr Cameron said his national service programme - currently being undertaken by just several thousand youngsters a year - should be a 'rite of passage' for every 16-year-old and would capture the essence of national service.
But his grand plan is not a new measure - he outlined the citizen service when he was elected last year. And Downing Street indicated this afternoon that the scheme would remain voluntary.
His scheme is currently a three-week programme run during the summer holidays that gives teenagers the opportunity to 'design their own project' for the community.
Cracking down on crime: Mr Cameron says youngsters should learn 'old-fashioned values' and take responsibility for their actions
Old fashioned: Will the new citizen scheme (pictured right) be as effective at drilling in values as the previous style of National Service (left)?
In 2007 he said teenagers would be handed 500 if they signed up to a similar six-week scheme involving an introductory course, a stint at a military base or adventure centre and a month working in the community.
Addressing the public and members of the press in Oxfordshire, he said his programme 'captures the spirit of national service.'
'It takes sixteen year-olds from different backgrounds and gets them to work together,' he said.
'They work in their communities, whether that's coaching children to play football, visiting old people at the hospital or offering a bike repair service to the community.'
He insisted it would instill 'old-fashioned' values of duty and decency which would help to solve the problem of 'angry young people'.
Already thousands of teenagers are taking part this year and Mr Cameron announced 30,000 should be involved in the project next year.
WHAT THE NATIONAL CITIZEN SERVICE PROGRAMME INVOLVES
National Citizen Service runs during the summer holidays, lasting for three weeks full-time and 30 hours on a part-time basis.
Working in a team, they have the chance to take part in exciting outdoor activities like mountaineering, canoeing and abseiling.
They also get the opportunity to design and deliver a project in their local community. This could mean working with other young people to improve the area where you live, benefiting everyone who lives there.
He declared: 'This should become a great national effort.
'Let's make National Citizen Service available to all 16-year-olds as a rite of passage.'
In his speech Cameron pledged to tackle the 'moral collapse' in Britain today as he dismissed claims that the coalition's austerity measures were behind last week's devastating riots.
He also said the varied ethnicity of perpetrators and victims meant riots were not born out of racial tensions.
'This was about behaviour, people showing indifference to right and wrong, people with a twisted moral code, people with a complete absence of self-restraint.'
Cameron launched a scathing attack on how the 'twisting and misrepresenting of human rights' has undermined personal responsibility.
He said the government is using its chairmanship of the Council of Europe to agree big changes to the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Prime Minister believes that his programme will help tackle youth crime and give youngsters a sense of duty
CRIME EXPERT SAYS 'JAILING LOOTERS WILL MAKE THEM WORSE'
Simply jailing youngsters over their role in the riots risks turning opportunistic looters into hardened criminals, experts warned today.
The Criminal Justice Alliance, which represents around 60 organisations, said society had become over-reliant on prison, which should instead be reserved for those who have committed serious offences.
Vicki Helyar-Cardwell, the group's director, said: 'Imprisoning young people could turn some opportunistic looters into hardened criminals.
'Half of all prisoners go on to reoffend within a year of release, and for young offenders the rate is even higher.
'We need to reserve prison for serious offences, making sure effective alternatives such as restorative justice are in place that can command the confidence of victims and communities.'
She called for victims and members of the public to be given a say in how offenders could make amends in their communities as she insisted that restorative justice was not a soft option.
'The interpretation of human rights legislation has exerted a chilling effect on public sector organisations, leading them to act in ways that fly in the face of common sense, offend our sense of right and wrong, and undermine responsibility,' he said.
He also said the excuse of 'health and safety' was now regularly 'trotted out to justify all sorts of actions and regulations that damage our social fabric.'
Mr Cameron also wanted to release police officers from sitting behind a desk while completing lengthy paperwork for every crime and instead wants them to spend more time on the beat.
But he said slashing the police budget would still go ahead.
'We need to reclaim our streets from the thugs who didn't just spring out of nowhere last week, but who've been making lives a misery for years.
'That starts with a stronger police presence – pounding the beat, deterring crime, ready to re-group and crack down at the first sign of trouble.
'What really matters in this fight-back is the amount of time the police actually spend on the streets.
'For years we've had a police force suffocated by bureaucracy, officers spending the majority of their time filling in forms and stuck behind desks.
'Stamping out these gangs is a new national priority.'
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith added that those involved in the rioting could have their benefits axed, even if they were not jailed.
He explained that anyone who is jailed for an offence automatically loses their handouts, but he is considering ways to extend this.
Iain Duncan Smith has warned rioters could have their benefits axed
Boris Johnson has recommended the young rioters be sent to pupil referral units
Ed Miliband has accused the government of 'knee-jerk' reactions
He told BBC Breakfast: 'I am at the moment looking to see whether or not someone who's convicted of a criminal offence but not custodial, that we would be able to impose a similar process on them as well, that they would lose their benefits for a particular period of time relevant to that process.
'I'm inclined to believe that it's better if it's done through the judiciary rather than done straight by the Department itself.'
Following the Tories' announcements, Labour leader Ed Miliband today renewed his calls for a full-scale inquiry and accused Mr Cameron of being 'scared' to look into the real causes of social breakdown.
Mr Miliband also waded into the bitter row between the Government and police chiefs about the handling of the riots, accusing ministers of engaging in 'finger-pointing'.
Boris Johnson has waded into the debate, saying courts should be able to send those aged 11 to 15 convicted of being involved in disturbances to pupil referral units (PRUs) - a power only available to headteachers.
In a letter to Justice Secretary Ken Clarke, Mr Johnson said removing the difficult children from the comfort of their school would 'hit home'.
'British Bill of Rights'? What's he on about? we've already got one that's serverd us quite well. We have the Declaration of Right , 1628. An important document setting out the rights and liberties of the subject as opposed to the prerogatives of the crown, we also have the bill of rights 1629 which is still in effect and includes such liberties as; grants and promises of fines or forfeitures" before conviction are void, no excessive bail or "cruel and unusual" punishments may be imposed. I have no doubt that if this so called prime minister brings out his "British bill of rights" it will only benifit the state.
- Andrea, Lancs, 15/8/2011 18:49
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