
Nigel Farage accused of 'offensive' attack on female cops after 'big strapping officers' call
Nigel Farage has been accused of an "offensive" attack on female police officers after calling for "big strapping" officers on the beat.
Labour's policing minister, Dame Diana Johnson, said female cops put themselves in harm's way every day as she branded Mr Farage's remarks "woefully out of touch" She accused him of peddling "divisive, outdated nonsense" that undermine frontline officers.
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) has also leapt to their defence, saying we "must not jeopardise our progress by diminishing the value and role women play".
It came after Mr Farage declared Britain was lawless and said police should look scarier. He told a press conference in London on Monday: "I think society needs, you need just that tiny little bit of fear and I think that for people out looking for trouble, and if they see a couple of big strapping police officers, they'll think, 'well, you know what, this may not be quite such a good idea'.'
He said the public should be "maybe a touch fearful" of police in the same way children are of teachers. Reform MP Sarah Pochin went on to tell the BBC: "I never like to see two female police officers out together... I'd much rather see a great big strapping male police officer with a female."
In response to the remarks, Dame Diana said: 'If Nigel Farage ever came to the Police Bravery Awards, he would realise how lucky we are as a country to have so many brilliant female officers who run towards danger to tackle violent criminals, and risk their own lives to keep the public safe.
"Week in and week out, they put themselves in harm's way for the protection of our communities, and for Reform MPs to question their fitness for the job is not only offensive, it is woefully out of touch. Instead of undermining the police with this kind of divisive, outdated nonsense, politicians from all parties should be backing our men and women in uniform in the difficult work they do every day to keep us all safe.'
And Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, chair of the NPCC, said: "Over a third of our officers and around 40% of our chief constables are women, and we must not jeopardise our progress by diminishing the value and role women play in our workforce.
'There are no roles in policing which women cannot do, and the same exacting standards to qualify are met by all men and women who undertake some of the most challenging tasks of any profession."

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The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Asylum seekers to lose housing and support if they refuse to move out of hotels
Asylum seekers who refuse to move out of hotels into new accommodation will have financial and housing support removed from them, the government has warned. The new crackdown has been ordered by Keir Starmer's government as it attempts to demonstrate it is taking action amid fears of a repeat of last year's summer riots, with violence already seen in Epping in Essex after the far right fuelled protests at an asylum hotel. But the move also appears to be an attempt to get to grips with the continuing small boats crisis on the Channel, with fears of record crossings this summer. The issue has been seen as a key reason why Nigel Farage's Reform UK is leading in the polls and taking votes away from Labour in their traditional heartlands. The announcement also comes amid a row over the language being used by senior Tory figures, which some fear is 'stoking division' and 'inciting violence'. The latest rant on social media came from shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, who many believe is positioning himself to be a rightwing candidate in a new leadership bid to replace Kemi Badenoch. In an inflammatory post on X, the former immigration minister took the side of protesters in Epping, saying: 'I don't want my young daughters to share a neighbourhood with men who broke into this country illegally and about whom we know next to nothing. 'And I don't want anyone else's family to have this forced on them either. 'When I see mothers and fathers peacefully protesting in Epping, I see decent, fair-minded people being pushed to breaking point.' The violence and protests in Epping, which have seen 16 arrested, broke out after accusations were made about asylum seekers sexually abusing local women. Mr Jenrick accused Sir Keir of 'being oblivious' to men pretending to be children to game the system, or migrants carrying guns and knives and, he claimed, security briefings suggesting that they pose a terrorist threat. 'It's high time Starmer took his head out the sand and listened to what communities are saying and experiencing. It's time he went and spoke to the law-abiding citizens who are being made to suffer the consequences of the failure to control our borders. Communities like Epping.' It came just 24 hours after it emerged that asylum seekers may be using payment cards intended for buying essentials for gambling. A Freedom of Information request made by PoliticsHome revealed more than 6,500 payments in gambling settings were attempted by asylum seekers in the past year, with shadow home secretary Chris Philp saying 'this madness has to end'. Meanwhile, fellow Tory MP Louie French took to X saying: 'Deport the migrants.' Mr Jenrick's outburst provoked a furious response from Labour. A Labour source said: 'Robert Jenrick was at the heart of a Conservative government that let the asylum system spiral into chaos. He had the power to act - and didn't. How dare he talk about a 'gutless elite' when for years he sat around the cabinet table and in the Home Office doing nothing? 