Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has defended the government’s record on prisons and sentencing in England and Wales after criticism from senior security officials, but said “we can’t build our way out of” prison capacity pressures in the short term.
Earlier today the Times newspaperreportedthat the heads of the Metropolitan police, MI5 and the National Crime Agency have told the government that plans to release prisoners early could be of “net detriment to public safety.”
Speaking on Times Radio the minister said “The risk to public safety I’d highlight is the prospect of our prison system collapsing, which is what we face and why we’ve had to act.”
He continued by saying:
Ina letter to the Times, six police chiefs have warned that without “serious investment” they will be unable to deliver on the prime minister’s flagship pledges. The warning comes ahead of the government spending review, and they cautioned that cuts will lead to the “retrenchment we saw under austerity”.
Thames Waterhas been hit with a record £104m fine over environmental breaches involving sewage spills, after failing to operate and manage its treatment works and wastewater networks effectively.
The water regulator for England and Wales,Ofwat, confirmed on Wednesday that – on top of penalties for breaches related to dividend payouts – it was issuing the beleaguered water company with £123m worth of fines that would be “paid by the company and its investors, and not by customers”.
Read more from Kalyeena Makortoff here:Thames Water hit with record fine over sewage breaches
Sadiq Khanhas backed calls for the partial decriminalisation of cannabis possession, as a wide-ranging study suggests the way the drug is policed causes greater harm to society than its usage.
“I’ve long been clear that we need fresh thinking on how to reduce the substantial harms associated with drug-related crime in our communities,” the London mayor said on Wednesday.
Read more from Kevin Rawlinson here:Sadiq Khan calls for partial decriminalisation of cannabis possession
Shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately has accused the government of doing “a terrible job on keeping the country safe.”
She told listeners of Times Radio “We’ve already seen that they accidentally released a load of prisoners that they shouldn’t have done, including violent domestic abuses, which are clearly terrifying for the victims of that abuse. And they just don’t have the prison situation under control. They need to take responsibility. They’re now in government.”
Put to her that the Conservatives had just added 455 spaces to the prison estate in England and Wales in 14 years, she said “Labour are in government, they have to take responsibility for the decisions that they are making.”
Pressed on what the Conservatives would do differently in the present circumstances, Whately said “we’re no longer in government.”
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook has defended the government’s record on prisons and sentencing in England and Wales after criticism from senior security officials, but said “we can’t build our way out of” prison capacity pressures in the short term.
Earlier today the Times newspaperreportedthat the heads of the Metropolitan police, MI5 and the National Crime Agency have told the government that plans to release prisoners early could be of “net detriment to public safety.”
Speaking on Times Radio the minister said “The risk to public safety I’d highlight is the prospect of our prison system collapsing, which is what we face and why we’ve had to act.”
He continued by saying:
Ina letter to the Times, six police chiefs have warned that without “serious investment” they will be unable to deliver on the prime minister’s flagship pledges. The warning comes ahead of the government spending review, and they cautioned that cuts will lead to the “retrenchment we saw under austerity”.
Welcome to our rolling coverage of UK politics for Wednesday. Here are the headlines …
Housing ministerMatthew Pennycookhas defended the government’s record on prisons and sentencing in England and Wales after police chiefs warned that sentencing reforms could put pressure on frontline services
The government has announced a package of measures it says is designed to streamline theplanning systemfor small and medium sizedhousebuilders
TheTreasuryis reported to bein a standoff with some ministersover proposedcuts to public servicesincluding policing and social housing
Nigel Faragehas been accused of leaving a multibillion-pound black hole at the heart of Reform UK’s spending plans after unveilinga series of expensive policy pledgesto be paid for by cutting nonexistent items of government spending
The national water regulatorOfwathas finedThames Waternearly £123m after two investigations into the company
London mayorSadiq Khanhascalled forpartial decriminalisation of cannabis possession
It is Martin Belam with you here. You can reach me at martin.belam@theguardian.com if you spot typos, errors or omissions, or have a question.