The justice secretary is set to announce plans to tackle prison overcrowding amid fears jails will run out of space within weeks.
Shabana Mahmood is expected to set out emergency measures that could include reducing the time before some prisoners are automatically released, following a tour of HMP Bedford and HMP Five Wells, in Northamptonshire.
But the move faced fierce backlash with the aunt of Zara Aleena branding the early release a “dangerous gamble with public safety”.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer said the prisons overcrowding crisis was “unforgivable” and showed “gross irresponsibility” from the previous Conservative government.
Nigel Farage is set to return to GB News next week after being elected as an MP on his eighth attempt, the channel has confirmed.
Ofcom repeatedly found that the broadcaster breached rules on impartiality, which allow politicians to present current affairs programmes but not act as newsreaders.
Key Points
- Justice secretary to reveal plans to tackle ‘catastrophic’ prison overcrowding
- Starmer says ‘unforgivable' prison overcrowding crisis ‘worse than we thought’
- Aunt of Zara Aleena brands early release ‘dangerous gamble with public safety'
- Nigel Farage set to return to GB News despite Ofcom warning
- Governor warns prison overcrowding ‘worst I’ve ever experienced'
Home secretary pays tribute to four people dead in Channel
09:43
Salma Ouaguira
Yvette Cooper has paid tribute to the four people who died after their dinghy capsized as they attempted to cross the Channel from France to the UK.
Posting on social media, Ms Cooper said: “The further loss of life in the Channel this morning is truly awful. My thoughts are with all those affected.
“Criminal gangs are making vast profit from putting lives at risk. We are accelerating action with international partners to pursue & bring down dangerous smuggler gangs.”
The further loss of life in the Channel this morning is truly awful. My thoughts are with all those affected.
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) July 12, 2024
Criminal gangs are making vast profit from putting lives at risk. We are accelerating action with international partners to pursue & bring down dangerous smuggler gangs.
Farage demands Starmer to ‘move fast’ on small boats after Channel deaths
09:37
Salma Ouaguira
4 deaths in the Channel this morning, the new Government had better start moving fast.
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) July 12, 2024
Sir Mark Rowley claims prisoner release is ‘least worst option'
09:30
Salma Ouaguira
The government’s expected plans to release some prisoners early is “the least worst option”, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has said.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “The Government have got a situation where there’s no easy solution.
“Prisons are very, very close to full and filling up day in day out. The worst possible thing would be for the system to block, because the system blocks in prisons if they get completely full. That kicks back into the courts and into what we do. And that’s really dangerous for the public.
“So the Government are forced into making a rapid decision to avoid that risk. So it’s going to be the least worst option they’re going to have to find, so I understand what they’re trying to do, however not ideal it is.”
Metropolitan Police Chief Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says the government's expected plans to release some prisoners early is 'the least worst option'. pic.twitter.com/7suY0la1yr
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) July 12, 2024
Former Tory justice secretary warns Starmer against ‘sending mixed messages about punishment'
09:22
Salma Ouaguira
Former Conservative justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland said the Labour Government should not be “sending mixed messages about punishment” and should make its “commitment to protect the public” clear.
Sir Robert, who is no longer an MP after losing his seat in last week’s election, told Sky News: “My advice to the new Justice Secretary – and I wish her well, she’s just come into post – is to make sure that we aren’t releasing people who could pose a risk, particularly domestic abusers, stalkers, those types of offenders. I think it would be wholly inappropriate to release them.”
He added: “I think we do need to be absolutely iron on our commitment to protect the public. And the new Government would be best advised to make that clear from the outset.
“Because sending mixed messages about punishment is not a good way, frankly, to start a penal policy when you’ve just taken office.”
Sir Robert also admitted that the prison building programme “which I started with Rishi Sunak is coming forward, but not at a pace that is quick enough I think to meet demand”.
He agreed that only 6,000 of the 20,000 new places the Tories promised by the end of this year have been created.
Shadow home secretary says deaths of four people in the Channel are a ‘tragedy'
09:14
Salma Ouaguira
Shadow home secretary James Cleverly has reacted to reports of the deaths of four people while trying to cross the Channel.
Posting on social media, Mr Cleverly said: “Reports of more deaths in the channel are a tragedy. As a country we must do everything in our power to stop the boats and put an end to this vile trade in human suffering.”
Reports of more deaths in the channel are a tragedy.
— James Cleverly (@JamesCleverly) July 12, 2024
As a country we must do everything in our power to stop the boats and put an end to this vile trade in human suffering.
Green MP reveals a day in the life of working in parliament
09:07
Salma Ouaguira
Newly elected MP for North Herefordshire Ellie Chowns has published a video update about what is like being one of the four Green members in the House of Commons.