'This Labour government is taking decisive action to regain control of our borders - cracking down on criminal gangs, clearing the asylum backlog, and ending the costly hotel use left behind by the Tories.' Among the measures to tackle the crisis is the government's new failure to travel policy which will be published today and is designed to tackle non-compliance by asylum seekers. It will ensure individuals who are moved from hotels to suitable alternative accommodation must take it. Those who refuse to move without a valid reason will now risk losing their housing and support. It is a firm but fair approach, aimed to end abuse of asylum support and contribute towards the closure of costly hotel accommodation. While the government has a duty to support all asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute in appropriate accommodation, the new policy establishes clear consequences for those who game the system whilst protecting the vulnerable. At the peak of the crisis under the previous administration, 400 hotels were being used to accommodate asylum seekers, costing £9 million per day. The government made a clear commitment to end that practice, and is delivering. In the first three months of 2025 the number of asylum seekers in hotels fell by almost 6,000, a 15 per cent reduction since December. The number of hotels in use has now halved from its peak in 2023. Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: 'We inherited an asylum system on the brink of collapse - mismanaged, under strain, and costing the public a fortune. We are getting a grip. 'We are working to close hotels, restore order, and put fairness and value for money at the heart of our asylum system. This government is making those necessary decisions to protect the taxpayer and uphold the integrity of our borders. 'These reforms to the Failure to Travel policy are another example of this government's action to transform the asylum accommodation system and crack down on those who abuse our system, so it operates fairly and saves the taxpayer money.'


ITV News
17 minutes ago
- ITV News
A75 improvements: Dumfries and Galloway villages could be bypassed as £3m pledged
The UK Government has announced it is giving an extra £3.45m to the Scottish Government to look at improvements to the A75 in Dumfries and Galloway. The Scottish Secretary says it means the UK Government is providing the "full" funding for the feasibility study to consider bypassing two villages on the road. The A75, which is a primary trunk road in Scotland, connects Stranraer and ferry ports at Cairnryan to the M6 and A74(M) at Gretna. It serves as a crucial route for traffic heading between Northern Ireland, England, and the rest of Scotland, particularly for those using the ferries to Northern Ireland. It is largely single-carriageway, which can lead to congestion, and longstanding safety concerns. In 2023, the then Conservative government at Westminster announced it would provide £8m for the research into upgrading the A75. After Labour won the general election, they announced at the Budget in October 2024 they would provide up to £5m towards the study. They say today's funding comes "on top" of that. John Cooper, the Conservative MP for Dumfries and Galloway, wrote on social media: "After a lot of scaremongering from the SNP, the [UK government] confirms what the previous administration committed to." Decisions over transport are devolved to Holyrood, and any work to complete improvements to the road would likely have to come out of the Scottish Government's budget. Transport Scotland, the Scottish Government's transport agency, said they recognise the "strategic importance" of the A75 and have completed six major improvement projects on the road, but face "significant pressures" on their budget for infrastructure. Today's announcement is part of £66m announced by the Chancellor for Scottish transport improvements. The UK Government describes the A75 as a "key road... vital to UK connectivity and growing the economy." On the topic, Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said: "the A75 is strategically important just not within but beyond Scotland. Its upgrading is long overdue. I am pleased that the UK Government has stepped up to fund the delivery of the A75 feasibility study in full. "This investment is yet another example of how the UK Government is building the foundations for a stronger, more prosperous future that benefits communities right across Scotland." Transport Scotland says: 'The strategic importance of both the A75 and A77 to Scotland's economy is recognised by this Government. We value the critical link they provide to the wider markets in the rest of the UK and Europe by connecting the ports at Cairnryan to the wider trunk road network. 'Ministers have chaired the Convention of South of Scotland discussion on transport, met the Leaders of Dumfries and Galloway and South Ayrshire Councils, had a roundtable discussion with campaigners calling for road improvements to the A75 and A77 in Girvan, and also extended an offer to form a 'South West Scotland Roads – Focus Group'. The purpose of this group is to improve the flow of information with the campaign groups and wider stakeholders, and look at longer term strategic investment for both the A75 and A77. 'In terms of the A75 we have completed six major roads improvement projects with a total value of over £50 million. While the UK Autumn Budget marked a step in the right direction, it does not make up for fourteen years of underinvestment – austerity cannot be undone in one year. We are still facing significant pressures on our capital budget, which is significantly affecting our ability to maintain investment on all of Scotland's transport infrastructure. 'Additionally, we have wasted no time in progressing the design and assessment work to consider options for realigning the A75 trunk road at the villages of Springholm and Crocketford." This comes weeks after campaigners in Dumfries and Galloway expressed frustration that no money was announced for the A75 in the UK Government's spending review. At the time, Springholm and Crocketford residents said this was an opportunity to commit project funding, and were disappointed both the UK Government and the Scottish Government hadn't dedicated money to feasibility study.


