liz truss to. george mcbride is head of advocacy at volt face. panorama programme talked about spies, the synthetic drug, that seemed to be pretty prevalent in this jail in northumberland. is it something that is prevalent in other prisons? yes, it's an epidemic. it's not just one prisons? yes, it's an epidemic. it's notjust one drug which is what makes it such a challenge. this is a group of drugs of which there are about 200 that we know that the moment, with wildly different symptoms and issues surrounding those drugs. how are these drugs getting jail? prisons are very stretched at the moment. a lot of the security procedures you would hope to see an able to be conducted. staff are able to walk in and out of prison without searches. prisons are a lot busier than people expect. the focus on trains has been a bit misplaced —— the focus on drones. focus on trains has been a bit misplaced —— the focus on dronesm ita simple misplaced —— the focus on dronesm it a simple saying, if we had more prison officers being able to search people going in and

do you think sodexo should be running this jail, liz truss?n investigation on this issue. i take this issue very seriously, that is why we are investing in 2500 officers across our prisons. what about hmp northumberland, though? thank you very much. as for sodexo, the company that runs the prison, they said the safety of staff and inmates is their top priority. you can see the full undercover investigation tonight. this afternoon, thejustice secretary, liz truss explained how she plans to address the problems facing prisons in england and wales. she acknowledged that re—offending rates were too high but warned against, what she called, "dangerous quick fix solutions". our home editor mark easton looks at the challenges in dealing with offenders injail. the presence of england and wales are struggling to keep control. most of them are registered as overcrowded. if we take the long view and go back to 1900 we can see how the present population has been rising for more than a century. it has doubled in the last quarter of a century. 0bviously, ha

presumably, liz truss had a choice.en certain prison officers a pay rise, which is what she's doing, or she could have recruited more. i think they're trying to do both, but as they have discovered, it is very difficult to recruit and train and install prison officers. and above all, i know having been in prison that there is a strange chemistry of wary respect between prison officers and sensible prisoners, but the prison officers who gain that respect are experienced. so you need to hang on to the people who have been there some considerable time. the problem with recruiting inexperienced prison officers is that they can't so easily control a wing full of 90 or 100 prisoners without the character, experience and wisdom that goes with that. there is a lot of catching up from this totally avoidable crisis, three successive justice secretaries allowed 7000 prison officers to be made redundant because of pressure from the treasury and i think that was a grave mistake and we are paying for it. liz truss taz, in a sense, se

this is a preview of the speech that liz truss the justice secretary will give tomorrow in which she in her view wicked criminals, i'm not sure how she will define those, will spend longer behind bars. there has always been some controversy about the fact that people get released early as a matter of form, and that is to do with the problems we have in the prison system, which is why i'm surprised that she is saying she's going to be keeping people in prison longer, considering that the prison longer, considering that the prison system that she oversees is in crisis, with overcrowding under her watch. while the tory right may be interested in this idea that we will go back to a hanged and flog tory approach to law and order, i'm not sure that the prison system itself, it can't operate under its current capacity, so i'm not sure where these people will be spending their longer services. using the word wicked, we seem to be in an era where politicians start selling some strange things straightaway. it's like a strange things straightaway. it's likeafairy strange things straightaway. it

liz truss said by law it has to change.ange. the insurers association said it was a reckless move. this is a crazy decision by the lord chancellor, liz truss, which is likely to lead to significantly increased premiums for motorists and businesses through no fault of their own because of her use of a broken formula which needs to be updated urgently. the nhs is affected too. it will have to pay £1 billion each year more in compensation for medical negligence, billed the government has promised to cover. so, should drivers, hospitals and employers pay more so that accident victims are looked after? ministers have promised a consultation before easter on whether the rules should be reformed. simon gompertz, bbc news. time now for all the sports news in sport today. hi everyone. you are watching sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. i'm nick marshall—mccormack. coming up: thank you for the memories, ranieri, but it is time for the sequel. leicester write a new script to save themselves. not all the fans are singing leic

the duke and duchess of cambridge arriving at the baftas, the paper quotes the justice secretary, liz trusswicked offenders won't be released early in order to meet prison population targets. the express says there is fury at a new bid to wreck theresa may's brexit bill when it goes through the house of lords. we all need tasers to fight terror is the metro's headline, following a survey of metropolitan police officers suggesting two in three believe the stun guns should be carried routinely while on patrol. the times is predicting a high street revolt over proposed rises in business rates. the paper says pubs and restaurants fear they will vanish. what a waste, declares the mail, which claims mandarins have wasted billions of taxpayers' money on failed schemes such as crashing drones and plane tickets for asylum seekers. and alongside a picture of emma stone, who has taken best actress award for her role in la la land at the baftas, the guardian reports that whistle—blowers face a full—frontal attack by number ten downing street. let's now move on to look at some of those papers. who wants

