Watch: Tripoli Covered in White
Residents of Tripoli and its surroundings were surprised by snow accumulations reaching 8 centimeters, coinciding with the arrival of the storm Adam.
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BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
'Floodgates' opened on Long Lartin prison drones
A former prison officer at a high-security jail where a member of staff was recently stabbed by an inmate, has said the "floodgates" have been opened on the use of drones to smuggle in weapons and drugs. A 25-year-old prison officer was stabbed at Long Martin on 30 May and had to undergo emergency surgery. At the time, a source told the BBC the knife used was "not a prison-made weapon".A former officer at Long Lartin, who we are calling Adam, said the problem had got worse in recent years, with drones coming in "left, right, and centre".In response, the government said it had "inherited a prison system in crisis - overcrowded, with drugs and violence rife", but was addressing the problems. "We are gripping the situation and clamping down on illicit items through X-ray body scanners and restricted fly zones for drones, " a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the extent of drone use had initially come as a surprise."We knew it could happen in city prisons without high funding, like Hewell and Birmingham, but not in high-security prisons," he said. "But the floodgates have opened.""We used to smell a bit of weed at night time - you'd identify the cell and put that person in for a drug test."But it got so bad, you could be walking up the corridors to the wings and it could stink of weed." The former prison officer said inmates would make their own weapons "out of anything", including melting down razor blades or sharpening tooth he said these makeshift weapons were not as dangerous as the knives that were being flown in.A spokesperson for the Prison Officers' Association (POA) told the BBC it had warned governments for some time "about the dangers posed by the use of drones to deliver contraband such as drugs, mobile phones, weapons into jails". "This is unquestionably increasing the risks to staff, and destabilising prisons," they added."Without action, it is only a matter of time until a firearm is delivered to a prison by drone." In a 2023 report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, after an unannounced visit of Long Lartin in December 2022, an inspector said: "The prison had good defences against the ingress of drugs through drones or throwovers."However, by January 2025, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, called for "urgent action" to tackle drones at HMP Long Lartin and HMP Manchester following inspections in September and October 2025 Long Lartin report said: The risks are clear for a jail that has, in effect, ceded the airspace above it to serious organised crime." Fifty per cent of Long Lartin inmates who responded to a survey by the inspectorate also said it was easy to get drugs and alcohol, which the report said "was an astonishing rate for a Category A prison". Attacks on staff The 25-year-old prison officer who was attacked in May is now recovering at home after having emergency surgery, according to a social media post made by his who knows the victim, told the BBC: "He's a good kid - keen and enthusiastic. He's not an idiot, he's not mean and nasty."However, the attack on him is not an isolated incident.A Freedom of Information (FOI) request sent by the BBC to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed Long Lartin had 35 incidents over the past five years in which officers missed at least a week of work either following a physical assault or through an injury sustained while restraining an inmate. In 2022 alone, 13 incidents had to be reported by the prison to the HSE. This included an officer suffering burns after a prisoner threw boiling water over them, while another received an inch-deep puncture wound to the neck after visiting a prisoner's another case, an officer was "choked out of consciousness" by a prisoner after responding to an emergency one occasion, Adam said a senior governor had her jaw broken by an attacks took place in 2024, including an officer being knocked out after being punched in the head and kicked by a prisoner while supervising his move to a mentioned a number of factors to the BBC that he believed were making the environment more dangerous to said a full lockdown search of the jail had not been performed since the Covid pandemic, and that inmates could hide weapons in places guards would be unable to find during basic checks due to screwdrivers being flown into the prison - making it easier to hide contraband in furniture. Adam also claimed there were no thorough searches conducted after drones would be seen over the attacks did happen, Adam said there were rarely significant said staff had "very little faith" in the official adjudication process, intended to deal with such incidents involving inmates. 