Hundreds more prisoners being freed in second phase of early release scheme

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The Guardian·48m ago

Wes Streeting might be an unlikely defence secretary – but he’s still a better bet than Penny Mordaunt | John Crace

For the first time in his life, Wes is enjoying keeping secrets – though he did admit he isn’t ‘keen on fighting a war’ When Andy Burnham announced his first cabinet in July, few would have had Wes Streeting marked down as a likely defence secretary. Not even Wes. And no one is more bullish about Wes’s life chances than Wes. It just didn’t seem a natural fit. Defence secretaries tend to be more the unsmiling types who operate in the shadows. Politicians like John Healey, with the pallor of someone who has spent too long in underground bunkers with military chief of staffs. People who slide in and out of rooms without making a fuss. Wes has always been someone who likes to be noticed. Enjoys the theatre of Westminster. The first to arrive at a party and the last to leave. A natural gossip. “Psst – you’ll never guess what Zelenskyy just said to Trump.” Continue reading...

The Guardian·1h ago

The Guardian view on probation: overcrowded prisons need an outlet | Editorial

To win support for early releases, the government will have to show that community supervision works The early release of thousands of prisoners was bound to be awkward for a new prime minister. Politically speaking, Andy Burnham’s decision to exclude those convicted of manslaughter and some other offences made sense. But with about 2,000 offenders being freed this month, the risk is that by cutting the numbers, he has added to overcrowding problems inside. With the prison and probation services under huge pressure, and a ballot on industrial action expected, there is an urgent need for moves from the government to strengthen both. Shielded from view as prisons are, and despite the efforts of campaigners and writers such as Jimmy McGovern to draw attention to them, conditions have been allowed to deteriorate to a shocking extent. The latest annual report from the prisons watchdog drew a

BBC Politics·1h ago

MI5 chief warns against overstating Russian interference in Brexit vote

It comes after Andy Burnham said Moscow had tried to interfere in the 2016 referendum.

The Guardian·2h ago2 outlets

MI5 chief Ken McCallum confirms Russia did interfere in Brexit referendum but says it had little impact – as it happened

He argued there was no evidence to suggest the result of the Brexit vote had been swayed as a result of the effort Andy Burnham promises ‘serious dialogue’ over UK’s relationship with EU Zia Yusuf , Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, has said he does not agree with his colleague Suella Braverman’s assertion that black people cannot be English. Asked about her views in an interview on Sky News , Yusuf said: In my view Ashley Cole is the best English fullback in history, and I won’t take any other position. So in my view, Ashley Cole is English. I think the argument that he’s not English doesn’t hold water with me. Nasser Hussain, who I grew up watching when I went to the cricket, the idea that those people aren’t English is an alien concept to me. I would respectfully disagree with people, who make the opposite argument. To say I’m English is to take a ‘laissez-faire, anything-goes’ a

The Guardian·4h ago

Farage denies Reform would let troops shoot small boats after Jenrick’s ‘lethal force’ claim

Farage’s intervention comes as Reform chair Zia Yusuf criticises ‘everybody’ in former Tory government that included Jenrick and Suella Braverman Nigel Farage has denied that a Reform UK government would authorise lethal force against small boat crossings in the Channel, hours after one of his MPs said the Royal Marines should be permitted to fire on the boats. Farage overruled Robert Jenrick, a Reform UK MP who defected from the Conservatives, who had told TalkTV that the party would deploy the marines to take boats back to France. Continue reading...

BBC Politics·6h ago

Welsh government and Labour strike budget deal with £60m for additional learning needs

The Plaid Cymru-led administration had failed to pass its spending plans during the summer.