Last week Donna Anthony wiped away tears as three judges overturned her conviction for murdering her two children. Her solicitor, George Hawks, a man who never lost faith in his client, called it a day of mixed emotions. I agree. On the one hand I felt relief and pleasure. On the other I was sharply reminded of the women who have never had their day in open court. They write to me, tear-stained, impassioned letters - letters which I can do nothing about because the Family Court has imposed an injunction on them. If they go public about what has happened to them they will be breaking the law and face arrest. Again and again I have tried to bring such cases to TV. Again and again I am told legal restrictions make this impossible. Hopes raised by the freeing of Sally Clarke and Angela Canning allowed me to believe that justice would at last be done and a review of cases where there had been a conviction was promised. Alas, in too many cases authorities have declared themselves satisfied and done little or no re-investigation. Unless those individuals are lucky enough to have counsel who will not let go and battle on regardless, they have no hope, but at least we know they exist. Hundreds - perhaps thousands - of nameless parents sit weeping today for children they will never see again. In some instances they are allowed to write a goodbye letter. In others they are promised an occasional photograph. Probably some of them were bad parents and the verdict is a proper one. Children's welfare must come first. Paediatricians dedicated to protecting children must be allowed to voice opinions - the way in which they alone are blamed for the court's failure is lamentable. The court should weigh those opinions on the scales. Too often that is not done. If it had been, the 73 million to one assertion which convicted Sally Clarke would have been quickly demolished. But when a hearing takes place behind closed doors and public and press scrutiny are denied, what chance does the accused have? In many of those cases there is no medical evidence offered, just the report of a caseworker. One mother told me that the report on her home said "there is little or no food in the fridge," but did not mention that the kitchen benches were covered with the product of a morning's baking. Is that dispassionate reporting? On occasion parents have rung me as they were packing their children's clothes ready for the car that would carry them away forever. I firmly believe that in 20 years time we will look back at what is happening now and feel deep shame. I met Donna Anthony this week and was delighted to see that she is not bitter and has kept her sense of humour. Hopefully other cases like Donna's will be reviewed eventually. I worry more about those parents who never had an open hearing. As long as we have closed courts and injunctions against speaking out, justice will continue to elude them. ********** Choice snag for many What do you do when your every instinct is to do your best for your child and the only way to do that is to cheat? Margaret Gillespie, herself a deputy head, gave a false address in an attempt to get her child into a good school. She was found out and now she is disgraced and her child's chances of a school of choice are gone. The rich simply send their children to fee-paying schools or buy a house in the catchment area of a high-achieving school. It's only the poor who must resort to lying. A YouGov survey in 2004 found that more than a quarter of parents were prepared to do what Margaret Gillespie did. One London estate agent says some parents take expensive short-term lets in desirable areas, just so their child can enrol at a good school. Once again, money talks. In Birmingham last week 5,600 children - more than a third of the total - didn't get their first choice of school. As long as we have figures like that we'll have desperate parents prepared to fib in what they believe to be a good cause. ********** Snide remarks over Lauren For the last few weeks I've read nothing but snide comments about Lauren Bacall. One paper called her "Hollywood's grumpiest old woman." Not only had she rubbished Nicole Kidman by denying she was a screen legend, she'd bewailed the fact that Hollywood wasn't glamorous any more and called Hugh Grant "not a great actor". Then there were all the tales about her demands for a certain drink in a certain glass, her haughtiness and general bloody-mindedness. Last week I talked to someone who'd actually worked and spent time with her in the last few weeks. "Lovely," he said - and he's quite a shrewd judge. "Absolutely no side, a real trouper." So much for rumour! ********** Question of feminine intuition Psychologists who tested 15,000 people have concluded that female intuition is a myth. We're no better at detecting sincerity than the men, in fact not quite as good. They did it by asking volunteers to decide which smiles were false and which genuine, and the women failed hands down. Before the test 77pc of the women described themselves as "highly intuitive." Only 58pc of the men were as boastful. In fact, the women scored marginally less - one per cent - than the men. Phooey, I say. They can show me as many smiles as they like, I still say I can detect a wrong 'un at 50 paces. ********** Crazy ban The Crime and Disorder Partnership in Tewkesbury wanted to reassure elderly people that the police were alert and watchful on their behalf, particularly against bogus callers. Printing details of their Lock, Chain and Check Campaign and a helpline number on paper napkins which would go out with Meals on Wheels seemed like a brilliant idea. Gloucester County Council and the constabulary agreed - and then some official with nothing better to do called "Whoa." Pensioners might choke on the paper napkins, he said, assuming elderly people are too stupid to differentiate between tripe and onions and tissue. Reluctantly Tewkesbury had to put the plan on hold, leaving the elderly in the dark. The worst thing about this is that the idiot who objected gets paid for it. ********** Drowning in conflicting opinions One side says MRSA is only a hiccup, the other says it's eating up the nation. One side says there are hardly any illegal immigrants, the other says they're flooding in. Other parties can't seem to make up their minds. On almost every subject we are fed opposing views and equally opposing figures. Commentators purport to give us unbiased opinion but can barely hide their own political leanings. Oh for someone we could trust to give us facts and only facts so we could make up our own minds. We are drowning in opinions and I fear they're far from objective. ********** Reign on Corrie Russell Harty said: "There was life before Coronation Street but it wasn't up to much." Well, Corrie aficionado that I am, I wouldn't go that far but I do think Coronation Street, conceived by the brilliant Tony Warren when he was a mere boy, has become part of the fabric of our lives. The wedding of Deirdre and Ken proved a bigger draw than the wedding of Charles and Camilla. Almost everyone has an opinion on hellcat Tracy and wants poor Gail to have a stroke of luck. As ITV prepares for its 50th birthday - I recorded my bit this week - there can be few programmes that have stood the test of time like Corrie. Long may it reign. * Denise Robertson cannot enter into any personal correspondence. | 
