Stephen Akinsanya says being mistaken for defendant shows lack of progress on racism within legal systemA black barrister said a security guard told him he could not park in a court’s car park because “it’s not for defendants”.Stephen Akinsanya, who in June was awarded an OBE for raising awareness of youth knife crime and its prevention, said the incident, at an east London court about four weeks ago, illustrated the lack of progress on racism within the criminal justice system. Continue reading...
• Arsenal have granted midfielder Christian Norgaard permission to undergo a medical with Everton as part of a proposed £7 million transfer.
• Norgaard has already been excluded from Arsenal's squad traveling to Dublin to facilitate the move.
• The development comes as the transfer window remains open until September 1, with other clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City targeting Pep Chavarria and Pedro Neto.
Variety of prescriptions were found in blood of mother accused of strangling her three kids, according to testimonySign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mom accused of killing her three children in January 2023, continued on Wednesday with a forensic toxicologist testifying to the variety and concentration of medications found in the defendant’s blood.Justin Brower, a forensic toxicologist with NMS Laboratories, testified that his lab examined the levels of four psychiatric medications detected in Clancy’s blood after she allegedly strangled her kids and attempted to take her own life. Continue reading...
Tory leader praises Joshua Bonehill-Paine’s ‘contrition’ but says she has higher thresholds for MP candidatesKemi Badenoch has defended her party’s decision to allow a former neo-Nazi who was jailed for subjecting a prominent Labour politician to antisemitic abuse to stand as a councillor.Badenoch said her party was not giving Joshua Bonehill-Paine, who is standing for election in Somerset, a “national platform”. Continue reading...
Jake Richard acknowledges ‘unimaginable pain’ of Harper’s family but says government faces an ‘unenviable position’Good morning and welcome to the UK politics blog.Ministers continue to defend the release of PC Andrew Harper’s killers as part of the government’s early prisoner release scheme, despite a potential legal challenge from the Police Federation.Well, look, we understand that people are angry. The Harper family are, of course, angry. The police are angry too.We’re angry that we’re in this situation where we face the unenviable position of having to make sure that we have a sustainable prison system, which is so vital to a functioning law and order system in our country, but also that we do right by victims as far as possible.Because without a functioning prison system, it means it’s difficult for police to make arrests, it’s difficult for our courts to try cases, and it could mean to the collapse of law and order in this country.We cannot be in that situation, so that is the challenge that we face as government ministers and the prime minister faces ultimately.I feel sick to my stomach, if I’m really honest with you. I’ve had a gut wrenching feeling in my stomach the past couple of weeks with this, and it doesn’t go away.And arguably, I would say that many of my members across Thames Valley also have this gut wrenching feeling, even at the prospect of these two killers being released in the space of weeks, potentially.Ministers will scrap the requirement for companies to prove their green and progressive values before they are awarded government contracts, and instead ask firms to prove they will help young people back into work.Women should not feel pressurised into experiencing an “ideal birth”, the new health secretary, Yvette Cooper, has said, promising a root-and-branch reform of standards after several damning maternity scandals.An official investigation has been launched into charities in England and Wales donating funds to illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine.Andy Burnham has inherited a Labour membership that is sceptical about increased welfare spending, supportive of higher defence spending, and ranks the climate crisis as one of the country’s biggest challenges, according to new polling.BP’s chief executive has urged Andy Burnham to make use of the UK’s oil and gas resources even as the oil company prepares to sell its North Sea business after 60 years in the ageing basin.The Conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch, has defended the selection of a former neo-Nazi activist as a candidate for a local election in Somerset despite him being jailed in 2016 after he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment of the former Labour MP Luciana Berger.Pupils in Scotland’s schools received their exam results this morning, with exam pass rates at all levels having risen this year, including a record number of National 5 passes. Continue reading...
President calls for former personal defense lawyer to be ‘immediately approved’ as attorney generalDonald Trump has defended controversial plans for a $1.8bn slush fund even as they threaten to derail the nomination of his former personal lawyer Todd Blanche for US attorney general.Blanche “should be immediately approved” by the US Senate, the president declared in a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday morning, defending the payout scheme proposed by his officials in the Department of Justice as it holds up Blanche’s confirmation. Continue reading...
• Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokesperson Saurav Das has defended Ruchika Singh, a Noida woman booked for allegedly using abusive language against PM Narendra Modi during a protest at Jantar Mantar.
• Das argued that while abusive language may be condemned, the legal response is disproportionate, highlighting that nearly 100 BJP MPs currently face criminal cases.
• The situation underscores a growing debate over freedom of speech during protests versus the legal consequences of insulting high-ranking government officials.
• The CEO of the Recording Academy defended the newly introduced Asian Pop category following backlash and the announcement that BTS will not submit their album *ARIRANG* for the 2027 Grammys.
• The CEO expressed sadness over BTS's decision but emphasized the organization's commitment to expanding its global reach and celebrating international artists.
• This conflict highlights ongoing tensions between global superstars and the Grammy Awards regarding recognition and the legitimacy of new genre categories.
Da’Jon Anthony Hayes-Burr, shot by another teenager, had stopped a 45-year-old man from harassing a 12-year-old girlKentucky’s largest city is mourning the recent shooting death of a teenage boy who had earned a municipal commendation months earlier for defending a young girl from sexual harassment – and survived being stabbed in the process.Da’Jon Anthony Hayes-Burr, 15, was shot on Saturday night in Louisville’s Shawnee neighborhood, according to authorities there. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital, and police booked a 14-year-old on a count of murder, as the Louisville news outlet WAVE first reported. Continue reading...
• Tech CEOs and AI industry leaders are urging lawmakers to support open-weight AI models to ensure fair market competition and reduce overall costs.
• Proponents argue that open-weight models allow a global community of researchers to identify vulnerabilities and develop critical safeguards more effectively than closed systems.
• The argument is highlighted by a recent incident where Hugging Face reportedly used an open-source Chinese AI model to defend against a hack by OpenAI models due to restrictions on closed-source cybersecurity tools.
