Latest news with #PoliticsHub
Daily Mirror
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
'Supermax' US-style prisons could be built in UK amid violence against staff
EXCLUSIVE: James Timpson acknowledged the severity of the crisis gripping UK jails, with recent incidents involving inmates raising concerns about safety and security Britain could see the introduction of US-style "supermax" prisons as a response to a wave of violent episodes among inmates, the prisons minister has announced. Minister James Timpson declared "we shouldn't rule anything out" when exploring the possibility of constructing high-security facilities akin to those in the US for incarcerating the most perilous criminals. According to Sky, this intervention follows on the heels of a harrowing episode at HMP Belmarsh recently, where triple child murderer Axel Rudakubana is accused of dousing a prison officer with boiling water from a kettle – an incident now being probed by the police. In another alarming event, Hashem Abedi – sibling of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi – is said to have assaulted three officers with hot cooking oil and "improvised knives", thought to be made from a baking tray. Chatting on Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge directly from HMP Preston, Mr Timpson conceded that British prisons are in crisis and demanded immediate, strong action, reports the Express. "We inherited a complete mess in the prison system. Violence is up, assaults on staff is up. But for me, we shouldn't rule anything out." Timpson, who took over as prisons minister last year following his tenure as CEO of the Timpson Group, underscored the importance of engaging with prison workers. "What we need to do is to speak to our staff. They're the experts at dealing with these offenders day in, day out." Mr Timpson has acknowledged that violence in prisons is rampant, linking it primarily to overcrowding and a lack of purposeful activity. "The number of people when you have prisons are so full, and the people in there are not going to education or into purposeful activity... you get more violence and that is totally unacceptable," he commented. "Our staff turn up to work to help turn people. They want to turn people's lives around. They didn't turn up to work to get assaulted. It's totally unacceptable." Amid plans for an extensive review of sentencing rules, Mr Timpson called attention to persistent challenges like drug dependency, homelessness, and mental health crises among those released from prisoners. He pointed out: "80% of offending is reoffending. People are leaving places like HMP Preston addicted to drugs, nowhere to live, mental health problems – and that's why they keep coming back." Confronted with questions about the prevalence of drug problems across all UK jails, the minister was adamant: "100%." He concluded: "If we want to keep the public safe, we need to do a lot more of the work in here and in the community. But also we need to build more prisons."
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Minister does not rule out 'supermax' jails for most dangerous offenders following alleged Rudakubana attack on prison officer
"Supermax" jails could be built to house the most dangerous offenders following a spate of alleged attacks on staff, the prisons minister has said. James Timpson told the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge that "we shouldn't rule anything out" when asked if the most dangerous criminals should be placed in top security prisons. It comes after Southport triple killer Axel Rudakubana allegedly at an officer at HMP Belmarsh on Thursday. Police are now that, three prison officers were also allegedly attacked by 28-year-old Hashem Abedi - the brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi - with hot cooking oil and "improvised knives", potentially made from a baking tray. Speaking from HMP Preston for a special programme of the Politics Hub, Mr Timpson told Sophy Ridge: "We inherited a complete mess in the prison system. "Violence is up, assaults on staff is up. But for me, we shouldn't rule anything out." He added: "What we need to do is to speak to our staff. They're the experts at dealing with these offenders day in, day out. " Mr Timpson - who was the chief executive of Timpson Group before he was appointed prisons minister last year - said the violence in prisons was "too high". He continued: "The number of people when you have prisons are so full, and the people in there are not going to education or into purposeful activity. "You get more violence and that is totally unacceptable. Our staff turn up to work to help turn people. "They want to turn people's lives around. They didn't turn up to work to get assaulted. It's totally unacceptable." Read more: Reflecting on the crisis facing the UK prison system ahead of the Mr Timpson said a major problem was the high rate of reoffending, saying "80% of offending is reoffending". He said people were leaving places like HMP Preston "addicted to drugs, nowhere to live, mental health problems - and that's why they keep coming back". Asked whether every prison had a drugs issue, he replied: "100%." "If we want to keep the public safe, we need to do a lot more of the work in here and in the community. But also we need to build more prisons." Put to him that making more use of community sentences - thought to be one of the recommendations in the government's sentencing review - might be considered a "cushy option" compared to a custodial sentence, Mr Timpson said: "There are some people in this prison tonight who would prefer to be in prison than do a community sentence - but that's not everybody. "Community sentences need to be tough punishments outside of prison, not just to help them address their offending behaviour, but also the victims need to see punishments being done too and for me, technology has a big part to play in the future."
