We’re going to build 50,000 new prison places. I was asked why past governments haven’t done this before. Its a fair question, and here’s my answer. If you’re violent or a repeat shoplifter you belong behind bars.

Labour start releasing criminals from prison today. Because of their chaotic decision-making there will be two releases in October alone. Ministers said they’d all be tagged - but now admit that’s not true. The probation service says it will be overwhelmed - but ministers ignored them. Prison governors say they can’t prepare so many for release to a proper address - but they were ignored too. There are 700 fewer prison cells than last year. 1,600 fewer prison officers than since the election. No new prisons planned or approved under Labour. But there are still more than 4,000 operational prison places available. There are another 3,000 that could be found by doubling and fully using existing cells. And another 4,600 that could be used but aren’t because of repairs, staff shortages and even bed bugs. Dartmoor Prison sits empty - because it’s exposed to natural levels of radon gas thousands of locals live with all the time. Labour say this is unavoidable. But they haven’t fought to keep prisoners locked up. They just opened the prison doors. They don’t have it in their DNA to be tough on crime - and the public will pay the price.

EXCLUSIVE: Tan Ikram, deputy chief magistrate, is an adviser to a Pakistani organisation that referred to “so-called ‘grooming gangs’” and called Suella Braverman’s comments about British-Pakistani gangs “reprehensible”. My investigation reveals: • He targeted Bradford to encourage Pakistani lawyers to become judges: “[Bradford has] lots and lots of Pakistani practitioners… I specifically went there to reach out to that particular group of lawyers.” • He is listed as an adviser to the British Pakistan Foundation, which attacked Braverman over her grooming-gang comments and condemned the “collective punishment of the Palestinians” following October 7. Ikram spared three women punishment for a terrorism offence involving paraglider images. • Grooming gang survivor Fiona Goddard called his association with the foundation “deeply concerning”, asking: “Why is a senior judge connected to such a partisan group?” • He helped organise a meeting between judges and senior imams at the Old Bailey. • He sits on the Judicial Appointments Commission and has helped edit the guidance judges use on race and cultural differences. • He said he used his ethnicity as “a bit of an advantage” in his legal career. He also said his mother “today doesn’t really speak English”, despite coming to Britain in the early 1960s. I’ve examined his speeches, interviews, links to Pakistani and Muslim groups and rulings. Read the full investigation: stevenedginton.com/p/we-need…

This is not good enough. Sarah Steele was strangled and allegedly sexually assaulted by Jacob Wulfson, a US pilot then based at Lakenheath. Wulfson was tried in a US military court by a jury of fellow officers. He should have faced the English courts, but the police handed the case to the Americans. The NATO Status of Forces Agreement makes clear that the US military only has jurisdiction when an offence is committed on duty, against another member of the same armed forces or against a dependant. As the local MP and Shadow Justice Secretary, I wrote to David Lammy and then his successor, Alex Norris, about how the police and prosecutors handle these cases. Since then, other victims have contacted me. More recently, a US diplomat, allegedly a paedophile, was flown out of London to avoid prosecution here. This letter is the Justice Secretary’s reply. I asked who relinquished sovereignty in Sarah’s case. Norris said decisions on jurisdiction are a matter for the relevant police force. That may be so, but we still need to know who made the decision so there can be accountability and change. He refuses to say. I asked for an update on discussions with the US Government. He confirmed they are taking place but provided no detail. I asked what processes ensure crimes committed by base personnel are reported and prosecuted in England. Again, there was no real answer, only an assertion that the Government will “identify and learn lessons” from Sarah’s case, and confirmation that chief constables have been contacted. I asked the Ministry of Justice to review every case I have raised. Despite this concerning jurisdiction and justice in our own country, I was merely told my letter would be passed to the Foreign Office. In all, this reply is really not acceptable. It fails to address the main issues head-on. These cases clearly conflict with what is supposed to happen under the framework of the NATO Status of Forces Agreement 1951, and CPS guidance. The Justice Secretary failed to address this point, and just reiterated that there are “limited circumstances” where jurisdiction should be transferred.