Thousands of illegal vapes seized from van in Coventry
BBC analysis revealed last month that more than six million illegal vaping products had been seized by Trading Standards officers across England in the past three years.
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Nigel Farage will NOT pledge to ban trans inmates from women's jails
Nigel Farage has failed to commit to banning trans women from female prisons after his new justice adviser said they should not be automatically barred. Vanessa Frake, a former prison governor who oversaw the detention of Rose West, said decisions on where to house inmates should be made on an 'individual basis'. Asked for his views on her comments yesterday, the Reform UK leader told the Daily Mail: 'I've personally never worked in a prison so I can't answer [the question] but I think you'll find that the answer that you'll get from somebody who has worked in prisons at the highest possible level is, I think, basically it's about risk assessment, isn't it? 'But in terms of the problems in prisons, it's a relatively small one.' A Reform spokesman later added of Ms Frake: 'An ex-prison governor... has a different opinion. That does not constitute party policy.' In an interview to mark her appointment, Ms Frake said decisions about trans prisoners should be made on a case-by-case basis. But she told The Times that sexual offenders may need to be held in male prisons. 'It's all about the risk assessments for me, and each has to be done on an individual basis,' she said. Ms Frake said trans prisoners she had overseen were 'accepted' by other inmates and added: 'People who want to just say a blanket ban clearly have never stepped foot in a prison and seen how prison runs and how risk assessments on individuals happen.' But Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Reform's 'law and order' plan was 'hiding a complete betrayal of women's safety'. 'Nigel Farage promised a major crime announcement but instead delivered an adviser who thinks men belong in women's prisons. 'Farage calls that a 'small' issue – tell that to the women who've been sexually assaulted and terrorised behind bars.' Mr Farage criticised 'transgender indoctrination' in Britain earlier this year but has also defended his record on trans rights. This year the Supreme Court ruled trans women can be excluded from women-only spaces, including prisons.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
How would Reform fix ‘lawless Britain'?
Every week is now crime week for Reform UK. As MPs have retreated to their constituencies over the summer to tend to grassroots campaigning, Nigel Farage is filling the void with a run of announcements on his new favourite theme: crime and the rising levels of antisocial behaviour. His pitch, bleakly entitled 'Britain is lawless', seeks to capitalise on general unease about rising criminality and a sense that offences are not being pursued or prosecuted with sufficient vigour. Mr Farage ramped up his rhetoric yesterday by calling for the ethnicity of suspects charged with rape and sexual assaults to be made public. Citing the wave of protests at hotels housing asylum seekers, he said there was 'rising public anger' over the issue. He also spoke of a 'cover-up', citing the controversy over Warwickshire police's decision not to release the immigration status of two men arrested for the alleged rape of a girl in Nuneaton. Reform's leader said the illegal asylum problem was no longer only about fairness for taxpayers but the 'safety of women and children'. Mr Farage has a point on data. It is troubling that there has been a five-fold increase in convictions in which ethnicity has not been recorded. Police may feel squeamish about publishing such data but failing to do so will encourage the belief, happily promoted by the far right, that there is something to hide. Neil O'Brien, the Conservative MP, has warned that this culture of secrecy also makes it harder to join the dots in tackling crime. Equal candour is needed in disclosing how many criminals have been born abroad and how many have entered illegally. Voters are entitled to know. As part of its push on crime Reform has appointed Vanessa Frake, a former prison governor, as the party's new adviser on criminal justice. Ms Frake promoted 'super-max' prisons, inspired by institutions in America for prisoners who are considered incapable of rehabilitation. She claimed these tougher institutions would 'restore law and order' and end the 'sorry tale' that is Britain's crumbling penal system. Yet, as is often the case within Reform, Ms Frake has found herself immediately at odds with the party's leadership. She believes, wrongly, there should be no blanket ban on trans women in female prisons, preferring for prisoners to be assessed individually. This fracas highlights a continuing problem within Reform. While it — or rather, Mr Farage — is adept at tapping into the public mood, fully thought-through solutions are lacking. In his understanding of public sentiment outside the Westminster bubble, Mr Farage has sensibly heeded the advice of Jonathan Swift: 'It is the folly of too many to mistake the echo of a London coffee-house for the voice of the kingdom.' Mr Farage was one of the first to sound the alarm over small boats and on the mark when it came to the excesses of net zero. The same is true of his focus on tackling the likes of shoplifting and muggings. Crime is fertile territory for Reform. Both Conservative and Labour administrations have failed to concentrate sufficiently on combating crime, ignoring the public's deep disquiet about the issue. The problem is Mr Farage's persistent failure to equip rhetoric with costings. His plans to recruit 30,000 more police officers, send prisoners overseas and construct five new prisons are as yet unfunded but likely to cost some £17.4 billion. Mr Farage says Britain cannot afford not to act. Many will agree, but he needs to submit the invoice.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Repair Shop host Jay Blades is charged with two counts of rape as he awaits trial on separate charge of controlling and coercive behaviour
The Repair Shop 's Jay Blades has been charged with two counts of rape. Police said in a statement tonight that the 55-year-old father-of-three would appear at magistrates' court next Wednesday. A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: 'Jason Blades, 55, of Claverley in Shropshire, has been charged with two counts of rape. 'He is due to appear at Telford magistrates' court on 13 August 2025.' Blades is currently awaiting trial on a separate charge of coercive control of his estranged wife Lisa-Marie Zbozen. He denied the allegation when he appeared at Worcester Crown Court last October. Blades is due to appear at the same court on Tuesday for a pre-trial review hearing. The star was charged last September with a single count of 'controlling and coercive behaviour' between January 1 2023 and September 12 2024. The single charge relates to his fitness instructor wife Ms Zbozen, who announced on Instagram on May 2 last year that she had walked out of the marriage. The BBC show, which started on daytime TV in 2017 before moving to a primetime slot, saw Blades become one of the best-known faces on British TV. He was honoured with an MBE in 2021. He has been at the helm of the show for seven years, but was dropped from last year's live tour.