to be honest with you, i have got to say, overall, liz truss has had enough chances now.vered nationally for everybody or it is time to replace her. that goes for the prisons board as well. you're saying she should go? i believe she should, yes. iraqi forces have launched a major offensive to retake the western half of the city of mosul from islamic state militants. it's the last major is stronghold in iraq. government forces started their offensive in october and last month secured the eastern part of the city after weeks of fierce fighting. the united nations has urged all parties in the conflict to do everything they can to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in the area. we have had a statement from save the children who have told us there are 350,000 children trapped in west mosul as those iraqi forces launch attacks on the jihadist. they say, iraqi forces and allies, including the us and uk, must everything in their power to protect children and families from harm and avoid civilian buildings such as schools and hospitals, as they pushed

the justice secretary, liz truss, in her first major speech today on sentencing has said there can beuick fix" to reduce the prison population. she spoke as her officials launched an urgent investigation into evidence of security failings at the privately run northumberland prison, filmed by an undercover reporter from the bbc‘s panorama programme. he secretly recorded widespread drug abuse and major security lapses. our special correspondent ed thomas has more details. undercover in one of our biggestjails. for two months, bbc panorama filmed the drugs feeding addiction inside. and staff pushed to their limits. hmp northumberland is a private jail run by the french company sodexo and home to more than 1,300 inmates. on the undercover reporter's first day inside, 2.5 kilograms of spice, an illegal high with a prison value of £250,000, was found in two cells. despite this, panorama was told there was no lockdown, so the block could be completely searched. the bbc secretly filmed inmates high on drugs. this man had taken spice. and then there's the violence. cctv cameras recorded an inm

the justice secretary, liz truss has said there's no "quick fix" to reduce the prison population in englandnd wales. her first major speech on sentencing follows a bbc investigation which found evidence of major security failings at a privately—run prison in northumberland. an undercover reporter from the bbc‘s panorama spent two months working as a prison officer at the jail near morpeth. he secretly filmed widespread drug abuse and discovered that door alarms didn't work and there was a hole in a fence. the ministry ofjustice says it's looking into allegations. our correspondent ed thomas reports. undercover in one of our biggestjails. for two months, bbc panorama filmed the drugs feeding addiction inside. and staff pushed to their limits. hmp northumberland is a private jail run by the french company sodexo and home to more than 1,300 inmates. on the undercover reporter's first day inside, 2.5 kilograms of spice, an illegal high with a prison value of £250,000 was found in two cells. despite this, panorama was told there was no lockdown, so the block could be completely searched. the bbc

let's get more on liz truss' plans to reform the prisons.e cut in the prison population either by capping numbers or by sentencing changes which would mean that fewer people would go into prison. she doesn't wa nt to would go into prison. she doesn't want to do that. she said she would like to see the prison population fall, but that she believes can only happen through re—offending rates coming down. she says the level of re—offending is appalling. that's the problem at moment. it's not about the number of first time offenders entering the justice system. those numbers are coming down. it is the fact that re—offending rates remain stubbornly high. she wants to tackle by improving rehabilitation programmes, getting more drug offenders on to treatment orders, that is something that she feels is under used. so i've got to say there is to great policy announcement here. there is no great policy shift, but this liz truss' first setting out if you like of her belief about how the prison system, the penal system should work in the future. no great

the justice secretary, liz truss, has already announced plans to boost officer numbers. out in weeks or months, it takes time to recruit people, it takes time to bring those people on. but i am absolutely determined to deal with that. but prison reform campaigners, including those who have been inside, say there has to be more focus on holding onto experienced hands. there is a peculiar, invisible chemistry of wary mutual respect between experienced prison officers, who know how to keep difficult prisoners under control, from inexperienced prison officers, who don't quite understand that you don't need to take out your truncheon to sort out a fight between two prisoners. eventually, the plan is for 2,500 extra officers in england and wales. but they won't all be in place until 2018. june kelly, bbc news. with me is ed boyd, managing director at the centre for socialjustice. do you accept there are serious problems in the country's prisons? there absolutely serious problem, andi there absolutely serious problem, and i think the reality is there has been for decade, back 2

