Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood – The NEN

ORGREAVE INQUIRY TO COMMENCE

JUSTICE AT LONG LAST?

“For more than four decades, miners and their families have been forced to live with unanswered questions. Today, I am formally launching the Orgreave Inquiry to uncover the truth of what happened.

“I pay tribute to the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, the National Union of Mineworkers, and all those who campaigned so tirelessly to reach this moment” – SHABANA MAHMOOD, HOME SECRETARY

ORGREAVE TRUTH and JUSTICE CAMPAIGN STATEMENT:

We are pleased that the Government is finally launching the start of the Orgreave Inquiry after their inquiry announcement last July 2025.

While we are disappointed that it has taken so long for the Home Office to come to this stage, we are relieved that work will now begin to establish the truth about the Tory government involvement and police conduct at Orgreave on 18th June 1984 during the 1984/5 miners’ strike.

The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign and supporters have worked hard over many years for an Orgreave Inquiry and it has been a long and difficult journey.

Our determination and tenacity has however received much support from many individuals, organisations and the Labour and Trade Union movement, whose wonderful solidarity has made it possible to continue and be able to come this far.

This is a statutory inquiry, with the Terms of Reference and panel membership established by the government. We have however tried our best to influence the process to ensure this does not become a police-led inquiry but one shaped by the miners and their experiences.

This 42nd anniversary year of the miners’ strike reminds us that we must never forget the importance of that great strike to defend an industry, jobs, trade unions and communities and the fight for all our futures.

We are indebted to the striking miners and their families for their dedication and sacrifice to that year-long struggle that changed all our lives forever.

The 1980s Tory cabinet of Margaret Thatcher, Leon Brittan, Nigel Lawson, Norman Tebbit and others, along with their secret “Misc 101” Committee, planned to destroy the British coal industry and organised labour, the National Union of Mineworkers, its leaders Arthur Scargill, Peter Heathfield and Mick McGahey and the British labour and Trade Union movement.

Kevin Horne, striking miner arrested at Orgreave on 18th June 1984 said: “We know that the Tory Government of the 1980s was directly involved in the miners’ strike while professing ‘non-involvement’.

“The Tory Ridley plan of the 1970s exposes how far they were prepared to go and the 1980s Tory Government put vast amounts of public resources into the implementation of this plan. This was state sponsored organisation against the miners and our livelihoods.

“The Tory’s own archives confirm Parliament and the public were knowingly lied to but their involvement in the strike and the policing of it has never been publicly acknowledged.”

John Dunn, striking miner assaulted by the police and arrested on a Derbyshire picket line said: “The mass media colluded with the Tories by lying in their headlines and reports about what was really happening, or not reporting it at all. Their collaboration in these government and police lies and coverups continues to this day, demonising and vilifying strikers and protesters.

“The raw footage that the many media companies and photographers have of police attacking miners at Orgreave and other footage of police violence and harassment throughout the strike must be handed over to this inquiry.

“The injustice faced by us miners and our communities has never been acknowledged by the state and instead they and the media have lied and covered it up. The right to strike and the right to protest should be a fundamental human right”

Kate Flannery, Secretary of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign said:
“We need answers about the systemic violent and lying behaviour of the police. We need to know about plans of how police officers on the ground were briefed and how that briefing came about.

“We need government and police papers releasing that have been embargoed until 2066 and 2071. The police have recently still been destroying vital evidence needed for this inquiry.

“This is of great public interest and concern and is about a government who actively worked against its own population and handed the police paramilitary powers and destroyed an industry in the process.”

Chris Peace, Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign activist said: “Orgreave marked a turning point in the policing of public protest. With no accountability of policing at Orgreave, a message was sent to the police that they could employ violence and tell lies with impunity.

“This set a culture for violent militarised police to run riot throughout mining communities and villages all over Britain. It also enabled a culture for the police to maintain many lies and cover ups in 1989 at Hillsborough. The Hillsborough campaigners are still fighting for justice to this day”

Chris Hockney, Chair of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign said: “It is important that due to the age and health of many miners we quickly secure a public acknowledgement of why and what the state did to the miners and our communities.

“We have to have hope that an inquiry of full disclosure should influence the future behaviour of the state and public officials and that the inquiry panel and resources committed to this inquiry will establish truth and justice.”

