18 December 2017 In the evening of 14 December, the Spanish Guardia Civil apprehended a dangerous and armed fugitive, a Serbian national nicknamed “Igor the Russian”, in the Province of Teruel, Spain. A shooting occurred during the arrest, and two … read more
Richard Burgon MP, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, responding to the speech by Secretary of State David Lidington on prison reform, said:
“This speech was shockingly complacent, failing to outline a serious plan to tackle the prisons crisis caused by Tory cuts to staff numbers and budgets.
“One in four prisons has seen a fall in officer numbers over the last year, including those housing the most dangerous prisoners and those prisons that the government itself labels as being of concern. Yet the Secretary of State failed to guarantee that those prisons would see any increase in officer numbers. Nor did he set out a vision for tackling widespread prison overcrowding.
“When understaffing and overcrowding mean prisoners spend 23 hours a day locked-up in their cell, this makes a mockery of the government’s claims that it is turning prisons into places of reform.
“With further drastic budget cuts planned by the Ministry of Justice over the coming years, there is a real danger that our prisons will move beyond crisis to a full-blown emergency.“
John Healey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Secretary, responding to Dame Judith Hackitt’s interim report into the Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, said:
“This interim report is welcome but Ministers have already been told that building safety rules need to be rewritten.
“It is now four and a half years since two Coroners’ reports into previous high rise fires recommended an overhaul of building regulations. Ministers ignored the recommendations then and their promise to issue new regulations was never honoured.
“Rather than waiting for the final report of this inquiry, Ministers should start acting on existing recommendations immediately and incorporate recommendations from Dame Judith Hackitt when her inquiry is completed.
“Ministers have been off the pace at every stage in response to the Grenfell Tower fire. They must now quickly give people confidence that our system of fire regulation has the clarity, accountability and proper standards needed so that no-one feels unsafe in their home.”
Boaters on the River Great Ouse can now stop off at three new and improved landing stages installed by the Environment Agency. read more
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