presumably, liz truss, had a choice. certain prison officers a pay rise, which is what she's doing, or she could recruited more. i think they're trying to do both, but as they have discovered, it is very difficult to recruit and train and install prison officers and above all, i know having been in prison, that there is a strange chemistry of wary respect between prison officers and sensible prisoners, but the prison officers who gain that respect our experienced, so you need to hang on to the people who had been there some considerable time. the problem with recruiting inexperienced prison officers is that they can't so easily control a wing full of 90 or 100 prisoners without the character and experience and wisdom that goes with that. there is a lot of catching up from this totally avoidable crisis, the success of justice secretary is allowed 7000 prison officers to be made redundant cause of pressure from the treasury andi cause of pressure from the treasury and i think that was a grave mistake and i think that was a

but today, the justice secretary, liz truss, said the real reason for rising prison numbers is that we'vee wickedness that was always there. the criminaljustice system has got better at catching and convicting criminals who have perpetrated some of the most appalling crimes imaginable. and sentence lengths now better reflect the severity of crimes like domestic violence, rape and child abuse. it's not the sum of human wickedness that has doubled, it's that we're driving that wickedness out from the shadows and we're putting it where it belongs — behind bars. there are 3000 more sex offenders in jail than five years ago, but actually, 3000 fewer violent offenders. what really happened is that sentences have got longer, the population has barely shifted, but the budgets have got smaller. the number of front—line officers has fallen sharply, and with fewer staff, assaults, self harm and suicide have all reached record levels. what's to be done? you could spend more money, but the ministry ofjustice is demanding efficiency savings. you could insist that fewer people are jailed, but ministers

liz truss is going to say there is no quick fix. so what would you do?f commons that she's making a speech without media being present today in which she will talk about her view on prisons. a white paper on prisons in court was unveiled by liz truss recently but was sadly lacking in detail and failed to give the details required. there is a crisis in our prisons and that has emerged since the conservatives got into power in 2010, primarily as a result of their decision... forgive me, your criticising her for what i'm going to get from you which is some details and analysis and solutions toa details and analysis and solutions to a problem that everybody except is there. we need our prisons to be properly staffed. we need education services in prisons to be properly funded as well which will help reduce the number of prisoners who are in their past the length of their sentence who are not allowed to be released because they have not completed education courses when the only reason they have not done so is because of the lack of funding. we also have about

the justice minister liz truss says there should be no dangerous quick fixes to cut prison numbers. she said overcrowding was down to the justice system being better at catching sex offenders and violent criminals. this will not be fixed in weeks or months. but if we are resloute we will see our society safer and we will see our prison population reduce. in the french alps, an avalanche has claimed the lives of four members of a party, skiing off—piste near the resort of tignes. the canadian prime minister, justin trudeau, is at the white house for his first face—to—face meeting with donald trump. trade is expected to be top of the agenda. the bank of england has welcomed the decision by investors to put the co—op bank up for sale. managers say it doesn't have enough capital reserves. tesco has promised urgent action, after a bbc investigation found many promotions were advertised after they had expired. ina in a moment it will be time for sports day. but first let's have a look at what is coming up. following a bbc investigation into hmp northumberland, will be asking the formerjus

in response to that liz truss said ina done.that liz truss said in a statement, that it's right that everyone understands the importance of judicial independence and the rule of law in a free society. if sections of the press can be criticised for undermining the rule of law, then the supreme court itself, currently made up of ten white men and one white woman, has faced criticism for a marked lack of diversity. the process of appointing a new president and jew new justices begins appointing a new president and jew newjustices begins today. with steps to encourage —— and two new justices begins today. with steps to encourage more diverse candidates, including the option of part—time working. that should encourage a favourable press. clive coleman, bbc news. researchers say taking vitamin d supplements could prevent more than three million people in the uk from getting colds or flu each year. sunshine is needed to produce the vitamin naturally in the skin — and levels plummet during the winter. the team — from queen mary, univers

the fa ct justice secretary, liz truss.d on your show last week that they wouldn't be holding it up, that they wouldn't be holding it up, that they were looking at scrutinising they were looking at scrutinising the fact is it is a simple bill, do we trigger article 50? the british people voted for that, they were clear ina people voted for that, they were clear in a referendum on the house of lords needs to get on with it, which is what i understand there will be doing, despite what peter mandelson claims. so, it gets going tomorrow, that so—called second reading of the bill in the house of lords. i think it will be the week after where we will see potentially some more of those political fireworks in the two houses, perhaps having more of an argument over this. the government, i think, having more of an argument over this. the government, ithink, still hopeful and determined it will be able to trigger the article 50 process early next month. the biggest storm to hit california for several years has left at least four peopl

