Cops must be BANNED from recording so-called ‘non-crime hate incidents', demand Tories
COPS must be banned from recording so-called 'non-crime hate incidents', the Tories will urge today.
Ministers are under growing pressure to stop polic e logging 'offensive' statements when no crime has been committed.
More than 13,000 are recorded every year, including playground name-calling by a nine-year-old boy and a tweet that resulted in police visiting a woman in her own home.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: 'The public want police on the streets, fighting crime and protecting families, not trawling social media for things someone might find offensive.'
The Tories will table an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill today that would make it illegal for cops to retain personal data on people who have not broken the law.
They argue the powers have spiralled out of control and are being used to intimidate innocent people, with incidents still showing up on criminal record checks.
It comes as a Telegraph investigation revealed 14 out of 15 police forces admitted they do no analysis of whether the records help stop crime.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: 'Our amendment will stop police forces wasting time on this Orwellian nonsense and get them back to doing the job the public expects — fighting real crime.
'Under the plan, non-crime hate incidents would be banned unless a senior officer signs off that retaining the data could prevent real crime.'
A report last year by His Majesty's Inspectorate found forces were misusing the powers despite stricter guidance.
But Policing Minister Diana Johnson said: 'Instead of introducing unworkable measures which would prevent the police monitoring serious anti-Semitism and other racist incidents they should support the Government's prioritisation of neighbourhood policing.'
'It's mind-boggling!' Woke cops need to prevent REAL crime and stop policing tweets, rages Reform MP
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Reeves sacrifices defence and police for NHS splurge
Rachel Reeves has been accused of sacrificing police and defence spending in favour of a record handout for the NHS. Police chiefs warned that Labour's flagship election promises on reducing crime could be missed after the Chancellor set out her spending review on Wednesday, while former military leaders criticised her 'totally inadequate' plans for the Armed Forces. Instead, the Chancellor prioritised a 'record' funding boost for the NHS, which will now get an extra £29 billion a year compared with 2023-24, despite the lack of a detailed reform plan. Economists said tax rises in the autumn Budget were now inevitable. Treasury documents revealed that the Government was already forecasting a 5 per cent increase in council tax each year until 2028, meaning an extra £395 for the average Band D property. Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, said: 'Despite the biggest tax rises for a generation, this Labour Government has made the wrong choices and is leaving our country's national security at risk. 'The military are not receiving the money they need to face a dangerous and uncertain world and it is likely we will not see the record police numbers I delivered as police minister last year being maintained.' Boris Johnson also told The Telegraph that Labour's 'feeble' spending on defence would leave Britain at the mercy of Russia. The spending review set out three years of day-to-day spending and four years of capital investment, with an extra £300 billion spent after money-raising measures last autumn. Ms Reeves told MPs: 'I have made my choices. These are my choices. These are the choices of the British people.' Writing for the Telegraph, she added: 'We are keeping our country safe.' But there was immediate scrutiny of the Chancellor's priorities, which Sir Mel Stride, the Conservative shadow chancellor, described as a 'spend now, tax later'. There were also accusations of questionable accounting as critics asked whether Ms Reeves was being fully transparent on spending levels. Health spending will rise by £17.2 billion a year between 2025-26 and 2029, almost 90 per cent of total additional day-to-day spending, leaving budgets in real terms flat or falling per person for most other Whitehall departments. The real budgets for daily running costs for defence, including the Armed Forces, will rise by just 0.7 per cent per year over the next three years. That compares with a day-to-day budget increase of 3 per cent for the NHS. However, Ms Reeves's cash injection for tanks, warships and military bases will mean the overall defence budget rises by an average of 3.8 per cent until the next election. The Resolution Foundation said the surge in health spending would 'leave little to rebuild other public services'. The think-tank described increases for defence and education as 'small'. Extra funding for the police is expected to amount to just £200 million in real terms by the end of the decade. The policing budget will rise by 1.7 per cent a year. Police chiefs criticised a Treasury suggestion it was increasing by 2.3 per cent, noting that the figure included a past boost to cover the National Insurance increase. Documents released alongside the spending review suggested that higher council tax police precepts would form part of 'additional income' used to increase police budgets, alongside funds from central government. Senior officers warned that the lack of funds puts at risk Labour promises to deploy an extra 13,000 neighbourhood police officers, as well as halve violence against women and girls and reduce knife crime. Gavin Stephens, the chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said: 'It is clear that this is an incredibly challenging outcome for policing. 