The campaign will be encouraging as many people as possible to come forward with information to submit to the inquiry once more details about how people can contribute has been revealed by the Chair and inquiry team.

otjc.org.uk/orgreave-truth-and-justice-the-case-for-an-inquiry/

White paper sets out reforms to policing in England and Wales

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced the largest reforms to policing since the police service was founded 2 centuries ago

The largest reforms to policing since forces were professionalised two centuries ago were announced yesterday (26 January) by the Home Secretary.

A white paper titled ‘From local to national: a new model for policing’, outlines a radical blueprint for reform, so local forces protect their community and national policing protects us all.

Force mergers

The government will launch a review into dramatically reducing the number of police forces in England and Wales.

Consolidating the current model will make the police more cost-efficient, giving the taxpayer more value for money, while also ensuring a less fragmented system that will better serve the public and make them safer.

This is a moment to reset policing’s focus and return to its core principles – restoring neighbourhood policing and tackling local crime by delivering a structural overhaul to meet the demands of the modern world.

National Police Service

A new nationwide police force will be established to fight the most complex and serious crimes.

The new National Police Service will attract world-class talent and use state of the art technology to fight complex and serious crimes, lifting the burden on overstretched local forces and allowing them to focus on catching local criminals.

The service will bring the capabilities of the National Crime Agency, Counter Terrorism Policing, regional organised crime units, police helicopters and national roads policing under a single organisation.

As one force, it will be better equipped to share technology, intelligence and resources to stop the growing threat from crime that has become increasingly complex, digital, online and with no respect for constabulary borders.

A national police commissioner will be appointed to lead the force and will serve as the most senior police officer in the country.

It will enable local officers to spend more time supporting victims of crime and delivering neighbourhood policing, rather than navigating the forensics system.

This will give victims confidence as their case will be supported by world‑class specialist expertise, and the latest technology, no matter where they live.

Part of the new National Police Service’s remit will be to take on responsibility for forensics from the 43 local forces with direction set centrally from the new organisation.

Demand for specialist digital forensics means there are 20,000 devices awaiting analysis at any time. The service will deal with these backlogs and help the police keep up with the ever-increasing pace of change in technology.

Frontline policing will save £350 million by scrapping outdated procurement approaches, which will instead be used to fight crime.

Under the current localised model, each of the 43 forces often procure technology, equipment and clothing themselves, meaning 43 different teams undertaking the same work.

The new National Police Service will end this inefficiency, taking on the responsibility for shared services, equipment and IT.

The National Police Service will buy equipment once on behalf of all, saving money through economies of scale and reinvesting the savings back into frontline policing to go after criminals.

Accountability and standards

Ministers will be handed new powers to intervene directly in failing forces, sending in specialist teams to turn them around so they fight crime more effectively.

If crime solving rates or police response times are poor, the Home Secretary will be able to send in experts from the best performing forces to improve their performance, so they catch more criminals.

The Home Secretary will restore the power to sack failing chief constables. New laws will hand ministers statutory powers to force the retirement, resignation or suspension of chief constables if they are poorly performing.

The forces will also be directly accountable to the public, with new targets on 999 response times, victim satisfaction, public trust and confidence. These results will be published and forces graded so communities can compare.

To further reinforce accountability, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire & Rescue Services will gain statutory powers to issue directions when forces fail to act on its recommendations. 

Alongside these force-wide measures, the government will also ensure the highest standards from individual officers. To strengthen safeguards and ensure those unfit for policing are kept out of the profession, the government will introduce laws to impose robust, mandatory vetting standards for all police forces, ensuring the public is protected.

These new standards will enable forces to exclude those with a caution or conviction for violence against women and girls offences from policing.

Stronger requirements on forces to suspend officers who are under investigation for these crimes will also be introduced.

Police officers will be required to hold and renew a licence throughout their career so they learn new skills as criminal techniques evolve.

The Licence to Practise will ensure officers are best equipped with problem solving and technological skills they need to catch more criminals.

Drawn from other professions such as lawyers and doctors, officers will have to demonstrate that they have the skills needed to fight crime. Those who fail to reach the required standard, following opportunities to try again, will be removed from the profession.

Neighbourhood policing

Under new reforms, response officers will be expected to reach the scene of the most serious incidents within 15 minutes in cities and 20 minutes in rural areas, and forces will be expected to answer 999 phone calls within 10 seconds.

These new targets will ensure that all forces provide the same level of police response to crimes.

Currently, data on response times is collected differently across forces, and police are not held accountable if targets are not met. Reforming the system will create more transparency and consistency across the country.

