DANNY SHAW

Who is going to be the most influential figure in policing? Shabana Mahmood would like to appoint the head of the new National Police Service by Christmas, I’m told, though adverts have yet to go out. It’s a weighty role; whoever is successful will have the ear of the Home Secretary, as well as leading the most powerful law enforcement organisation in the UK. Sir Mark Rowley remains the front-runner, as his impressive term at the Metropolitan Police, where he has led them out

When Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister, he will face tough decisions in every area of domestic policy. Here are five key questions the MP for Makerfield will have to find answers to on crime, policing and immigration: 1 Prisons: will sex offenders and domestic abusers be released early? 2 Courts: how will backlogs be cut if reforms to jury trials are scrapped? 3 Police: will forces be merged? 4 Immigration: what concessions will there be on plans to tighten settlement

Before I come to the judges, a word about Geoffrey Robertson. This week, the eminent KC had his say on the government's proposals to restrict the use of jury trials to cut backlogs in the Crown Courts: they are a "betrayal of Labour traditions and values", he said. Robertson, who gave Sir Keir Starmer his first job at the Bar in a chambers known for its human rights cases, penned a 31-page treatise , titled, 'For Mercy's Sake - Why Labour should not axe trial by jury'. It ha

For over a week now, government ministers and police chiefs have been 'rolling the pitch' for what is being billed as the biggest overhaul of policing in half a century. A carefully co-ordinated communications campaign, involving set-piece interviews, newspaper op eds and filming opportunities, has been constructed ahead of the long-awaited White Paper on police reform, which is expected to be published on Monday (January 26). The aim of the Home Office press strategy for the

In April 2024, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised charges against Christopher Berry and Christopher Cash for “providing...

Charing Cross again. For the second time in three years the police station in the heart of London’s West End is at the centre of a...

"Gulp". That was the reaction from one of Shabana Mahmood's team when news broke that she was heading to the Home Office. Gulp indeed....

In March 2023, Sir Keir Starmer travelled to Stoke-On-Trent for a speech that would define Labour’s mission on law and order. At Vale...

By Danny Shaw Who’s in charge of the Ministry of Justice? Judging by the events of the past few weeks I’d say Robert Jenrick is calling...

Seven years ago last weekend, Novlett Williams' life changed forever. Williams, known to her friends and colleagues as Robyn, was then a...

What did we learn from Yvette Cooper's first major speech on policing reform this week? The Home Secretary attended the annual conference...

What does Rachel Reeves' Budget do for policing, justice and immigration? Here's a quick guide to the three Government departments...

For five days at the beginning of August 2011, it felt like we were on the brink of anarchy. In towns and cities across England, police...

A year ago I wrote about a rape trial that had to be postponed because there was no judge available. The delay shocked me because the...

Boris Johnson started it. On 14 April 2022 he said that the deal struck with Rwanda meant that anyone entering the UK illegally may now...

"This Inquiry should serve as a loud wake-up call." Those words, directed at the leadership of the Metropolitan Police, are contained in...

Is the Ministry of Justice making excuses? The most shocking aspect of Daniel Khalife's escape from Wandsworth Prison on September 6 is...

Should police inform a suspect they've been charged with rape by post? I think most of us would expect that kind of news to be delivered...

When I started reporting on the crime statistics as a BBC correspondent about 25 years ago the headline figure was invariably the main...

In the next day or so, a prison officer at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes will deliver a brown envelope addressed to “Mr Charles...