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Thames Valley chief says he may join Police Federation in court if Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers are freed from prisonThe chief constable of Thames Valley police has said he will consider joining legal action against the government if it fails to block the early release of two of PC Andrew Harper’s killers.The Police Federation is contemplating going to court in its attempts to keep Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers in prison. Continue reading...

Hits on two towns among deadliest bombings since start of June ceasefire An Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon killed one person and injured 11, the Lebanese ministry of health said, in one of Israel’s deadliest bombings since the start of the June ceasefire.Israel carried out an airstrike in the town of Tebnine, hitting a cemetery, the Lebanese health ministry said. It said the town of al-Mansouri, in south Lebanon, was also bombed, forcing families to flee. 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...

Air raid alerts last for more than an hour as Moscow inflicts another heavy bombardment on Ukraine’s capitalRussian strikes in and around Kyiv killed at least 14 people, ⁠injured 27 and ⁠damaged warehouses, ​emergency service officials said. Some reports put the death toll at 15.Air raid alerts lasted for more than an hour as Moscow’s forces continued a series of deadly heavy attacks on the Ukrainian capital. The military administration said seven sites were hit in an assault that began on Wednesday after midnight. Continue reading...

• India has condemned the recent elections in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), labeling the process a "complete farce" amid allegations of electoral manipulation. • The region has faced severe turmoil since June, driven by widespread protests against inflation and high electricity tariffs. • Indian officials report that Pakistani forces have killed 90 people in the region since June to suppress the unrest.

Government revises plans to tackle prison overcrowding amid pressure from MPs and victims but domestic abusers and killers could still be released earlyGood morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. The mother of PC Andrew Harper said her family are “bitterly disappointed” that her son’s killers remain eligible for early release after the government revised plans to tackle the overcrowding crisis in prisons.Following pressure from victims, MPs and frontline prison officers, rapists, child sexual abusers and groomers will be excluded from the scheme for England and Wales, the government said on Monday.It feels like we’re letting Andrew down again. We’ve been through the justice system, we thought we’d done as best as we could. Now we’re standing up to fight again … so I just feel really let down, for Andrew’s sake as well as ours. Continue reading...

Journalist’s son says his mother was examining leak from Electrogas, part owned by Yorgen Fenech who is on trialDaphne Caruana Galizia was investigating suspected corruption by the businessman Yorgen Fenech and members of Malta’s government when she was killed, a jury has heard.The heir to one of Malta’s biggest fortunes, Fenech is on trial for murder, accused of commissioning and paying for Caruana Galizia’s killing in a car bombing in October 2017. Continue reading...