Category Archives: UK criminal justice

Nottingham attacks: Valdo Calocane’s ‘unduly lenient’ sentence to be reviewed

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Attorney general Victoria Prentis asks court of appeal to review hospital order handed to Calocane, who killed three people

The families of the three people stabbed to death in the Nottingham attacks last year have welcomed a court of appeal review of the “unduly lenient” sentence of the perpetrator, Valdo Calocane.

The killer was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order last month for the attacks on university students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19, and a school caretaker, Ian Coates, 65, in the early hours of 13 June last year.

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Crime victims die while waiting for justice as England and Wales legal system ‘on its knees’

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‘Shameful’ backlogs in cases are causing severe mental health problems, says victims commissioner

Victims of crime are dying waiting for justice as they face delays of up to six years for their cases to be dealt with in court, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales has said.

As a new law to enshrine victims’ rights is scrutinised in the House of Lords, Baroness Helen Newlove warned that the wider justice system was “on its knees”, with “shameful” backlogs leaving victims suffering acute mental health problems.

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Mother of stabbed Nottingham university student calls for inquiry

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Emma Webber describes ‘fury’ at sentence received by Valdo Calocane for deadly rampage last June

The mother of one of the students stabbed to death in Nottingham has called for an inquiry into any failings that led to the knife attacks.

Emma Webber told the Times that her family “fully support” calls for a public inquiry, which also has the backing of the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, into the killings of her son Barnaby Webber, fellow University of Nottingham student Grace O’Malley-Kumar and the 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates.

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French Holocaust denier found in Fife loses extradition fight

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Vincent Reynouard discovered living double life in Scottish village where he worked as a tutor, reports say

A Holocaust denier who was arrested in a Scottish fishing village will be extradited back to France after spending two years on the run from the authorities.

Vincent Reynouard lost his extradition battle after his arrest in November 2022. He had been discovered living a double life in Anstruther, Fife, where he worked as a private tutor, according to reports.

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Two men jailed on racist police officer’s evidence have convictions overturned

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Saliah Mehmet and Basil Peterkin’s convictions linked to British Transport Police officer Derek Ridgewell posthumously quashed

Two men who were jailed based on evidence from a racist and corrupt police officer have had their convictions posthumously overturned by the court of appeal.

Saliah Mehmet and Basil Peterkin are the 10th and 11th people to have convictions relating to the British Transport Police (BTP) officer DS Derek Ridgewell quashed. Their appeals after a referral by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) were uncontested on Thursday.

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Post Office scandal could lead to rules change on private prosecutions

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Companies could be stopped from taking such action, and firms involved in Horizon case may have to pay compensation

Rules to prevent companies taking private prosecutions in the way the Post Office went after innocent post office operators are being considered by the government.

The move by the government to consider removing powers of prosecution from the Post Office and other entities is part of a response to the Horizon IT scandal that could also lead to companies involved, including the tech company Fujitsu, being asked to shoulder the financial burden of providing compensation, a cabinet minister indicated on Tuesday.

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Rishi Sunak considers plan to exonerate Post Office Horizon scandal victims

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PM reveals government is also considering plans to strip Post Office of its powers to prosecute

Post office operators whose lives have been ruined by the Horizon scandal could be exonerated under plans being considered by the government, Rishi Sunak has said.

The prime minister also confirmed that Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, could strip the Post Office of its powers to prosecute after more than 700 branch managers were wrongly handed criminal convictions.

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Key Post Office Horizon campaigner ‘Mr Bates’ calls for faster compensation

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Victim of software scandal says TV drama has reignited issue as 50 new operators contact lawyers

A former post office operator who led a campaign to fight against wrongful convictions brought by the Post Office has called for compensation for the victims to be sped up after the broadcast of an ITV drama about the scandal.

The Metropolitan police confirmed on Friday the Post Office was under criminal investigation over “potential fraud offences” committed during the Horizon scandal.

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Meet the Outlaw escaping from prisons in protest against indefinite detention

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Joe Outlaw is one of 2,921 inmates still on IPP sentences, which were abolished in 2012

It should be impossible to escape from a high-security prison, doubly so for prisoners held on the segregation unit, who are allowed only to exercise in a caged yard.

But on 21 June, the summer solstice and the hottest day of the year at that point, Joe Outlaw managed to break through the cage and get on to the roof of HMP Frankland, a Durham prison dubbed “Monster mansion” due to many of its inmates being convicted murderers, terrorists and sex offenders.

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Over 5,500 unpaid work orders not completed after two years in England and Wales

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Exclusive: Orders should be done within a year of sentence as experts blame ‘chronic understaffing’ in probation service

More than 5,500 unpaid work orders that form part of community sentences have not been completed more than two years after being handed down, with experts blaming “chronic understaffing” in the probation service.

Ordinarily the orders, which can be for between 40 and 300 hours, should be completed within 12 months of sentence. Figures show there are more than 15,100 unpaid work orders not completed in that time in England and Wales,

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Police to be able to run face recognition searches on 50m driving licence holders

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Exclusive: Privacy campaigners say clause in new criminal justice bill will put all UK drivers on ‘permanent police lineup’

The police will be able to run facial recognition searches on a database containing images of Britain’s 50 million driving licence holders under a law change being quietly introduced by the government.

Should the police wish to put a name to an image collected on CCTV, or shared on social media, the legislation would provide them with the powers to search driving licence records for a match.