and as well as today's prisons and courts bill, the justice secretary liz truss is reversing many ofe of her tory predecessors, chris grayling. those cuts were a mistake, went they? a mistake, weren't they? i think it was always right to look at how we can be more efficient but what i'm saying now is we need the right number of prison officers to be able to turn those lights around. in hmp 0nley‘s training cafe, a reminder of why rehabilitation is important — a drug dealer serving seven years who had been to prison before. it hadn't stopped him reoffending. once i got released, i try to search for a job but i wasn't qualified and had no know—how. therefore i got back into old ways and ended up back injail. today's bill also tackles measures about mobile phones in prisons, new laws to help the authorities intercept devices used to organise crime from behind bars. labour said the it was an inadequate response to a prison crisis that developed on the government's watch. the government are saying that prison has to be about reform as well as punishment. that's a laudable aim, isn't it? i

liz truss has seen that this is a problem. the mess would be cleared up a problem.d up quickly, and i think the crisis is deepening rather than easing, other than the moves she is taking an iraqi moves and it will pass a couple of years down the line. you've seen the footage from panorama and elsewhere, showing in some cases a system whereby the prisoners seem to be in charge, in some cases, rather than officers. how much has prison life changed since you were... you spent some time in prison in the 1990s. how have things changed ? time in prison in the 1990s. how have things changed? think it has changed hugely. when i was there in belmarsh, it was still britain's toughest prison, a big number of prisoners were controlled by a small number of officers who experience and character counted for far more than their uniforms and truncheons. 0nce than their uniforms and truncheons. once you start to lose the critical mass of prison officers who can be summoned onto a wing to, in the fight starts, but if unions that, it is very difficult to get back, and difficult prisone

liz truss, the lord chancellor, said by law she had to make the change, but the insurers' associationkely to lead to significantly increased premiums for motorists and businesses, through no fault of their own, because of her use of a broken formula which needs to be updated urgently. the nhs is affected, too. it will have to pay £1 billion more each year in compensation for medical negligence — a bill the government has promised to cover. so, should drivers, hospitals and employers pay more so accident victims are looked after? ministers have promised a consultation before easter on whether the rules should be reformed. simon gompertz, bbc news. children living in deprived areas are far more likely to end up in care — that's the finding of new research undertaken by seven british universities. the study found that children in the most deprived neighbourhoods in the uk are at least 10 times more likely to be in care, or viewed as being at risk, than children in the most affluent areas. in england, that means one child in every 60 in a deprived area is in the child protection system —

now we are hearing this afternoon from the justice secretary liz truss who is setting out her longerprison population sentencing and so on. and she is going to criticise labour for seeking what she says is a quick fix but also strike a very different tone from her predecessor michael gove he had plans to try and reduce the prison population. what liz truss will be seen as an art now more serious offenders in prison than ever before, three out of five infordrug than ever before, three out of five in for drug pushing, six offences or for violent offenders and it would bea for violent offenders and it would be a responsible to reduce the sentences of people who are inside for those sorts of serious offences. she says she wants to see more rehabilitation to try and turn prisoners lives around but she will say that reducing prison sentencing is something that she won't be because that would put the public at risk. thank you. the co—0p bank has announced it's putting itself up for sale. the high street bank, which has more than 4 million customers — almost collapsed in 2013 after a series

liz truss is trying to boosted the prison system, is she doing it the right way? announcement. those prisons in the south—east are crying out fast after, and it has been very difficult to attract people and difficult to attract people and difficult to attract people and difficult to hang onto them. it is welcome, but of course it is treating the symptoms and not the cause. most of the prison affected would not need so many staff if they weren't grossly overcrowded. the justice secretary has promised a prisons bill, part of it should be a commitment to end overcrowding. we need a timetable. we have to get to the end of this lunacy of constantly filling our prisons with more people than they are designed to take. steady commitment from the government is far more prison officers by 2018 rather than to reduce numbers, do you think the government is looking at reducing numbers? the justice secretary said some encouraging things at the start of the week, she taught about diversified and that i'm diverting people from the criminaljustice system who don't need to be part

