Connect with us

Published

on

Rishi Sunak has been accused of rehashing old ideas as he prepares to launch a fresh crackdown on anti-social behaviour.

The prime minister has vowed the government’s measures, which include a ban on nitrous oxide and a plan to make offenders repair damage they cause, will “restore people’s confidence” and “stamp out these crimes once and for all”.

But Labour said government cuts had contributed to the problems Mr Sunak is aiming to fix.

Under plans first detailed on Saturday, 16 areas in England and Wales will get funding to trial ideas like “hotspot” enforcement patrols and an “immediate justice” scheme to speed up punishments.

The former will see more police officers and wardens cover areas like parks, high streets and public transport.

Those found to be committing anti-social behaviour will be made to repair any damage, ideally within 48 hours, while working under supervision and wearing high-vis vests.

If successful, the hotspot and justice plans will be rolled out across England and Wales from 2024.

And a new digital reporting tool will be developed over the next 12 months, which will let people report anti-social behaviour incidents and get updates on what action local councils or the police are taking.

Victims will also get a say in how offenders are punished, such as by picking up litter or washing police cars, but the government has not said how this would work.

Litter Picking in her Community stock photo
Image:
Offenders could be forced to pick up litter in high-vis jackets

‘We’ve heard it all before’

Labour said tackling anti-social behaviour was a priority but said the government was rehashing old ideas.

Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell told Sky’s Sophie Ridge on Sunday programme: “We’ve heard it all before from this government, and I think we have to judge them by their record.

“Community sentencing over the last 13 years is down not just by a third, but by two thirds.”

Former victims’ commissioner Baroness Helen Newlove, a Tory peer, also said “there is nothing new” in the government’s crackdown plans.

“It doesn’t really rock my boat, and there is nothing new there that jumps out to actually be effective… to help communities feel safe where they live,” she told BBC Radio 4’s The World this Weekend programme.

It’s difficult to see how the ban on this popular drug will be policed

We’ve been investigating nitrous oxide use for the last few months. In that time we’ve spoken to users, sellers, medics, police, politicians.

Everyone has different ideas about the risks associated with this gas. Users we spoke to last night outside a club said it is harmless, a bit of fun. It gives them a 30-second high, so what’s the big deal? Medics paint a different picture. They see the ugly side of the party drug: young people who have lost feeling in fingers and toes, some with collapsed or burst lungs and one person who ended up in a wheelchair.

The government asked for advice and the body responsible for reviewing it acknowledged those risks but said they weren’t high enough (pun not intended) to warrant a ban.

It recommended that nitrous oxide remain a psychoactive substance – legal to inhale, illegal to supply for recreational use. But the government says the anti-social behaviour associated with it is not a “minor crime”. The levelling up secretary told Sky News today that nitrous oxide will be banned under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Michael Gove didn’t specify how it will be classed but it’s important to find this out because that explains how serious an offence it will be to take the drug.

Last night we lost count of how many people were streaming out of the club inhaling balloons. It’s difficult to see how this will be policed.

It’s important to remember there are plenty of legitimate uses for nitrous oxide, which can be used as an anaesthetic in medical and dental contexts and as a gas for whipped cream in cooking.

Read more:
Ex-Tory ministers targeted in sting operation
Adam Boulton: Politicians must get their houses in order

Nitrous oxide to be banned

It comes after Michael Gove announced a ban on nitrous oxide would be part of the crackdown.

The levelling up secretary told Sophy Ridge that laughing gas “can have a psychological and neurological effect” on people and resulted in the littering of silver canisters in public spaces.

It is being banned despite a review commissioned by the Home Office advising against it, saying potential punishments would be disproportionate to the amount of harm caused.

David Badcock, chief executive of the Drug Science scientific committee, said: “It won’t stop young people using it, banning any substance just drives it into criminal hands.”

The party drug is now the third most used among 16 to 24-year-olds in England. A Sky News investigation revealed there had been a spike in hospital admissions caused by people using it.

