Labour's Crime and Policing Bill will restore police trust
Officers have been pulled from the beat, breaking the vital connections with the areas they serve.
Knife crime claimed 262 lives last year alone, and we have seen a disturbing rise of offences from shop theft to spiking and drug gangs destroying children's lives by exploiting them for criminal activity.
Meanwhile, public confidence has been damaged by misconduct, while police chiefs are also crying out for radical reforms to help deliver better value for taxpayers.
This government has acted. Change is underway. Our landmark Crime and Policing Bill is central to our mission to cut crime and make our streets safer.
This week, that Bill takes a step closer to becoming law when it returns to the House of Commons.
This is a pivotal moment for this government, and will help to deliver meaningful change to people's lives and rebuild their confidence in those tasked with protecting them.
We have already introduced in the Bill strengthened powers to fight anti-social behaviour; including new Respect Orders to ban repeat offenders from town centres and the power to seize nuisance vehicles like e-bikes and e-scooters without warning, and Ronan's Law will stop knives from being sold illegally online and introduce tough punishments for social media execs who allow our young people to see knife crime content online.
But we are going further, strengthening this Bill. We will extend a barred list to stop disgraced officers from ever serving again, making sure only officers fit to serve are allowed to wear a badge.
Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here - Lizzy Buchan, Mikey Smith, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke and Ashley Cowburn.
Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Or sign up here to the Mirror's Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox.
And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday.
And to better protect the hardworking police who patrol our communities, we have laid an amendment that will stop them being subjected to racial and religious abuse during home visits, closing a loophole that allowed people to get away with this.
This Bill is just one part of our work to keep our streets safe.
This year, we have backed the police with an extra £1.2 billion, including £200 million specifically for 3,000 more officers, community support officers and special constables in neighbourhood roles by next April. Investment in the police will be boosted above inflation every year for this Spending Review period.
This will mean we can continue to progress toward our 13,000 target, part of our Plan for Change.
At the same time, we expect forces make the reforms needed win back the public trust. Our upcoming Police Reform White Paper will improve performances, drive up standards and improve efficiency
It will not be simple, but together we will deliver on our promise to rebuilt trust in the police, cut crime and make our streets safer places to live, work and raise families.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Keir Starmer urged to do just one thing every day to fix the Nuked Blood scandal
As millions see a viral video of Labour's broken promises to nuclear veterans, the PM is being asked every day to do the one thing that would fix it Keir Starmer was already gacing a £5bn lawsuit and police investigation over a cover-up of human experiments on British troops. Now a video of Labour's broken promises to survivors has gone viral, with 2 million people seeing proof of Cabinet ministers demanding compensation schemes they've failed to come up with in office. And after 327 days of Downing Street ignoring requests to resolve what has become known as the Nuked Blood scandal, campaigners have vowed to repost the clips every day until they get a sit-down with the PM. Starmer risks further humiliation in the months to come, with publication of an estimated 750,000 classified documents packed with juicy details of what really happened to 40,000 troops ordered to take part in nuclear weapons trials over more than a decade. Alan Owen, founder of campaign group LABRATS, said: "Keir was the first party leader to sit down with members of the nuclear community and we believed him when he said 'your campaign is our campaign'. But after almost a year in government we are no nearer the truth or justice. Veterans are dying every week, and families are suffering chronic illness and psychological harm. "We can start to fix that if we can show him our evidence of an official cover-up of biological experiments with radiation. It is fairer to the taxpayer to resolve it now, rather than wait for a judge's order. All we want is for him to look us in the eye and hear what we have to tell him." The Ministry of Defence has denied for seven decades that troops were deliberately put in harm's way during the Cold War race to create nuclear weapons. But in 2022 the Mirror uncovered a memo detailing the blood tests of Group Captain Terry Gledhill, conducted before, during and after he led a squadron of planes through the mushroom clouds to gather samples. It led to more than 30 separate orders for blood tests, covering thousands of men in all three armed forces, plus Commonwealth troops and indigenous people, between 1952 and 1967. Most were locked on a top secret database, codenamed Merlin, at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, which is about to be declassified and published following cross-party pressure from parliament and the Mirror. A partial release has already revealed hundreds of named servicemen called up for testing, confirmation that thousands were involved, and analysis of the results by weapons scientists. Yet veterans who remember giving blood and urine specimens have found their medical records are missing, denying them accurate diagnosis for the high rates of cancers and blood disorders they report, as well as blocking war pensions and compensation. In Opposition, Labour bigwigs who now hold influential government roles said "it shames us as a country" that nuclear veterans did not have justice, and demanded financial compensation from the Tories. Deputy Leader Angela Rayner sent campaigners a video she had scripted herself, calling for the Tories to "set up an appropriate financial compensation programme for veterans and their descendants". Defence Secretary John Healey told the Labour Party Conference that the lack of a scheme "shames us, it shames us as a country". And Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard told the Mirror's News Agenda podcast that it was "really dumb" for the Tories not to have paid out already. Peter Stefanovic, lawyer and CEO of the Campaign for Social Justice, edited the clips together and has been sharing them on social media, gathering more than 2m views in just a few weeks. He said: "They all backed compensation for our nuclear test veterans while in Opposition, and Keir Starmer himself told them 'the country owes you a huge debt of honour. Your campaign is our campaign'. I will repost my film every single day until the PM agrees to meet with them to discuss how his government will honour the commitment his party made to these national heroes." LABRATS asked the PM for a meeting within days of his taking office, but has had no response for 327 days. The Mirror has also asked Mr Healey for a meeting, but none has been arranged. The Met Police are assessing a 500-page dossier of evidence about allegations of criminal misconduct in public office, while lawyers are preparing to issue a legal claim for the missing medical records that is predicted to lead to a 10-figure payout. Last month, the MoD admitted the monitoring "may have been" conducted without proper medical supervision.
