Probation officers have been awarded a bumper pay deal and boosted overtime as staff push to tackle prison overcrowding. The pay deal includes a £1,000 bonus and a temporary boost in overtime pay to time-and-a-half. The National Association of Probation Officers and Unison trade unions have accepted the offer. Qualified probation officers will see a…

New laws making it easier for public service staff to strike will put lives at risk, opponents have claimed. The Employment Rights Bill will repeal anti-strike legislation, encouraging strikes across various sectors, MPs and experts warned. Former Tory party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the move would give power to the unions to strike…

Britons have lost more than £450m to pyramid and Ponzi schemes over the past three years, according to data obtained by Conflict International. The data reveals a 27% rise in this type of fraud in the past year. Another £375m was lost to fraudulent share sales or boiler room fraud. Mike LaCorte, CEO of Conflict…

Two people involved in an attack on an arms factory in Kent have been arrested on suspicion of being part of an organised crime group. Instro Precision was broken into and equipment was smashed in June this year. Seven pro-Palestine activists were arrested at the scene on suspicion of aggravated burglary and two were arrested…

Labour has announced that it will shelve a law designed to tackle “cancel culture” at universities, raising concerns about the state of free speech on campus. The law, known as the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, was set to come into force next week but will now be reconsidered for repeal. Experts warn…

Criminals are receiving lower sentences in an effort to alleviate prison overcrowding as judges are taking the amount of time offenders have spent on remand into account, barristers have said. A senior criminal bar source said that Crown Court judges “are much more likely now to refer to time already spent in prison on remand…