Latest news with #SophyRidge
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."
Sky News
12-05-2025
- Sky News
Politics latest: 'Supermax' jails not ruled out to tackle violence in prisons
'We release them and they come back': Officers acting as 'agony aunts' for inmates Prison officers act as "agony aunts" for inmates, with young offenders being returned to the same prison time and time again. That's according to Sophie Lynch, who has worked at HMP Preston for seven-and-a-half years. She tells Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge she has become "used to seeing some faces" as prisoners become trapped in a cycle of serving short sentences, being released, only to be convicted again going back to jail. She says: "The prisoners that we're releasing, they're coming back in weeks later, and we're having to start all over again to try to get things in place for them when they do get out." 'They've not got their wits about them' Sophie works in a department that aims to manage those at risk of self-harm or suicide, making her work less about "locking doors" and more about caring for inmates. She compares her work to that of an agony aunt. "I think there's a general misunderstanding of what a prison officer does," she adds. She also says that "nine out of 10" prisoners she sees are men aged 25 or younger, who have spent time in care. "They are kids", she says. "They're coming in at 18, [it's their] first time in custody, not really got their wits about them, and you'll see how they get almost ingratiated in those groups. "And then they come back, and then they're 19, then they're 20, and then they're 21. "And each time they're getting different, sometimes longer sentences." 'Overstretched and under-resourced' She also believes sometimes prison is "not a suitable environment" for these young men, as many have had "adverse childhood experiences or enduring mental illness". Pushed on what those behaviours are, Sophie says this can mean self-harm or violence. Sophie also tells us that some prisoners at HMP Preston are waiting for a bed at a secure unit or hospital, and were not supposed to be in a conventional prison at all. She believes "something needs to be done" and says her years of experience shows prisons are "overstretched, under-resourced, and people are constantly just coming back into custody".
Sky News
12-05-2025
- Sky News
Politics latest: 'Super-max' jails not ruled out to tackle violence in prisons
'We release them and they come back': Officers acting as 'agony aunts' for inmates Prison officers act as "agony aunts" for inmates, with young offenders being returned to the same prison time and time again. That's according to Sophie Lynch, who has worked at HMP Preston for seven-and-a-half years. She tells Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge she has become "used to seeing some faces" as prisoners become trapped in a cycle of serving short sentences, being released, only to be convicted again going back to jail. She says: "The prisoners that we're releasing, they're coming back in weeks later, and we're having to start all over again to try to get things in place for them when they do get out." 'They've not got their wits about them' Sophie works in a department that aims to manage those at risk of self-harm or suicide, making her work less about "locking doors" and more about caring for inmates. She compares her work to that of an agony aunt. "I think there's a general misunderstanding of what a prison officer does," she adds. She also says that "nine out of 10" prisoners she sees are men aged 25 or younger, who have spent time in care. "They are kids", she says. "They're coming in at 18, [it's their] first time in custody, not really got their wits about them, and you'll see how they get almost ingratiated in those groups. "And then they come back, and then they're 19, then they're 20, and then they're 21. "And each time they're getting different, sometimes longer sentences." 'Overstretched and under-resourced' She also believes sometimes prison is "not a suitable environment" for these young men, as many have had "adverse childhood experiences or enduring mental illness". Pushed on what those behaviours are, Sophie says this can mean self-harm or violence. Sophie also tells us that some prisoners at HMP Preston are waiting for a bed at a secure unit or hospital, and were not supposed to be in a conventional prison at all. She believes "something needs to be done" and says her years of experience shows prisons are "overstretched, under-resourced, and people are constantly just coming back into custody".
Sky News
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Starmer meets Trump - but how does he prepare?
👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈 Sophy Ridge takes over the Sky News Daily ahead of Sir Keir Starmer's meeting with President Donald Trump next week. The prime minister was already going to have a tightrope to walk as the potential bridge between the new White House administration and an out-of-favour Europe. Joining Sophy is Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor of the Sunday Times. He's also co-author of the book Get In: The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer. They discuss how Starmer might navigate the Trump tightrope, and what the PM's team is doing to prepare for their meeting.