Daily Record
6 hours ago
- Daily Record
Whereabouts of Jay Slater's friends revealed after witness appeal during inquest
Several of the 19-year-old's friends failed to turn up for proceedings. Friends of tragic teen Jay Slater have been tracked down after failing to appear at an inquest into his death opened in late May. The 19-year-old was found dead last year, a month after he went missing following a night out in Tenerife with friends on June 17. The night before he disappeared, he stayed with two men in a rented Airbnb, who spoke to local and British press about him. Lucy Law, Bradley Hargreaves and Brandon Hodgson also gave statements to the media. However, they did not turn up at the inquest, which was temporarily halted after Jay's mum issued a desperate plea to locate them, the Mirror reports. Some of them have been found, with the Daily Mail reporting their last known whereabouts as the inquest is due to resume, with several tracked down abroad. Lucy Law, 18, was one of two friends who travelled to Tenerife with Jay from Lancashire last year, and helped launch early search efforts, assisting his family when they arrived on the island. In an emotional tribute when his body was found, she wrote: "Always the happiest and most smiley person in the room, you was one of a kind Jay and you'll be missed more than you know. "I'm sure you'll 'have your dancing shoes polished and ready' waiting for us all. We all love you buddy. Fly high." She also went to Jay's funeral, but failed to appear at the inquest. She is said to have returned to Tenerife for a holiday, according to her stepfather, who added she was also away when she was called to give a witness statement at the inquest earlier this hear, as her family were not aware it was ongoing at the time. Another friend from home who travelled alongside Jay was Bradley Hargreaves, who regularly spoke to the media after searches got underway. The day Jay went missing, Bradley was sent his location, putting him in the small village of Masca. His tribute when Jay's body was found read: "Nothing be the same without you. Rest easy brother. Love you always." He did not appear at the inquest either, having told the coroner's office he would be away on a holiday booked in October, believed to be in Greece. Brandon Hodgson was the third friend Jay went to Tenerife with, and was one of the last people the teen spoke to before he disappeared. Investigator Mark Williams-Thomas said Brandon, now 20, had got a text from Jay which read: "I've started walking". Brandon said: "He was laughing at first, then he sent me his location. On the phone he said to me 'I've been walking for half an hour', I told him to go back and he said, 'I've already been walking for half an hour, I'm not going back, I don't want to go back, I just want to go home." He is now said to be "liaising with police" after officers went to his home in the lead-up to the inquest with a witness summons, but did not get an answer. It has been established he is also abroad, in an undisclosed location. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Ayub Qassim, another British man but not one of Jay's friends, had invited the teen back to his Airbnb in the village of Masca the night before he went missing. The convicted drug dealer, also referred to as "Johnny Vegas" had let him stay overnight, and claimed he told him he would drive him back after the teen said "this woman told me I can get a bus every 10 minutes". Mr Qassim told Mark Williams-Thomas: "I told him that he's mad, there's no bus that's coming here every 10 minutes, chill out for a bit and I'll drop you off later on. "He said, 'No, no I've got to go to Los Cristianos, I need to scram, I need to chip out'. There's nothing more that I could do. The Metropolitan Police attempted to serve a witness summons at his last known address in Barking, East London, but were told by neighbours that he now lived abroad. Steven Roccas, known as "Rocky" was staying with Mr Qassim at the Airbnb, but little more information is known about him beyond this. He kept his head down while Mr Qassim explained his last contact with Jay, and his identity was only revealed at the inquest. The Met Police had also tried to serve a summons at his London address, but found he no longer lived there before tracking him to a business using an email address he had given Spanish police. However, the premises was shuttered, having reportedly been closed for three years, and Mr Roccas has still not been traced.
