Diana Lamplugh – A fearless campaigner

Paul and Diana Lamplugh in 2000



Sometimes we have no right to expect somebody to be brave. Sometimes the awfulness of an event should crush a person’s spirit and we have no right or expectation to believe they will ever recover. Such was the blow which befell Diana Lamplugh on a sunny July day in 1986. Her daughter was, Suzy Lamplugh, the 25-year-old London estate agent who went to meet a client known only as "Mr Kipper", and was never seen again.





Police search for clues after Suzy's disappearance in 1986



Suzy's body was never found. She was declared dead in 1994, and finally, in 2002, the police named a convicted murderer and rapist, John Cannan, as her likely killer, but they neither obtained a confession, nor brought him to trial. Cannan denied involvement. A year later, after a severe stroke, Diana was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and spent the rest of her life in care. Her husband, who survives her, visited her daily. The great sadness is in her final years Diana lost all memory of Suzy, whose name she kept alive by founding The Suzy Lamplugh Trust which campaigns to improve personal safety, particularly on public transport. It is an important campaigning organisation which has increased awareness and changed attitudes and Diana’s contribution was to ensure that from the evil of Suzy’s disappearance good would flow. She died peacefully today and this statement was issued by The Suzy Lamplugh Trust which she founded.





Suzy Lamplugh



“Diana Lamplugh OBE died peacefully in her sleep this morning after suffering a second massive stroke. This followed the first stroke in 2003 and a nine year battle with Alzheimer’s.



After the disappearance of her daughter, Suzy, in 1986, Diana and her husband, Paul, founded Suzy Lamplugh Trust and for over sixteen years she was the powerhouse behind this well-known national charity for personal safety. She received her OBE in 1992.



Paul Infield, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said:



“Diana was one of those people who contributed energy, focus and commitment to everything she did. With her husband, Paul, she was tireless in establishing, through the Trust, the concept of and discipline for personal safety – now a household expression – as a positive life skill for people of all ages and occupations. All responsible organisations now have a personal safety policy.







“Her message is as relevant today as when she started campaigning following Suzy’s disappearance. Whilst she will be sorely missed, the trustees and staff of the Trust are determined that our work will continue to fulfil Diana’s vision of improving people’s personal safety by giving them the knowledge and skills to enable them to live life to the full – avoiding aggression and violence.”



A charismatic speaker and tireless campaigner, Diana led the Trust in successfully campaigning for changes in law and procedures regarding safer working practices; safe travel in minicabs; safer travel on trains and safer stations; safer car parks; the treatment and sentencing of sex offenders; helping vulnerable young people and victims of crime; protection from stalking and harassment, treatment of young offenders and many others. She received for her work Honorary Doctorates from four Universities.



It is a credit to the groundwork she laid during the early years that the Trust – which celebrates its 25 Anniversary this year – continues to be a well- respected and active charity, continuing and expanding the work that Diana started.”



"Diana will be sorely missed by her husband Paul, her children Richard, Tamsin and Lizzie, her seven grandchildren, as well as the rest of her family and friends."



In 1999, Libby Purves wrote this of Diana’s legacy:



“….the Trust is a national asset, its influence nationwide, its renown and awards international…..the work of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust has made us feel less, not more, afraid.”







I had met Diana Lamplugh and felt the full force of her campaigning zeal. For many years I looked after (amongst other stuff) the finances of an Area of the British Transport Police. It was due to have an inspection by the HMIC – Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. This provides the quality assurance for the Police Service in England and Wales. I was asked to provide an overview of the budgeting process and how resources were prioritised. So about a week before the “Inspection” I met the Inspector’s Staff Officer who did the prelimary fact-finding. So a week later I was ushered in to meet the Inspector and present my piece. This being the Police it was somewhat formal, indeed to the point of reminding me of a Court Martial where I was the defendant!



