Tony recently travelled to Colombia and visited the site of a recently discovered secret graveyard in the town of La Macarena.
On the same day local people gathered to listen to different speakers who told of the killings of ordinary people, sometimes by security forces and sometimes by paramilitaries. One of the recent scandals to emerge has been the incredible story of young men being lured away from their homes in BogaFa with the offer of good employment, but these young men were shot by the army only hours later in different parts of the country so the army could claim they were guerillas shot in action.
This scandal is known as the false positives, and the picture above shows the platform of ‘no more of the false positives’.
The two women pictured above lost their sons in this scandal. The t-shirt reads ‘they didn’t deserve to die, the killers deserve punishment.’ Sadly, the outgoing President Uribe denounced all those involved in La Macarena as enemies with links to terrorism.
Tony attended the RoadPeace annual remembrance service at The Grange Community Centre, Beswick, on 6 August 2010.
Tony said, “June Webb has campaigned strenuously on road safety for ten years. June lost her own daughter in a horrific and criminal car crash. Two young women lost their lives that day, inspiring June to campaign so other families don’t suffer the same tragedy.
“In particular there should be recognition that reckless driving is every bit as criminal as other types of criminal behaviour and should be treated as such when it comes to court sentencing.”
Today Tony met with University of Manchester PhD student Edwin Broni-Mensah who has recently launched “Give Me Tap”, a campaign that lets people fill their aluminium “Give me Tap” bottle with tap water at food and drink establishments across Manchester. Edwin came up with the idea to save on buying expensive bottled water and reduce the number of plastic bottles being discarded. For more information you can visit the Give Me Tap website.
Tony is pictured here with Edwin Broni-Mensah at Herbivores Vegetarian Cafe, the first place to sign up to Edwin’s campaign.
Tony Lloyd MP showed his support for efforts to beat cancer at a major Cancer Research UK event on cancer treatment in Parliament.
During the 14th July briefing, Tony heard about the different approaches used to treat cancer patients in the UK and was taken through a range of treatment pathways that a patient may follow after being diagnosed with the disease.
Tony also learnt about how people affected by cancer can find reliable, easy to understand information from Cancer Research UK on their patient information website, CancerHelp UK (www.cancerhelp.org.uk). If people in Manchester have concerns about cancer they can call the Cancer Research UK’s information nurses on freephone 0808 800 4040 9am until 5pm Monday to Friday. They can also visit Cancer Research UK’s patient forum, Cancer Chat (www.cancerchat.org.uk) where they can share information and experiences with other people affected by cancer.
Tony Lloyd said: “Detecting cancers early is absolutely vital. If people know more about the signs and symptoms of cancers and talk about this with friends and family, we could improve early diagnosis. When cancer is diagnosed early, it is much easier to treat successfully. We must ensure that there is access to existing and new ways of diagnosing cancer as soon as possible so that patients are given the best and most effective treatment.”
Tony Lloyd has lent his support to a campaign to help raise awareness about the estimated 25,000 preventable deaths caused each year from hospital acquired thrombosis – the UK’s single biggest preventable hospital killer.
The ‘stop the clot’ initiative, spearheaded by the charity Lifeblood, is a week-long campaign to reach out to the general public and undergraduate medics, to improve understanding about the risks of developing deep vein thrombosis in hospital.
At a meeting in Westminster Tony Lloyd was briefed by the team at Lifeblood about the risks of developing thrombosis and had his picture taken with a giant blood clot, to remind people about how thrombosis is caused. Thrombosis is the immediate cause of death in 10% of all patients who die in hospital although most blood clots show up after the patient has left hospital.
Tony Lloyd MP said, “It is astonishing to think that 500 people die each week in our hospitals from this preventable illness. And it is important that everyone understands that this is not just a condition that affects older people. Making sure that people are aware of the dangers of developing blood clots, particularly during hospital stays, and ensuring they are properly risk-assessed by hospital staff goes a long way to reducing the thousands of preventable deaths from this potentially fatal condition.”
Lifeblood’s ‘stop the clot’ campaign is encouraging people who go into hospital, and those family members of patients, to better understand the risks of developing the condition and to take the necessary steps to prevent them falling ill. Lifeblood has developed the ‘FLOW’ campaign as part of this initiative:
Find out if you are at risk of developing thrombosis in hospital by asking for a risk-assessment
Lower your risk by using compression stockings and blood thinners
Observe any symptoms of clots – warmth, swelling or pain
Warn your doctor or nurse if you experience symptoms or are concerned about your risk
Professor Beverley Hunt, Director of Lifeblood and leading haematologist, said:
“We are delighted that Tony Lloyd MP is supporting National Thrombosis Week 2010. Awareness of deep vein thrombosis is patchy amongst both the public and the UK’s medical community about the dangers of the condition and how to spot the early signs of the condition. The purpose of our ‘stop the clot’ campaign is to make sure as many people as possible are aware of how a clot can present, recognise that they are very common after being in hospital and they take the necessary steps to make sure they are assessed by medics if they develop any symptoms.”
In a dazzling display of stamina and tactical ball control, the Great Britain Amputee Football team crushed their French national team counterparts in an incredible 10 – 0 defeat in Manchester on Saturday 5th June.
In the heat of a perfect summer afternoon and watched by a capacity crowd including the Lord Mayor of Manchester and the MP for central Manchester, Tony Lloyd, the game was fiercely contested right from the start but the home team demonstrated their superiority to walk away with the Takeda Cup plus additional funding for their World Cup bid.
The British team needs to raise £30,000 in order to compete in the 2010 World Amputee Football Federation World Cup in Argentina in October. At present they receive no significant funding to help pay for matches, travel expenses, or to finance training weekends.
For team manager Dave Tweed, the result augured well: “The team showed what they were made of today – and if they play like that in Argentina, we’re in with a real chance of brining home the World Cup later this year.
“The Takeda sponsorship has been invaluable and has enabled us to host the friendly international event on Saturday which is helping to raise our profile. But we need to raise more funds. We need to raise £30,000 to send the team to Argentina.”
In a further bid to raise awareness of the sport, the British players had appeared on the BBC’s The One Show the evening before the match to discuss the game and their personal strategies for making the most of the realities of life as an amputee.
MP Tony Lloyd said; “What we have seen here today is an example of great sportsmanship, impressive skill and a resounding triumph over adversity – both teams are an inspiration to us all, and it was a very exciting game to watch.”
Tony recently added his backing to the Royal British Legion’s campaign for Prospective Parliamentary Candidates to support the Armed Forces up to and beyond the General Election.
Kevin Shinkwin, the Legion’s Head of Public Affairs, said: “We’re really grateful to Tony Lloyd for pledging to do his bit. The entire Armed Forces family needs the support of politicians from all parties, and our manifesto outlines practical ways the next government can help. We hope all the parties will give it serious consideration and that every Prospective Parliamentary Candidate will pledge to do their bit”.
Tony said: “I was delighted to support The Royal British Legion. They have an important role to play in highlighting the needs of the whole Armed Forces family. I have pledged to do my bit and I would encourage others to do the same by visiting the website – http://www.timetodoyourbit.org.uk “
