Whetstone Co-op cash machine stolen in ram raid
The force said the Toyota Hilux collided with an unmarked police vehicle at an unrelated traffic stop after it left the scene of the ram raid.A spokesperson confirmed the officer involved was not injured. Cambridge Road has been closed from the roundabout to the Hunter Road junction. Warwick Road from the The Dicken to the roundabout was also closed and access to the roundabout was limited from Brook Street, Burnham Drive and Grove Road, according to the force. A spokesperson for Co-op said: "The store is temporarily closed and it is too early to confirm when the store will re-open but we will do this as soon as possible, to continue to serve the community."We urge anyone who may have any information to come forward to police, who are investigating."
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The Independent
11 minutes ago
- The Independent
Starmer accused of ‘abject failure' as people smuggling arrests fall under Labour
People smuggling arrests by the UK's organised crime agency have fallen under Labour, despite Sir Keir Starmer 's pledge to "smash the gangs", as the number of small boat migrants arriving since he took charge soars past 50,000. The latest National Crime Agency (NCA) data shows 192 people were arrested for organised immigration crime in the year to April – down 16 per cent from 229 under the Tory government the previous year. Labour has faced growing criticism over its failure to cut the number of people making the perilous crossing, with education minister Baroness Jacqui Smith admitting the figures were 'unacceptable'. Former Tory immigration minister Robert Jenrick said the latest arrest figures proved 'it's never been easier to be a people smuggler', while former home secretary Chris Philp said they proved Starmer's big talk about smashing the gangs has been an 'abject failure'. It comes as the government ramps up its efforts to tackle the issue amid growing public anger, which has sparked a series of violent protests outside migrant hotels across the country. The prime minister has adopted a hardline approach on immigration, with a string of new measures announced, as he tries to win back voters and fend off the surge in popularity from Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Earlier this year, Yvette Cooper announced an extra £100m to tackle people-smuggling gangs, including 300 more staff at the NCA ' focused on intelligence targeting crime gang members'. And last week, Sir Keir confirmed that the first migrants had been detained under the new 'one in, one out' swap deal between the UK and France – although none have yet been sent back to Europe. The Home Office has also expanded its 'deport now, appeal later' scheme, which sees foreign criminals deported before their appeals have been heard. Despite the fall in people smuggling arrests last year, the NCA said it has "dedicated more resources than ever before' to tackling the threat from organised immigration crime. NCA acting deputy director Dan Barcroft said: 'Arrests on their own are not the only way to judge impact. We have also achieved record numbers of disruptions against people smugglers – 347 last year, up almost a third - each of which will have removed, prevented or reduced a criminal threat.' 'Arrest figures may fluctuate, but over the last four years the NCA has been involved in more than 900 arrests relating to organised immigration crime in the UK and overseas.' The Home Office told The Independent that further people smuggling arrests have been made by Immigration Enforcement and police forces, but refused to share any details. A spokesman said: 'We are taking firm and targeted action to dismantle the organised criminal networks responsible for dangerous small boat crossings – networks that put vulnerable lives at risk and undermine border security.' Reacting to the figures, Mr Jenrick said: 'Starmer said he'd smash the gangs but arrests of people smugglers are down and record numbers of migrants have crossed this year. For all of Starmer's talk, it's never been easier to be a people smuggler.' A Labour MP on the right of the party told The Independent they were 'frustrated' by the government's pace of action. They said: 'The public think we're basically not doing anything and don't believe smashing the gangs will make any material difference. And so far, their suspicions are being borne out by the facts. We have to move heaven and earth to get and show we have control.' Over the past decade, the NCA has been involved in over 2,200 arrests linked to immigration crime in the UK and overseas, with a 93 per cent conviction rate. While the figures do not exclusively cover small boat migration, a large proportion of such crimes involve bringing people across the Channel. This includes arrests across the people smuggling operations chain, from those who supply small boats to lorry drivers illegally ferrying migrants. The NCA told The Independent it is currently leading 91 investigations into organised immigration crime. Despite lower arrest numbers, the NCA said its increased disruptions 'reflect a move towards taking the fight to gangs upstream, focusing on the highest harm networks, and hitting them where the impact on their business will be greater'. One such example last month saw the NCA and Bulgarian law enforcement seize 25 inflatable boats set for use by people smugglers crossing the Channel. Sunder Kutwala, director at the British Future thinktank, said the government's best shot at tackling the problem is to scale up the one-in-one-out deal with France to 500 or 1,000 people a week. 'If [people smuggling] is a lucrative business, and the barriers to entry are pretty low and the cost of getting your dinghy slashed is quite low – or getting low-level operatives arrested is low – you'll always get new entries to the market' he told The Independent. 'The government has now got a shot at establishing the returns deal and, with enforcement, it looks more viable than any of these offshoring models [like Rwanda]. If I was the government, I would [scale up] quickly not slowly.' The number of migrants crossing into the UK by small boats is up 47 per cent from the same time last year, at record levels. Fourteen people have already died this year trying to cross into the UK, with the highest on record (73) last year, and a woman, 30, died on Monday while trying to board a boat attempting to make the crossing to the UK from Dunkirk. The Mayor of Dunkirk, Patrice Vergriete, said that the situation "can't stand much longer". He called for the creation of a "legal immigration route to the UK" saying "our coastline is a daily witness to an absurd, ineffective and terribly cruel management of the migration crisis".
Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Fresh blow to Starmer as Labour's approval rating slumps to its lowest EVER level - with just 13 per cent happy with government's record
Keir Starmer was dealt a fresh blow last night as his Government's popularity sunk to its lowest level to date. The Government's approval rating slipped to minus 55, according to pollsters YouGov. Just 13 per cent of the public included in the survey said they approved of the Government's record since returning to power under Sir Keir last summer - the same percentage as the previous week. But those who disapproved slipped by another percentage point, down to 68 per cent. It meant the net approval rating lurched to a record low for this administration. The weekly poll makes grim reading for Labour HQ, and follows a series of blows to Sir Keir's authority, including fresh accusations he has failed to get a hold of the small boats crisis, and claims he has presided over a 'two-tier' justice system. He also had to deal with the resignation of his homelessness minister over a rental home row. The YouGov data came after it was officially confirmed more than 50,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel since Labour won the 2024 general election. Analysis claimed the milestone was reached in 401 days of the Starmer government, compared with 603 days for Rishi Sunak's administration, and more than 1,000 days under Boris Johnson's. Liz Truss did not last long enough to reach the landmark, although a total of 10,532 migrants arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel during the 49 days of her premiership. Figures this week showed Labour freed more than 26,000 criminals as part of its early release scheme. This included hundreds of serious offenders who were handed sentences of more than a decade behind bars. The figures suggested 45,000 criminals could have their sentences cut in the programme's first year, which was designed to ease pressure on Britain's overcrowded prisons. There have also been claims police under Labour have been treating certain right-wing protesters more severely than minority groups - a theory pushed by former Donald Trump ally Elon Musk. And beleaguered shopkeepers have been told not to publicise the identities of suspected shoplifters, despite concerns over-stretched police are effectively powerless to clamp down on thieves. Last week, homelessness minister Rushanara Ali became the fourth Labour minister under Sir Keir to have left their role over a personal matter. She was accused of 'staggering hypocrisy' amid claims she ejected tenants from one of her properties, before putting it back on the market for an extra £700 a month in rent. And the economy remains dire, amid claims Chancellor Rachel Reeves will have to increase taxes substantially this autumn to fill a £50 billion black hole. YouGov polling has always shown Labour to have a negative approval rating since returning to power for the first time since Gordon Brown was Prime Minister. But the country was largely split down the middle in the early days of Sir Keir's premiership, with just a couple of percentage points between those who thought the Government was doing a good job, and those who disagreed. And it has steadily gotten worse, with brief increases in approval followed by extended periods where public satisfaction diminishes.
BBC News
12 minutes ago
- BBC News
Armed police attend after gunshots fired at car in Rotherham
Police are investigating after gunshots were fired at a car in Rotherham officers were deployed to Pitt Street in the Kimberworth area at about 14:00 Yorkshire Police said no injuries had been reported and asked anyone with information about the incident to get in remained at the scene conducting further enquiries and high visibility patrols would take place in the coming days, the force added. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