'The job's not worth it' Adam said the situation at Long Lartin had got "worse and worse" over the years, with staff not feeling safe at told the BBC that one governor even said "prisons aren't a place where you're supposed to feel safe" and that they would be surprised if staff at work felt safe. This response was made in reply to concerns about proposals to have just one uniformed officer in workshops with inmates, led by civilians."More and more experienced staff are saying the job's not worth it," Adam MOJ told the BBC: "We take the safety and wellbeing of staff extremely seriously."To further protect our hardworking staff, front-line prison officers working in the highest risk areas will be given protective body armour to keep them safe from harm."They also said the prison service was working with police to deter illegal drone use around prisons, and that they were investing targeted countermeasures such as improvements to windows, netting and grilles, to stop drones from successfully delivering cargo such as drugs and weapons. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Glasgow Times
5 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Former Glaswegian pro basketball player up for top award
Adam Pearce, founder and director of Minerva Innovation Group in Glasgow, has been shortlisted in the Scale-Up Entrepreneur of the Year category. The awards, sponsored by Allica Bank, celebrate outstanding business achievements across the UK and have been described as "The Grammys of Entrepreneurship" by Dragons' Den star Steven Bartlett. Past winners include the founders of BrewDog, Grenade, ClearScore, Zilch, and Unbiased. Read more: Glasgow business founder shortlisted for 'Grammys of entrepreneurship' Adam, a former professional basketball player with Glasgow Rocks (now Caledonia Gladiators), said: "It's an incredible honour to be recognised alongside some of the UK's most exciting and ambitious businesses and is testament to the hard work of our team and the high standards we set ourselves to deliver sources of R&D funding, namely tax relief, for our clients." Minerva Innovation Group specialises in research and development (R&D) funding and tax relief for small and medium-sized businesses. The company recently won the SME News Business Elite Awards for the second consecutive year and has made headlines for introducing an industry-leading parental leave policy. All staff, regardless of gender, are entitled to one year and five weeks of leave to spend with their newborn children. Adam said: "Our expertise comes from understanding the finance and the complex processes around research funding regulations. "So many different businesses can benefit from R&D grants and tax relief without having to spend all their business hours on R&D. 'Short-term initiatives to improve the delivery of services or the development of goods also qualify under the legislation if there is an 'appreciable' improvement. It doesn't have to be significant and is not limited to laboratories or scientists. 'On average, our clients can generate cash benefits equal to 2.72% of their turnover and 7.30% of their wage bill.' The 2024 finalist cohort includes more than 800 entrepreneurs who collectively employ over 25,000 people across the UK, with plans to create more than 9,000 new jobs in the coming year. Read more: New 10-year strategy aims to get Glaswegians more active Conrad Ford, chief product and strategy officer at Allica Bank, said: "We're consistently inspired by the energy and strength of UK SMEs. "This year's finalists – from early-stage start-ups to established and family businesses – represent a vital force in the British economy, driving innovation, creating jobs, and making a real difference in their communities. 'We're proud to support the awards, recognising outstanding business leaders who are not only demonstrating resilience in a challenging business environment but are paving the way for future entrepreneurs to follow." Frankie James, founder of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, said: "This year's shortlist are a remarkable group of founders who are changing lives and transforming industries. "The quality of entries gets stronger every year, and it's clear that the entrepreneurial spirit in the UK is more alive than ever. 'Many of our finalists go on to become household names, and we can't wait to watch what this year's cohort achieves next.' Winners will be announced at a ceremony on November 17 at Grosvenor House in London.
