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The government has asked police forces in England and Wales to identify transgender victims of crime by their birth sex in official statistics.In new guidance issued last week, the Home Office said police should record the sex of victims and suspects according to their birth certificate or their gender recognition certificate (GRC), a legal marker of having changed gender.A spokesperson for the department told The Independent that the guidance is voluntary but could be made permanent after April 2023 depending on police feedback.They said it is up to each force how they determine what is on someone’s birth certificate or GRC, and that officers should separately ask people their gender identity if it differs from those documents.However, since only a tiny fraction of trans people have a GRC, the policy means most trans people could be misgendered in official statistics, for example by counting trans women as men if they are attacked or sexually assaulted.It is a victory for gender-critical feminist campaigners who believe that trans women should be excluded from women’s toilets, changing rooms, healthcare facilities, domestic violence shelters, and prisons.Mallory Moore, a researcher with the UK-based Trans Safety Network, said the change would have a “chilling effect” on trans people reporting crimes.“This is a signal to trans victims of crime that they will be misgendered if they seek support,” she said. “I already know people who regularly just don’t report things, because there’s nothing to be gained from reporting things to an institution that’s hostile towards you… this is only going to make that worse.”Ben Collier, a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh who specialises in how government agencies record sex, agreed: “This will further undermine the trust and legitimacy of the police for LGBT people… any practical implementation of this would be extremely cruel, both to victims of crime and people that have committed crimes.”The new Home Office guidance was first revealed by an FOI request from campaign group Keep Prisons Single Sex, which argues that failing to record criminals’ birth sex allows “male crime [to be] hidden in female data”. More

Long delays could be to blame for almost two-thirds of adult rape investigations being dropped because the victim wants to discontinue the case, MPs have warned.A damning report by the Home Affairs Committee discovered 63 per cent of adult rape investigations were terminated between July and September last year because the victim decided to drop their case.The research found some 63,136 rape offences were recorded from September 2020 to September 2021, with MPs noting this is an “all-time high”. Alongside that, the amount of completed rape prosecutions plummeted from 5,190 back in 2016-17 to only 1,557 in 2020-21.MPs condemned the “unacceptably low numbers” of prosecutions for rape and sexual offences as they argued the collapse in rape prosecutions is not likely to be tackled unless victims are provided with improved support and proper nationwide funding is rolled out.The report argued reforms are often still in their early stages or are “localised” and are in need of substantial funding to have repercussions nationally.Earlier in the year, the prosecution rate nosedived to only 1.3 per cent of recorded rapes in England and Wales.Dame Diana Johnson, a Labour MP who is chair of the committee, said: “The collapse in the number of prosecutions for rape and sexual offences over the last five years is truly shocking and completely unacceptable. “While it is clear that significant effort is being put in to reversing this decline across the criminal justice system, there is much further to go. Thousands of victims are failing to get the justice they deserve and this has to stop. From now on the focus must be on supporting the victims.”Dame Diana argued coming forward to the police to report rape should be the start of “getting justice” yet it is now “a source of further pain”.“The fact that even now nearly two-thirds of cases collapse because a victim may not be able to bear going forward is unimaginable,” she added. “We need to see much more ambition and focus. We need better data collection to understand exactly what resources are available to handle rape cases at a local level and how they are performing.”Dame Diana said victims must be supported through their rape case with specialist support and “improved counselling” to cope with trauma. The politician also called for ministers to “further pilot the provision of independent legal advice to victims and survivors grappling with requests from the police to access data from their phones or third-party material.”She added: “From now on there must be constant review and reform of every element of the system handling rape and sexual offences. There cannot be a single step back until prosecutions and convictions are far higher than they were even in 2016.”MPs in the committee warned the government’s rape review, which outlined ministers’ plans to address the collapse in rape charges and prosecutions, has a dearth of “ambition”.“Lengthy delays in cases reaching court, harmful evidence-gathering processes and poor provision of support services are turning people away from seeking justice,” MPs said. The committee report noted at least two-fifths of police forces in England and Wales have no specialist rape teams, while the government fails to record how many police officers are specifically trained to investigate rape. The report called for each police force to have a specialist rape team.It comes after the government apologised to thousands of rape victims last summer, saying it has been unable to seek justice due to the flaws of police and prosecutors. “The vast majority of victims do not see the crime against them charged and reach a court. One in two victims withdraw from rape investigations,” a joint statement from the home secretary, justice secretary and attorney general said.“These are trends of which we are deeply ashamed. Victims of rape are being failed. Thousands of victims have gone without justice. But this isn’t just about numbers – every instance involves a real person who has suffered a truly terrible crime.” More

