Category Archives: Police

Badenoch says her migration plan ‘credible’, but won’t say where 150,000 people a year being removed will go – UK politics live

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Conservative leader grilled over her removals proposal ahead of party conference opening later today

The polling firm Opinium has released some research this morning suggesting that some Conservative party policies are popular with voters – but that, if people are explicitly told that they are Kemi Badenoch policies, their popularity goes down.

There is some evidence that Keir Starmer’s unpopularity has the same effect – and that, once a policy is associated with him, voters are less inclined to back it.

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Police to get new powers to crack down on repeated protests, says Home Office

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Move follows arrest of almost 500 people at latest pro-Palestinian demonstration in London on Saturday

Ministers are to give police new powers to target repeated protests, aimed particularly at cracking down on demonstrations connected to Gaza, the Home Office has said.

The announcement, made the morning after almost 500 people were arrested in London for expressing support for Palestine Action, a proscribed organisation, could allow police to order regular protests to take place at a different site.

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Metropolitan police officer arrested after undercover BBC investigation

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Sergeant arrested on suspicion of perverting course of justice after colleagues filmed making racist and sexist remarks

A serving Metropolitan police officer has been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, after undercover footage showed colleagues at Charing Cross police station making racist and sexist comments.

The footage, gathered for a BBC Panorama documentary, appears to show officers at a central London station calling for immigrants to be shot and boasting about using violence against suspects.

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Met plunged into crisis amid fresh claims of misogyny and racism

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Commissioner Mark Rowley says prejudice has ‘put down deep roots’ within force after BBC Panorama investigation

​Metropolitan police officers have been recorded calling for immigrants to be shot, bragging about excessive force, being dismissive about a rape complaint and making anti-Muslim and anti-women comments.

The BBC Panorama programme followed seven months of undercover filming at Charing Cross police station.

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IOPC investigators allegedly said Nottingham stabbings inquiry was ‘politically motivated’

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Mother of victim Barnaby Webber says allegations about watchdog staff have left families asking whom they can trust

Police watchdog investigators who are alleged to have described an inquiry into the 2023 Nottingham stabbings as politically motivated are “disrespectful and inhumane”, the mother of one victim has said.

Emma Webber said new allegations about staff at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) had left families asking whom they could trust.

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Met police investigate possible vetting errors over 300 recruits

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Exclusive: Force examining whether hundreds of recruits had substandard or no checks before being allowed to join

Scotland Yard is urgently making checks on whether it bungled the vetting of hundreds of officers after concerns they may have used inadequate measures when hiring them to see if they posed a criminal risk.

About 300 new recruits may have had substandard or no vetting to see if they had criminal convictions, cautions or criminal associations and whether their integrity was at risk because of debt.

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‘She never got help’: mother says daughter who died on motorway was failed by care system

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Tamzin Hall, 17, was struck by a vehicle after leaving a police car on the M5 motorway in Somerset after being arrested at a children’s home

The mother of a girl who was struck by a vehicle and killed after she left a police car on a motorway says the untimely death of her daughter came after years of frustration and disappointment with authorities over the teenager’s care.

Tamzin Hall, 17, had been arrested and was being taken into custody when she left the police vehicle in which she was travelling on the M5 northbound between Taunton and Bridgwater in Somerset on 11 November 2024.

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UK to explore extraditing Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brückner

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Met chief Mark Rowley says many questions remain and detectives are liaising with German and Portuguese police

Mark Rowley has said the British police investigation into Madeleine McCann will explore extraditing the German national Christian Brückner to the UK to stand trial over the three-year-old’s disappearance.

Brückner was released from a German prison on Wednesday after serving a seven-year jail term for the rape of an elderly woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2005, two years before Madeleine disappeared while on holiday with her family in the same town.

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Police search for 11 violent disorder suspects after ‘unite the kingdom’ march

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Met ask public for help identifying those who aimed ‘kicks and punches’ at officers among other offences

Police are looking for 11 people suspected to have committed violent disorder offences after the large far-right-led march through London on Saturday, and said they had already charged eight people with offences.

The “unite the kingdom” march was led by the far-right activist known as Tommy Robinson and attracted more than 110,000 people, police said, in excess of what they or the organisers expected.

