Philippa Budgen
@philippabudgen.bsky.social
Freelance Media Consultant for charities & campaigns. Loves justice. Hates injustice. Reformed journalist. Sometimes found in cold water.
The comfort of strangers. Reminded of this today on a train jouney to a family friend’s funeral. A man opposite me unplugged from all devices (as did I). An hour later, we’d covered global war/peace, civic responsibilities & history. And he listened to me solve a practical conundrum!
This morning when I woke up my to-do list was a tad daunting. Glad I squeezed in a run. Where I swim, there’s a sign saying ‘you never forget a swim’. Well, you rarely regret a run too!
Interesting. David Lammy to Justice Secretary- as well as Deputy PM. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c0...
Starmer appoints David Lammy as deputy PM to replace Rayner after resignation
Yvette Cooper replaces Lammy as foreign secretary, while Shabana Mahmood takes over as home secretary.
bbc.co.uk
What did you get up to this Bank Holiday? Had the most brilliant behind-the-scenes tour of British Library. Absolutely fascinating. Saw a Hansard record of parliament from 1806, world’s largest book (until 2012) & details I never thought I’d want to know. All for a tenner. Recommend. #BankHoliday
There’s a phrase at the reservoir, ‘You never regret a swim’. Yup, so true.
A series of crises….brewing over several decades’: highly respected Anne Owers lays bare the reality of prisons’ decision-making. Shame it’s August, this story definitely doesn’t belong in ‘silly season’. It’s serious stuff. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Prison system was days from collapse three times under Sunak, review finds
Emergency measures bailed out jails at last minute as No 10 refused to cut prisoner numbers until ‘cliff edge’ reached, former watchdog reports
theguardian.com
Last night I caught ‘Inter Alia’ the play starring Rosamund Pike as a judge at National Theatre. It’s due as a National Theatre Live (more reasonable cost). Electric performance with troubling reflections similar but different to Adolescence. If you can, I thoroughly recommend.
Wish I could be at this. Shame tech hasn’t found the way to clone us to be in two places at once! What a party. #GoLionesses www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Lionesses to hold victory parade after historic Euro 2025 win
The event in London will begin along The Mall and end with a ceremony in front of Buckingham Palace.
bbc.co.uk
Lucy Bronze: "I just played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia" 💪
A mega busy media 24 hours. Check out ‘LGBT+ veterans fury at delays to reparation payments’ - Today programme, R 4 Independent, Standard & more. Loved a screen-detox run. Mum swan (presume it’s mum?) gets her perch back.
A film, Lollipop, hits cinema screens on 13th June. I was lucky enough to have a sneak preview, courtesy of @sohohouse.bsky.social @bigissue.com @isabellamcrae.bsky.social Wrote some thoughts over on LinkedIn. www.linkedin.com/posts/philip...
#lollipop #lifeafterprison #women #cinematips | Philippa Budgen
Wow! It’s not often I can say I’ve been treated to a film premiere. Today ‘Lollipop’ was screened pre-release at Soho House & Co. About life after prison for Molly, a mum-of-two (played by Posy ...
linkedin.com
Beyond the headlines… Prisons building not a silver bullet to our criminal justice crisis. Better ways to address crime & the impact of crime lie in the community. But A key focus must be properly bolstering (staff/resources) probation to cope with new responsibilities Ditto for third sector
Philippa Budgen@philippabudgen.bsky.social · last yr.The Gauke sentencing review is out…. www.bbc.com/news/article...
@rachelsylvester.bsky.social led Times Crime & Justice Commission before moving to revamped @theobserveruk.bsky.social under @tortoisemedia.bsky.social. Here’s her take on the direction of travel for prisons ⬇️ observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Starmer backs radical reform as jail population doubles and cell space runs out | The Observer
Increasingly long sentences have left the service on its knees. Now a raft of solutions will be unveiled to tackle a growing crisis
observer.co.uk
Philippa Budgen@philippabudgen.bsky.social · last yr.Releasing people in prison a third of way into their sentence ‘Digital prisons’ Reducing short prison sentences…. More community payback work. All floated in upcoming sentencing review. But govt adherence to prison-building persists. Probation in desperate need of investment.
Releasing people in prison a third of way into their sentence ‘Digital prisons’ Reducing short prison sentences…. More community payback work. All floated in upcoming sentencing review. But govt adherence to prison-building persists. Probation in desperate need of investment.
Prepare yourselves. This week is expected to bring a much-needed sentencing review. For many justice & prison reformers it’s unlikely to hit the spot. Justice Secretary in @telegraphnews.bsky.social ⬇️ www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05...
I will do what it takes to make sure our prisons never run out of space
We have no choice but to do things differently. That does not have to mean going easy on criminals
telegraph.co.uk
Hard to believe this story even needs to be written. Liz Stead is an incredible example of someone who absolutely NEVER should have had a criminal record. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Liz Stead had a criminal record for being a lesbian but nobody told her
She was thrown out of the RAF in 1969 when bosses discovered a love letter from her then-girlfriend.
bbc.co.uk
This goes on my catch-up list. Thanks @madlinsudn.bsky.social for flagging.
Mags Patten@magspatten.bsky.social · last yr.This is a brilliant, moving report capturing life and the absurdity of the system for most prisoners and prison officers. If only more media outlets could do this, instead of frothing at the mouth about prison reform. Congrats to Preston Prison for opening its doors too.
Prisons still in crisis, says prisons minister. Shame he - who knows the reality of people in/after prison well - has slipped into the ‘soft/tough’ binary presentation of responses to crime. www.bbc.com/news/article...
More offenders could be tagged, as James Timpson insists he’s ‘not soft on crime’
The prisons minister tells the BBC more criminals could be tagged in future, rather than sent to prison.
bbc.com
Stumbled upon this poem on the wall of a house in a Peak District village this weekend. By Paul Muldoon. #poetry #prison #PeakDistrict #BankHolidayMonday
On an April day - which pretended to be August - I’m lucky enough to have met & facilitated an influencing workshop with Roma community leader Simona Lazar in Ipswich. She has so much to say for positive change. With thanks to @lbfew.bsky.social for making it possible. I learnt so much. Buzzing!
Ooh. And The Observer goes digital…. Today is the first Sunday of the Observer online- under new owner @tortoisemedia.bsky.social. Been scratching my head as to why Tortoise wants to enter the ailing newspaper market. Not been easy transition. Let’s see.
Philippa Budgen@philippabudgen.bsky.social · last yr.Historic moment yesterday. This is the last Observer under the @theguardian.com Next Sunday the paper hopes to put a turmultuous few months behind it with a fresh start under @tortoisemedia.bsky.social #newspapers #Observer #Tortoise
Where would we be without @bigissue.com Issue? The incredible Lord Bird and team at the Big Issue must continue to shape our thinking on poverty. Really struck by this note this morning. bigissue-25501189.hs-sites-eu1.com/where-the-go...
Where the government is going wrong on poverty
bigissue-25501189.hs-sites-eu1.com
Historic moment yesterday. This is the last Observer under the @theguardian.com Next Sunday the paper hopes to put a turmultuous few months behind it with a fresh start under @tortoisemedia.bsky.social #newspapers #Observer #Tortoise