Dame Cressida Dick has hit out at the “politicisation of policing” in a parting shot as she leaves the Metropolitan Police.In an open letter to Londoners, the departing commissioner took what will be seen as a swipe at mayor Sadiq Khan amid a continuing row over her resignation.“The current politicisation of policing is a threat not just to policing but to trust in the whole criminal justice system,” she wrote.“Operational independence from local and central government is crucial for an effective democracy and is a model respected around the world. We must all treasure and protect it.”The letter was published after Dame Cressida walked out of Scotland Yard to a guard of honour from saluting police officers on Friday, while being clapped and cheered by an assembled crowd.It did not directly refer to the murder of Sarah Everard or a succession of scandals involving allegations of racism, sexism and corruption by officers, but Dame Cressida wrote that the force was rooting out “those among us whose horrific actions have let you all, and us, down so terribly”.She added: “I’m sad my time in this great job is fast drawing to a close however I am extremely optimistic for the Met’s future. It is bigger, more diverse, more capable than ever.”Dame Cressida announced her shock resignation in February, months after having her term extended by Priti Patel.She said she had “no choice but to step aside” because Mr Khan had no confidence in her leadership.The circumstances have become the subject of an escalating political tussle between the Home Office and City Hall.In March, the home secretary ordered a review of the circumstances around Dame Cressida’s resignation by the outgoing chief inspector of constabulary, Sir Tom Winsor. In a statement to parliament, Ms Patel said the circumstances “warrant a closer look at the legislation which governs the suspension and removal of the commissioner”.It will cover the timeline of events and circumstances leading up to Dame Cressida’s resignation, consider “whether due process was followed” and make recommendations for the future, the Home Office said.Dame Cressida Dick resigns from role as Metropolitan Police CommissionerMr Khan said on Friday that he would not “hide from the fact” he lost confidence in the commissioner.Speaking at the launch of Labour’s local election campaign in Barnet, north London, Mr Khan said: “I’m not going to hide from the fact that we’ve had in our city a series of devastating scandals, overt racism, sexism, discrimination, [and] homophobia. We’ve had trust and confidence from Londoners in the police service at rock bottom.“It’s one of the reasons why I lost confidence in her and it’s one of the things I’ll be looking for in a new commissioner – how they will address some of these serious issues that, frankly speaking, the current commissioner failed to address.”In her letter, Dame Cressida said she would always look back on her time as commissioner “with pride for what has been achieved” and hailed drops in murders, shootings, stabbings and other types of violence.She described the Metropolitan Police as a “world-class police service” that was a “wonderful place to work” and “far more diverse and inclusive than it has ever been”.“Of course as I look back there is more I wish we had achieved,” she added. “We are listening and acting on what you tell us so we can change for the better.”One of the co-founders of the Reclaim These Streets group, which won a legal challenge over the Metropolitan Police’s threat to fine members £10,000 for organising a vigil for Sarah Everard, said the letter was blaming “a few bad apples”.“I wish Cressida Dick had used her parting letter to admit that there are institutional problems of misogyny and racism that she failed to get a grip on, and a damaging locker room culture that her successor urgently needs to tackle,” Anna Birley told The Independent.“I hope her departure marks the beginning of the hard work needed to improve culture, tackle discrimination and build confidence in policing among women in the capital.”The director of the Centre for Women’s Justice, which has supported several legal challenges against the Metropolitan Police over its treatment of women, said Dame Cressida’s loyalty to fellow officers “always seems to take precedence over public concerns”.Harriet Wistrich added: “To describe the police as a ‘wonderful place to work’ is to turn a deaf ear to the horrendous misogyny, racism, homophobia and sexual violence we have heard about from officers within the Met. Her inability to respond effectively to this public concern has ultimately led to her downfall.”Dame Cressida’s last day in post will be on Sunday, after which she will take unused annual leave, with her final day of employment being 24 April.Deputy commissioner Sir Stephen House will temporarily serve as acting commissioner while a successor is recruited. More

