An apparent firebomb attack at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham, linked to Russian-backed saboteurs, was believed to be a trial run for a US attack, according to Polish officials.

Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed four arrests after parcels “containing explosives” were allegedly sent via courier companies to countries including the UK.

Counter-terror police in the UK are already investigating whether Russia had any involvement after a suspicious package caught fire at a DHL warehouse in Minworth in July.

Authorities in Germany are also examining several fires thought to have been caused by incendiary devices hidden inside parcels at a warehouse in Leipzig.

Polish Prosecutor Katarzyna Calow-Jaszewska said the latest arrests were related to parcels “which spontaneously ignited or detonated during land and air transport” to EU countries and the UK.

She said the group’s goal was allegedly “to test the transfer channel for such parcels, which were ultimately to be sent to the United States of America and Canada”.

She added that four people involved in “sabotage” and “of an international nature were detained”.

On Monday, Counter Terrorism Policing said the arrests reported by Polish authorities were not carried out as part of its investigation.

It coincides with reports by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that the devices were “electric massagers implanted with a magnesium-based flammable substance” and “part of a wider Russian plot”.

Russia has denied involvement. A Kremlin spokesperson told the US newspaper the claims were “traditional unsubstantiated insinuations from the media”.

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A suspicious fire took hold in July at a DHL warehouse in the UK after a package arrived by air, but further details about the plane and its flight path are unknown.

Last month British police said their investigation was “being led by officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command with support from colleagues from Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands”.

Some 593 police officers were sacked in the year to April 2024, figures show.

The number of those kicked out and barred from returning to the job was a 50% increase on the 394 officers sacked in the previous 12 months, the College of Policing said.

They were from a workforce of more than 147,000 officers across the 43 police forces in England and Wales.

It comes after concerns over the culture in areas of policing following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer in 2021 and the unmasking of then-Met Police sergeant David Carrick as one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders.

Several officers have also been punished for sharing deeply offensive WhatsApp messages.

The Police Barred List from the College of Policing also gives the reason for the sacking, with 912 recorded in total because multiple reasons can apply to one case.

The most common reason for being sacked was dishonesty, in 125 cases, followed by sexual offences or misconduct in 74 and discriminatory behaviour in 71.

Some 66 cases recorded unlawful access to or disclosure of information while 18 were for being part of a discriminatory WhatsApp group.

Eighteen officers were sacked for possessing indecent images of children and 33 were fired for abusing their position for a sexual purpose.

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Figures broken down by gender and ethnicity

Of those who lost their jobs, 519 were constables and 48 were sergeants, followed by 16 inspectors, five chief inspectors, two superintendents, one chief superintendent and two chief officers.

Some 30 specials – volunteer officers – were also added to the Police Barred List in the year up to 31 March 2024, as were 233 police staff.

Of the 623 officers and specials sacked, 79 were from a black or ethnic minority (BAME) background, accounting for 12.7% of the total dismissed – workforce data shows 8% of officers said they are from a BAME background as of March 31 2024.

Meanwhile, 530 were white and ethnicity was not recorded in the remaining 14 cases.

Of the sacked officers and specials, 491 were male, 97 were female, one preferred to self-describe and 34 preferred not to say.

The Metropolitan Police had the highest number of sacked officers, followed by Greater Manchester Police, West Yorkshire, West Midlands and Essex.

‘Hugely disappointing’

Assistant Chief Constable Tom Harding, director of operational standards at the College of Policing, said: “It is of course, hugely disappointing to see the conduct of a number of officers falling far below the standard that we set for policing and which the public rightly expects.

“However, these figures show that we have effective, robust procedures in place to identify and deal with these officers swiftly, and to prevent them from holding future roles within the police.

“These figures show that there is nowhere to hide for people who fail to meet the high standards set across our police forces.

“Their behaviour tarnishes policing and erodes public trust. The service will continue working to ensure we attract the right people into policing, ensuring that those who fail to meet these high standards have no future in policing.”

A prison has been become like an “airport” with drugs being brought in by drones through holes burned in cell windows, an inmate has told inspectors.

A watchdog has warned HMP Garth, in Lancashire, which holds serious offenders, is “facing major security issues” and a “breakdown in safety and security”.

Inspectors found prisoners had been using the elements from their kettles to burn holes in their “inadequately protected” Perspex windows to allow the “entry of drones laden with contraband”, while the “smell of cannabis was rife”.

Some 63% of the men held in the category B jail who were surveyed said it was easy to get hold of drugs with one saying: “This is now an airport.”

Inspectors found prisoners were damaging their windows faster than they could be repaired with 13 cells found with holes, including five which were still occupied, on the first day of the visit.

They also said oversight and searching, including accounting for mops and brooms used to collect drugs from drones, was “weak”.

Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said: “Garth holds some very serious offenders. Although the governor had a good understanding of the many challenges the prison faced, without better support from the regional team and the prison service it will continue to be a jail of real concern.

“It is imperative that the prison service finds a way to stem the ingress of drones to reduce the supply of drugs into prisons like Garth, so they can begin to reduce violence and get men out of their cells and into a full day’s work and training.

“Staff attendance and capability will need to improve significantly and without substantial investment from the prison service, drugs will continue to flow into this troubled jail.”

In January, 400-metre restricted fly zones were introduced around all closed prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales, while there have been more than 90 drone-related convictions since June 2016.

A 36-year-old man was arrested in the early hours of Monday after staff at HMP Liverpool spotted a drone trying to land in the prison courtyard.

The package was found to contain cannabis resin, tobacco, mobile phones notes, drill bits and SIM cards, Merseyside Police said.

At the time of the HMP Garth inspection, the training prison held 816 prisoners mostly serving long or indeterminate sentences.

The rate of assaults had soared by 45% since the last inspection, with many inmates needing protection because of drug-related debt.

Inspectors found some parts of the prison were dilapidated and new arrivals said they were being forced to pay other prisoners to get missing furniture for their cells.

The report also highlights high levels of staff sickness, insufficient training and an unwillingness to challenge prisoner rule-breaking, as well as poor staff morale.

”A prison system in crisis’

It comes weeks after a damning report found category B Winchester prison was so “dilapidated” an inmate was able to remove his own cell door.

Chief executive of the social justice charity Nacro, Campbell Robb, said the issues the latest report highlights are “symptomatic of wider crisis” across the prison system.

“HMP Garth is another example of how without significant reform, we risk perpetuating a vicious cycle of violence and hopelessness within our prisons, undermining both public safety and the potential for rehabilitation in the long-term,” he said.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The new government inherited a prison system in crisis and reports like these demonstrate the need for robust action to get the situation back under control.

“We have zero tolerance towards violence and drugs and our security measures, such as X-ray body scanners and anti-drone no-fly zones, detect and stop drugs from entering our prisons.”