My first week in Westminster! ✅
— Ellie Chowns (@EllieChowns) July 12, 2024
Thank you for all of your votes and support!
Today I'm back in the constituency, holding my first surgery.
(PS Do let me know if these videos are helpful and tell me if you have any questions about our daily activities as Green MPs) pic.twitter.com/28mMx0eGA5
Starmer’s honeymoon over as unions angry over public sector pay
09:00
Salma Ouaguira
Sir Keir Starmer is facing an early end to his post-election honeymoon period as union leaders raise threats over public sector pay.
Comments made by the prime minister at the Nato summit in Washington DC appear to confirm that he is prioritising economic stability and bringing mortgages down over meeting demands for wage rises.
With junior doctors threatening more strikes over their demands for a 35 per cent pay rise and other pay review bodies on different sectors due to report shortly, Sir Keir was pushed on whether he is prepared to agree to above-inflation rises.
Health secretary Wes Streeting, who has also warned against a 35 per cent pay rise, is in talks with the doctors as an urgent priority but others could be coming up if pay demands are not met.
But the prime minister is also facing a number of other issues as he flies back to the UK:
- Already he has a rebellion among Labour MPs on the two-child benefit cap.
- He is set to have to make difficult decisions on releasing prisoners because of an overcrowding crisis.
- There are questions over when he will fulfil commitments including increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent.
Our political editor David Maddox has more:
Former justice secretary warns Labour not to make ‘mistake’ on early release scheme
08:53
Salma Ouaguira
Sir Robert Buckland has warned Sir Keir Starmer not to make the “mistake” of releasing prisoners after completing 40 per cent of their time, instead of 50 per cent.
Shabana Mahmood is expected to announce new emergency measure to tackle prison overcrowding in a major speech today.
But the former justice secretary under the Tories urged Labour to be cautious and to “prove” it will be “tough on crime”.
He told LBC: “We didn’t hit a problem like this during that period. I have had direct experience of this problem.
“During Covid I actually created a prisoner release system that could have released 4,000 prisoners, I only released 200, and I took very special personal interest in the release of each and every prisoner because I did not want to see dangerous offenders out on our streets during the Covid crisis.
“We managed to avoid that nightmare. I do hope that if Shabana Mahmood is to announce this release scheme today that she doesn’t, and her officials, don’t make the mistake of releasing people who really shouldn’t be on the streets early because they pose a risk.
“Labour have said they want to be tough on crime, well, now is their moment to prove it.”
Starmer shares new government’s policy on smartphones for under-16s
08:45
Salma Ouaguira
Sir Keir Starmer has revealed his party’s approach to smartphones for children aged under 16 amid growing concerns about their effects on mental health.
The prime minister was pressed on the issue after the previous Tory government was mocked by Labour.
But despite growing calls for a ban overall for children, Sir Keir has revealed he plans to resist the demands.
Our political editor David Maddox has the full story:
Watch: ‘Britain belongs on world stage’ says Starmer at end of Nato summit
08:36
Salma Ouaguira
Breaking: Four people die trying to cross English Channel in boat
08:21
Salma Ouaguira
Four people have died while trying to cross the English Channel to the UK from France in a boat, Joe Middleton reports.
Overnight a boat capsized and migrants fell into the sea off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France.
Four people found unconscious could not be saved by parademics and a further 63 were rescued, as reported by French newspaper La Voix Du Nord.
Governor warns prison overcrowding ‘worst I’ve ever experienced'
08:20
Salma Ouaguira
Vice president of the Prison Governors’ Association Mark Icke has labelled the prison overcrowding crisis the “worst I’ve ever experienced”.
Mr Ickes said since he joined the service in the 1990s officers are faced with more prisoners in custody than “we can really deal with”.
He echoed prime minister’s remarks that the previous government is “absolutely” to blame for the situation, adding: “We were warning them for some time and working very closely with ministerial teams. And for whatever reason, they never got it over the line.”
Welcoming the expected plans from the new justice secretary to release prisoners after serving 40 per cent of their sentences, he said they had been campaigning for it “for some time”.
He said: “I think the general public were probably slightly unaware that prisoners are released around the 50% mark anyway, listening to some of the conversations that we’ve held. And so 40% is welcomed by us.
“We would hope to give us a bit of breathing space in the system in order for us to start working with prisoners in a more sort of proactive way.”
Aunt of Zara Aleena brands early release ‘dangerous gamble with public safety'
08:15
Salma Ouaguira
The aunt of Zara Aleena, who was murdered by a man who had been out of prison on licence for nine days, warned that releasing inmates after serving 40 per cent of their sentences could be “a dangerous gamble with public safety” if the probation service is unable to cope.
