Runcorn boy, 13, knocked down by bus near shopping centre
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Telegraph
3 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Labour releasing prisoners serving 10 or more years early
Prisoners serving sentences of more than 10 years have been released early by Labour, it has been claimed. Some 248 convicts sentenced to 14 years or more in prison and 490 criminals handed sentences between 10 to 14 years have been let out early under a scheme to reduce jail overcrowding, the Daily Mail reported. In total, 26,000 inmates have been released early since Sir Keir Starmer became prime minister, according to the newspaper. Within days of last year's general election Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, announced plans to release prisoners early to avoid what she said would have been a 'total collapse' of the system if left unaddressed. Prisoners jailed for sexual offences, terrorism and serious violent crimes carrying more than four years in prison have been excluded from the scheme. The newspaper's figures cover the period between September, when the early releases began, and March. Some 3,500 prisoners are apparently being released early every month, or more than 150 each working day. This means about 40,000 prisoners will have been released early by the end of this month if current trends continue. A scheme to tackle overcrowding in prisons - introduced by the former Tory government - led to 13,325 offenders being released over 11 months, which is about one third of the rate being freed by Labour. Those inmates were let out up to 70 days early. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, told the Daily Mail: 'The public are sick of soft justice. Instead of introducing emergency measures to let criminals out early, Starmer should change our broken human rights law so we can deport the thousands of foreign offenders clogging up our jails. These shocking statistics explain why Britain feels lawless.' After the scheme began, 3,785 prisoners were freed in September and 5,366 in October, which included backdated releases. Since then, an average 3,461 a month have been let out early - bringing the total to 26,456 by the end of March. When the scheme began, one convicted drug dealer told The Telegraph being released early had made him a 'lifelong Labour voter'. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'This Government inherited prisons days from collapse and had no choice but to take decisive action to stop prisons overflowing and leave police unable to make arrests. 'Public protection is our number one priority. Offenders out on licence face strict conditions and will be brought back to prison if they break these rules. 'We are building 14,000 prison places and reforming sentencing so jails never run out of space again.'
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Slough removes 23 unpaid parking fine vehicles in a week
A council's new vehicle removals policy for drivers who do not pay their parking tickets has netted 23 vehicles in just one week of Borough Council has removed the vehicles from the streets including in Chalvey, the Diamond Road estate, from the High Street and surrounding areas since the policy came into force on 28 said that of the removed vehicles, one had racked up a total of 134 unpaid tickets, another had 117 tickets outstanding, and seven others had more than 30 tickets each still waiting to be of them are being stored at a secure compound until the original fines and storage costs are paid before releasing them to their owners. The local authority said that some of the types of parking that would warrant a penalty charge notice include:• parking in a restricted street during prescribed hours;• parking in a special enforcement area more than 50cm from the edge of the carriageway and not within a designated parking place;• stopping in a restricted area outside a school when said that none of the removed vehicles so far had had fewer than eight outstanding Kelly, lead member for planning, parking, highways and transport, called illegal parking was "antisocial". "The policy we have brought in tackles this problem by literally removing those offending vehicles from the streets, forcing drivers to pay the fines they owe or lose their cars forever," he said."The vast majority of people, if they are caught parking illegally, put their hands up and pay the fine."But as the first week's figures show, there are repeat offenders who think they can park where they want, when they want and not pay any price." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Family urge new IOPC probe over restrained man's death
The police watchdog is being urged to conduct another investigation into officers' handling of a man who died hours after being restrained during a mental health Fletcher, 26, died in hospital in Nottingham on 3 July 2022 after a police welfare check escalated into a decision to section investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) - carried out before an inquest into Mr Fletcher's death - found police actions were "reasonable and proportionate". However, Mr Fletcher's family want the IOPC to take further action after an inquest jury in July concluded "gross failings" by Nottinghamshire Police and others involved contributed to his death. Nathaniel Ameyaw, Mr Fletcher's father, said: "It took for a jury to uncover things, uncover failings that the IOPC should have done."Our hope is that they will investigate again and take a thorough look at the police's policies, procedures, what they should have done, what they didn't do - because it wasn't thorough." Mr Fletcher was diagnosed with paranoid personality disorder in 2020 and had struggled with a drug were called to his accommodation, at young people's charity YMCA, to carry out a welfare check on 3 July 2022 following concerns he would harm agreeing to be taken to hospital by the officers, Mr Fletcher suddenly changed his mind, no longer believing they were really was then detained under the Mental Health Fletcher was handcuffed, struck and restrained for about 30 minutes by numerous officers. Eventually an ambulance arrived, and he was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre, where he had been called to the home of Mr Fletcher's mother the day before his death, as he was experiencing another "mental health disturbance".It was discussed then that he should be sectioned and taken to a place of safety - a decision his family under the guidance of a community nurse, Mr Fletcher was taken back to his accommodation with no further condition deteriorated overnight and led to the police welfare check that started the chain of events leading to his death. Investigation report Nottinghamshire Police made a referral to the IOPC on 3 July 2022, and the watchdog said it made a decision to investigate on the same day. The investigation examined police contact with Mr Fletcher on the morning he died, as well as the previous day when they were called to his mother's also considered complaints raised by the family about consideration of his mental health, officers' use of force restraining him and an allegation he was treated differently because he was IOPC's final report was completed in April 2024 and was shared with the coroner and Mr Fletcher's family to assist with the findings were only made public after the inquest had watchdog found "no evidence" of a criminal offence or behaviour that justified disciplinary added there was no evidence supporting the allegation of less favourable treatment of Mr Fletcher. Mr Fletcher's cause of death was recorded as "the physical effects of exertion following a period of restraint, combined with the cocaine and other substances". After a four-week inquest, the jury concluded the level of restraint used by the officers was "appropriate" but found their combined force was "uncontrolled".The jury said there was "ineffective communication" at the scene and a "lack of clear leadership".They added police should have considered the length of time Mr Fletcher was kept in restraints and concluded there was a "gross failure" in training across all agencies involved. The inquest heard how, under a joint policy between police and East Midlands Ambulance Service, officers at the scene should have called for an ambulance. However, an ambulance was not called for until after the initial period of restraint. Police giving evidence at the inquest told the jury they were unaware of the policy. 'Still fighting for answers' Mr Ameyaw said he was comforted by the jury's findings and felt they had seen what had happened "the way [he] saw it".The 49-year-old added: "After my son passed, we had no choice but to put our faith in the IOPC. "They came and met with us as a family. They came to our home and they assured us that they were going to do a thorough investigation. "They were the ones that had access to the body-worn footage, they were the ones that were going to give us the answers." But Mr Ameyaw said: "As a family we are still fighting for answers and it's very difficult." Derrick Campbell, IOPC regional director, said: "We have acknowledged the narrative verdict returned by the inquest jury and respect their findings. "I reiterate my deepest sympathies for Kaine's family and friends for their loss. This is a truly tragic case in which a young man lost his life."Our investigation involved a detailed examination of the evidence, including calls made to police, police incident logs, police radio communication, police officers' body worn video, officers' training records, CCTV, and medical reports. "We also obtained witness accounts from all parties involved, including independent witnesses, police officers, and ambulance staff."Nottinghamshire Police previously said it would reflect on the findings the coroner made and continued to take "all the necessary steps to keep the public and our workforce safe". If you've been affected by the issues in this story, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line.