Spectator
17 minutes ago
- Spectator
The BBC has finally done something right
This isn't a sentiment you'll have read much in recent weeks, given the BBC's series of appalling misjudgements and editorial disasters. But here goes: Three cheers for the BBC. Its critics are completely wrong and its decision making is spot on. To be clear, I'm not referring to its coverage of Bob Vylan at Glastonbury, the Gaza documentary narrated by the son of a Hamas minister or the BBC's sacking of the two Masterchef presenters. I'm talking about something it has actually got right – but for which it is nonetheless being lambasted: the decision not to decamp its entire political team, and all its political programmes, to this year's party conferences. Previously the lunchtime Politics Live programme has been broadcast from what we used to call the two main party conferences – Labour and the Conservatives – along with Newsnight and much of the news channel's output. To do that, the BBC has taken around 80 journalists and technicians. That compares with three for ITV and eight for Channel 4. Bloated, you say? In years gone by, it was possible to see the validity of such largesse in staffing and coverage. The party conferences used to matter. For hacks, they provided an invaluable opportunity to take 'the feel' of party members and to speak to politicians in a less guarded environment – especially in the bars late at night. For Labour, the proceedings in the hall also mattered, with its jargon of composites, motions and references back all feeding into an atmosphere where votes counted for something. I spent too many years having to attend them, first as a policy wonk and later as a hack. You really did have to be there. There was the Bennite wars of the 1980s, the Militant years and John Smith's 1993 OMOV (one member, one vote) fight. There was Tony Blair's first conference speech in 1994, when he argued for the abolition of Clause IV (Labour's constitutional commitment to 'the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange') and almost no one in the hall realised what he was saying. Labour conference was the arena in which the party's future was played out, with fringe meeting battles and – literally – smoke-filled rooms. Although the conferences mattered, I hated them. All the people I wanted to spend time with I could do so in London. I never got to grips with being forced to spend time with people I had no wish to spend time with, but in a secure area. Add to that the permanent stench of stale air and the annual conference cold, and I was thrilled when I no longer had to go. Party conferences now are just stage shows, like the US conventions, which exist solely to provide fodder for social media clips of Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch's speeches and to give the mainstream news broadcasters something to talk about. For the party faithful they're a fun – each to their own – few days of political self-indulgence and a chance to get drunk with people you've seen on telly. For everyone else, they are meaningless for anything other than the set piece speeches – which could equally be broadcast, like Keir Starmer's first as Labour leader during covid in 2020, online from an empty room. The BBC is quite right to call out the emperor's new clothes. The conferences don't need – and don't deserve – the broadcast army of hacks they've always had. Not least because now they're not even necessarily the most relevant gatherings, with Reform increasingly solid ahead in the polls. Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, told PoliticsHome, which broke the story: 'It's a surprising move by the BBC, who took over 500 of their staff to Glastonbury.' She has a point – but the point isn't that the BBC should take its usual army to the conferences, it's that it took an absurd number to Glastonbury. PoliticsHome also quotes a BBC source: 'We're really upset about it.' Chacun à son goût.