Where forces fail to deliver, the Home Secretary will send in experts from the best performing forces to improve their performance, including when unmet response‑time targets are part of broader systemic failing.

To fight everyday crime, the government will ramp up its pledge to restore visible neighbourhood policing and patrols in communities through an extension of its Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

This has already placed named, contactable officers in each neighbourhood. Under the extension, every council ward in England and Wales will have its own named, contactable officers, creating more local points of contact and giving officers a deeper understanding of the issues in their area.

Police forces will also recruit the brightest and best from universities in a new recruitment drive to cut crime and catch more criminals.

Modelled on Teach First, the government is investing up to £7 million to attract top students from universities into specially trained graduate neighbourhood police officer roles in England and Wales.

Retailers across the country will see a major crackdown on organised crime gangs thanks to £7 million in new government investment aimed at dismantling criminal networks from the ground up.

This funding will supercharge intelligence-led policing to identify offenders, disrupt the tactics used to target shops, and bring more criminals to justice.

Technology

The government is making the largest investment into state-of-the-art police technology in history, with over £140 million to be invested to roll out technologies to catch more criminals and keep our communities safe

The number of live facial recognition vans will increase five-fold, with 50 vans available to every police force in England and Wales to catch violent and sexual offenders.

The government will also roll out new artificial intelligence (AI) tools which will help forces identify suspects from CCTV, doorbell and mobile phone footage that has been submitted as evidence by the public.

A new national centre on AI – Police.AI – will be set up to roll out AI to all forces to free officers from paperwork, delivering up to 6 million hours back to the frontline every year – the equivalent of 3,000 police officers. This means more police on the streets fighting crime and catching criminals.

More tech specialists will work in police forces to outsmart modern criminals and put more fraudsters and organised crime bosses behind bars.

The move will enable police forces to uncover more vital hidden evidence on phones and laptops to secure more convictions of professional criminals and keep people safer from crimes such as child sexual abuse.

Public order

A new senior policing role will be introduced to lead the police’s nationwide response to public disorder, and galvanise and co-ordinate responses to major incidents.

The senior national co-ordinator role for public order policing will sit within the new National Police Service. They will not be responsible for local public order responses, which remain within the remit of chief constables, and instead sit at a higher strategic level of oversight, with responsibility for decision-making over the most significant national public disorder, such as the widespread disorder seen in the summer of 2024 and the riots that started in London in 2011.

While local policing responses will stay the responsibility of chief constables, the new role will provide national oversight and decision-making on mobilisation and resourcing, with enhanced powers to:

direct resources under mutual aid arrangements and require forces to contribute during major disorder
ensure mandatory data sharing between forces
set a national strategy for public order policing
monitor and implement relevant recommendations from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services

Officer wellbeing

The government will expand the roll out of the dedicated Mental Health Crisis Line so all officers and staff can access mental health support, and have committed to its funding long term.

Officers and staff in front-facing and high-risk roles will also be offered psychological risk screenings each year so officers suffering can be signposted to the best support when they need it most.

Trauma tracker software will be made available to every force and ensure senior leaders can identify and support staff at the highest risk and intervene at an earlier stage.

Mandatory training around resilience and mental health for new recruits and supervisors will be introduced and treated as protected learning time.

Special constables

Experts in cybersecurity and technology are being encouraged to join the Special Constabulary, as police forces across England and Wales ramp up their efforts to tackle modern crime.

Since 2012, the number of special constables in England and Wales has fallen year-on-year to just 5,534 as of March 2025. This is down 73% from 20,343 in 2012.

To reverse this decline, the Home Office will work with policing to streamline the recruitment process for Specials, making it easier for people to volunteer, while maintaining consistent high standards of vetting and training. Steps will also be taken to ensure existing Specials are incentivised to remain in the role, by better integrating them into the wider police force.

Home Secretary: Review of public order and hate crime legislation

Lord Macdonald of River Glaven KC has been appointed to lead an independent review of laws on public order and hate crime.

Following the terrorist attack in Manchester on 2 October, the Home Secretary announced an independent review of existing public order and hate crime legislation.

This resulted from concerns around community tensions and the impact of disruptive and intimidating protests and hate crime on the cohesion and safety of society.

The government will always protect the right to lawful protest and free speech, but we will not tolerate individuals or groups who intimidate others, incite hatred, or create disorder.