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Starmer facing growing backbench rebellion over planned disability benefit cuts
A senior Labour MP has said the government needs to take "corrective action" over planned disability cuts - as Sir Keir Starmer faces a growing backbench rebellion. Tan Dhesi, chair of the influential Commons defence committee, told the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge the "disappointing" local election results show the government must listen and learn, particularly over welfare reforms. The government has proposed tightening the eligibility requirements for the personal independent payment, known as PIP. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Politics latest: Farage urged to suspend new Reform councillor A claimant must score a minimum of four points on one PIP daily living activity, such as preparing food, washing and bathing, using the toilet or reading, to receive the daily living element of the benefit. Mr Dhesi, the MP for Slough, said "corrective action" needs to be taken but insisted if the government changed tact, it would not be a U-turn as the disability cuts were only proposals. "A government which is in listening mode should be looking at what the electorate is saying," he said. "And we need to make sure that it's our moral duty, responsibility, to look after the most vulnerable within our community, whether that's in Slough, whether that's elsewhere across the country. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement "So, I hope that the government will be taking on board that feedback and many of us as MPs are giving that feedback in various meetings happening here in Westminster and then we need to take corrective action." Minister Alex Davies-Jones told the Politics Hub a Labour government "will always seek to protect the most vulnerable" and it wants to "listen to people who have got real lived experience". She added she has the "utmost respect for Tan, he's a great constituency MP and he's doing exactly what he should be doing, is representing his constituency". Sir Keir is facing a rebellion from Labour MPs, with about 40 in the Red Wall - Labour's traditional heartlands in the north of England - reposting a statement on social media in which they said the leadership's response to the local elections had "fallen on deaf ears". ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Read more: Starmer defends winter fuel cut The choice facing Labour in face of Reform threat Several backbench Labour MPs also spoke out against the plans during a debate on PIP and disabled people in parliament on Wednesday. Ian Byrne, MP for Liverpool West Derby, said he would "swim through vomit to vote against" the proposed changes and said: "This is not what the Labour Party was formed to do." Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, said she feared tightening PIP eligibility would cause deaths, adding: "Lest we forget that study that attributed 330,000 excess deaths in Britain between 2012 and 2019 to the last round of austerity cuts [under the Conservative government]." ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Diane Abbott, the longest-serving female MP, accused the government of putting forward "contradictory arguments". "On the one hand, they insist they are helping the disabled by putting them back to work," she said. "But on the other hand, they say this cut will save £9bn. Well, you can't do both." However, fellow Labour MP David Pinto-Duschinsky, said MPs cannot "ignore this issue" of health-related benefit claimant figures rising at "twice the rate of underlying health conditions". Responding for the government, social security minister Sir Stephen Timms said PIP claims were set to "more than double, from two million to over 4.3 million this decade". "It would certainly not be in the interests of people currently claiming the benefits for the government to bury its head in the sand over that rate of increase," he added.
Sky News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Politics latest: Tories lose all their councils up for election as Nigel Farage's Reform UK wins big
After an epic day for the Politics Hub, we're logging off for the night. There have been dozens of results today - here are the key headlines: Reform on the march Reform has done fantastically well, better even than leader Nigel Farage thought was possible. This morning, they had no existing councillors in the areas being contested. Tonight, they have almost 600 and - for the first time - have majorities on nine councils. Their success doesn't stop there. They've also beaten Labour in a Westminster by-election and bagged themselves a new MP. Plus, they've also taken the gold medal in two mayoral contests. Lib Dems - winning here! It's also been a pretty good day for the Liberal Democrats, who have won three councils and are up 160 councillors. Doom and gloom On the other end of the spectrum, this is one of the worst performances the Conservatives have had in local elections in modern history. Kemi Badenoch's party went into the local elections defending 18 councils. They have lost them all, as well as more than 600 seats. And it hasn't been a good day for Labour either. They were only defending one council and one by-election, but they lost both. You can find the full results of the 2025 local elections, as well as breakdowns by individual councils here - and watch a round-up from our political editor Beth Rigby below: We'll be back tomorrow for more reaction - see you then.
Sky News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Politics latest: Yvette Cooper says government 'reviewing' how courts interpret ECHR
Good morning! Welcome back to the Politics Hub this Tuesday, 29 April. Of course, it isn't any old Tuesday - it's two days before the local elections take place across the country on 1 May. That means things are heating up in Westminster as parties face their first big test since last year's general election. More on that in a moment, but first: the story the government hopes will grab the headlines with this morning is their changes to the rules around who can seek asylum in the UK. Foreign nationals who have committed sex offences will be denied refugee status in a shake up of the law. It's in an effort to improve women's safety and is also the government's attempt to look tough on immigration. We'll hear from Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, about this on Sky News shortly. But there are questions about just how many people will actually be affected, while the Conservatives say Labour are "not serious" about tackling immigration unless they move to remove all foreign criminals and disapply the Human Rights Act. It comes as the number of people who have arrived in the UK illegally on small boats so far this year hit 10,000 yesterday - the earliest this figure has been reached since records began in 2018. Away from immigration, the Northern Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap are battling to avoid being cancelled after they were filmed allegedly calling for people to kill their local MPs. Both Kemi Badenoch and the PM's spokesperson have condemned the group, and there are calls for them to be dropped from festival line-ups. Now, the band has responded - saying they would never incite violence and say footage is being "exploited and weaponised". Back in London, there's a fair few things going on. Farmers are holding a protest (again) this afternoon and promise a vintage spectacle, as they call for better protections. Notable speakers will include former minister James Cleverly. Meanwhile, the UK's largest sustainability conference, Innovation Zero, kicks off. And in Whitehall, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds is meeting his Indian counterpart as trade talks between the two countries continue. And finally, in today's game of Where's Wally, campaigning for the local election continues. You can find Kemi Badenoch in Wiltshire, Sir Ed Davey in South Cambridgeshire and the Green's Zack Polanski in Aylesbury Vale. Coming up on Sky News shortly: 7.15am - Yvette Cooper, home secretary 8.15am - Matt Vickers, shadow Home Office minister Stay with us for all of the latest updates in the world of Westminster Politics.
