Reform UK’s new justice adviser has called for the UK to introduce US-style “supermax” prisons.
Vanessa Frake, a former prison governor, said it would be “relatively easy” to convert some of the nation’s existing high-security facilities.
She made the comments as she announced she had formally joined Reform to play a leading role in the party’s law and order task force.
Nigel Farage said he wanted there to be debate on moving to a “supermax” prisons system after he was asked about the potential cost of making such a change.
He told a press conference in Westminster: “The supermax prisons, have we costed it? Have we thought it through? It is a debate.
“The point about this task force is we are starting a debate and we would rather like it to become a full public debate too.”
Ms Frake added: “I didn’t say we should build supermax prisons. I actually said a super max regime. There is a totally different thing and converting part of our high-security estate into a supermax wing would be relatively easy.”
US “supermax” prisons hold prisoners who are deemed to be such a high risk that they cannot be housed even in maximum security facilities.
Such facilities see inmates confined in single cells with facilities made of poured, reinforced concrete to deter self-harm. They are under 24-hour supervision, carried out with high staff–inmate ratios.
The Labour Government has been examining the issue, with Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, having ordered a review into potential ways of segregating dangerous offenders.
01:21 PM BST
That is all for today...
Thank you for joining me for today’s live blog.
01:04 PM BST
Tories: ‘Reform are doodling fantasy prisons on the back of a pub napkin’
The Tories accused Nigel Farage of making “wild promises” on tackling crime he cannot deliver on.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “Reform are doodling fantasy prisons on the back of a pub napkin.
“Once again Nigel Farage has made wild promises to the British public but completely failed to set out how he intends to pay for any of them. Empty words, zero plan, and not a shred of credibility.
“Only the Conservatives, under new leadership, believe in sound money, zero tolerance on crime, and serious leadership. Britain deserves better than this façade.”
12:54 PM BST
Labour hits back at Farage after Reform leader’s crime press conference
Labour said it was “taking the tough action needed” to tackle crime while Nigel Farage “shouts from the sidelines”.
A Labour Party spokesperson, said: “Nigel Farage offers anger, but no answers.
“It’s farcical that Farage can’t say what his policies are, how much they would cost, or how they would even work. Reform aren’t serious and don’t have a clue as to how they would address the challenges facing working people.
“If Reform really wanted to crack down on crime, their MPs should have backed Labour’s tough new laws to introduce stronger sentences for grooming offenders, mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse, and stricter penalties for antisocial behaviour. While Farage shouts from the sidelines, Labour is taking the tough action needed to make our streets safer.”
12:24 PM BST
Farage: Police should release immigration status of people charged with crime
Nigel Farage said police forces should release the name, address and immigration status of people after they are charged with a crime.
He told a press conference: “I absolutely think that they should and I think particularly given there is a pretty febrile atmosphere around these areas, particularly sexual assaults and rapes where the temperature of this debate has risen significantly, yes I do believe they should.”
He made the comments after Warwickshire Police was accused of “covering up” an alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl by Afghan asylum seekers.
Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was charged last week with the rape of the girl in Nuneaton, while Mohammad Kabir, 23, was charged with kidnap and strangulation.
Warwickshire Police reportedly advised local councillors and officials not to reveal the asylum-seeker background of the two suspects, for fear of “inflaming community tensions”.
Warwickshire Police has not denied reports that Mr Mulakhil and Mr Kabir are asylum seekers.
The pair have appeared at Coventry magistrates’ court and were both remanded in custody until an appearance at Warwick Crown Court on Aug 26.
In a statement, the force said that once someone is charged with an offence, they follow national guidance, which “does not include sharing ethnicity or immigration status”.
12:20 PM BST
Analysis: Latest defection raises Tory eyebrows
There is much sniggering among Reform’s political opponents this morning after they unveiled Rupert Matthews as the latest Tory defection.
Mr Matthews, a former Tory MEP now serving as a Police and Crime Commissioner, is also known as a prolific author of books about UFOs, paranormal activity and cryptozoology - the search for fictitious beasts like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.
One of his books, Extra-terrestrials, assesses the “growing threat of alien reconnaissance on Earth”.
11:57 AM BST
Farage wants debate on UK introducing supermax prisons
Nigel Farage was asked about Vanessa Frake’s call for the UK to introduce US-style “supermax” prisons (see the post below at 11.25).
He said: “The supermax prisons, have we costed it? Have we thought it through? It is a debate. The point about this task force is we are starting a debate and we would rather like it to become a full public debate too.”
Ms Frake added: “I didn’t say we should build supermax prisons. I actually said a super max regime. There is a totally different thing and converting part of our high-security estate into a supermax wing would be relatively easy.”
11:49 AM BST
‘Britain is lawless’ claim is not ‘Project Fear’, says Reform leader
Nigel Farage rejected the suggestion that his claim that “Britain is lawless” was simply an attempt at “Project Fear” to persuade people to vote for Reform.
He replied: “No, they are afraid. They are afraid. I dare you to walk through the West End of London after 9 o’clock of an evening wearing jewellery.
“You wouldn’t do it. You know that I am right. You wouldn’t do it. And that is just in London.”
11:44 AM BST
Labour ‘sinking to gutter politics’ with Jimmy Savile claim, says Farage
Nigel Farage accused Labour of “sinking to the gutter of politics” after Government ministers claimed the Reform leader was “on the side” of child predators and extreme pornographers because of his opposition to the Online Safety Act.
