Criminals could be released from prison after serving only 43% of their sentence under proposals contained in the Sentencing Bill, Guido hears. Currently, under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, prisoners serving what are termed “standard determinate sentences” are automatically released after serving 50% of their sentence. Issues such as overcrowding are pressuring ministers to make it even earlier…
Officials warned that if the legislation isn’t passed by June, it could spark riots and leave prison vans with nowhere to take criminals. Guido is told No10 remain fearful of backlash from the right of the parliamentary party. Meanwhile, proposals to effectively scrap prison sentences of less than 12 months have been dropped. Gareth Bacon, the Bill Minister, is credited by government insiders with getting the shorter prison times over the line. As leadership contenders circle this is tinderbox stuff for Sunak…
Speaking at an IPPR think tank event in London, the Health Secretary compared striking junior doctors to mutinous sailors.
“I feel like we’ve turned the ship, the boat’s going in the right direction, except some of the crew are trying to row in one direction while the rest of us are going in the other. You can’t make progress that way. We are seeing an improving NHS, and we’ve seen improvement despite resident doctors’ strikes, but the fact is, performance would have been better and there would have been more money to invest in staff and services if the BMA hadn’t been undertaking the strike action.”