~~~ Mattha Busby ~~~

openDemocracy • October 31, 2022

Time ticking for ‘IPP’ prisoners behind bars for 15 years

Almost one in five of the 1,549 prisoners serving uninterrupted indefinite sentences in England and Wales have now spent 15 years behind bars, openDemocracy can reveal. The revelation will add to pressure on the incoming justice secretary to deal...

The Times • August 22, 2022

MoD under fire as more soldiers say they are bullied

Dozens of formal complaints of bullying are being lodged by soldiers in the British army every year yet the vast majority of them are not resolved, new figures show. Data disclosed by the Ministry of Defence under Freedom of Information laws show...

May 11, 2022

Racial bias in jailing of drug offenders

Black people are ten times more likely than white people to be sent to prison for a first-time drug offence, according to Ministry of Justice figures. A Freedom of Information request by The Times found that 1,200 black people with no previous drug...

October 22, 2021

Revealed: The UK Government Ignored Its Own Experts' Advice to Decriminalise Drugs

In December of 2016, confidential proposals by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) explicitly recommended the decriminalisation of drug use for the first time, by repealing possession and usage laws. It is understood that those...

the Guardian • September 10, 2021

Pfizer accused of holding Brazil ‘to ransom’ over vaccine contract demands

Pfizer has been accused of holding Brazil “to ransom” over demands to shield itself from possible vaccine side-effect lawsuits in its contract to supply the country with 100m Covid jabs. In its $1bn (£700m) deal with Pfizer Export BV, signed in...

August 12, 2021

Exclusive: Police Are Busting Record Numbers of Trap Houses in the UK

It is thought the rise in closures, which will include provincial homes cuckooed by county lines dealers from cities, is mainly down to police forces around the country finding it easier to target drug gangs during lockdown thanks to greater resources...

the Guardian • June 19, 2021

David Miliband charity pushes ‘white supremacy culture’, workers allege

The International Rescue Committee reinforces “white supremacy culture”, staff have alleged, with the aid organization subsequently hiring a law firm to review its policies relating to discrimination, harassment and retaliation, the Guardian can...

May 31, 2021

These UK Police Have Basically Decriminalised Growing Weed

Twenty-six of the UK's 43 police forces responded in full to Freedom of Information requests, showing that arrests have plummeted by 57 percent over six years across the vast majority of the UK – from 6,859 in 2012, to 2,949 in 2018 – though the total...

May 31, 2021

The UK Has Wasted 50 Years Fighting a Losing War on Drugs

The foremost aim of the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA), passed by parliament in 1971, was to prevent or decrease the use of the drugs it prohibited. However, with some inevitable fluctuations and variations between drugs, use has increased...

the Guardian • March 28, 2021

Four-fifths of Sudan's £861m debt to UK is interest

When Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, was in Sudan in January he offered £40m in aid to help its poorest people, who are facing unprecedented food scarcity in a debt-laden country where austerity is deepening. Sudan, ruled by an unelected...

the Guardian • January 18, 2021

Fewer than one in 10 police officers fired after gross misconduct finding

Fewer than one in 10 British police officers found to have potentially committed gross misconduct by the watchdog are dismissed, the Guardian can reveal. Figures released by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) show 641 officers in...

January 7, 2021

At Least One Police Officer a Month in the UK Loses Their Job Due to Drug Taking

Data released by 41 UK police forces under freedom of information (FOI) laws shows 56 police officers and staff have resigned or been dismissed in the last four years – from 2017 to 2020 – after being found to have used illegal drugs or been in...

the Guardian • January 1, 2021

Alexander Wang denies 'grotesquely false' sexual assault claims

The American fashion designer Alexander Wang has denied “grotesquely false” allegations of sexual assault as grassroots advocacy sites claim that there are a high number of victims. A British model, Owen Mooney, this week publicly claimed that Wang...

the Guardian • December 24, 2020

Dozens of prison staff sacked over prohibited items, MoJ figures show

Dozens of prison officers have been dismissed and some have been convicted for bringing prohibited items – which can include drugs, tobacco and mobile phones – into jails in England and Wales over the past five years, the Guardian can reveal. Drug...

The Guardian • December 1, 2020

Number of people rejecting Queen's honours doubles in past decade

The proportion of people turning down honours from the Queen is rising and has more than doubled over the past nine years, a Guardian analysis shows. From 2011 to this year, 443 people rejected a knighthood, MBE, OBE or other awards in recognition of...

October 12, 2020

Queen Accused of Fowl Play: Royals 'Must Explain Why Animals Are Killed On Their Land', Says Ex MP

The Queen faces calls to admit the extent of animal culls on her land, after permission was granted to kill 600 greylag geese and destroy another 1,000 of the birds’ eggs at one of her estates, while another royal institution has recently ceased to be...

The Guardian • August 24, 2020

Rise in number of British soldiers being sacked for drug use

Hundreds of British army personnel are being dismissed every year after testing positive for drugs in compulsory tests, with the number of sackings rising steadily, the Guardian can reveal. Ministry of Defence data released under Freedom of...

The Guardian • August 16, 2020

BAME children three times more likely to have a Taser weapon used on them by police

Children from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are almost three times more likely to have a Taser electronic weapon used on them by police than their white counterparts. The proportion of BAME 11- to 17-year-olds having electronic stun...

The Guardian • July 1, 2020

No new NHS patients prescribed cannabis oil since legalisation

There have been no new NHS prescriptions for full-extract cannabis oil since the medicinal use of the drug was legalised more than 18 months ago, the Guardian has established. Wealthier families and those who can successfully raise funds pay about...

the Guardian • April 18, 2020

Revealed: FA had geese killed at national centre 'to protect its pitches'

About 60 greylag geese were shot and killed at the national training centre for England football teams from 2018 to 2019 to “preserve safety” because they were defecating on the pitches. The Football Association said the birds – which it shot after...