I sat alone and facing me was a table with three people behind it. The Inspector who was a former Chief Constable in full formal uniform with his baton and cap on the table, his Staff Officer similarly attired and a middle aged lady with glasses, none other than Diana Lamplugh as the civilian member of the Police Committee. Well I got into my stride and emphasised our view that when a passenger bought a ticket part of what they were buying was an expectation of a safe journey. I outlined the budget drivers, our partnership approach with the Police, the resources and support we made available to them over many years (far more than elsewhere in the industry), our integrated control centre with the Police and our drive for increased efficiency and maximising visible front line policing.







It was all going well, probably too well when I was mugged by Diana. “Well Mr. C” she intoned in her quiet but insistent voice “that is all very well but as we speak there are hundreds of foreigners arriving at Waterloo Station (then the Eurostar Terminus) not speaking a word of English and being prey to every mugger and pickpocket in London. And at a time like that you want to cut the Police Budget. It is madness I tell you! Madness!” With the suggestion of my putative insanity ringing in my ears I argued back making the point that we were actually looking for more bangs for our bucks tackling bad practice and we wanted more resources devoted to what passengers were telling us was important to them. After an hour my session with HMIC was over and I left exhausted feeling I had done at least 15 rounds. To compound my feeling I knew Diana was at a reception with our Managing Director later that evening and I was imagining the conversation “Well Denis, he seemed nice enough in an Irish sort of way but what he was proposing was MAD, MAD I tell you!” Strangely I must have got my points across for when the HMIC report was published I was commended in it and received a letter of thanks from the Area Commander. Indeed, what was even stranger was I was the only Finance Officer commended and I was the only one who didn’t actually work for the Force!



As for Diana I remember her passion and insistence that personal safety came first. Not for her the quiet consensus or the reliance on CCTV so loved of the Police as “evidence”, to Diana that was irrelevant to her what was important was the passenger’s security first and foremost. With her evangelical zeal and singular focus she reminded us and society at large what our duty of care really was and she both set the agenda and stimulated the debate.







To have found such strength from the horror of her daughter’s abduction and murder required real courage and bravery and these were qualities Diana Lamplugh had by the bucket load. This makes even sadder her decline in her final years which robbed us of such an effective advocate. It should also be remembered that she was supported in those years by her Solicitor husband Paul who was very much a co-partner with Diana in setting up the Trust in their daughter’s name and driving forward its agenda. She will be sorely missed but the campaign and work she started continues.



Diana Lamplugh OBE, Personal Safety Campaigner, died 18th August 2011, aged 75.



This is the site of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust which will continue Diana Lamplugh’s work;



http://www.suzylamplugh.org

Diana Lamplugh – A fearless campaigner

Paul and Diana Lamplugh in 2000



Sometimes we have no right to expect somebody to be brave. Sometimes the awfulness of an event should crush a person’s spirit and we have no right or expectation to believe they will ever recover. Such was the blow which befell Diana Lamplugh on a sunny July day in 1986. Her daughter was, Suzy Lamplugh, the 25-year-old London estate agent who went to meet a client known only as "Mr Kipper", and was never seen again.





Police search for clues after Suzy's disappearance in 1986



Suzy's body was never found. She was declared dead in 1994, and finally, in 2002, the police named a convicted murderer and rapist, John Cannan, as her likely killer, but they neither obtained a confession, nor brought him to trial. Cannan denied involvement. A year later, after a severe stroke, Diana was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and spent the rest of her life in care. Her husband, who survives her, visited her daily. The great sadness is in her final years Diana lost all memory of Suzy, whose name she kept alive by founding The Suzy Lamplugh Trust which campaigns to improve personal safety, particularly on public transport. It is an important campaigning organisation which has increased awareness and changed attitudes and Diana’s contribution was to ensure that from the evil of Suzy’s disappearance good would flow. She died peacefully today and this statement was issued by The Suzy Lamplugh Trust which she founded.





Suzy Lamplugh



“Diana Lamplugh OBE died peacefully in her sleep this morning after suffering a second massive stroke. This followed the first stroke in 2003 and a nine year battle with Alzheimer’s.