Peter Kyle, the Science Secretary, said last week: “Make no mistake about it, if people like Jimmy Savile were alive today, he would be perpetrating his crimes online, and Nigel Farage is saying that he is on their side, not the side of children.”
Jess Phillips, a Home Office minister, doubled down on the claim.
Mr Farage said this morning: “It is just sinking to the gutter of politics to make that comparison.
“I repeat the point we would love to see effective legislation that protected young children from harmful and dangerous material. This Act does not do that and this Act then extends right into the area of free speech.”
He added: “The effects, I would say, are chilling already.”
11:34 AM BST
Online Safety Act is ‘beginning of state censorship’, says Farage
Nigel Farage is now taking questions from the press.
He was asked about the Government’s Online Safety Act which Reform UK has said it would scrap.
“This is the beginning of state censorship,” Mr Farage said.
The Reform UK leader said the “original intention” of the Act was “honourable” in terms of trying to keep children safer online.
But he added: “The trouble is that I suspect most 13-year-olds are more tech-savvy than the science minister Peter Kyle because they simply go to VPNs.”
11:25 AM BST
Introduce US-style ‘super max’ prisons, says Reform’s justice tsar
Reform UK’s new justice adviser said she wanted the UK to introduce US-style “super max” prisons.
Vanessa Frake said she believed Nigel Farage was best placed to “restore law and order to Britain”.
“It is a very sorry tale what is going on in our prisons,” Mr Farage said.
11:22 AM BST
Reform’s justice tsar: ‘Our prisons are in a crisis’
Vanessa Frake, a former prison governor who is now Reform’s justice adviser, is now addressing this morning’s press conference.
She announced that she was “officially joining Reform UK” and will work on the party’s law and order task force.
Ms Frake said she had never been a member of any other political party and was not a traditional politician having done a “proper job” for decades.
She said that public trust in the nation’s prisons had been “entirely lost”.
“Our prisons are in a crisis caused by Labour and the Conservatives,” she said.
11:17 AM BST
Analysis: Farage taking advantage of Westminster’s summer break
This is the third week of Reform’s crime campaign, which has involved a series of defections from local crime and justice figures and some tough policy announcements.
This strategy from Nigel Farage is designed to take advantage of this summer’s Parliamentary recess, when the Government is unable to make major policy announcements and the news agenda dries up.
The latest defection, from the Leicestershire police and crime commissioner Rupert Matthews, is about crime on the streets and the failure of authorities to keep offenders in jail.
Mr Matthew’s punchy speech included the line that some towns and cities in England and Wales had become an “apocalyptic wasteland of lawless Britain”.
11:14 AM BST
‘Dark heart of wokeness must be cut out of justice system’
Rupert Matthews said there was a need to “cut the dark heart of wokeness out of our criminal justice system”.
The now Reform police and crime commissioner said the Tories were no longer the party he had previously joined.
“There is a better choice and he is sat right over there,” he said as he gestured towards Nigel Farage.
Mr Matthews added: “Now it is time for Reform.”
11:11 AM BST
Tory police and crime commissioner defects to Reform UK
Nigel Farage announced that Rupert Matthews, the Conservative police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire, has defected to Reform UK.
Mr Matthews had twice been elected as a Tory candidate but he has now become Reform’s first ever PCC.
11:07 AM BST
Farage: ‘We have caught the mood of the country’
Nigel Farage is now on his feet.
The Reform UK leader said it was now week three of his party’s lawless Britain campaign.
“We have caught the mood of the country with this campaign,” he said.
11:02 AM BST
Journalists wait for Farage
A roomful of journalists is patiently awaiting the arrival of Nigel Farage at this morning’s press conference.
We should be underway imminently.
10:46 AM BST
Which former Tories have joined Reform so far?
The list of ex-Tories defecting to Reform continues to grow. These are the prominent figures who have made the switch so far:
Lee Anderson
Dame Andrea Jenkyns
Sir Jake Berry
Marco Longhi
David Jones
Anne-Marie Morris
Ross Thomson
Adam Holloway
10:37 AM BST
Who was the most recent Tory defection to Reform?
Adam Holloway, who was a Conservative MP from 2005 until losing his seat last year, announced that he had switched allegiances to Reform UK on July 30.
Mr Holloway served in the Army before entering politics and was the MP for Gravesham.
He spent time as a government whip and also served on the Commons defence, foreign and home affairs select committees.
You can read the full story on his defection here.
10:33 AM BST
Reform UK ‘to unveil latest defection’
Reform UK has welcomed numerous former Tory figures to its ranks in recent months, including Sir Jake Berry, David Jones and Adam Holloway.
Now it looks like there could be another defection.
Politico reported this morning that Nigel Farage will use today’s crime press conference to unveil another person who is switching allegiances.
The party has not given any clues about who it could be and it may not be a former MP.
But it is widely expected that it will be given what we have seen so far.
10:31 AM BST
Farage holding crime press conference at 11am
It is recess in Westminster, with MPs on their summer holidays until the start of September.
But Nigel Farage is not taking a break from taking aim at Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Government.
The Reform UK leader is set to hold a press conference in Westminster this morning to talk about his party’s plan to tackle crime.
Mr Farage has promised it will be the “most significant event of our crime campaign so far”.
The press conference is due to get underway at 11am and you will be able to watch it live using the stream at the top of this page.
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