in her first prisons and courts bill, the relatively newjustice secretary liz truss wants to have itw that it is her duty to rehabilitate prisoners and notjust to house them. as we're seeing fewer people committing a crime for the first time, which is good news, more of the crime in our society is committed by people who have already been in prison. so we really need to deal with this issue which has been a problem going on for decades. the prisons and courts bill will also bring in new laws allowing mobile phone companies to help the prison service to detect and intercept devices being used behind bars. daniel sandford, bbc news. the hs2 high speed rail link between london and birmingham, is expected to get final approval today. the line, which is due to open in 2026, will reduce journey times and provide thousands ofjobs. but its feared the construction will bring wide—spread destruction to people living along the route. ben's in birmingham for us this morning. i have to ask you first of all, i hope storm doris has been kind? yeah. i got a feeling we might be feeling storm doris ov

the justice secretary, liz truss, has already announced plans to significantly boost officer numbers.weeks or months. it takes time to recruit people, it takes time to bring those people on. but i'm absolutely determined to deal with that. but prison reform campaigners, including those who have been inside, say there has to be more focus on retaining experienced hands. there is a peculiar, invisible chemistry of where a mutual respect between experienced prison officers, who know how to keep difficult prisoners under control, from inexperienced prison officers, who don't quite understand that you don't need to take out your truncheon, necessarily, to sort out a fight between two prisoners. eventually, the plan is for 2,500 extra officers in england and wales. but they won't all be in place until 2018. june kelly, bbc news. time now for all the sports news in sport today. hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: manchester united qualify for the fa cup quarterfinals beating blackburn 2-1, as zlatan makes it 2a for the season. lionel messi

liz truss, so by law it has to change.likely to lead to significantly increased premiums for motorists and businesses through no fault of their own because of her use of a broken formula which needs to be updated urgently. the nhs is affected too. it will have to pay £1 billion each year more in compensation for medical negligence, billed the government has promised to cover. so, should drivers, hospitals and employers pay more so that accident victims are looked after? ministers have promised a consultation before easter on whether the rules should be reformed. simon gompertz, bbc news. the government is facing calls from conservative mps to scrap plans to limit access to a key disability benefit. changes to the rules on who qualifies for personal independence payments could affect more than 150,000 people. downing street has insisted that nobody is losing out under the proposals. the government says there is no evidence the safety of patients has been put at risk after more than 700,000 nhs documents were mistakenly put

in her first prisons and courts bill, the relatively newjustice secretary liz truss wants to have ito law that it is her duty to rehabilitate prisoners and notjust to house them. as we're seeing fewer people committing a crime for the first time, which is good news, more of the crime in our society is committed by people who have already been in prison. so we really need to deal with this issue, which has been a problem going on for decades. the prisons and courts bill will also bring in new laws allowing mobile phone companies to help the prison service to detect and intercept devices being used behind bars. daniel sandford, bbc news in onley prison. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw is here. anything here is this legal requirement on thejustice secretary that prisoners have to be rehabilitated? yes, that will be in trade in law for the first time. prisons are just about punishment, they are about reforming and rehabilitating offenders, and there will be beefed up as as though the presence of inspectors and for the prisons ombudsman, and there will be a duty on thejustice se

we have just got a quote from liz truss.m the justice secretary. emphasising the importance of the independence of the judiciary. the headlines are coming up on the bbc news channel. in a moment, we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. first, we leave you with a look at the weather. a fair bit of sunshine in the uk at the moment, but we are starting to see the cloud increase from the west and it will continue to come in off the atlantic during the rest of today. we will have more rain to northern ireland and some spots of rain showing up in parts of north—west england and north wales, which will also push into the midlands. sunny to the south and east. scotland very blustery at the moment, with frequent showers in the north and west. southern counties of england losing the mist and fog at the moment. temperatures may get up to 13—14dc. the breeze will ease down, but the showers will become more abundant, but where you get the sunshine, you are in for a pleasant afternoon. temperatures could peak at 13—14 celsius in the south.

