The UK in 2010

Three stories that show just a little of what is wrong with the Uk in 2010 after 13 years of labour misrule.

1) The Mail reports:

'A convicted rapist facing deportation has won a High Court battle to be allowed to stay in Britain so he can get married.

Alphonse Semo, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo, threw his victim on a rubbish tip when he 'had finished with her'.

But last night he won the right to remain in the UK for his wedding, just hours before he was due to board a plane back to Africa.

A judge said it was difficult to have any sympathy for Semo, who was jailed for eight years, but he must be allowed to stay.

Mr Justice Collins said the Home Office had at first agreed to let the 53-year-old, from Deptford, south east London, get married to his long-term partner, a German national.

Then the wedding was effectively cancelled by a subsequent decision 'by the same Home Office - no doubt by a different department', he said.

The judge added that he was 'very reluctant' to intervene but said the Home Office could not be allowed to play 'hot and cold'.

The judge said: 'With considerable reluctance, I have to say he must be allowed to marry.

'That means there will be a prohibition against removing him.'

The judge said the Home Secretary would have to reconsider later, after the marriage, whether to make a fresh attempt to deport Semo.

That would engage issues of EU law as his bride-to-be, Bunsana Kalonji, is a refugee from the Congo who became a German national. The pair have a long-established relationship.

Once married, the pair are expected to claim that Semo is legally entitled to remain in the UK as the spouse of an European Economic Area national entitled to free movement within EU member states, including the UK.'

2) The Mail reports that:

' A father who was barred from a public pool's changing room because children were inside has said he was branded a 'pervert'.

Craig Roper claims new rules in force at a council-owned sports centre mean that all men are assumed to be paedophiles who pose a danger to youngsters if they are allowed in the same room.

The regular swimmer said he was furious when he was ordered out of the men's changing room at Scissett Baths in Kirklees, Yorkshire, after a confrontation with a teacher.

Mr Roper, a father of three who has been using the baths at lunchtimes for 30 years, said he always used a private cubicle if boys were still getting changed after morning swimming lessons.

But least week he says he was accosted by a female teacher after being let into the electronically operated room by a lifeguard, and she demanded that he leave at once.

'She said "What are you doing in here, you're not supposed to be here?",' Mr Roper said.

He was then forced to use a separate sauna facility to change.

Pool bosses later confirmed they had introduced new rules 'to protect all our customers from potential incidents'.

Mr Roper said: 'It implies that any male is perceived as paedophilic or as a threat or pervert. They haven't done this on the female side.

'I don't take it personally I just resent the introduction of a plethora of rules and regulations without considering how it impacts people's lives.

'It would now seem that the local schools have initiated a policy of "lock down" and implemented designated exclusion zones in what should be public spaces.

'After decades of the common sense approach to the multi-use of this small pool with limited resources it would now seem that the politically correct brigade have hijacked the agenda.

'These new imposed rules and regulations interfere with the civil liberties of the general public wanting to use this public sports centre.'

A spokeswoman for Kirklees Active Leisure, which runs sports facilities for the council, said the policy applied both to male and female changing rooms.

She said: 'We take all of our customers' safety and privacy very seriously and in order to protect all of our customers against any potential incidents we have a number of policies in place.

'We have a duty to specific groups in our community including our local schools to provide safeguarding of children.

'Kirklees Active Leisure introduced a new school swimming policy in 2007 in partnership with the education service stating that the teacher in charge of school swim sessions has the responsibility to ensure the safety and supervision of the pupils.

'As part of this policy KAL will, where possible, make arrangements for separate school changing areas to be available.

'This is the case at Scissett Baths, alternative changing areas are available to other customers during this time. These policies not only protect children but also all of our customers.''

3) The Mail reports that:

'Buying a goldfish at a pet shop used to be an innocent childhood pleasure.

But today an elderly pet shop owner told how she was entrapped into selling a goldfish to a 14-year-old schoolboy, then warned she could face jail.

She had breached a law introduced in 2006 which bans selling live fish to anyone under 16.

After a prosecution estimated to have cost taxpayers £20,0000, Joan Higgins, 66, a great-grandmother who has never been in trouble before, has been forced to wear a tag on her ankle like common criminal and given a seven-week curfew.

Her son, Mark, 47 was also handed a fine and ordered to carry out 120 hours unpaid work in the community.

Magistrates were today accused of using a hammer to crack a nut in their bid to enforce the animal welfare laws.

The Higgins' ordeal began when council officials heard the Majors Pet Shop in Sale, Greater Manchester was selling animals to children.

They sent the 14-year-old schoolboy into the shop to carry out a test purchase and Mr Higgins sold the youngster a goldfish without questioning his age or providing any information about the care of the fish.'

Happy in the UK? Happy with the effects of human rights legislation, safety legislation and idiotic laws? Consider this when voting...