Click to subscribe to the Sophy Ridge on Sunday podcast

Other measures in the government’s plans include:

• Increasing fines for graffiti, littering and fly tipping to £500 and £1,000

• More powers for landlords and housing associations to evict unruly tenants

• Allowing councils to quickly take control and sell empty high street buildings

• Making it an offence for criminal gangs to organise begging networks for money

• Giving police new powers to tackle illegal drug use, including testing upon arrest

An anti-social behaviour taskforce, led by Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Mr Gove, will be set up to chart progress and co-ordinate responses.

Meanwhile, 43 more youth centres will get £90m between them to upgrade facilities and offer more activities.

It comes after warnings that the closure of such clubs was “pushing children to violence”.

Continue Reading

UK

Four charged after £7m of damage caused to aircraft at RAF Brize Norton

Published

on

By

Four charged after £7m of damage caused to aircraft at RAF Brize Norton

Four people have been charged after £7m of damage was caused to two Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton.

The investigation into the incident early on Friday 20 June was led by counter-terror police.

They have been charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK – and conspiracy to commit criminal damage.

Two Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton were damaged. PA file pic
Image:
Two Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton were damaged. PA file pic

The four charged have been identified as:

• Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, of no fixed abode

• Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 35, from London

• Jony Cink, 24, of no fixed abode

More from UK

• Lewie Chiaramello, 22, from London

They will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later today.

Brize Norton

A 41-year-old woman arrested last week on suspicion of assisting an offender has been released on bail until 19 September.

Meanwhile, a 23-year-old man detained on Saturday was released without charge.

Last month’s incident at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire was claimed by the activist group Palestine Action.

Yesterday, MPs voted to proscribe the group as a terrorist organisation.

The legislation passed with 385 MPs voting in favour, while 26 were against.

Continue Reading

UK

No 10 backs Chancellor Rachel Reeves and says she ‘is going nowhere’ after tearful appearance in Commons

Published

on

By

No 10 backs Chancellor Rachel Reeves and says she 'is going nowhere' after tearful appearance in Commons

Rachel Reeves has not offered her resignation and is “going nowhere”, Downing Street has said, following her tearful appearance in the House of Commons.

A Number 10 spokesperson said the chancellor had the “full backing” of Sir Keir Starmer, despite Ms Reeves looking visibly upset during Prime Minister’s Questions.

Politics latest: ‘A moment of intense peril’ for PM

A spokesperson for the chancellor later clarified that Ms Reeves had been affected by a “personal matter” and would be working out of Downing Street this afternoon.

Politics latest: Reeves looks visibly upset in Commons

UK government bond prices fell by the most since October 2022, and the pound tumbled after Ms Reeves’s Commons appearance, while the yield on the 10-year government bond, or gilt, rose as much as 22 basis points at one point to around 4.68%.

Downing Street’s insistence came despite Sir Keir refusing to guarantee that Ms Reeves would stay as chancellor until the next election following the fallout from the government’s recent welfare U-turn.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch branded the chancellor the “human shield” for the prime minister’s “incompetence” just hours after he was forced to perform a humiliating U-turn over his controversial welfare bill.

Emotional Reeves a painful watch – and reminder of tough decisions ahead

It is hard to think of a PMQs like it – it was a painful watch.

The prime minister battled on, his tone assured, even if his actual words were not always convincing.

But it was the chancellor next to him that attracted the most attention.

Rachel Reeves looked visibly upset.

It is hard to know for sure right now what was going on behind the scenes, the reasons – predictable or otherwise – why she appeared to be emotional, but it was noticeable and it was difficult to watch.

To read more of Ali Fortescue’s analysis, click here

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Badenoch said: “This man has forgotten that his welfare bill was there to plug a black hole created by the chancellor. Instead they’re creating new ones.”

Turning to the chancellor, the Tory leader added: “[She] is pointing at me – she looks absolutely miserable.

“Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence. In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really?”

