Home Office plans statutory rules for police facial recognition and an independent watchdog with potential court-enforced powers. Proposals are not yet law.
Charlotte Mercer · 3 min readMetropolitan Police confirm 325 arrests at a London protest opposing the Palestine Action ban, including 320 on suspicion of support for a proscribed organisation.
Charlotte Mercer · 2 min readThe Metropolitan Police is trialling a risk-based response to minor electronic tag and curfew breaches involving people on court bail, amid wider pressure on policing and the criminal justice system.
Staff member · 2 min readCounter-terrorism police have re-arrested two men under the National Security Act in the investigation into suspicious activity near RAF Fairford, saying Iranian state involvement is highly likely.
Staff member · 2 min readHome Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered an independent review of protection for public figures and expanded police support beyond serving MPs following Ann Widdecombe’s murder.
Charlotte Mercer · 3 min readPolice reported 20 arrests during Saturday’s London demonstration, including over alleged criminal damage and protest-condition breaches. Charges have not been confirmed.
Charlotte Mercer · 2 min readChris Bryant has prohibited the disputed Drumcree procession after police warned of serious disorder, prompting contrasting nationalist and unionist reactions.
Charlotte Mercer · 2 min readTwo men were arrested following a perimeter breach at RAF Molesworth. Counter-terrorism police are investigating their suspected National Security Act offence.
Charlotte Mercer · 2 min readHome Office figures show a 7% increase in police-recorded hate crime, with racial and religious offences rising while three other categories declined.
Charlotte Mercer · 2 min readThe High Court heard that warrants used to search Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s properties were unlawful. Police confirm the investigation continues.
Charlotte Mercer · 2 min readPolice impose route, timing and face-covering restrictions on a student Palestine march planned for October 7, while renewing calls for a different date.
Charlotte Mercer · 2 min readThe Liberal Democrats have proposed a £250 million-a-year Online Crime Agency funded by a new levy on large technology and generative-AI companies.
Charlotte Mercer · 5 min readThe Government is expanding its targeted knife-crime programme to more than 230 areas across 27 police forces, as Home Office data shows knife-enabled robbery fell 23% across seven priority forces.
Charlotte Mercer · 3 min readWelsh First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth has warned Andy Burnham not to treat Wales like an English region as he presses the Prime Minister to devolve policing and justice powers.
Charlotte Mercer · 3 min readThe Government has warned that people smugglers may use larger boats and less frequently targeted stretches of coastline after an unusual crossing near the Isle of Wight and protests in Portsmouth and Dover.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readPolice have confirmed that officers were injured and police, Coastguard and Border Force vehicles damaged during the Portsmouth anti-migration protest, with an investigation now under way.
Charlotte Mercer · 3 min readHundreds of anti-migration protesters gathered in Portsmouth and blocked roads after a small boat carrying around 140 migrants was intercepted and its occupants brought ashore.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readBridget Phillipson has defended the Government's early-prison-release reforms, warning that without action to ease overcrowding police could ultimately be forced to cancel arrests because the justice system had run out of custodial space.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readThe review drawing up a new map of larger regional police forces has reportedly been pushed into the autumn after proposed boundaries clashed with Andy Burnham's devolution plans.
Charlotte Mercer · 5 min readPrime Minister Andy Burnham has ordered every police force in England and Wales to establish specialist rape and sexual-offence teams by December 2027, alongside £13.3m for up to ten specialist protection-order teams.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readFifty policing and law-enforcement leaders have urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to examine every lawful option to prevent the earlier release of two men convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper.
Charlotte Mercer · 6 min readPolice representatives are considering legal action over plans allowing Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole to leave prison earlier, as Sentencing Minister Jake Richards defended the Government’s position.
Charlotte Mercer · 5 min readPrime Minister Andy Burnham has defended the limits of his changes to the early prisoner release scheme, saying broader exclusions would risk the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing within months.
Charlotte Mercer · 4 min readLissie Harper has accused Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government of an ‘utter betrayal’ after two men convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper remained eligible for earlier release despite new exemptions for serious sexual offenders.
Charlotte Mercer · 5 min readNames, organisations and work email addresses belonging to police officers, staff and other criminal justice professionals have been published on the dark web following a breach of the Police National Legal Database.
Charlotte Mercer · 3 min readFormer Home Secretary Suella Braverman has written to the Equality and Human Rights Commission asking it to investigate Staffordshire Police's custody policy following reports about its treatment of transgender detainees.
Staff member · 2 min read