After the disappearance of her daughter, Suzy, in 1986, Diana and her husband, Paul, founded Suzy Lamplugh Trust and for over sixteen years she was the powerhouse behind this well-known national charity for personal safety. She received her OBE in 1992.



Paul Infield, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said:



“Diana was one of those people who contributed energy, focus and commitment to everything she did. With her husband, Paul, she was tireless in establishing, through the Trust, the concept of and discipline for personal safety – now a household expression – as a positive life skill for people of all ages and occupations. All responsible organisations now have a personal safety policy.







“Her message is as relevant today as when she started campaigning following Suzy’s disappearance. Whilst she will be sorely missed, the trustees and staff of the Trust are determined that our work will continue to fulfil Diana’s vision of improving people’s personal safety by giving them the knowledge and skills to enable them to live life to the full – avoiding aggression and violence.”



A charismatic speaker and tireless campaigner, Diana led the Trust in successfully campaigning for changes in law and procedures regarding safer working practices; safe travel in minicabs; safer travel on trains and safer stations; safer car parks; the treatment and sentencing of sex offenders; helping vulnerable young people and victims of crime; protection from stalking and harassment, treatment of young offenders and many others. She received for her work Honorary Doctorates from four Universities.



It is a credit to the groundwork she laid during the early years that the Trust – which celebrates its 25 Anniversary this year – continues to be a well- respected and active charity, continuing and expanding the work that Diana started.”



"Diana will be sorely missed by her husband Paul, her children Richard, Tamsin and Lizzie, her seven grandchildren, as well as the rest of her family and friends."



In 1999, Libby Purves wrote this of Diana’s legacy:



“….the Trust is a national asset, its influence nationwide, its renown and awards international…..the work of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust has made us feel less, not more, afraid.”







I had met Diana Lamplugh and felt the full force of her campaigning zeal. For many years I looked after (amongst other stuff) the finances of an Area of the British Transport Police. It was due to have an inspection by the HMIC – Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. This provides the quality assurance for the Police Service in England and Wales. I was asked to provide an overview of the budgeting process and how resources were prioritised. So about a week before the “Inspection” I met the Inspector’s Staff Officer who did the prelimary fact-finding. So a week later I was ushered in to meet the Inspector and present my piece. This being the Police it was somewhat formal, indeed to the point of reminding me of a Court Martial where I was the defendant!



I sat alone and facing me was a table with three people behind it. The Inspector who was a former Chief Constable in full formal uniform with his baton and cap on the table, his Staff Officer similarly attired and a middle aged lady with glasses, none other than Diana Lamplugh as the civilian member of the Police Committee. Well I got into my stride and emphasised our view that when a passenger bought a ticket part of what they were buying was an expectation of a safe journey. I outlined the budget drivers, our partnership approach with the Police, the resources and support we made available to them over many years (far more than elsewhere in the industry), our integrated control centre with the Police and our drive for increased efficiency and maximising visible front line policing.







It was all going well, probably too well when I was mugged by Diana. “Well Mr. C” she intoned in her quiet but insistent voice “that is all very well but as we speak there are hundreds of foreigners arriving at Waterloo Station (then the Eurostar Terminus) not speaking a word of English and being prey to every mugger and pickpocket in London. And at a time like that you want to cut the Police Budget. It is madness I tell you! Madness!” With the suggestion of my putative insanity ringing in my ears I argued back making the point that we were actually looking for more bangs for our bucks tackling bad practice and we wanted more resources devoted to what passengers were telling us was important to them. After an hour my session with HMIC was over and I left exhausted feeling I had done at least 15 rounds. To compound my feeling I knew Diana was at a reception with our Managing Director later that evening and I was imagining the conversation “Well Denis, he seemed nice enough in an Irish sort of way but what he was proposing was MAD, MAD I tell you!” Strangely I must have got my points across for when the HMIC report was published I was commended in it and received a letter of thanks from the Area Commander. Indeed, what was even stranger was I was the only Finance Officer commended and I was the only one who didn’t actually work for the Force!