Not fully answering the question, the prime minister replied: “[Ms Badenoch] certainly won’t.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Welfare vote ‘a blow to the prime minister’

“I have to say, I’m always cheered up when she asks me questions or responds to a statement because she always makes a complete mess of it and shows just how unserious and irrelevant they are.”

Mrs Badenoch interjected: “How awful for the chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”

The prime minister’s watered-down Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, aimed at saving £5bn, was backed by a majority of 75 in a tense vote on Tuesday evening.

A total of 49 Labour MPs voted against the bill – the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.

After multiple concessions made due to threats of a Labour rebellion, many MPs questioned what they were voting for as the bill had been severely stripped down.

They ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.

Ms Badenoch said the climbdown was proof that Sir Keir was “too weak to get anything done”.

Read more:
The PM faced down his party on welfare and lost
Labour welfare cuts ‘Dickensian’, says rebel MP

Ms Reeves has also borne a lot of the criticism over the handling of the vote, with some MPs believing that her strict approach to fiscal rules has meant she has approached the ballooning welfare bill from the standpoint of trying to make savings, rather than getting people into work.

Experts have now warned that the welfare U-turn, on top of reversing the cut to winter fuel, means that tax rises in the autumn are more likely – with Ms Reeves now needing to find £5bn to make up for the policy U-turns.

Asked by Ms Badenoch whether he could rule out further tax rises – something Labour promised it would not do on working people in its manifesto – Sir Keir said: “She knows that no prime minister or chancellor ever stands at the despatch box and writes budgets in the future.

“But she talks about growth, for 14 years we had stagnation, and that is what caused the problem.”

Continue Reading

UK

Prosecutors consider more charges against Lucy Letby

Published

on

By

Prosecutors consider more charges against Lucy Letby

Prosecutors are considering whether to bring further criminal charges against Lucy Letby over the deaths of babies at two hospitals where she worked

The Crown Prosecution Service said it had received “a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary asking us to consider further allegations in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital”.

“We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought,” it added.

“As always, we will make that decision independently, based on the evidence and in line with our legal test.”

Letby, 35, was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital and is currently serving 15 whole-life orders.

lucy letby
Image:
Letby worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital

She is understood to have carried out two work placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she trained as a student, between October and December 2012, and January and February 2015.

Police said in December that Letby was interviewed in prison as part of an investigation into more baby deaths and non-fatal collapses.

A Cheshire Constabulary spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Cheshire Constabulary has submitted a full file of evidence to the CPS for charging advice regarding the ongoing investigation into deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the neo-natal units of both the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital as part of Operation Hummingbird.”

Detectives previously said the investigation was looking into the full period of time that Letby worked as a nurse, covering the period from 2012 to 2016 and including a review of 4,000 admissions of babies.

Letby’s lawyer Mark McDonald said: “The evidence of the innocence of Lucy Letby is overwhelming,” adding: “We will cross every bridge when we get to it but if Lucy is charged I know we have a whole army of internationally renowned medical experts who will totally undermine the prosecution’s unfounded allegations.”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Three managers at the hospital where Lucy Letby worked have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

On Tuesday, it was confirmed that three managers at the Countess of Chester hospital had been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in a separate investigation.

Read more from Sky News:
‘Catastrophic failure’ that led to Heathrow power outage revealed
Man charged with murder of 93-year-old woman in Cornwall

Police said the suspects, who occupied senior positions at the hospital between 2015 and 2016, have all been bailed pending further inquiries.

There is also an investigation into corporate manslaughter at the hospital, which began in October 2023.

A public inquiry has also been examining the hospital’s response to concerns raised about Letby before her arrest.

In May, it was announced the inquiry’s final report into how the former nurse was able to commit her crimes will now be published early next year.

Earlier this year, Letby’s lawyers called for the suspension of the inquiry, claiming there was “overwhelming and compelling evidence” that her convictions were unsafe.

In February, an international panel of neonatologists and paediatric specialists told reporters that poor medical care and natural causes were the reasons for the collapses and deaths.

Their evidence has been passed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, and Letby’s legal team hopes her case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal.

Continue Reading

Trending