Issue 448  2nd May 2026

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) has raised the UK National Threat Level from SUBSTANTIAL, meaning a terrorist attack is likely, to SEVERE, meaning a terrorist attack is highly likely. This change follows the stabbings in Golders Green on 29 April, although it is not solely a result of that attack. The UK has been experiencing a gradual increase in terrorist threats for some time. This has been driven by a rise in both Islamist and Extreme Right-Wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups in the UK. 

Community policing will finally have the powers it needs to effectively tackle local issues as the landmark Crime and Policing Act becomes law. For too long, community policing has been continuously downgraded, lacking the resources and powers it needs to properly protect the communities it serves. Today, the government has delivered a series of vital measures to tackle the whole spectrum of criminality. New powers for police and the wider criminal justice system will help realise this government’s mission to restore confidence in policing and to tackle the epidemic of serious violence and violence against women and girls...

The Crime and Policing Act has over 70 measures including tougher police powers to crackdown on antisocial behaviour and retail crime by:

• introducing respect orders to enable the police to ban repeat offenders from town centres and other locations
• removing the requirement for police to issue a prior warning before seizing any vehicle used in an anti-social manner
• ending the outdated treatment of theft under the value of £200 as a summary-only offence so perpetrators can be punished properly
• introducing a bespoke offence for assaulting a retail worker with a possible sentence of six months in prison

To tackle the epidemic of online stalking and to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm:

• helping police manage online stalkers and protect victims through new ‘Right to Know’ guidance on disclosing the identity of an online stalker to victims at the earliest opportunity
• more powers for courts to impose stalking protection orders directly when a defendant is convicted or acquitted, to keep perpetrators away from victims and prevent further harm
• there will be a standalone offence of child criminal exploitation with a penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and accompanying orders which will allow courts to intervene early to prevent children from being harmed
• the act introduces a new criminal offence of cuckooing (home takeover for illegal activity) with a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment
• it is also introducing a new offence for internal concealment of drugs and other specified items including forcing individuals to hide items inside their bodies

The act has also introduced further laws around the sale of knives online as the government aims to halve knife crime in a decade:

• tech bosses will have personal criminal liability for failing to act on illegal knife and weapons content on their platforms resulting in a total fine of up to £70,000 for each offence
• there will be a mandatory two-step verification for online knife purchases at both point of sale and delivery using photographic ID
• retailers are legally required to report any bulk purchases of bladed articles made online, to tackle organised crime
• there is a new offence of possession of a knife with intent to cause unlawful violence with a sentence of up to seven years in prison

Victims of crime will benefit from a series of crucial measures to ensure they get the support, protection and dignity they deserve, as the Victims and Courts Bill becomes law. The Victims and Courts Bill has received Royal Assent - marking an important step towards building a justice system that works better for victims. For the first time ever, the new law will allow judges to hand down prison punishments for cowardly criminals who refuse to attend their sentencing hearing. The measures will also protect innocent children by restricting the exercise of parental responsibility by offenders sentenced for serious child sexual abuse, and where a rape has resulted in the birth of a child. The new legislation will also ensure that victims are not prevented from speaking out against crime and have longer than ever to challenge sentences they don’t feel fit the crime they’ve suffered...

The new legislation will include a series of important measures for victims and bereaved families. These include, but are not limited to:

• Introducing a court order requiring criminals to attend their sentencing hearings or face sanctions if they don’t – so that victims and bereaved family members see offenders face the full consequences of their actions;
• Protecting the children and victims of vile sexual predators by restricting the exercise of their parental responsibility where the child is born from rape, or when they are convicted of serious child sexual abuse with a sentence of four years or more;
• Giving victims and their families more time than ever to refer a sentence under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme if they don’t feel it fits the crime they’ve suffered – from the current 28 days to up to six months;
• Ensuring that non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) cannot prevent victims from speaking out about criminal conduct to anyone for any reason;
• Strengthening powers for the Victims’ Commissioner to better hold the justice system to account and ensure victims receive the support they need...

The new Victims and Courts Act will also give victims confidence about the routes available to receive information about their offender’s release, by updating post-conviction communication schemes. It will also remove outdated restrictions on who the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) can appoint as Crown Prosecutors, allowing a larger pool of suitably qualified candidates to take on the role...

The King has appointed 61 Recorders on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, The Right Honourable David Lammy MP, and the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Right Honourable the Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill. The appointments will take effect on 11 May 2026...

Women and girls at risk of female genital mutilation will be better protected under a package of new measures announced today (Wednesday 29 April) by the government. The package was announced at the FGM Summit hosted by Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Jess Phillips MP and Solicitor General Ellie Reeves KC MP. At the summit, government ministers heard from experts, frontline professionals and victims and discussed a wide-ranging package of measures to improve the prevention, investigation and prosecution of FGM.

The Home Office will review the FGM mandatory reporting duty to ensure it is as strong and effective as possible and support professionals working with children to follow clear guidance on when and how to act. New national practice guidelines for FGM Protection Orders will be developed to identify girls at risk of being taken abroad for FGM. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and National Police Chiefs’ Council will refresh their joint protocol on FGM to ensure investigators and prosecutors are better equipped to build strong cases from the outset. The CPS will also develop a new training module for prosecutors to strengthen capability and expertise on FGM...

The Serious Fraud Office’s use of counsel has been praised by its watchdog for ‘recent changes [which] have strengthened oversight of expenditure’, inspectors have concluded. However in a report on the SFO’s use of counsel at the pre-charge stage, His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Inspectorate (HMCPSI) today makes six recommendations to help the body improve. These include the introduction of a central record of counsel and their performance to support future decisions.

In 2024/25, the SFO spent £7.6million – 8.9% of net expenditure – on counsel fees, the report reveals. Though business cases for why counsel was needed were ‘very good at providing a general justification’ they were ‘often inadequate in specifying the particular work counsel would be expected to undertake’, the report said, though it noted the ‘appropriate level of counsel was requested’ in all business cases examined. ‘The lack of clarity creates a risk that counsel is requested by a case team to carry out tasks which would not have been envisaged by those approving the business case, especially given the resource gaps present in many case teams.’ The report noted the ‘appropriate level of counsel was requested in all the business cases…examined’ but ‘identified an inconsistency in the manner and quality of instructions to counsel which requires improvement’. It said: ‘Some instructions were not always clearly set out in writing, and some were vague and lacked detail about what counsel was being asked to do. The SFO does not have a standard process or assurance system for the preparation of instruction of counsel and this needs to be addressed.’ The report recommends that the register of instructed counsel should be set up by October and consulted prior to the completion of a business case for the instruction of counsel...

The Ministry of Defence should examine the merits of allowing rank-and-file armed forces personnel to serve on military juries, a committee of MPs recommends today. The change would enable ranks lower than staff sergeant in the Army and flight sergeant in the Royal Air Force to be members of court martial boards. Civilian juries are made up of randomly selected members of the public, points out the Commons Armed Forces Bill select committee in a special report on the legislation. But membership of court martial boards, which make findings of guilt or innocence based on the facts, is presently restricted to Other Rank 7 or higher. OR-7 is also equivalent to chief petty officer in the Royal Navy and colour sergeant in the Royal Marines.

The Armed Forces Bill includes a package of reforms of the heavily criticised Service Justice System. Most are aimed at better supporting victims of serious crimes, including sexual offences, stalking and domestic abuse. They include the creation of new restrictive orders, a new code of practice for victims of service offences and an expanded duty on commanding officers to report serious offences...

His Majesty the King, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, has approved the appointments of 6 new Commissioners of the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The appointments are for 3 years from 7 April 2026 to 6 April 2029...