The review will therefore look at the powers police have to manage protests and the current hate crime laws, including offences for aggravated behaviour and “stirring up” hatred.

It will examine whether existing legislation is effective and proportionate, and whether it protects communities from hate and intimidation.

It will also consider if the law protects free speech and peaceful protest, while also preventing disorder and keeping people safe.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “The terrorist attack in Manchester on 2 October shocked the nation and showed how hatred and division can fuel violence. It happened at a time of growing concern about protests and hate crime in this country.

“Our laws must protect the public, while upholding the right to protest and free speech. That is why we have asked Lord Macdonald to lead this review. His experience will ensure it is thorough and independent.

“Lawful protest and free speech are fundamental rights, but we cannot allow them to be abused to spread hate or cause disorder. The law must be fit for purpose and consistently applied.”

This review follows recent changes to the Crime and Policing Bill, which will require police to consider the overall impact of protests in one place before setting conditions on future demonstrations.

Lord Macdonald is the former Director of Public Prosecutions and brings extensive legal expertise and independence to this work.

He will be supported by Owen Weatherill, a senior policing expert who brings operational experience from his role as the National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Civil Contingencies and National Mobilisation.

The terms of reference for the review will be confirmed in the coming weeks with the review expected to commence imminently and conclude by February 2026.

Migrants will be required to pass A Level standard of English

Migrants will be required to pass tough new English language requirements under a law introduced at Westminster Parliament yesterday

Migrants will be required to pass tough new English language requirements under a law introduced in Parliament yesterday (14 October), as the UK government continues to replace Britain’s failed immigration system with one that is controlled, selective and fair.

Immigrants applying through certain legal routes must meet an A level equivalent standard in speaking, listening, reading and writing.

The Secure English Language Test must be conducted with a Home Office-approved provider, and the results will then be verified as part of the visa application process.

Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said: This country has always welcomed those who come to this country and contribute.

“But it is unacceptable for migrants to come here without learning our language, unable to contribute to our national life.

“If you come to this country, you must learn our language and play your part.”

Laid in changes before Parliament this week, the measures form part of the government’s flagship immigration white paper and Plan for Change to deliver on the priorities of working people for tighter control of who comes to this country while continuing to attract top global talent.

The time for international students to find a graduate-level job after completing their studies will also be cut to 18 months from the current two years.

The immigration skills charge (ISC), which is paid by employers sponsoring skilled foreign workers and reinvested in training the domestic workforce, is being raised by 32%.

The ISC increase is the first since 2017 and will be used to boost investment in British workers and reduce reliance on overseas recruitment. The Parliamentary process to increase the charge will begin later this week.

To ensure graduates contribute effectively to the economy, the maximum post-study stay will be reduced to 18 months from the current 2 years for most from 1 January 2027. It comes after data clearly showed that many holders had not transitioned into graduate-level employment as intended.

Finance requirements for student visas will also be increased for the 2025 to 2026 academic year, meaning foreign students will have to demonstrate they have sufficient funds to support themselves.

A series of changes to position the UK as a global leader in attracting highly skilled talent, outlined in the immigration white paper, and aligned with the UK’s industrial strategy, are also being made.

Changes include:

Expansion of the High Potential Individual (HPI) route to graduates from the top 100 international universities, with a cap of 8,000 applications per year. The number of people coming to the UK through the HPI route is expected to double from 2,000 to 4,000, giving graduates from the world’s best universities the chance to base their careers in the UK.
The world’s most talented entrepreneurs studying in the UK will also be able to seamlessly establish innovative business ventures in the UK after concluding their studies, while transitioning from a student visa to the Innovator Founder route.
Enhancements to the Global Talent route, including an expanded list of prestigious prizes and changes to expand some of the evidential requirements of achievement and contribution for architects.

The UK government aims to double the number of highly skilled people coming to the UK on our high skilled routes, including the best researchers, designers, and creatives working in film and TV to ensure continued competitiveness in growth sectors. Further changes, including to the Global Talent route, will be made in 2026.

The immigration white paper forms part of the Plan for Change to reform our immigration system, with further measures on asylum and border security to be announced later this autumn.

In further changes, effective from 3pm today, all nationals of Botswana will now be required to obtain a visa before travelling to the UK, including for short visits.

This decision comes in response to a high number of Botswana nationals arriving since 2022 as visitors and subsequently claiming asylum, which is a misuse of the UK’s immigration system.