The economic chasm between the north and south of England is set to be widened by the cost-of-living crisis, new research suggests.Of the 31 areas across the country most vulnerable to soaring fuel, food and energy prices, 19 are in the north and another eight are in the midlands, according to analysis compiled by the Centre for Progressive Policy. The remaining four are in London.People living in Middlesbrough, Hull and Blackburn with Darwen will hit the hardest by skyrocketing costs in the coming months, the economic think tank predicts. Burnley, Sandwell in the West Midlands and Hyndburn in Lancashire make up the rest of the top six places likely to be worst effected.The analysis — which ranked all 310 local authority areas in England — suggests Boris Johnson will not only fail in what he has described as a “moral mission” to level up the country but instead oversee a worsening of the divide between the northern half of the country and the more affluent south during his term in office.“Levelling up slogans will be dead on arrival at the next election unless the government reconsiders its policy options,” said Ben Franklin, director of the left-leaning CPP.Writing in the centre’s new Levelling Up Outlook report, he added: “The cost-of-living crisis poses a significant and immediate threat to the defining mission of this government, threatening to worsen living standards in the poorest places and further entrench unacceptably high place-based inequalities.”The analysis – the first of its kind since Rishi Sunak’s widely panned Spring Statement last month – uses six key indicators of deprivation to rank how vulnerable an area will be to falling living standards. The indicators are the number of households likely to face fuel poverty, food insecurity and child poverty, as well as the number of adults claiming universal credit, in low paid work or economically inactive.Intriguingly, of the 31 areas set to be hardest hit, 16 are covered by old Red Wall constituencies which shifted from Labour to the Conservatives during 2019’s general election. It means that the very areas that swept Mr Johnson to power face being left further behind than ever.Mr Franklin added: “Voters on low pay, experiencing food and fuel poverty or pushed out of work altogether, are on the margins of extreme vulnerability – but they are also in many of our most marginal seats. That adds political saliency to the urgent moral case for addressing the cost-of-living crisis.”Lisa Nandy, shadow secretary of state for levelling up and MP for Wigan, said the report proved that “opposite of levelling up” was now happening.She said: “This new research reveals the inadequacy of the government’s response to the cost-of-living crisis facing families. We need to get money back into people’s pockets.“You can only level up if people have money to spend in their local communities.”The government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities did not immediately respond to request for comment. More

Priti Patel’s plan to criminalise refugees crossing the English Channel is in danger after the House of Lords rejected the proposed law for a second time.In a rare move, peers voted again to remove the offence of arriving in the UK – including British waters – without permission from the Nationality and Borders Bill.It was one of 12 defeats suffered by the government on Monday night, when peers including the former lord chief justice warned that the plans violate the Refugee Convention.The House of Lords moved to ensure any move to offshore asylum seekers was subject to approval of both houses of parliament, and that the government must give a costs breakdown.It also backed measures to prevent the prosecution of people rescuing migrants at sea, while taking steps to prevent asylum seekers being treated differently based on how they enter the UK.In addition, peers renewed their demand that asylum seekers be allowed to work if no decision had been taken on their claim after six months, as well as enable unaccompanied child asylum seekers in Europe to join family in the UK.They backed measures to guarantee extended support for confirmed victims of modern slavery or trafficking, and inserted a clause to ensure that unlawful citizenship deprivations can be reversed.The votes mean that Lords amendments will go back to MPs for a second time, having been rejected earlier this year.If the “ping-pong” process continues without either house giving way before the current parliamentary session ends, there is a risk of the bill falling.Official procedure states that argument usually “does not go beyond the stage” already reached by the Nationality and Borders Bill.“A situation where one house insists on its amendment after the other house has insisted on its disagreement to it is described as ‘double insistence’,” says Erskine May, the guide to parliamentary practice and procedure. “A bill is normally lost.”The House of Lords has already insisted twice on amendments, and MPs will have a second chance to either agree them or send back changes that peers will agree to.Ukraine’s ambassador says ‘at least’ 100,000 refugees could come to UKThere is no binding rule to how many times a bill can go back and forth, and Erskine May states that “if there is a desire to save a bill, some variation in the proceedings may be devised”.Several peers acknowledged the unusual situation during Monday night’s debate.Moving a successful motion to ensure the law complies with the Refugee Convention, Labour peer Baroness Chakrabarti said: “I take the primacy of the other place [Commons] very seriously.”But she said the amendment was necessary as an “insurance policy”, as the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has said the proposals violate the convention and the government denies it.