the insurers association said the move from the lord chancellor liz truss was reckless. which is likely to lead to significantly increased premiums for motorists and businesses through no fault of their own because of her use of a broken formula which needs to be updated urgently. the nhs is affected, too. it will have to pay £1 billion each year more in compensation for medical negligence, billed the government has promised to cover. so, should drivers, hospitals and employers pay more so that accident victims are looked after? ministers have promised a consultation before easter on whether the rules should be reformed. i live in the outside source newsroom. donald trump is hoping to boost defence spending in 2018. i wa nt to boost defence spending in 2018. i want to bring you the latest regarding the battle for mosul. we spoken about this extensively since it began. there has been a push to get islamic state out of iraq's biggest cities. it again in october. there is a crucial bridge that links the east of the city and the west of the east of the city and the west of t

lord neuberger wasn't impressed by the response of politicians, including the lord chancellor liz trussve liked, and perhaps expressed themselves rather more pallidly than one would have hoped, but to be fair to politicians, likejudges, they learn, and after the supreme court case decision they did precisely what they should have done. in response to that liz truss said in a statement, that it's right that everyone understands the importance ofjudicial independence and the rule of law in a free society. if sections of the press can be criticised for undermining the rule of law, then the supreme court itself, currently made up of ten white men and one white woman, has faced criticism for a marked lack of diversity. the process of appointing a new president and two newjustices begins today. with steps to encourage a diverse range of candidates, including the option of part—time working. that should encourage a favourable press. clive coleman, bbc news. social care for elderly people is on the brink of collapse in some part of england, according to the charity age uk. it says more than 50,

do you think sodexo should be running this jail, liz truss?ucting an investigation on this issue. i take this issue very seriously, that is why we are investing in 2500 officers across our prisons. what about hmp northumberland, though? thank you very much. as for sodexo, the company that runs the prison, they said the safety of staff and inmates is their top priority. you can see the full undercover investigation tonight. in wales at the later time of 10:40pm. well we can speak now to labour's lord faulkner, who's a former lord chancellor and justice secretary. everyone seems to agree that the cuts in 2010, ministry ofjustice in that department, it wasn't ring fenced and it was hit by austerities put is, and that has paid a big part in this. even the government admits that. what do you put the rise in oui’ that. what do you put the rise in our prison population, doubling in the last couple of decades, down to, thatis the last couple of decades, down to, that is causing enormous strange in prison as well. different attitudes to sexual violence

in her first prisons and courts bill, the relatively newjustice secretary liz truss wants to have itnto law that it is her duty to rehabilitate prisoners and notjust to house them. as we're seeing fewer people committing a crime for the first time, which is good news, more of the crime in our society is committed by people who have already been in prison. so we really need to deal with this issue which has been a problem going on for decades. the prisons and courts bill will also bring in new laws allowing mobile phone companies to help the prison service to detect and intercept devices being used behind bars. daniel sandford, bbc news in 0nley prison. another aspect of this bill is the man to man the cross—examination of victims by abusers in family courts. with me is our legal correspondent clive coleman. you were saying earlier that a quarter of victims in domestic abuse cases are questions directly by abusers in family courts which is quite an incredible situation. that is research that comes from the charity women's aid, that 25% figure isa charity women's aid, that 25% figure i

liz truss is thejustice secretary — here she is talking after the bbc‘s report came out.re not a magic bullet but against his attempt at a quick fix. we need to do hard work and a lot of it. we need to do the ha rd and a lot of it. we need to do the hard work of improving community sentences of dealing with problems like drink and drugs and making our prisons more effective at reforming the people inside them. this will not be fixed in weeks or months, but if we're resolute we will see our society become safer and our prison population reduced. we're concentrating on the relationship between canada and the us because ofjustin trudeau's visit to washington. their trading relationships is one of the biggest in the world's — it's worth around $660bn. that value of the relationship has grown significantly since 1994. that may or may not be related to the us signing the north america free trade agreement that year. but donald trump is not keen on this deal. here's one of many examples your husband signed nafta which is one of the worst thing that ever happened's that is your o

the justice secretary, liz truss, has already announced plans to recruit 2,500 more prison officers,e end of 2018 before they're all in place. it's not something you can sort out in weeks or months, it takes time to recruit people, it takes time to bring those people on. but i'm absolutely determined to deal with that. thejustice secretary rejects claims that, as a country, we are locking up too many people. prison reform campaigners believe we are, and this is a fundamental part of the problem. she has to get the numbers down, at the same time as improving staff morale, pay, retention and training. she also has a problem with community sentences, which are also in a mess. the justice system has to work for victims, the taxpayers, the staff and for people in it. and at the moment, it's not working for anybody. while today's pay package announcement is about trying to bring new people in, those in the service say the challenge is not just recruiting staff, it is retaining them. june kelly, bbc news. iraqi security forces have started a major new offensive against the so—called islamic