Wales Online
7 hours ago
- Wales Online
He was face to face with a 7/7 bomber and was horrifically injured, now he's 'haunted by him'
He was face to face with a 7/7 bomber and was horrifically injured, now he's 'haunted by him' Dan Biddle, who lives in Wales, was the most-injured survivor of the 7/7 suicide bombings on London's transport network, losing an eye and both legs in the horrific attack - now he wants an inquiry into what happened on that terrible day Dan was given just a 2% chance of survival (Image: Humphrey Nemar ) It's been nearly two decades since Dan Biddle was rescued, severely injured and traumatised, from the Edgware Road Tube Station in London – having lost an eye, both legs, and with his mental health irreparably damaged. With only a 2% chance of survival, Dan emerged as a beacon of resilience – becoming the most severely wounded survivor of the 7/7 attacks. Almost 20 years after the harrowing events of July 7, 2005, his struggle persists. He grapples daily with Complex PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and survivor's guilt, tormented by visions of the bomber's face. Now, Dan is advocating for the government to acknowledge the victims properly as the 20th anniversary approaches next month – by initiating a comprehensive public inquiry. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here "Some 52 people lost their lives, why doesn't that warrant one?" he questions. "I knew that getting blown up, life was going to be tough but I didn't think it would be unjust." The attacks left more than 770 people injured when four jihadists detonated explosives on three underground trains and a bus. Dan relives the nightmare every night, reports the Mirror. Article continues below "I have been exhausted for 20 years because I dread going to sleep," he admits. "The minute I go to sleep, I'm on the floor in the tunnel." At 26 years old and standing at 6ft 4in, Dan's former life was shattered while he was en route to a construction job. He found himself perilously close to bomber, Mohammad Sidique Khan, who was seated holding a rucksack. Dan, who lives in Abergavenny with wife Gem, vividly recalls the harrowing encounter: "I was about six inches from touching him," he said. "He was staring at me, and I thought it was a bit odd. I noticed him lean forward and look along the carriage. And then he sat back and was staring at me again. "I was about to ask him what he was looking at. And then I see him put his hand into the bag. There was a white flash. It was just incredibly, incredibly bright, the feeling of a huge amount of heat. I was blown through the carriage doors." Dan lives in Abergavenny with his wife, Gem (Image: Humphrey Nemar ) Dan was hurled against the tunnel wall and came to rest between the wall and the train tracks. "Both my arms and hands were on fire, then I did the one thing that I wish I hadn't done. I started to look around. That's when I saw the first dead body. A young lady, catastrophic injuries. "And then wherever I looked after that, the next one I saw was 10 times worse. There was no escape from the horror around me. I heard people screaming, and then the screams stopped, and I knew why. "Those screams don't ever leave you, and the the smells never go away. It's a mixture of molten plastic, burnt meat, blood." In the midst of chaos, an ex-Army medic discovered Dan and courageously traversed the tracks to assist. He managed to clamp Dan's femoral artery moments before he would have succumbed to blood loss. Dan's heart ceased to beat three times while in hospital. The final instance saw the surgeon manually coaxing his heart back to life for almost 15 minutes. Dan regained consciousness eight weeks following the ordeal. He was the most injured survivor (Image: Humphrey Nemar ) "I've got an artificial left eye. My left eardrum was completely blown out," he says. "My right eardrum was perforated, my spleen burst, both my lungs were punctured, my kidney was punctured, my liver was lacerated, and my colon and bowel were ruptured, I had burns, an open forehead, a 20p wedged in my bone and sepsis. "If you said to somebody this list of injuries, they go, 'they're dead. Yeah, simple as that'." The physical aftermath was merely the beginning for him. A sudden noise, aroma or mere word can trigger deeply distressing flashbacks of the incident, occurring with unsettling frequency – up to 15 instances daily. Compulsive rituals plague him, such as driving extensive distances to verify a locked door. He's also plagued by the anguish of surviving when others didn't, and horrific night terrors persist. "I see Khan a lot, it's like being haunted by him," he discloses. "I can wake up in the middle of the night, and he's standing next to the bed, leaning over me. It's a really strange sensation, because I know he's dead. I've watched the guy kill himself." BACK FROM THE DEAD: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE 7/7 BOMBINGS By Dan Biddle with Douglas Thompson, by Mirror Books, £20 is out Thursday (Image: Humphrey Nemar ) There's no remedy for Complex PTSD, but Dan holds onto hope that Prime Minister Keir Starmer will recognise the significance an inquiry could have for him and others. Back in 2011, during the inquest into the 7/7 bombings, a verdict stated MI5 wasn't at fault despite having monitored Khan and another perpetrator prior to the attack. Nonetheless, Dan asserts: "A public inquiry won't give me my legs back. It won't give me my eye back." Article continues below Dan, who features in the four-part Netflix series Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 bombers airing from July 1, adds: "But I'd have a sense of justice that somebody has been held accountable. Khan got what he wanted. I'm living the life sentence he and the others should be serving." He adds: "It's time for answers."