The National
5 hours ago
- The National
I knew I needed Sir Geoff Palmer in my documentary instantly
Little did either of us realise that we would be meeting numerous times in that location over the next five years and how the footage we would create would have such an impact. I was on a mission. As a Scottish-Persian filmmaker, whose family members had experienced racism, and witnessing the damaging impact of countries being colonised, I wanted Scotland to own up to its past. I had been meeting numerous inspirational people in Scotland who knew about Scotland's links to transatlantic slavery, who were reaching out to the public in many ways. READ MORE: How Niamh Jobson's life is inspiring bone cancer treatment fundraising But it was still not mainstream. I wanted Sir Geoff in my documentary because he was excellent at communicating his wealth of knowledge about slavery in a personable way. But I soon found out from attending his lectures that his skill came at a cost. Geoff emailed me after a lecture saying 'on the night someone stabbed my back tyre … £216 later I don't mind, the response at the lecture was worth it.' At a similar time to meeting Sir Geoff I also met Adam Ramsay, a journalist who had submitted a petition to Edinburgh City Council. Adam was challenging the brief inscription on the Melville Monument that had no mention of Henry Dundas's impact on Britain's transatlantic slave trade. Sir Geoff had been lecturing about British generals and politicians linked to slavery including Dundas. I knew if I told Geoff about Adam's petition and connected them up there could be the potential of a good story. I was right. Geoff and Adam clicked, the dream team was formed and filming began. What I then witnessed was that the depth of Geoff's knowledge of Dundas would go to stratospheric levels due to his amazing aptitude for focus, his enviable intellect and his unbelievable persistence that was needed to make change. This is what made this a Bafta-winning documentary. There were so many highs and lows, long lulls of no action and by 2020 a stalemate. Then there was the murder of George Floyd. The frustration Sir Geoff felt about this stalemate and Floyd's murder pushed him to make his seminal speech at Holyrood Park in the summer of 2020 and action was finally taken. What I really appreciated was the trust and faith Geoff had in me, an emerging filmmaker, as I filmed him time and again. The initial footage we did was for YouTube and socials. There was a time I interviewed him and realised that the Costa Coffee signage was in the background. After apologising profusely and asking for a re-interview he accepted it graciously and agreed to drive back to Edinburgh from Penicuik. Our trust and bond developed over time. He opened up about his cancer when I witnessed him experiencing side effects during filming. I let him know about my father, also battling cancer, and we realised they were attending the same hospital. Admiration for Geoff continued as he excelled and revelled in high-pressure situations I set up, such as the group debate I created for Channel 4 News in 2018 where Sir Geoff, Adam Ramsay, Bobby Dundas, and Michael Fry attended. These were the four people battling it out about the inscription at council meetings and they were now battling it out on screen. READ MORE: 'Naked and Unashamed' cements Nan Shepherd's place in Scotland's literary canon As his cancer developed by 2022, he still managed to attend a screening and Q&A at Edinburgh Filmhouse despite his obvious side-effects. The broadcast of the first Channel 4 News film on the Dundas debate had a big impact in Scotland and the interest in Dundas and Scotland's slavery past started widening. This interest kept building as more journalists covered the story. It also sparked a petition on Dundas in Canada. Sir Geoff was starting to reach a bigger audience with a massive uplift in social media followers. This kept going. I produced another Channel 4 News film in 2020 and then the BBC broadcast my one-hour documentary Scotland, Slavery And Statues numerous times from October 2020. After these broadcasts, Sir Geoff chuckled to me about how many were speaking to him in the streets and supermarket in Penicuik. He was becoming a household name. Another serendipitous outcome for me was that Sir Geoff's son Ralph noticed my name on the end credits and realised there was a family connection. I have focused on Sir Geoff's involvement with the Melville Monument and the legacy of the new plaque and its educational benefits for those who visit it. But in parallel to this we all know the many other causes he has been involved in, the organisations and charities he has been part of, the people he has helped, the awards he has been given. It is outstanding. I was in awe of his levels of energy and drive and this was while he was battling cancer. He was a powerhouse that has left an amazing legacy. Geoff asked me to keep sharing footage I took of him to keep his message going and to keep educating and this I will do. In his final message to me he said: 'It was a delight to work with you, and you should take pride in your award … you gave a fair stand to us all to bring Scotland's honest history of slavery to Scotland' and I responded saying 'it was your grit and persistence that played a big role in making the documentaries successful…' Rest in Peace Sir Geoff. Condolences to Sir Geoff's family. Parisa Urquhart is a Bafta-winning documentary maker. Scotland, Slavery And Statues can be watched here in tribute to Sir Geoff.