“It offers protection as of right, not dependent on executive largesse to pick and choose which refugees should be saved and which continent or conflict these should be escaping from,” she added.Liberal Democrat peer Lord Paddick said that “double insisting on the removal of the provisions from the bill would have serious consequences”.Lord Judge, the former lord chief justice, said that although the government insists its plans comply with international law, “a number of us take the view that these provisions do not so comply”.“We respectfully suggest that the Commons should be asked to think again and reflect on the consequences if the advice that it is receiving is wrong and the advice that we are suggesting is right,” he added.Lord Brown, a former Supreme Court judge, said: “I truly believe, as do many others, that several of these provisions flagrantly breach our obligations as interpreted by the UNHCR, the body responsible for that under the convention.”Conservative peer Lord Cormack, who was previously a Tory MP for 40 years, said he had watched the progress of the bill with “increasing disappointment and sadness”.“I became increasingly convinced that this largely unnecessary bill is narrow and mean-minded and at times approaches the vindictive,” he added, saying that the proposals were in danger of “breaching international law and also international humanity”.Lord Cormack said MPs had treated the House of Lords “with disdain” by dismissing carefully argued amendments, and that there was “no proper scrutiny” in the Commons.He added: “We are talking about some of the most persecuted and endangered of humanity, who are not motivated by legislation when they catch the train or drive their car or get into boats, but are motivated by a desire to enjoy a freer and better way of life.”Lord Kerr, a crossbench peer, said the government had not evidenced its claims that the laws would deter dangerous journeys to the UK.“We all know that the way to stop tragedy in the Channel is to open a safe route,” he added.“I think the concern across the country about the way that the government are treating the victims of Putin’s war in Ukraine shows that we are more in tune with the national mood than the Home Office.”Baroness Williams, a Home Office minister, had argued for the House of Lords to drop its amendments.“We want to do everything we can to deter people from making dangerous and, sadly, as we have seen, often fatal journeys,” she said.“That is why we want to change the law to provide prosecutors with additional flexibility when someone has ‘arrived in’ but not technically ‘entered’ the UK.”The law would widen the current offence of illegal entry, which cannot be committed by migrants who are rescued at sea or aim to claim asylum immediately in port, to mean it can be applied to that group.It comes after at least a dozen prosecutions were quashed and the exposure of an unlawful Home Office blanket phone seizure policy for boat migrants.Lady Williams said the government was “seeking prosecutions only in the most egregious cases”, such as when migrants have put others at risk or caused channel disruption. More

Five million households will be forced to spend at least 10 per cent of their budget on energy bills after Friday’s price cap hike, according to the latest analysis.The prediction comes as the limit on bills leaps by 54 per cent, adding an average of £693 a year to the cost for those on default tariffs.A number of major energy suppliers websites crashed Thursday as customers raced to submit meter readings ahead of the increase. Users reported being unable to access the websites of energy giants such as British Gas, SSE, E.ON, and EDF.The price rises will double the number of households in “fuel stress” – a term for those spending 10 per cent or more of their income after housing costs on energy bills – overnight from 2.5 to 5 million in England alone, according to the Resolution Foundation think tank. The figures account for chancellor Rishi Sunak’s recent intervention to ease the impact.With the price cap expected to rise sharply again later this year, the think tank said a further 2.5 million households could fall into “fuel stress” in the autumn unless more support is provided, bringing the total to 7.5 million. This is based on an estimated £500 increase in the price cap on 1 October.Shadow climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, hit out at the prime minister and Sunak for not doing more to help. “On the day when energy bills rise by record amounts for millions of families, it is shameful that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are refusing to go further to support the British people facing a cost of living crisis,” he said.“It tells you everything you need to know about this government that they stand by whilst working people, families, and pensioners suffer.”In early February, Mr Sunak announced a support plan worth £350 – via a £150 council tax rebate and a repayable upfront £200 discount – for each of “the vast majority of households” to take the “sting” out of the rise.But there are mounting concerns among some Tory MPs that the chancellor’s lack of fresh measures for the poorest households could take a toll in May’s local elections.