thejustice secretary liz truss has already announced plans to boost officer numbers.r months, ta kes you can sort out in weeks or months, takes time to recruit people, to bring those people on but i am absolutely determined to deal with that. but prison reform campaigners including those who have been inside say that has to be more focus on holding onto experienced hands. there is a peculiar invisible chemistry of weary neutral respect, between experienced prison officers who know how to keep difficult prisoners under control from inexperienced prison officers who don't quite understand that you don't quite understand that you don't need to take out your truncheon necessarily to sort out a fight between two prisoners. eventually the planet for two and a half thousand extra officers in england and wales but they won't all be in place until 2018. the chief executive of sainsbury‘s has called for "fundamental reforms" to business rates, amid concerns increases could spark high street store closures. mike coupe called the system — which is pegged to property valuations —

the insurers association said the move from the lord chancellor liz truss was reckless.ead to significantly increased premiums for motorists and businesses through no fault of their own because of her use of a broken formula which needs to be updated urgently. the nhs is affected, too. it will have to pay £1 billion each year more in compensation for medical negligence, billed the government has promised to cover. so, should drivers, hospitals and employers pay more so that accident victims are looked after? ministers have promised a consultation before easter on whether the rules should be reformed. let's take a brief look at some of the day's other top stories. the government says so far there's no evidence that the safety of patients has been put at risk, because more than 700,000 nhs documents have been mislaid. letters between gps and hospitals were mistakenly stored in a warehouse by a private company, instead of being redirected when a patient changed doctor, or moved away. the bbc has ordered an investigation into the conduct of tv licence fee collectors, followi

thejustice secretary liz truss has already announced plans to significantly boost officer numbers. months. it takes time to recruit people, to bring those people on. but i'm absolutely determined to deal with that. but prison reform campaigners, including those who have been inside, say there has to be more focused on retaining experienced hands. there is a peculiar invisible chemistry of where a mutual respect between experienced prison officers who know how to keep difficult prisoners under control from inexperienced officers who don't quite understand that you don't need to take out your truncheon necessarily to sort out a fight between two prisoners. eventually, the plan is for 2,500 extra officers in england and wales. but they won't all be in place until 2018. june kelly, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: iraqi forces seize several villages on the first day of their renewed offensive to re—take mosul from so—called islamic state. the american company kraft heinz withdraws its proposed takeover of anglo—dutch rival unilever. president trump tries to clarify remarks at a ral

and as well as today's prisons and court spill the justice secretary liz truss is reversing many of thee of her tory predecessors, chris grayling. those cuts in the chris grayling. those cuts in the chris grayling iraq were a mistake, won't they? i think it was always right to look at how we can be more efficient. but what i'm saying now is we do need the right number of prison officers, to be able to turn those lives around. in 0nley prison's training cafe, a reminder of why rehabilitation is important. a drug dealer serving seven years who'd been to prison before. it hadn't stopped him reoffending. once i got released, i tried to search for a job but i wasn't qualified for anything, i had no know—how, therefore i got back into old ways and back in jail. today's bill also includes measures to tackle mobile phones in prison. new laws to help the prison service detect and intercept devices often used to deal drugs and organised crime from behind bars. labour said the proposals were an inadequate response to a prisons crisis that developed on the government's watch. let's talk to daniel w

the justice secretary liz truss has already announced plans to significantly boost officer numbers.onths. can sort out in weeks it takes time to recruit people, to bring those people on. but i'm absolutely determined to deal with that. but prison reform campaigners, including those who have been inside, say there has to be more focused on retaining experienced hands. to be more focused on retaining there is a peculiar invisible chemistry of where a mutual respect between experienced prison officers who know how to keep difficult prisoners under control from inexperienced officers who don't quite understand that you don't need to take out your truncheon necessarily to sort out a fight between two prisoners. a eventually, the plan is for 2500 extra officers in england and wales. but they won't all be in place until 2018. june kelly, bbc news. in place until 2018. president trump has made a strong defence of his first four weeks in office, saying a new spirit of optimism is sweeping the united states. saying a new spirit of optimism addressing thousands of supporters in florida, he rep

we also have a speech today from liz truss, the justice we also have a speech today from liz truss, thejusticeying she wants to see fewer numbers in prison but she says that will not happen by arbitrary sentencing reforms or letting prisoners out. she believes the only way to reduce numbers is to be reduction in reoffending rates, so improving rehabilitation, and community penalties that stop the cycle of offending in the first place. and the fact this prison is run by sodexo, a private company, is that pa rt sodexo, a private company, is that part of the explanation? some people might say this is an example of why we should not leave justice services in the control of private companies, i would argue there are some very well run prisons run privately, reports bear that out and what we see here is no different from other prisons. it is run on a tight budget by sodexo, when they took over the contract three years ago they promised they would make savings, staff numbers were cut but that was no different from many otherjails that have seen reductions in staffing, so i am not sure that you can pi