'In real terms, today's increase in funding will cover little more than annual inflationary pay increases for officers and staff ... the amount falls far short of what is required to fund the Government's ambitions and maintain our existing workforce.' Tiff Lynch, the acting chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: 'When this Government came in, they said they had the police's back. It feels like we have been incredibly let down.' The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners said that 'the funding announced is not enough to deliver the Government's Safer Streets mission'. Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, also claimed it would mean cuts in the number of Metropolitan Police officers. He called the funding 'insufficient'. Earlier this year, it was announced that defence spending would rise from 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2.5 per cent. However, new plans for the 2028-29 financial year show the Government will not go further, despite the stated 'ambition' to reach 3 per cent in the early 2030s. It threatens to undermine Britain's expected endorsement of an even more stretching 3.5 per cent target, which is set to be adopted at a Nato summit this month. Earlier this week, Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, warned that failure to invest in defence would mean 'you could still have the NHS … the pension system, but you better learn to speak Russian'. Mr Johnson, the former prime minister, told The Telegraph that the lack of new defence funding beyond February's uplift was a 'wasted' opportunity. He said: 'My view is that this Government is completely failing to show the leadership that is needed to defend Britain and defend Europe. Labour are congenitally hostile to defence spending. Their grass roots are still basically Corbynistas who think Russia is a great thing. Those views are still highly influential in Labour.' The Treasury also came under fire for allegedly massaging its numbers after Ms Reeves confirmed intelligence services spending would be included as defence spending, taking the figure to 2.6 per cent. Sir Ben Wallace, the former Tory defence secretary, said: 'Today's spending review confirmed what we all feared. Rather than making tough decisions on public spending priorities, Rachel Reeves chose to use Treasury tricks to deceive us all. 'They have now folded in intelligence spending, Ukraine spending and even Foreign Office money to the notional 'defence' figure. The result is that core defence spending will not even be 2.5 per cent as promised: not even close. There was no path to 3 per cent either. It was just a con all along.' Lord Dannatt, a former head of the Army, said the figures presented on Wednesday were 'totally inadequate' and warned that the UK would be 'embarrassed' at the Nato summit in the Hague later this month. By contrast, the NHS was one of the big beneficiaries of the spending review. Whereas the defence spending uplift largely came in capital investment, the health budget rise was in day-to-day spending. An extra £29 billion a year for the running of the health service was announced, with Ms Reeves promising 'more appointments', 'more doctors' and 'more scanners'. Another winner was Lord Hermer, the Attorney General criticised for defending alleged terrorists before he took the job. A long-standing friend of Sir Keir Starmer, his law officers were given a spending increase of 5.3 per cent, although the rise was small in cash terms. The Chancellor defended her approach in an article for The Telegraph. She said: 'I have announced record investment in the NHS, with £29 billion more a year to improve patient care. 'But let me be clear: this investment comes on the condition of reform. It's not enough to spend money on a broken system. It is about investing to reform services so they are fit for the modern century.' Ms Reeves insisted she was a defender of national security, writing: 'We are keeping our country safe with an £11 billion real-terms increase in defence spending, making sure our Armed Forces have the equipment they need. And we are boosting funding for our security and intelligence agencies, so they have the tools they need to respond to new threats.' But Sir Mel countered in his own article for The Telegraph: 'Rachel Reeves confirmed that she is a 'spend today, tax tomorrow' Chancellor. Her spending spree on the country's credit card has set us on a collision course in the autumn when more tax rises will hit working families' pockets hard. After a year of chaos, how can anyone take this Government seriously?' There were other claims of questionable accounting. The Government vowed to eventually find £14 billion a year of efficiency savings. But a document some 50 pages long detailing claims by each department on how those savings would be made included loose promises such as better use of artificial intelligence. The Chancellor also pledged to end the 'costly' use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of this parliament. However, the Home Office will still be paying £2.5 billion a year by then to support migrants.
Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
UK agrees to check-free land border for Gibraltar but EU controls for flights
The UK has reached a deal with the EU over Gibraltar's border with Spain that will allow travellers to cross by land without checks. The agreement on a 'fluid border' clears the way to finalise a post-Brexit deal on the territory with the EU. But those flying into Gibraltar from the UK will face one check from Gibraltarian officials and another by the Spanish on behalf of the EU. An agreement for the future relationship between the EU and the UK in relation to Gibraltar is now a reality. It is a historic agreement. — Fabian Picardo (@FabianPicardo) June 11, 2025 This is because the land border will allow those arriving by air access to the European Schengen free travel area unchecked once they are in Gibraltar. The UK and Gibraltar insisted the changes would not affect the British overseas territory's sovereignty. The airport will operate under a model similar to London's St Pancras station, where passengers pass through both UK and French passport checks to board international trains. Goods and customs checks will also eventually be removed in both directions under the agreement. The move could also see airlines start to add flights to Gibraltar from countries other than the UK in a boost to tourism. Officials say a hard border would have been introduced under the EU's incoming exit and entry control system if no deal was reached, causing delays for some 15,000 people who cross the border every day as every individual passport was checked. Talks on rules governing the border have been ongoing since Britain left the European Union in 2020. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the previous Tory government left behind a situation that 'put Gibraltar's economy and way of life under threat'. He said the agreement was a 'breakthrough' after years of uncertainty. He said: 'Alongside the government of Gibraltar, we have reached an agreement which protects British sovereignty, supports Gibraltar's economy and allows businesses to plan for the long-term once again. 'I thank the chief minister and his government for their tireless dedication throughout the negotiations. The UK's commitment to Gibraltar remains as solid as The Rock itself.' Spanish foreign minister Jose Albares said the deal marked 'a new beginning' in the relationship between the UK and Spain. He said that Spain 'will guarantee free movement of people and goods', adding that Gibraltar would now be linked to the Schengen Area with Spanish authorities controlling entry and exit. I have always said nothing about Gibraltar, without Gibraltar. — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) June 11, 2025 President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the deal. In a post on X, she said: 'It safeguards the integrity of Schengen and the single market, while ensuring stability, legal certainty and prosperity for the region.' Gibraltar's chief minister Fabian Picardo said the deal would 'protect future generations of British Gibraltarians and does not in any way affect our British sovereignty'. 'Now is the time to look beyond the arguments of the past and towards a time of renewed co-operation and understanding. Now the deal is done, it's time to finalise the treaty,' he said. On Wednesday evening, Sir Keir Starmer spoke with Mr Picardo and thanked him for 'his years of hard work, commitment, and leadership to reach an agreement'. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also had a phone call with Sir Keir, and congratulated the British PM because 'his Government had succeeded where others had failed'. The Conservatives have said they will carefully review the UK's agreement with the EU on Gibraltar's border to see if it crosses any 'red lines' the party set out during its own negotiations when in government. Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said: 'Gibraltar is British, and given Labour's record of surrendering our territory and paying for the privilege, we will be reviewing carefully all the details of any agreement that is reached.' Mr Lammy held talks with Gibraltar's leaders, members of the opposition and the business community before leaving the British overseas territory to head to Brussels on Wednesday morning. Gibraltar was ceded to the UK by Spain in 1713 and the population is heavily in favour of remaining a British overseas territory. The last time it voted on a proposal to share sovereignty with Spain, in 2002, almost 99% of Gibraltarians rejected the move.
ITV News
2 hours ago
- ITV News
Treasury technicalities plus party politics bring more attention for the North East
The Chancellor's big ticket items for the North East came early - which is somewhere between encouraging and disconcerting when we're talking about public transport projects. Around £2.8 billion from the Spending Review was announced last Wednesday for infrastructure in our region, including extending the Tyne and Wear Metro to Washington. By comparison, Rachel Reeves' big speech today was a bit of an anticlimax. In the small print afterwards, we found that areas of Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Stockton that 'have been too easily left behind' are to receive up to £20m over the next decade for things like improving parks and tackling graffiti. The government are calling them 'trailblazer neighbourhoods', which sounds a bit like a spoof initiative from The Thick Of It, and a lot like the Conservative governments' various funding pots for local regeneration schemes. The Tories talked a lot about what they called 'levelling up', with mixed results. Labour have talked less about tackling regional inequalities, but have made a technical tweak that might make a big difference. They've revised the Treasury's 'Green Book', used to judge value-for-money for investment. London and the South East normally deliver bigger bang for your buck, so have often been prioritised for new infrastructure. The government says: no more, wider impacts will be considered, so regions like ours will be able to compete. Despite some government departments having their budgets squeezed when it comes to day-to-day spending, there is money around for investment due to another tweak to government rules, around borrowing. Rachel Reeves made a passing promise today to set out the government's plans for 'Northern Powerhouse Rail' in the coming weeks. Campaigners say it should mean a high speed rail line from Liverpool to Hull, and up to the North East. It's hard not to be sceptical, given it's been talked about in many forms over many years. The Chancellor spoke quite a bit today about the government being focused on ensuring there's economic growth, and people have opportunity, in every part of the country. She also dedicated a fair amount of time to attacking Reform UK, reflecting the threat they pose to Labour, after their local election successes in places like County Durham. The Chancellor has been accused of doom and gloom in her first 11 months in office, focusing on what she claims has been a horrible inheritance from the Conservatives. With this Spending Review she tried to change gear and set out a more positive plan for the years ahead. The North East will hope to play a big part.