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Miscarriage of justice watchdog reviews murder conviction of ex-MI6 informant

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Criminal Cases Review Commission re-examines case of Wang Yam, who was convicted of 2006 murder of Allan Chappelow in London

The case of Wang Yam, a former MI6 informant convicted of the murder in 2006 of Allan Chappelow, a reclusive author and photographer, is being re-examined by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

The move comes after developments in forensic DNA analysis, which led to the successful appeal of Andrew Malkinson, whose 2004 conviction for rape was overturned in July.

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Rishi Sunak’s king’s speech to include hardline criminal justice measures

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PM to announce tougher sentences for rapists and killers ahead of upcoming general election

Rishi Sunak’s first king’s speech will include a series of hardline criminal justice measures promising tougher sentences for rapists and killers in the run-up to a general election.

With crime and punishment a major point of contention with Keir Starmer’s Labour, the prime minister will confirm the introduction of a new sentencing bill under which murderers whose crimes involved sadistic or sexual conduct will face spending the rest of their lives in jail.

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High-risk prisoners sit GCSE English – and many outperform peers on outside

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Inmates at HMP Frankland in County Durham, some of ‘hardest to reach people in society’, did course in a year with no internet access

Inmates serving long sentences at one of the UK’s most secure prisons have been allowed to study GCSE English for the first time and have outperformed many of their peers on the outside.

More than three-quarters of the small cohort of prisoners who sat the exam at HMP Frankland in County Durham secured a pass at grade 4 or above – equivalent to a C – which is almost three times the success rate in further education colleges in England.

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Tory MP Peter Bone should be suspended for six weeks for bullying and sexual misconduct, says report – UK politics live

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Commons will vote on suspension recommended by independent expert panel after investigation

Peter Bone has issued a statement saying that the bullying and sexual misconduct claims about him made by a former employed, that have led to the IEP recommending a six-week suspension, are false and without foundation. He says the complainant did not raise them at the time and only submitted a complaint years after they had left.

As I have maintained throughout these proceedings, none of the misconduct allegations against me ever took place. They are false and untrue claims. They are without foundation.

The allegations by an ex-employee refer to events of more than 10 years ago that spanned no more than a few months. The complainant first made the allegations years after they left my employment. They did not raise them at any time during their employment, either in writing or verbally with me, nor with their line managers …

I am also firmly of the opinion that on this occasion the independent complaints and grievance scheme investigation was flawed, procedurally unfair and didn’t comply with its own rules and regulations. It is my belief that they have operated outside of the powers given to them by parliament and I am currently discussing with lawyers what action could and should be taken.

The commissioner found the following allegations proved:

Allegation 1: Mr Bone “verbally belittled, ridiculed, abused and humiliated” the complainant, and this was bullying.

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Two-thirds of prisons officially overcrowded in England and Wales

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HMP Wandsworth holding more extra prisoners than any other jail despite recent high-profile problems

Two-thirds of prisons in England and Wales are officially overcrowded, with HMP Wandsworth holding more extra prisoners than any other jail despite the alleged escape of a terror suspect last month.

In September there were 663 more men in Wandsworth than the 950 the south London prison has “good, decent” accommodation for, under the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) definition. That means prisoners sharing cells designed for one, often with a toilet in the middle shielded by a curtain.

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Prisons plan could add 1,000 places in England and Wales amid overcrowding

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Use of portable buildings and more doubling up in cells could be part of package to be announced next week

Prisoners in England and Wales could be moved into portable buildings or released early as part of a huge extension of the electronic tagging scheme, as the justice secretary considers creative measures to solve the overcrowding crisis.

Alex Chalk KC is expected to reveal a package of measures on Monday that could add 1,000 prison places across the estate, the Guardian understands.

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Women’s groups criticise move to delay sentencing in England and Wales

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Government accused of letting down victims as full prisons mean convicted criminals will spend longer on bail

Victims of crime in England and Wales are being let down by a government that has failed to provide adequate resources to the criminal justice system, women’s groups have said, after it emerged that sentencing hearings of convicted criminals currently on bail – including rapists and burglars – were to be delayed because prisons are full.

It has been reported that the senior presiding judge for England and Wales, Lord Justice Edis, issued the guidance on a private call with senior crown court judges. A government source told the Guardian it applied to those who had been on bail throughout the court process and had, therefore, already been assessed as lower risk.

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First minister says SNP MP who defected to Tories ‘probably never believed’ in Scottish independence – as it happened

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Humza Yousaf says Lisa Cameron’s move was ‘the least surprising news I’ve had as leader of the SNP’

NHS waiting lists have hit a new record high, with more people facing long waits, PA Media reports. PA says:

Figures for the NHS in England show 7.75 million people were waiting to start treatment at the end of August, up from 7.68 million in July.

This is the highest number since records began in August 2007 and comes despite Rishi Sunak saying cutting waiting lists is one of his priorities.

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Staff shortages an issue amid ‘deeply worrying’ prison deaths in England

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Inquests flag up gaps in the care of prisoners in relation to at least nine deaths in custody since 2021

Prison understaffing and workload issues have been flagged in at least nine inquests into deaths in custody since the start of 2021, according to an Observer analysis of coroners’ reports.

Issues raised include gaps in monitoring of prisoners due to understaffing, a lack of prison-based clinical staff and shortcomings in the keyworker programme. Coroners have also repeatedly identified problems with staff training and the assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) process for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm.

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