lord neuberger wasn't impressed by the response of politicians, including the lord chancellor, liz trussould have hoped. but to be fair to politicians, like judges, they learn and, after the supreme court gave their decision, of law, then the supreme court itself, currently made up of ten white men and one white woman, has faced criticism for a marked lack of diversity. the process of appointing a new president and two newjustices begins today with steps to encourage a diverse range of candidates, including the option of part—time working. that should get a favourable press. clive coleman, bbc news. at least 70 people have been killed in a suicide attack at one of pakistan's most famous religious shrines in the sindh province. it was packed with worshipers when the suicide bomber detonated the bomb. witnesses say a stampede followed the explosion. medical staff are struggling to deal with the hundreds of people who were injured as there's only one small hospital in the area. the bombing is the latest in a spate of deadly attacks by militants. all four of pakistan's provinces have been hi

the insurers association said the move from the lord chancellor liz truss was reckless.ormula which needs to be updated urgently. the nhs is affected, too. it will have to pay £1 billion each year more in compensation for medical negligence, billed the government has promised to cover. so, should drivers, hospitals and employers pay more so that accident victims are looked after? ministers have promised a consultation before easter on whether the rules should be reformed. an inquest has heard how two teachers deliberately altered a child safeguarding document following the death of a pupil. shanay walker died in nottingham in 2014. the head teacher of southglade primary school, peter smalley, and teaching assistant laura shreeves were responsible for making the changes. they both still work at the school. simon ward reports. seven—year—old child abuse inquiry walker had more than 50 injuries when she died. her aunt and government grandmother were reportable cruelty to her. the inquest into sha nay‘s reportable cruelty to her. the inquest into shanay‘s death is now in its

i'm joined by lord madison to explain and liz truss from the justice department will talk about the crisis wonderful actor. we havea labourmp, prisons plus a wonderful actor. we have a labour mp, and a ukip mp. a lot to talk about and some rather strange music from california at the end of the show. just a couple of your e—mail is on a story we touched on earlier about when it is appropriate, when it is not appropriate, when it is not appropriate to have physical contact between teachers and schoolchildren. we will speak to any roll it has played on who has come out and said that he believes that teachers not giving physical reassurance at appropriate times disk called children is a form of child abuse. that is a strong statement to make. many signs to say that children benefit from hugs and cuddles and we have had many e—mail is already. tracy says that children should be offered comfort. within the special school she works in they attacked are with the children and it is done appropriately and openly. and another perspective. stephen says he spent his lifetime working as a teacher in chi

what happened today is that thejustice secretary, liz truss has announced she is changing the formulano choice. "i am clear this is the only legally acceptable rate that i can set." i'm surprised she said thatment her own department four years ago consulted on ways in which it could do things differently. that's the opposite to what her department were saying four yea rs what her department were saying four years ago. we have been engaged in discussion for many years about a better way to set the rate, that's fairto claimants, better way to set the rate, that's fair to claimants, but also ensures that everyone else, motorists and businesses don't pay for an artificially high amount. that's paid out to people in this position. in a moment a look at how the financial markets in europe closed the day, but first the headlines on bbc news: a major inquiry into historical child abuse begins hearing evidence from those sent to australia under a government—backed migration scheme. an apology is issued after the wrong film was awarded best picture at the oscars, following an envelope mix—up —

the bbc will put some of the tough questions to liz truss later.ogramme after us. you can watch that. generally, is she doing a good job at the schiavo grip of the problem? she's utterly new. she has money from the treasury, so there are good moves coming from the ministry ofjustice. my coming from the ministry ofjustice. my disappointment is that they are not dealing with the overuse of prison. it is sentence inflation where we have more people serving indeterminate, open—ended sentences when they do not know when it will end. it is more than the whole of europe added together. we are sending to people to prison for long periods of time without hope. people without hope difficult to manage. one of the problems, and it is often underreported and prison officers don't like it, but some prison officers are smuggling things into jails. there are drugs and mobile phones going into prisons. that is perhaps why training needs to be there, and also the money. absolutely. if people are paid better, they are trained better. that should combat the corruption