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Conservative MP Danny Kruger says party is ‘over’ as he defects to Reform – UK politics live

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Nigel Farage announces defection of MP for East Wiltshire and puts him in charge of preparing party for government

Nigel Farage has announced that Danny Kruger has defected to Reform UK from the Tories. Kruger, MP for East Wiltshire, is a leading social conservative, and co-chaired the New Conservatives group in the last parliament with Miriam Cates.

Farage said that Kruger would be in charge of preparing the part for government.

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Brother of Briton jailed in India asks why UK border police are stopping him

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Gurpreet Singh Johal wants to know if stops are linked to his efforts to find out whether UK intelligence played a role in sibling’s arrest

The brother of Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh jailed in India, has written to the Home Office to ask why he is being repeatedly stopped at the airport by British border police.

Gurpreet Singh Johal, a Labour councillor in Dumbarton, asked if it was linked to his legal efforts to discover whether British intelligence played a role in his brother’s arrest eight years ago.

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Nine Met police suspended amid inquiry into claims of excessive force

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Watchdog says there are also allegations of discriminatory and misogynistic comments, centring on Charing Cross police station

Nine Scotland Yard officers have been suspended after an investigation was launched into claims of excessive use of force and the making of discriminatory and misogynistic comments.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the allegations centre on Charing Cross police station in central London, the source of a previous scandal for the Metropolitan police.

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Don’t log non-crime hate incidents, says head of police watchdog

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Andy Cooke says the cases take up little time for forces in England and Wales but create intense controversy

Police should no longer record or investigate non-crime hate incidents, the chief inspector of constabulary has said.

Sir Andy Cooke said handling the incidents took up a minuscule amount of time but drew vehement criticism.

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Iceland says it will pay customers £1 if they report a shoplifter

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Grocery chain employees will verify the incident and the reward will be adding to the shopper’s loyalty card

The grocery chain Iceland is offering customers who shop a thief a £1 reward on their loyalty card.

The frozen food specialist said that anyone who spots a suspected shoplifter in its stores should inform the nearest Iceland employee who will verify the incident before adding the reward to the individual’s loyalty card for immediate use.

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UK rights watchdog warns against ‘heavy-handed’ policing of Gaza protests

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EHRC calls for clearer guidance for officers to avoid a ‘chilling effect’ on freedom of expression

The UK’s official human rights watchdog has written to ministers and police expressing concern at a potentially “heavy-handed” approach to protests about Gaza and urging clearer guidance for officers in enforcing the law.

In the letter to Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, and Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan police, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the perception that peaceful protest could attract disproportionate police attention “undermines confidence in our human rights protections”.

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Rotherham abuse survivors welcome police climbdown over internal inquiry

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South Yorkshire police will no longer lead investigation into alleged crimes of former officers after move caused outcry

Lawyers representing victims of sexual abuse in Rotherham have welcomed a climbdown that means South Yorkshire police will no longer lead an investigation into alleged crimes of former officers.

The force came under fire last month after it emerged that it was to lead an investigation into the actions of its own officers, to be overseen by the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

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Police plan to arrest anyone supporting Palestine Action at London protest

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Source says presence of large crowds would not prevent arrests under terrorism laws

Police are planning to arrest anyone demonstrating in support of Palestine Action this weekend.

The group has been banned under terrorism laws and this weekend a large event protesting against its proscription has been organised by the group Defend Our Juries.

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Staffordshire police chief suspended after concerns raised about off-duty conduct

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IOPC also investigating Chris Noble over allegations he shared confidential information without policing purpose

A police chief has been suspended after serious concerns were raised about his behaviour outside of work.

The Staffordshire police chief constable, Chris Noble, who denies any wrongdoing, is under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for the matters, which predate his employment with the force.

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Met police to more than double use of live facial recognition

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Technology will now be used up to 10 times a week across five days, up from four times a week across two days

Britain’s biggest police force is to more than double its use of live facial recognition to up to 10 deployments a week.

The move by the Metropolitan police comes as it restructures to cover the loss of 1,400 officers and 300 staff amid budget shortages.

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Southport MP says city won’t be defined by atrocity one year on from attack

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Police monitor social media for attempts to stir up disorder as town pays tribute to three girls murdered last year

Southport must not be defined by the atrocity at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club last summer, its leaders have said, a year on from the murders.

The Merseyside town will hold a three-minute silence and lower flags on public buildings on Tuesday in tribute to those caught up in the attack on 29 July last year.

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