As for Diana I remember her passion and insistence that personal safety came first. Not for her the quiet consensus or the reliance on CCTV so loved of the Police as “evidence”, to Diana that was irrelevant to her what was important was the passenger’s security first and foremost. With her evangelical zeal and singular focus she reminded us and society at large what our duty of care really was and she both set the agenda and stimulated the debate.







To have found such strength from the horror of her daughter’s abduction and murder required real courage and bravery and these were qualities Diana Lamplugh had by the bucket load. This makes even sadder her decline in her final years which robbed us of such an effective advocate. It should also be remembered that she was supported in those years by her Solicitor husband Paul who was very much a co-partner with Diana in setting up the Trust in their daughter’s name and driving forward its agenda. She will be sorely missed but the campaign and work she started continues.



Diana Lamplugh OBE, Personal Safety Campaigner, died 18th August 2011, aged 75.



This is the site of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust which will continue Diana Lamplugh’s work;



http://www.suzylamplugh.org

Boris Bendy Jihad Update

CRIKEY!

From the Evening Standard, London, 24th October 2008

LONDON'S new Routemaster bus will operate on a scale far wider than expected but the much-hyped public competition to design it is a sideshow, according to a senior Transport for London manager. As the Mayor, Boris Johnson, prepares to unveil the results of the competition, it has emerged that TfL will order up to 800 of the open-platform new Routemasters, almost double the expected number. They will serve all central London's busiest routes, not just bendy routes.

The design contest has attracted around 470 entries, including one from Norman Foster. But David Hampson-Ghani, TfL's programme manager for new buses, said it was seen inside TfL as "almost a consultation" to the key effort, talks with the manufacturers. "The key objective is to replace the current buses that are used on central London's busiest bus routes," said Mr Hampson-Ghani in a recent presentation to the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport obtained by the Standard. "It's not about replacing bendy buses, it's about replacing whatever is operating at the moment and that may include bendy buses.

"We will simply hand over a folder of the winning designs [from the competition] to whoever wins the manufacturing tender and say: 'See what you can do with these.' The ultimate aim is to have a single manufacturer who will work up the design, prototype it and then build it." Conductor operation and an open platform, however, are non-negotiable. An invitation to tender will be issued in February 2009 and a contract for a "prototype and initial service vehicles" will be awarded next October. Mr Hampson-Ghani said the order would be for "700 to 800 vehicles over a three-year period". TfL had been in talks with the Department for Transport and the EU, he said, and had reached tentative agreement that regulations do allow an open-platform bus. "We already have buses like that on the roads today."

It had been thought that the major manufacturers were lukewarm about the scheme. "If you speak to the manufacturers privately, they'll tell you that making a vehicle like that is no longer possible in this day and age," said Robert Jack, managing editor of Transit magazine. However, both publicly and in private, Britain's two largest bus manufacturers expressed strong enthusiasm to the Standard. "TfL has been in contact and we are very interested," said a spokesman for Ballymena-based Wrightbus. Earlier this month TfL's head, Peter Hendy, visited the company's Northern Ireland plant to discuss the Routemaster and other projects.
"We are going to be all systems go. There is a solution there without a doubt," said a spokesman for Falkirk-based Alexander Dennis. "If London wants a Routemaster, we are going to be delighted to oblige." Chief executive Colin Robertson said his 80-strong engineering team was devoting increasing amounts of time to the project: "There is a good chance we could come up with a new design. We want to keep our top-dog position [in London] when it comes to the Routemaster."


"I now backing Obama!"

The new Routemaster is almost certain to use a hybrid drive, where a diesel engine powers batteries which run the bus, making it dramatically cleaner than existing bendy and double-deck buses. A conventional hybrid double-decker will be unveiled by Alexander Dennis at the bus industry's main annual trade fair next month. The order of up to 800 Routemasters is far more than needed to replace the bendy routes, which need 350 buses to operate them. It offers the prospect of being able to build the buses at a lower cost per unit than a smaller run.