“There’s such a profound problem of seeming tone deaf when you’re out trying to drum up support,” one senior Conservative MP said. “People are starting to see their neighbours tighten their belts, and the demand build on local charities,” they added.“The spring statement failed to help the most needy,” another Tory MP told The Independent. “It also failed to keep taxes down, too. The fuel duty cut’s been swallowed up as well, judging by most drivers’ experience. No one feels like a winner when they’re trying to sell high taxes and little [financial] support.”The 1 April is the crest of the “acute” cost of living wave, according to the Resolution Foundation, as the price cap rise combines with other cost pressures in the economy to push inflation to a 40-year high.Mr Sunak’s efforts to assist the economic shock from energy bills via council tax rebates will miss out more than half a million of the poorest households, it was warned.Jonathan Marshall, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Another increase in energy bills this autumn hastens the need for more immediate support, as well as a clear, long-term strategy for improving home insulation, ramping up renewable and nuclear electricity generation, and reforming energy markets so that families’ energy bills are less dependent on global gas prices.”Johnson told MPs on 9 March that he would be setting out an energy independence plan for this country in the course of the next few days. However, an energy strategy has yet to emerge and it is unclear when it will be published. The Treasury has reportedly resisted some of the long-term cost implications.Ofgem, which regulates gas and electricity markets in Great Britain, announced on 3 February that the energy price cap – designed to prevent firms from making excessive profits – will increase for approximately 22 million customers from 1 April.The regulator calculates it means the average household on default tariffs paying by direct debit will see a £693 increase to £1,971 per year for gas and electricity. There will be an increase of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017 a year for the average prepayment customer. Ofgem has said the increase is “driven by a record rise in global gas prices over the last six months”.Freezing temperatures are due to hit as the price cap rise kicks in. Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “People will wake up [on Friday] to temperatures just below freezing, -1 or -2 across most of England and Wales for example, but by the afternoon we’ll see temperatures at 8 or 9C.”He added: “Once again, on Friday night we’ll see temperatures widely fall below freezing across the whole of the UK and in the early hours of Saturday morning, possibly down to -4, -5C even in the south of England.”The government is “in no doubt” that rising energy prices “will be a significant challenge for a majority of the British public”, No 10 said on Thursday.The prime minister’s official spokesman highlighted the support offered by the government and said: “We would encourage anyone that is concerned to make sure that they are availing themselves of the support that is available to them.” More

The High Court has ruled home secretary Priti Patel’s secret policy of confiscating asylum seekers’ mobile phones as unlawful.The Home Office has had a secret blanket policy of seizing phones belonging to asylum seekers who had arrived in the UK via clandestine routes, such as in small boats. The phones’ data was then extracted.Three asylum seekers – known only as HM, KA, and MH – one of whom has been recognised as a potential victim of trafficking, filed a judicial review of Ms Patel’s policy at the High Court.All three had their phones seized between April and September 2020, without them being able to tell their families they had arrived in the UK or having enough time to note down important phone numbers.Officials had threatened them with criminal penalties unless they provided the codes to unlock their phones, lawyers for the claimaints said.The data stored in their phones was later extracted. Their lawyers claim that thousands of others arriving to the UK in small boats had their phones confiscated, and hundreds of others had their data cloned.The phones of the three claimaints were only returned months later after the legal action had started, the lawyers said.The asylum seekers were unable to contact their families to say that they were safe, and neither did they have time to note down their important numbers, they added.But the court has ruled that the policy was unlawful and breached human rights and data protection laws.Privacy International, a leading human rights NGO, intervened in the case. It said that Ms Patel had denied the existence of the phone policy but admitted to the confiscation of phones, and cloning of data still retained by the Home Office.It has also been revealed that Ms Patel has self-referred herself to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for breaching data protection law. But she decided not to inform the many hundreds of asylum seekers that were affected by the breach.The home secretary that immigration officials had the right – under section 48 of the Immigration Act 2016 – to search the arrivals by small boat, take their phones, and extract data from the devices.But the High Court ruled that the law could not be used to carry out personal searches and, as a result, the