Farah Naz told BBC Breakfast: “If the system cannot deal with those people being released into the community, then those people are not going to be supervised adequately.
“And when people, perpetrators, even thieves are not supervised adequately, crime can escalate. It doesn’t always escalate, but it can.
“Then we’ve got unsupervised people because of a poor probation service in the community and people become emboldened – ‘well I can do what I like if nobody is supervising me’ – and that’s what happened in our situation.
“It was a man that was emboldened because he was not supervised, he was not assessed, he was constantly allowed to do what he wanted to do, and therein lies a dangerous gamble with public safety with this move right now.”
In the case of Ms Aleena’s killer Jordan McSweeney, Ms Naz said the probation service was “not fit to deliver supervision” or “act in a timely way” when he broke his licence conditions.
Expanding early release of prisoners to free up 5,000 more spaces, Prison Officers Association says
08:10
Salma Ouaguira
Releasing certain inmates after they’ve served 40 per cent of their sentences rather than 50 per cent would give prisons around 12 to 18 months before further measures are needed, the chairman of the Prison Officers Association has said.
Mark Fairhurst told BBC Breakfast such a move would give prisons about 4,500 to 5,000 more spaces.
Mr Fairhurst said: “It would relieve the pressure on us for a maximum of 18 months, and then longer term the new government would have to look at further measures,” he said.
He said there are less than 700 places left in adult male closed prisons and that the critical point at which prisons must start using police cells is 300 spaces.
“We can’t operate on that amount of cell space, when you look at the courts they’re sending people to us at the rate of 250-350 per week. If we’ve got less than 300 we just haven’t got the capacity,” he said.
It’s a “massive job” to identify and process prisoners to release early and would take a couple of months, he said.
Keir Starmer gives verdict on bank holiday if England win Euros
08:00
Salma Ouaguira
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer would not commit to an extra bank holidayif England win Euro 2024.
The Labour leader said the UK should “certainly mark the occasion” but said he did not want to “jinx anything” by pre-empting the result of Sunday’s final.
The Liberal Democrats led calls for an extra bank holiday after England claimed a last-minute 2-1 victory over the Netherlands on Wednesday. Gareth Southgate’s side will now play Spain in the finals.
Sir Keir previously supported calls for a bank holiday when England’s women’s football team made it to the World Cup final last year.
Starmer says ‘unforgivable' prison overcrowding crisis ‘worse than we thought’
07:50
Salma Ouaguira
Sir Keir Starmer has said the prisons overcrowding crisis was “unforgivable” and showed “gross irresponsibility” from the previous government.
Responding to a question at the Nato summit last night, Sir Keir said: “The crux of the problem we face at the moment, and it is a terrible problem, is that we’ve got far too many prisoners for the prison places that we’ve got and we soon will have.
“That is gross irresponsibility of the outgoing government. It is a basic function of government that you should have enough places for your prisoners that judges are sending to prison.
“And for that to have failed I think tells you something material about the last government – that we have to pick this up and we have to fix it. I can’t build a prison in the first seven days of a Labour government.”
Sir Keir added: “We knew there was going to be a problem, but the scale of the problem was worse than we thought.
“And the nature of the problem is pretty unforgivable in my book, having worked in criminal justice, to have allowed your criminal justice system to get to a state where you simply haven’t got the prison places for prisoners.
“This is a predictable problem – it’s shocking. And I think that when further details are released of this, you’ll have plenty of extra questions for those that came before us.”
Starmer refuses to renege on assisted dying vote pledge
07:40
Salma Ouaguira
Sir Keir Starmer insisted he was not going back on a commitment to a free vote on changes to assisted dying laws despite declining to put a timetable on it.
The prime minister said he would provide parliamentary time for a vote if a backbench MP proposed changing the law but “we have got to set our priorities for the first year or so”.
Sir Keir supported a change in the law the last time the issue was voted on in the Commons nine years ago and the cause has been championed by broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen.
He told reporters that he would support a free vote on a private member’s bill if one was produced by an MP.
Asked if there would be a vote in the first year, he said: “What I said was that we would provide time for this, obviously, by way of a private member’s bill, and there will be a free vote, that remains my position for the reasons I’ve set out, having probably got more experience on this than most people, having personally looked at tens of cases in my time as director of public prosecutions.
“As to the timing of it, I haven’t made a commitment on that and I don’t want to. I’m not going back on the commitment I made, it’s just we have got to set out priorities for the first year or so, but I will double down on the commitment that we are going to do that, we will allow time for a private member’s bill, and there will be a free vote.”
