John Reid was considering last night the “executive” release of prisoners as a desperate last option to deal with the jail population crisis (Richard Ford writes).
The Home Secretary, who met the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, yesterday, emphasised the seriousness of the crisis, asking judges to send fewer people to jail and make greater use of bail rather than remand in custody those awaiting trial.
Earlier Mr Reid said in a speech in London: “We should not be squandering taxpayers’ money to monitor non-dangerous and less serious offenders.”
He made his appeal to the courts after two days of meetings at the Home Office on how to tackle the overcrowding problems engulfing jails in England and Wales.
On Monday night prison numbers rose by 272 to 80,045. A total of 482 offenders were also being held in cells in police stations.
Nurses' facilities
David Cameron promised to step up the battle against the deadly MRSA bacterium by ensuring that all nurses have changing rooms, showers and laundry facilities at work. The Tory leader wants to tackle the problem of new nurses being unable to find work by guaranteeing them a year’s employment after they qualify.
Gap-year regrets
New graduates who put their career on hold while they travel the world often regret doing so on their return when they realise that they have been left behind by their fellow students, according to a survey of 1,110 graduates aged between 20 and 30 carried out by the Training and Development Agency.
Official jailed
A Home Office official who helped to establish the national database of violent sex offenders has been jailed for 14 months for distributing child pornography. Vincent Barron, 49, a former assistant chief probation officer in Northumberland, had been working in London after being seconded by the Home Office.
Public sector workers who fail to check the safety records of their staff and colleagues could face prison under new plans by the Government (David Rose writes).
The proposal is aimed at rooting out workers in health, social care and teaching who mistreat or abuse vulnerable adults or children. It comes after regulators wrote a letter to The Times calling for European countries to share more disciplinary information about doctors and other healthcare professionals to ensure patient safety.
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act is due to come into force next year and will create an offence of failing to check the background of an “applicant, employee or volunteer”. A spokeswoman from the Department of Health confirmed that employers would face prosecution if they failed to check official records.
Fewer protests
Attacks by animal rights extremists fell last year, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said. There were 20 cases of demonstrators gathering outside a private house, compared with 57 in 2005 and 259 in 2003. There were no personal assaults and a big drop in abusive messages.
Cancer drug appeal
An appeal for drug approval on behalf of bowel cancer patients has been rejected by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Cancerbackup and Bowel Cancer UK had appealed against a ruling that Erbitux (cetuximab), which costs £700 a week, was not cost-effective enough for use on the NHS.
Sacrist suspended
An Anglican clergyman has been suspended while a complaint against him is investigated. Canon Andrew Hindley, sacrist at Blackburn Cathedral, is the most senior cleric to be suspended under the Clergy Discipline Measure, which came into effect 12 months ago. Details of the allegations are not public.
Diabetics’ limb risk
Thousands of diabetic children risk losing limbs because of the NHS cash crisis, according to the charity Diabetes UK. It says that four out of five diabetic children have poor glucose control, putting them at risk of complications including ulcers that will not heal and could eventually lead to amputation.
Roman treasure
The Antonine Wall in Scotland has been put forward for World Heritage Site status by Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary. The 2,000-year-old wall, which runs for 37 miles (60km) from Bo’ness in West Lothian to Old Kilpatrick in West Dunbartonshire, is one of the most important Roman remains still in existence.
A hearing is being held today in Ohio on whether Kenny Richey, a Briton who has been on death row for 20 years, should be granted a new trial.
The US Court of Appeals will consider whether Richey, 42, who in 1987 was found guilty of murder and arson, had inadequate legal representation and an unsafe conviction. Richey, who was brought up in Scotland and whose mother lives in Edinburgh, denies starting a fire that swept through a flat in Ohio in 1986, killing a child.
After claims of flawed evidence, dubious witness testimony and mishandling of samples, the court overturned his conviction in 2005, based on two points. Although the Supreme Court overruled that decision, it sent the case back to the lower court to reconsider one of the points — that Richey’s trial lawyer was incompetent. A ruling is expected in a few months.
Warship launched
HMS Dauntless, the world’s most advanced warship, was launched on the Clyde in Glasgow. The Royal Navy anti-aircraft vessel, the second Type 45 destroyer to be built in a £6 billion programme, can sail 600 miles in a day and destroy a missile the size of a cricket ball moving at three times the speed of sound.
Driver cleared
A professional racing driver who killed a woman in a road accident in December 2005 has been cleared of causing death by dangerous driving. A jury at Northampton Crown Court accepted that James Sutton, 21, of New Barnet, Hertfordshire, had blacked out after a high-speed crash on a racing circuit the previous day.
Cash for stories row
BBC governors rebuked their news editors for offering a £100 bonus for stories on the cash-for-honours row. Labour officials complained after it emerged that reporters were offered cash to get the first confirmation that the Prime Minister had been interviewed by police. A trust replaced the governors this month.
Sex trial collapses
The trial of four soldiers accused of sexually assaulting a woman has collapsed. Lance Corporal Gareth Hollard, 25, and Privates David Smith, 22, Conrad Collingson, 20, and Graham Mansfield, 20, will learn next week if there is to be a retrial after the jury at Oxford Crown Court failed to reach a verdict.
Bird blown away
Zoo staff have appealed for help in tracing a Chilean flamingo blown out of its enclosure by a gust of wind. Florence has been missing from Drusillas Park at Alfriston, near Polegate, East Sussex, for a week. Staff watched helplessly as she blew away. There have been several sightings of the bird.
