
Major motorway CLOSED due to ‘serious' police incident with delays sparking chaos for commuters
Part of the M2 between Strood and Chatham in Kent is shut.
The coastbound stretch from Junction 1 to Junction 3 has been closed since 5.15am.
Police, ambulance and National Highways workers are on the scene.
Drivers are being diverted, with delays expected on the A2 near Gravesend.
The Sun has contacted Kent Police for further information.
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The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Long-serving ex-Tory MP Adam Holloway joins Reform
Another former Conservative MP has announced that he has joined Reform UK, saying it is the only party that has grasped 'the scale of our national peril'. Adam Holloway, who represented Gravesham in Kent between 2005 and 2024, said on Wednesday he had become the latest ex-MP to join Nigel Farage's party. The 59-year-old former Army officer said: 'There comes a moment for many soldiers – and most politicians – when you realise the battle you think you're fighting isn't the one your leaders are waging. 'That moment came for me watching Kemi Badenoch tell Trevor Phillips there are real differences between Reform UK and the Conservatives. She was right. 'The difference is the Reform leadership and voters grasp the scale of our national peril and back a party serious about addressing it.' Mr Holloway is at least the eighth former Tory MP to have joined Reform since the last election, following former party chairman Sir Jake Berry, former Wales secretary David Jones and Dame Andrea Jenkyns, who won the Greater Lincolnshire mayoralty for the party in May. Having served in the Grenadier Guards for five years, including during the Gulf War, Mr Holloway worked as a journalist for ITV and ITN before his election to Parliament in 2005. A strong supporter of Brexit, he was briefly a whip under Boris Johnson and Liz Truss and was one of six Tory MPs to vote against censuring Mr Johnson after he was found to have misled the Commons over the Partygate scandal. He was himself reprimanded by Parliament's standards watchdog after improperly attempting to prevent the release of a character reference he had provided for former Tory colleague Charlie Elphicke, who was jailed for two years in 2020 for sexual assault. He lost his seat in last year's general election, falling 2,712 votes behind Labour's Lauren Sullivan. During the campaign, he told voters that backing Reform was 'effectively taking a vote from me' and 'helping Labour'. Mr Farage said he was 'delighted' to welcome Mr Holloway to the party, saying his parliamentary and military experience would be 'vital' ahead of the next election. He added: 'His bold move shows that we are the only serious option in Kent and is testament to the fantastic work our councillors are delivering across the region.'


BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
More safety changes promised for Cumbria M6 junction 37
National Highways has promised more changes to a motorway junction over growing safety agency said it was "committed" to further measures for junction 37 on the M6 in Cumbria before the end of March. The road carries the A684 over the motorway near Kendal and there have been a number of serious crashes and near misses.A number of improvements have already been made but National Highways said it was looking at options to "further improve safety". Bruce Parker from National Highways said: "We recognise this is a location where there have been a number of very tragic incidents in the past, so this is very much a priority location for us."He said the "vast majority" of drivers were looking to check if the road was clear, but there continued to be instances when motorists did not notice the junction ahead."We are working closely with the police who are similarly perplexed why the issue appears to be happening," he added."If people are ignoring the stop signs, why would they not ignore a traffic light."What we don't want to do is spend lots of money making changes to the junction for it to have no impact." 'Improve awareness' In a statement National Highways confirmed it was looking at options to further improve said: "We expect to deliver those improvements, once identified, in the current financial year. "We need to be confident that any additional measures will improve driver awareness without the risk of causing confusion." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.


BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Swaleside prisoner under observation dies after staff failings
A prisoner in Kent who should have been checked every hour was found dead in his cell after staff failed to monitor him, a report has Pugh, 29, who was in HMP Swaleside on the Isle of Sheppey for wounding with intent, was left unattended between 07:22 BST and 09:57 on 29 June last findings form part of a prevention of future deaths report, which is issued when a coroner believes action is required in order to protect Prison & Probation Service said it would carefully consider the findings of the report, published on Monday, and respond to them in due course. In the report, senior coroner in Kent and Medway Patricia Harding said the last Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) review to take place before Pugh's death determined he should be subject to hourly ACCT is the care planning process for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm."Observations were carried out on the afternoon of 28 June, but recorded incorrectly," Ms Harding said."No observations were carried out on 29 June between 07:22 and 09:57, when Mr Pugh was discovered having died, but the ongoing record was completed retrospectively to show that they had been carried out." Inexperienced prison officers The two prison officers who gave evidence in relation to the observations on 28 and 29 June were "relatively new recruits", Ms Harding said that one officer had three months experience following basic training – known as Prison Officer Entry Level Training – while the other had one month of officers gave evidence stating their understanding of the ACCT process was "incomplete".One said: "Observations were explained, but I didn't have a fair idea what to do or how to undergo the process."The other said: "I didn't understand the importance of observing a prisoner at unpredictable times."Even though I was told the observations should be hourly, it was not explained to me how to stagger timing." If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, you can visit BBC Action Line.