Starmer rejects calls to ban mobile phones for under-16s
07:30
Salma Ouaguira
Sir Keir Starmer has rejected calls to stop children under the age of 16 form buying mobile phones but claimed there should be stronger content controls.
The prime minister said his 13-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son own phones but refused to say whether he restricts their use.
Sir Keir told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “Our children have mobile phones and I’m not in favour of simply banning them for children under 16.
“I think there’s a serious question as to what the content is and the control of the content and that is something where I think we need to look again.”
Justice secretary to reveal plans to tackle ‘catastrophic’ prison overcrowding
07:25
Salma Ouaguira
The justice secretary is set to announce plans to address prison overcrowding amid fears jails will run out of space within weeks.
Shabana Mahmood is expected to set out emergency measures that could include reducing the time before some prisoners are automatically released, following a tour of HMP Bedford and HMP Five Wells, in Northamptonshire.
She is expected to argue that the level of overcrowding, described by the Ministry of Justice as “catastrophic”, requires “immediate action” to “pull the justice system back from the brink of total collapse”.
The emergency measures are a bid to prevent the situation from becoming so bad that it leads to a breakdown in law and order, amid fears that if no action is taken this could see a scenario where criminals believe they can act with impunity and turn to opportunistic crimes like lootings if police officers cannot use their powers to detain dangerous offenders because they have nowhere to hold them.
For the prison system to run smoothly and effectively, officials ideally want to keep a buffer of 1,425 cell spaces free in men’s prisons at all times to make sure there is enough space to hold sudden influxes of inmates.
According to sources, just 700 are now free. It is understood the latest figures show 83,380 inmates are currently being held in the adult male estate.
Nigel Farage set to return to GB News despite Ofcom warning
07:16
Salma Ouaguira
The Reform leader is set to return to his presenter role at GB News next week after being elected as an MP.
He cancelled his GB News show, which he hosted Monday to Thursday each week, in May to free up time to help with the General Election campaigning for Reform UK.
Mr Farage is planning to broadcast from the channel’s studios in Westminster three times a week, according to the Financial Times.
Ofcom has repeatedly found that GB News has breached broadcasting rules on impartiality, which allow politicians to present current affairs programmes but not act as newsreaders.
In May, the broadcaster said it was beginning a challenge against Ofcom after the broadcasting regulator warned the channel that it is considering enforcement methods that could include a fine or revoking its licence.
Their backlash came after the regulator ruled that GB News broke broadcasting due impartiality rules following the airing of the programme, People’s Forum: The Prime Minister, where Rishi Sunak was questioned by the public.
Ofcom said it did not feature an “appropriately wide range of significant viewpoints” and called compliance by the channel “wholly insufficient”.
Move over, Eton – my old comp is the frontbenchers’ school of choice
07:00
Salma Ouaguira
More members of Labour’s new cabinet went to an unassuming state secondary in south Manchester than attended the public school that produced 20 prime ministers.
Here, Marina Gask remembers fondly her time at Parrs Wood – and reveals what made it such a political powerhouse:
Labour minister dismisses calls to scrap two-child benefit cap
05:30
Salma Ouaguira
Environment secretary Steve Reed has rejected calls to scrap the controversial two-child benefit cap.
The Labour minister said the party understands calls to get rid of the policy but claimed the government must keep “strict spending controls” to stabilise the economy.
Mr Reed told reporters: “Of course we understand the pressure for that, of course we understand the difficulties families face because of the wider cost of living crisis.
“It is absolutely essential that this Labour Government maintains strict spending controls because we have to stabilise the economy after 14 years of Conservative chaos.
“It is that chaos and the way they crashed the economy that has left families hurting so much. As we grow the economy, we will be able to spend the additional income on other things that we want to achieve for this country.”
Exclusive: U-turn sees Ukrainian toddler reunited with refugee parents in UK
05:00
Salma Ouaguira
Ukrainian refugee parents barred from bringing their two-year-old daughter to Britain after the UK’s sponsorship rules were suddenly tightened will now be reunited with their child after a government U-turn.
Oleksandra and Yaroslav, both aged 31, decided to leave their daughter Anna with her grandparents in Kyiv while getting set up with their own accommodation and establishing a new business after arriving in Britain under the Homes for Ukraine scheme in April 2022.
But after they overcame these hurdles, their application in April this year for Anna to join them was refused by the Home Office on the grounds that – as per rule changes brought in without warning in February – they were no longer eligible sponsors, being neither UK or Irish citizens nor having indefinite leave to remain.
However, after Anna’s case was highlighted by The Independent and raised by the charity Settled with senior Home Office figures, her parents were given sponsor checks and the toddler’s visa was finally approved on 18 June.
Our reporter Andy Gregory has the full story:
