Category Archives: Police

‘We got failed by the police’: how veterans of Leeds riots stepped in to defuse disorder

Posted on by

A group of Muslim men put themselves in danger to calm unrest in Harehills over children being taken into care

Nadsy Qurban bent his neck to show how the crown of his head was ­covered in a number of burns, each the size of coins. “The smell was like I’m burning some goat or something, like I’m cooking some goat. That’s how bad it was,” he said.

Needless to say, it hurt. But a week on, the burns he gained while putting out fires during unrest in the Harehills area of Leeds are ­starting to heal.

Continue reading...

‘I never expected this in the UK’: modern slavery expert receives death threat

Posted on by

Migrants at Work founder Aké Achi claims police failed to act on letter sent to his home warning of harm to his family

A leading modern slavery expert who pursues employers on behalf of exploited overseas workers, recovering thousands of pounds for them in the process, has received a threat on his life.

Aké Achi, founder and chief executive of Migrants at Work, an organisation which protects workers’ rights, says the letter was posted to his home.

Continue reading...

Sacking of senior police officer who failed to provide drug test sample overturned

Posted on by

Scotland Yard considers legal challenge after decision, saying commanders are expected to ‘lead by example’

The sacking of a senior police officer who failed to provide a sample for a drugs test when he was accused of smoking cannabis has been overturned.

Former Metropolitan police commander Julian Bennett, who served in the force from 1976, was found to have committed gross misconduct by failing to provide a urine sample for a drugs test on 21 July 2020.

Continue reading...

Teenager kicked in face by Manchester police is ‘traumatised’, solicitor says

Posted on by

Akhmed Yakoob claims Muhammed Fahir, 19, is victim of police brutality after video shows arrest at airport

A teenager who was kicked in the face by an armed police officer while lying prone on the ground is “traumatised” and receiving hospital treatment after the “barbaric” assault, his solicitor has said.

Akhmed Yakoob said 19-year-old Muhammed Fahir was a victim of “police brutality” after footage showed an officer stamping on his head during an arrest at Manchester airport on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Officer from Italy forced to quit UK police due to post-Brexit barriers

Posted on by

Dani says his £26,000 salary is not high enough to sponsor his wife so she can join him in Britain

A police officer working in Manchester says he has been forced to quit his job after Rishi Sunak raised the salary threshold to sponsor his Italian wife to live in the UK in the post-Brexit immigration scheme.

Campaigners have warned that his tale of Brexit anguish is being repeated up and down the country in low-paid public sectors where many EU citizens work.

Continue reading...

Council to review child protection case that triggered Leeds unrest

Posted on by

‘Serious disorder’ in Harehills began after children from Roma family taken into care

Leeds city council is undertaking an urgent review of the child protection case that triggered unrest in the city on Thursday night.

A police car was flipped on its side and a bus burned out in what police described as “serious disorder” in the Harehills area of the city, which began when children from a Roma family were taken into care.

Continue reading...

Police car turned over and vehicles set alight in disorder in Leeds

Posted on by

People told to stay at home due to unrest in Harehills area of West Yorkshire city

A police car was flipped on to its side after unrest broke out in Leeds on Thursday evening, and local people were advised to stay at home.

Footage on social media appeared to show people throwing objects at the police vehicle before it was pushed over in Harehills, just east of the city centre.

Continue reading...

Inquiry into Greater Manchester police calls for end to inappropriate strip-searches

Posted on by

Report by Vera Baird reveals lack of care, with vulnerable women strip-searched or left to bleed through clothes

An inquiry into the experiences of women and girls in police custody in Greater Manchester has called for an end to the inappropriate use of strip-searches amid allegations they have been used to punish and “degrade” women.

The Baird report, which was commissioned by Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, and released on Thursday morning, examined 14 cases of 11 women and three men who had been treated unfairly by Greater Manchester police (GMP). It found wrongful arrests, a lack of care for domestic and sexual abuse survivors, and strip-searches being conducted forcefully on vulnerable women.

Continue reading...

Murder investigation launched after man shot dead in Merseyside

Posted on by

Police patrols stepped up in area after man, 36, killed in Kirkby on Wednesday evening

A murder investigation has been launched after a 36-year-old man was shot dead on the streets of Merseyside.

Police said they received a report at 6.35pm on Wednesday from the North West ambulance service that a man had been shot in Kirkby.

Continue reading...

UK ‘turning a blind eye’ to threats to kill Saudi activists living in exile

Posted on by

Saudis living in the UK claim Riyadh is targeting them for speaking out on human rights and jailing of female activists

Saudi exiles living in the UK have spoken of threats to their lives and harassment over their support for improvements in human rights in their home country.

Saudi Arabia has been attempting to present itself as a reformed state since the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit squad at its consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

It has spent billions on sporting deals and promoting tourism in the country and was recently named host of a UN commission on women’s rights, despite what Amnesty International called its “abysmal” record on women’s rights.

Continue reading...

Fears UK prisons face ‘collapse’ as they could be full before early release scheme begins

Posted on by

With Labour plan not coming into effect until September, ex-prison governor says emergency measures can only ‘keep a lid on things’

Prisons could still hit full capacity within weeks despite new emergency measures announced by Labour to release some prisoners early.

An unprecedented move to cut the time served in custody for most sentences to 40% will not come into effect until September, and officials fear that capacity will be overwhelmed by the end of August. The justice secretary has described the situation as a “ticking timebomb”.

Continue reading...

Tributes paid to three women killed in ‘devastating’ Bushey crossbow attack

Posted on by

Neighbours of Carol Hunt and her daughters express shock as racing community sends John Hunt sympathy

Tributes have been paid to three women killed in an “utterly devastating” crossbow attack.

Carol Hunt and her two daughters, beautician Hannah Hunt, 28, and dog groomer Louise Hunt, 25, were found injured at a home in Bushey, Hertfordshire on Tuesday and died shortly after at the scene.

Continue reading...

Met apologises for spying on police justice campaigners in 1980s and 1990s

Posted on by

Force admits use of undercover officers was ‘indefensible’ and had ‘corrosive effect’ on public trust, inquiry hears

The Metropolitan police have issued a series of wide-ranging apologies to campaigners for the “indefensible” use of undercover officers to spy on them, a public inquiry has heard.

The Met admitted to “serious failings and wrongdoing” by some of the undercover officers, conceding there was a “general failure” by senior managers to supervise them properly.

Continue reading...

Guardia Civil reject offer of help from Lancashire police in search for Jay Slater

Posted on by

Spanish police say they have the resources it needs for hunt for 19-year-old who was last heard from on Monday

Spanish police have rejected an offer of support from Lancashire constabulary as the hunt for the missing British teenager Jay Slater in Tenerife continues.

Lancashire police said it had made “an offer of support to the Guardia Civil to see if they need any additional resources” in their efforts. The 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle was last heard from between 8am and 9am on Monday morning when he contacted a friend.

Continue reading...

Acid offences up 75% in UK but only 8% go to court, data suggests

Posted on by

Acid Survivors Trust International calls for more focus on prevention in similar strategy to that for knife crime

Acid attacks and other offences involving corrosive substances in the UK have risen by 75% in a year but only 8% of cases led to criminal charges or a summons, figures suggest.

The total number of recorded offences last year based on freedom of information (FOI) requests was 1,244 – up from 710 in 2022 – comprising 454 physical attacks and 790 other alleged offences, including carrying corrosives and threats of acid attack to aid other offences such as rape or robbery.

Continue reading...

NI police detective who had paralysing stroke honoured in king’s birthday list

Posted on by

Clodagh Dunlop recognised for work with stroke survivors as others who have overcome adversity also receive MBEs

Unsung heroes who have overcome great adversity to contribute to their communities and raise awareness of important issues make up the majority of those on the king’s birthday honours list.

They include the Police Service of Northern Ireland detective Clodagh Dunlop, 45, who had a brainstem stroke 10 years ago that left her paralysed with locked-in syndrome and only able to communicate by blinking one eye. She receives an MBE for her work with stroke survivors.

Continue reading...

Bomb squad called to Tory candidate’s West Sussex office

Posted on by

Disposal team attends after former defence minister Jeremy Quin was sent suspicious package

A bomb squad had to be called in to a Conservative candidate’s constituency office after he said he received a suspicious package.

Sir Jeremy Quin, a former defence minister and the Tory candidate for the Horsham constituency, received the package at his West Sussex office. Bomb disposal experts were called in to investigate after a decision by Sussex police.

Continue reading...

Families vow to step up fight for answers on anniversary of Nottingham killings

Posted on by

Relatives of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates instruct legal team to investigate police and health trust

The families of the victims of the Nottingham attacks have vowed to take their fight for accountability “to the next level” on the one-year anniversary of the killings.

In a joint statement, the families of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates, who were killed by Valdo Calocane in the early hours of 13 June last year, said they had instructed a legal team to help them “leave no stone unturned on our quest for answers”.

Continue reading...

More than 2,000 officers police protests and Champions League final in London

Posted on by

Forces outside the capital drawn on for Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid match and a Tommy Robinson march and counter-protest

More than 2,000 officers have been deployed across London, including more than 400 from outside the capital, to police the Champions League final, a protest by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson and a counter-demonstration.

The final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid takes place at Wembley on Saturday evening. And, earlier, a protest organised by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, more commonly known as Tommy Robinson, set off from the Victoria area on Saturday, ending in Parliament Square where speeches took place.

Continue reading...

Stephen Lawrence’s father says he has forgiven killers but not Met police

Posted on by

Neville Lawrence writes of continuing fight for justice 31 years after murder of his son in south-east London

The father of Stephen Lawrence has said he has forgiven the racist killers of his son, but has yet to forgive the Metropolitan police for the failings that left them free.

In a comment piece for the Guardian, Neville Lawrence said his “grief has no ending” and told of his enduring pain to “identify the human cost” of the police’s failings.

Continue reading...