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[20 December 2007] - Two restraint techniques used on children in custody have been suspended by ministers after medical concern. The so-called nose distraction, involving a painful upward chop against the septum, and the "double basket", whereby the arms are crossed and held behind the back, are banned while their safety is checked.
The change was announced by the children's minister, Beverley Hughes, and the youth justice minister, David Hanson. The suspension follows a campaign, against these and other restraint methods, by the Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) and other campaigners, as well as the families of children who have died in custody. It comes two weeks after a visit to England by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture to discuss the use of restraint with ministers. In a letter to the CRAE, Hanson and Hughes say the ban stems from recommendations by the coroner conducting the inquest into the death in custody of 15-year-old Gareth Myatt, who, with Adam Rickwood, 14, died in 2004 following the use of physical restraint at secure training centres. CRAE's national coordinator, Carolyne Willow, said yesterday: "Staff ... should never have been allowed to deliberately inflict pain on children ... [it] is a form of torture which is in clear breach of human rights, not to mention child cruelty and assault laws." Further information
pdf: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/dec/20/youthjustice