If no major manufacturer is willing to make the buses, one industry expert said others could easily step forward. "Making a bus is not an expensive production-line job with robots and the like," says Hilton Holloway, news editor of Autocar magazine, which produced its own Routemaster design last year. "Compared to volume cars it is crude a bit of a cottage industry, with a lot of fabrication. Some of the new Routemaster designs are pretty radical but the majors have been making buses the same way for a hundred years. They might not be the best people to do this." Opposition members of the London Assembly have criticised the drive to introduce a new Routemaster. Val Shawcross, Labour chair of the assembly's transport committee, said the Mayor was "letting his personal prejudice override any sense of reason and should return the drawing board as soon as possible".

However, the new bus does appear to have caught the public imagination. Rukaiya Russell, a house music artist from New Cross, has released a track called Bring Back the Routemaster. The rap includes the ding-ding of a Routemaster's bell and the shouting-out of all the RM route numbers swept away in Ken Livingstone's cull of 2003-5. "Walking around central London one day, I just thought how I missed jumping on and off down Oxford Street, and I found myself singing 'Bring back the Routemaster'," says Russell on her MySpace site.

See also;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/10/bend-it-like-boris.html


Boris Johnson on a Routemaster

Boris Bendy Jihad Update

CRIKEY!

From the Evening Standard, London, 24th October 2008

LONDON'S new Routemaster bus will operate on a scale far wider than expected but the much-hyped public competition to design it is a sideshow, according to a senior Transport for London manager. As the Mayor, Boris Johnson, prepares to unveil the results of the competition, it has emerged that TfL will order up to 800 of the open-platform new Routemasters, almost double the expected number. They will serve all central London's busiest routes, not just bendy routes.

The design contest has attracted around 470 entries, including one from Norman Foster. But David Hampson-Ghani, TfL's programme manager for new buses, said it was seen inside TfL as "almost a consultation" to the key effort, talks with the manufacturers. "The key objective is to replace the current buses that are used on central London's busiest bus routes," said Mr Hampson-Ghani in a recent presentation to the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport obtained by the Standard. "It's not about replacing bendy buses, it's about replacing whatever is operating at the moment and that may include bendy buses.

"We will simply hand over a folder of the winning designs [from the competition] to whoever wins the manufacturing tender and say: 'See what you can do with these.' The ultimate aim is to have a single manufacturer who will work up the design, prototype it and then build it." Conductor operation and an open platform, however, are non-negotiable. An invitation to tender will be issued in February 2009 and a contract for a "prototype and initial service vehicles" will be awarded next October. Mr Hampson-Ghani said the order would be for "700 to 800 vehicles over a three-year period". TfL had been in talks with the Department for Transport and the EU, he said, and had reached tentative agreement that regulations do allow an open-platform bus. "We already have buses like that on the roads today."

It had been thought that the major manufacturers were lukewarm about the scheme. "If you speak to the manufacturers privately, they'll tell you that making a vehicle like that is no longer possible in this day and age," said Robert Jack, managing editor of Transit magazine. However, both publicly and in private, Britain's two largest bus manufacturers expressed strong enthusiasm to the Standard. "TfL has been in contact and we are very interested," said a spokesman for Ballymena-based Wrightbus. Earlier this month TfL's head, Peter Hendy, visited the company's Northern Ireland plant to discuss the Routemaster and other projects.
"We are going to be all systems go. There is a solution there without a doubt," said a spokesman for Falkirk-based Alexander Dennis. "If London wants a Routemaster, we are going to be delighted to oblige." Chief executive Colin Robertson said his 80-strong engineering team was devoting increasing amounts of time to the project: "There is a good chance we could come up with a new design. We want to keep our top-dog position [in London] when it comes to the Routemaster."


"I now backing Obama!"