searches of the claimants and the subsequent seizures of their phones was unlawful for this reason too.The policy also infringed their right to family and private life under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), the court ruled.The Home Office’s demand for the phones’ unlocking codes under the threat of criminal penalties was also found to be unlawful and in breach of human rights.Clare Jennings of Gold Jennings – a solicitor firm that represented claimant HM – said: “Such systematic extraction of personal data from vulnerable asylum seekers, who were not suspects in any crime, was an astonishing and unparalleled assault on fundamental privacy rights. “Today’s judgment provided much needed clarification as to the extent of immigration officers powers of search and seizure and confirmed beyond doubt that the home secretary’s policy of seizing all mobile phones from small boat arrivals was unlawful.”Daniel Carey of Deighton Pierce Glynn – the solicitors that represented KH and MA – said: “All of this had real impacts on very vulnerable people, who lost touch with their families and couldn’t get their asylum documentation, while the phones languished on a shelf for many months, many which now cannot be returned. “I am pleased that today’s judgment vindicates our clients and all those affected. It is another example of how the Home Office’s hostile environment policy disregards basic human rights and dignity.”Lucie Audibert of Privacy International said: “It’s quite clear that the Home Office considered that asylum seekers arriving on UK shores did not have the same privacy rights as other people – it unashamedly granted itself unlawful powers to systematically seize and search their phones, even when they weren’t suspected of any crime. “This is in line with this government’s (and many others’) efforts to criminalise migration and rob migrants of their basic human rights. We welcome today’s judgment and hope the claimants will obtain due redress for these unacceptable violations of their rights.” More

Thousands of disabled pupils and those with special needs could have their school transport taken away because of the spiralling cost of fuel, council chiefs are warning.Coach and minibus companies and taxi firms are demanding higher fees to cover their higher petrol and diesel bills.In some cases, transport providers are demanding an extra 20 per cent when their contracts are up for renewal.But county councils, which coordinate the services, say the budgets of hard-pressed local authorities, which have already been set for the coming year, will not extend any further.Without extra funding, the councils may be forced to cut other services or cancel the transport, they say.The chancellor’s 5p cut in fuel duty is unlikely to make much difference because the Ukraine war, wider fears over energy supplies and inflation have all pushed up prices at the pumps.In a survey for the County Councils Network, almost two-thirds of councils said their expenditure on school transport for disabled and special needs pupils was “unsustainable”, and 34 per cent said it was “difficult”.Even before fuel prices started soaring, these costs increased from £175m in 2016 to £244m last year.At least 51,550 disabled and special needs pupils need free school transport – up from 41,185  in 2016-17, according to data from nearly 30 county authorities.The network said some transport providers were activating “break” clauses in their contracts, giving councils 28 days’ notice of handing back routes.“The local authority then has to retender for the route, but new bids are coming back at up to 20 per cent more because of the fuel crisis,” a spokesman said.“So those councils will either be left having to pay more – or seeing loads of young people not have access to school transport.”A report by the network also found that councils have had to cut back on eligibility for mainstream free school transport, with almost 20,000 fewer pupils qualifying than five years earlier.Many special educational needs and disabilities pupils require coach and minibuses or taxis – transport offered by the very companies that are worst hit by record fuel hikes, the organisation says.Keith Glazier, children’s services spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said: “Free school transport is a lifeline for many pupils, but local authorities have been placed in a difficult position owing fuel prices reaching record highs.“Transport providers are understandably concerned they are paying much more than a year ago, but it means councils either pay the higher rates they are requesting or potentially see thousands of pupils unable to access free school transport, which is a statutory responsibility for local authorities.“With our budgets set for the coming year, there is little wriggle room for local authorities, except to reduce other vital services.”The report calls for more government support.County authorities across England spent a total of £555.6m on free school transport last year, up from £472.6m in 2016-17. The increase is largely down to a 33 per cent rise in expenditure for disabled and special needs pupils, figures show.Over the past three years, the average cost of transport per pupil has risen by £206 to £6,099 a year, due to rising costs, such as fuel.All children under eight qualify for free transport if their school is more than two miles away, and over-eights qualify if their school is more than three miles away.The Independent has asked the government to respond. More