Markus Andrews

Tasers are set to be issued to some staff in male prisons as the government attempts to crack down on “unacceptable” record levels of violence.Specialist officers from the Operational Response and Resilience Unit based in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, and Doncaster, South Yorkshire, will be the first to become equipped with electric stun guns when the pilot launches on Monday.Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said she is “determined to keep prison staff safe” as she attended the base in Kidlington last week.The trial in England and Wales will run until enough data has been collected to determine if Tasers should be more widely used, according to the Ministry of Justice – but Ms Mahmood said she hoped to have updates in the autumn.The launch comes after rates of assaults on prison staff reached record levels last year, rising by 13 per cent in the 12 months up to December 2024, according to government data. There were also 10,496 assaults on staff in the 12 months to September 2024 – a 23 per cent increase from the previous 12 months and a new peak.A taser demonstration during the launch of the trial on Thursday More

Sir Keir Starmer will recall his cabinet from their summer break for an emergency meeting on the Gaza crisis after coming under growing pressure to recognise a Palestinian state and amid mounting concern over humanitarian conditions in the region. Ministers, who are in a summer recess until September 1, are expected to reconvene this week to discuss the situation in the Middle East.It comes after peace talks came to a standstill last week after Washington and Israel recalled negotiating teams from Qatar, with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff blaming Hamas for a “lack of desire” to reach an agreement.Since then, Israel has promised military pauses in three populated areas of Gaza to allow designated UN convoys of aid to reach desperate Palestinians.Sir Keir Starmer will discuss the crisis with Donald Trump More

Sir Keir Starmer will plead with Donald Trump to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza and end the suffering of thousands of Palestinians when he meets with the US president in Scotland on Monday.The growing crisis in the Middle East will top the agenda when the two hold their bilateral meeting at President Trump’s Turnberry golf course in Ayrshire, with the prime minister under immense political pressure to change the UK’s policy on recognising Palestine as a state.It comes after the IDF announced a “tactical pause” in fighting to allow aid to get in, with thousands of people trapped in Gaza facing mass starvation. On Sunday, Jordan and the UAE carried out the first airdrops of food and essential supplies.The president will meet with prime minister Keir Starmer during his visit to Scotland More

Some of Europe’s top music festivals will feature half as many British acts as they did before Brexit this summer, as red tape continues to hammer the music industry. Sir Elton John is among those who have warned that the UK’s departure from the EU has caused a “logistical nightmare” and placed “leg irons” on travelling musicians.Last year he warned the issue risks jeopardising artists’ futures and the UK’s status as a cultural force, saying he was “horrified”. Now new figures show fans in France, Spain, Germany and Denmark will miss out as the number of British acts on the bill in some of Europe’s biggest festivals plummets.Sir Elton John is among the world-famous British artists who have warned about the impact of Brexit on the industry More

Kemi Badenoch has offered to work with the Labour government “in the national interest” to tackle the “militant” doctors’ strike – but only if Keir Starmer reverses a key election pledge.With resident doctors – previously called junior doctors – in the middle of a five-day strike over their demand for a 29 per cent pay rise, the Tory leader has warned that “people are going to die” as a result.And speaking to Sir Trevor Phillips on Sky News, she said the government needs to go back on its plans to scrap the minimum service guarantee during strikes which the previous Conservative government brought in to tackle striking doctors.She also wants the government to ban doctors from going on strike in the same category as the police and military.Leader of the Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch wants doctors to be banned from striking, like the police More

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has clashed with Live Aid organiser Sir Bob Geldof over the Middle East crisis as she doubled down on her support for Israel.The pair were the top guests on Sky News’ Sunday morning show with Sir Trevor Philips and were both asked about the current crisis in Gaza where thousands are facing starvation, with Geldof accusing the Israeli government of ‘lying’ over the aid situation.On Sunday, Israel announced a “pause in fighting” to enable aid to get into Gaza while the UK is set to take up the opportunity to airdrop food into the embattled warzone.Bob Geldof urged Israelis to ‘get in their cars and drive food to the border’ More

Donald Trump was cheered on by supporters urging him ‘not to trust’ Sir Keir Starmer as he took to the green at his golf resort in Scotland for the second day.Wearing a white baseball cap branded USA, the US president waved to journalists as he arrived at his Turnberry golf resort in a white golf buggy.A woman standing nearby repeatedly shouted “We love you Trump” and “thank you”, while another onlooker chanted “Trump Trump Trump Trump” as the US president took a shot.One placard read: “Starmer is a w****r”, while another said: “Starmer is a**ho”. More

Ministers have been warned the childcare sector is at risk of “collapse” after a boom in demand for free care left a major government scheme in financial peril. A plan to expand free childcare for British families is set to cost the government an extra £1bn per year at a time when ministers are grappling to fill the gaping black hole in public finances.Labour has not spelled out how the funding gap will be filled, but experts predict the shortfall will create “substantial pressure” on the government and could put the entire childcare sector under threat. In an exclusive interview with The Independent, Bridget Phillipson insisted the unexpectedly high take-up – a quarter higher than predicted – was a “good problem to have” and would not leave children without places. But the education secretary could not guarantee that parents would get a space at their local nursery in September, when the scheme expands to offer eligible children aged nine months and older 30 hours a week of free childcare. Industry leaders said parents would be left “disappointed” while nurseries warned a lack of staff meant they were already struggling to deliver the government’s pledge.Labour has not spelled out how the funding gap will be filled, but experts predict the shortfall will create ‘substantial pressure’ on the government More