The new Routemaster is almost certain to use a hybrid drive, where a diesel engine powers batteries which run the bus, making it dramatically cleaner than existing bendy and double-deck buses. A conventional hybrid double-decker will be unveiled by Alexander Dennis at the bus industry's main annual trade fair next month. The order of up to 800 Routemasters is far more than needed to replace the bendy routes, which need 350 buses to operate them. It offers the prospect of being able to build the buses at a lower cost per unit than a smaller run.

If no major manufacturer is willing to make the buses, one industry expert said others could easily step forward. "Making a bus is not an expensive production-line job with robots and the like," says Hilton Holloway, news editor of Autocar magazine, which produced its own Routemaster design last year. "Compared to volume cars it is crude a bit of a cottage industry, with a lot of fabrication. Some of the new Routemaster designs are pretty radical but the majors have been making buses the same way for a hundred years. They might not be the best people to do this." Opposition members of the London Assembly have criticised the drive to introduce a new Routemaster. Val Shawcross, Labour chair of the assembly's transport committee, said the Mayor was "letting his personal prejudice override any sense of reason and should return the drawing board as soon as possible".

However, the new bus does appear to have caught the public imagination. Rukaiya Russell, a house music artist from New Cross, has released a track called Bring Back the Routemaster. The rap includes the ding-ding of a Routemaster's bell and the shouting-out of all the RM route numbers swept away in Ken Livingstone's cull of 2003-5. "Walking around central London one day, I just thought how I missed jumping on and off down Oxford Street, and I found myself singing 'Bring back the Routemaster'," says Russell on her MySpace site.

See also;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/10/bend-it-like-boris.html


Boris Johnson on a Routemaster

Circle line Party?

BoJos at Westminster Station

The capital's underground network returned to normality following chaotic scenes caused by revellers partying on the Tube ahead of a midnight booze ban which came into effect on the 1st June 2008.

Police made a total of 17 arrests during the evening and were forced to close six stations on the Circle Line when high spirits got out of hand.

People are now barred from drinking alcohol on London Underground, buses, Docklands Light Railway and tram services in the capital. It is also illegal to carry opened lager cans on capital's transport network.

The measures were announced earlier this month by new London Mayor Boris Johnson.

In advance of the ban coming in, social networking websites such as Facebook advertised a "last chance" party. But what started as a fun way to usher in the new laws turned sour as thousands of revellers poured into London's Tube stations.

Four train drivers and three other London Underground staff were assaulted during the evening. The tyres of a police vehicle were slashed, two officers assaulted and another was injured amid chaotic scenes.

Liverpool Street Station en fete

Superintendent Ellie Bird, of British Transport Police, said: "This was an unfortunate end to what was intended to be a fun event. The arrests were made following sporadic outbreaks of disorder which is very disappointing given the intention of the organisers was that this should not be a disorderly or disruptive event."

Circle line Party?

BoJos at Westminster Station

The capital's underground network returned to normality following chaotic scenes caused by revellers partying on the Tube ahead of a midnight booze ban which came into effect on the 1st June 2008.

Police made a total of 17 arrests during the evening and were forced to close six stations on the Circle Line when high spirits got out of hand.

People are now barred from drinking alcohol on London Underground, buses, Docklands Light Railway and tram services in the capital. It is also illegal to carry opened lager cans on capital's transport network.

The measures were announced earlier this month by new London Mayor Boris Johnson.

In advance of the ban coming in, social networking websites such as Facebook advertised a "last chance" party. But what started as a fun way to usher in the new laws turned sour as thousands of revellers poured into London's Tube stations.

Four train drivers and three other London Underground staff were assaulted during the evening. The tyres of a police vehicle were slashed, two officers assaulted and another was injured amid chaotic scenes.

Liverpool Street Station en fete

Superintendent Ellie Bird, of British Transport Police, said: "This was an unfortunate end to what was intended to be a fun event. The arrests were made following sporadic outbreaks of disorder which is very disappointing given the intention of the organisers was that this should not be a disorderly or disruptive event."