Struggling to pay your mortgage?

[lush]

By ANTHONY FRANCE

HOOK-handed cleric Abu Hamza’s council house is getting a £25,000 makeover at taxpayers’ expense  while he is in jail awaiting trial on terror charges.

A plush kitchen and bathroom have been installed  and the Muslim dad of eight’s five-bed home in Shepherd’s Bush, West London, has been redecorated.

HOME TRUTHS

MANY people in this country have to work hard for long hours to keep a roof over their heads and clothes on their kids’ backs.

Not so Abu Hamza.

About £1,000 a week in benefits goes into his home every week to keep his wife and eight children.

Now £25,000 of taxpayers’ cash is being spent on his council home.

The five-bedroomed house in West London gets a new kitchen, a new bathroom, new heating and redecoration.

The news will anger families struggling to buy their own homes.

Even the workers installing the granite worktops and varnished cupboards are shocked at the expense.

Abu Hamza is in prison awaiting trial on terror charges including soliciting murder.

He also faces possible extradition to America.

When free, he was a man of considerable energy, regularly making lengthy sermons to anyone who would listen.

Despite his disabilities he could have got a proper job which would have eased the burden he placed on the taxpayer.

Let’s hope his wife Nagat explains to the children how generous and open-handed Britain is.

And how the path to REAL satisfaction in life is to pay your own way.

Who the hell gave permission for this?

[filbertway]

Sounds like he deserves it anyway

[Babylon]

I hate this country

[stez]

to be fair, the council need to keep their housing stock up to date.

having said that i used to live next to i right wasteral she had everything bought for her by the council, double glazing, central heating etc. and while i was struggling to pay my mortgage, it did annoy me a bit knowing i was going to have to save for years to buy any of that stuff, but having moved away and had time to think; the council do need to keep their stock habitable.

[Thracian]

to be fair, the council need to keep their housing stock up to date.

having said that i used to live next to i right wasteral she had everything bought for her by the council, double glazing, central heating etc. and while i was struggling to pay my mortgage, it did annoy me a bit knowing i was going to have to save for years to buy any of that stuff, but having moved away and had time to think; the council do need to keep their stock habitable.

New Labour will continue to take the piss out of genuine working people, to alienate the intelligentsia and to shit on country folk. Meanwhile over in Barbados...

[Steven]

to be fair, the council need to keep their housing stock up to date.

having said that i used to live next to i right wasteral she had everything bought for her by the council, double glazing, central heating etc. and while i was struggling to pay my mortgage, it did annoy me a bit knowing i was going to have to save for years to buy any of that stuff, but having moved away and had time to think; the council do need to keep their stock habitable.

Very rational and very sensible.

[lush]

I hate this country

I would rather say, i hate the people who make the rules, as theres nothing wrong with England itself.

[Babylon]

I would rather say, i hate the people who make the rules, as theres nothing wrong with England itself.

No I hate this country.... the weather sucks.

[Rincewind]

3 MILLION IN UNCLAIMED BENEFITS

SDLP Equality Spokesperson Patricia Lewsley today is urging the government to offer more information to the elderly to inform them of what benefits they are entitled to.

Speaking after this morning's announcement that approximately £3 million of benefits is not claimed by pensioners, Ms Lewsley said: "This is an alarming amount of unclaimed money and I would like to know what percentage of this shortfall relates to the North.

"This confirms just one of the key issues that was raised at a recent NICVA conference I attended - that people are being given very limited information at social security offices.

"This deficit in benefits is clearly a sign of mismanagement. The DHSS needs to implement a more effective information system for its customers. Surely if people knew that they are entitled to additional benefits they would claim them.

"It is outrageous that whilst this money is lying in the public purse, there are many pensioners living from hand to mouth. Immediate action has to be taken by the DHSS to ensure better management of this system and to afford people the standards of living that they deserve."

[breadandcheese]

I agree with you on this one Lush. The benefits system in this country is poorly run and unfortunately encourages dishonesty and irresponsibility. As was remarked earlier in this thread, the Council needs to continuously update its housing stock, however, the fault comes with those tenants who feel no responsibility to help maintain the property in the first place, allowing it to fall into disrepair.

It becomes even worse when put against the backdrop of those who deserve benefits missing out, or those who struggle day-by-day, working every hour so that they do not have to live off hand-outs, or those who have contributed to the system their entire lives not being looked after properly.

[Rincewind]

The system does seem wrong sometimes. But it's unfair to single out certain groups as the main culprits. The problem is that some people know the system and claim for everything. They are entitled to this because the rules are there in all the leaflets booklets etc that are available. Some people study them more than others. The sad thing is that there are millions of pounds going unclaimed that people don't know about. Maybe its because they are too proud to seek help that a lot dont but if they are entitled to it by law why not claim. The ones that defraud the system get found out eventually.