Goodbye Ozzy. Very glad you got to experience the best of send-offs. Here you are, singing from on high, courtesy of the very wonderful @coldwarsteve.bsky.social

Goodbye Brian. You lit up the world.

Quite unusual to see a civil servant explicitly blaming the last government: “This data breach was made possible by the long years of neglect and mismanagement of the justice system under the last government….” www.theguardian.com/law/2025/may...

Legal aid hack: data from hundreds of thousands of people accessed, says MoJ

Data including criminal records downloaded in ‘significant’ cyber-attack at Legal Aid Agency in April, ministry confirms

theguardian.com

Had an excellent morning running laps at HMP Brixton for @prtuk.bsky.social with @sperls.bsky.social and residents. There is still time to leave our fundraising on a nice satisfying round number... justgiving.com/page/thebrix...

#medalmonday Two fifty milers down for 2025. Three to go! Next up though is half marathon at HMP Brixton for @prtuk.bsky.social This will be @sperls.bsky.social first half and we are only £55 away from our target. Can you help? ☺️ justgiving.com/page/thebrix...

The state alleging that someone is a criminal is not a justification for denying them due process, it’s what creates the need for it.

I am less keen on the endless loops. This will be further than I have ever run before (unlike Emma who basically runs the earth most weeks). Any donation, however small (or large) will be very welcome. Please also suggest a suitably themed song for our combined running playlist…

Emma McClure@emma-mcclure.bsky.social · last yr.

Just under 6 weeks until @sperls.bsky.social and I run the HMP Brixton half for @prtuk.bsky.social along with residents who have been dilligently training. The course is between 500/600 metres so 43/35 loops. Endless loops. My favourite. justgiving.com/page/thebrix...

Congratulations to @laurajanes.bsky.social for her appointment as the new Chair of @prisonlawyersapl.bsky.social. Pretty disgraceful that it has taken over 15 years to get the first female Chair of APL but Laura always has been a trailblazer.

Interesting to see Mr Yaxley-Lennon aka Tommy Robinson is a recent convert to the idea of human rights. The article 3 claim was quite ambitious. If anyone wants an enjoyable lunchtime read and can tell me how I attach a file on here I’ll happily post the judgment

I am less keen on the endless loops. This will be further than I have ever run before (unlike Emma who basically runs the earth most weeks). Any donation, however small (or large) will be very welcome. Please also suggest a suitably themed song for our combined running playlist…

Emma McClure@emma-mcclure.bsky.social · last yr.

Just under 6 weeks until @sperls.bsky.social and I run the HMP Brixton half for @prtuk.bsky.social along with residents who have been dilligently training. The course is between 500/600 metres so 43/35 loops. Endless loops. My favourite. justgiving.com/page/thebrix...

There is much more to this story than the ‘alarm’ angle and the perspective of the unidentified probation officer. This new policy is actually delaying Parole Board reviews because there is now a backlog of cases awaiting review by MOJ officials. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Alarm over early re-release of recalled prisoners as jail overcrowding crisis deepens

Whistleblower says over 1,000 inmates in England and Wales considered for the scheme which bypasses Parole Board

theguardian.com

Absolutely gutted about Rick Buckler. His drumming on Funeral Pyre is utterly magnificent. Check this out m.youtube.com/watch?v=Endq...

The Jam - Funeral Pyre

YouTube video by TheJamVEVO

m.youtube.com

This week was an important one for some people serving IPP sentences. Blog post

The Long, Long Road to Freedom

This month marked an important milestone for a few hundred people serving IPP (imprisonment for public protection) sentences who have been released from prison and are on licence in the community. A c...

gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com

The ultimate narcissist has succeeded in having everyone talk about, write about, read about and listen about him day in and day out. His ratings are GREAT.

For those who continue to deny that Trump and the MAGA GOP's objection to asylum-seekers and refugees isn't racist, check out which group, out of all the conflicts on earth, Trump has made a very special refugee resettlement for. Yep. White South Africans. Beyond parody.

Yashar Ali 🐘@yasharali.bsky.social · last yr.

BREAKING President Trump has signed sanctions against South Africa for their recent land seizure bill. He is ordering all aid to South Africa be halted and he is also ordering federal agencies to prioritize humanitarian relief and admission to the United States for Afrikaner refugees.

This week marks an important milestone for a few hundred people serving IPP sentences. A change in the law implemented by the Victims and Prisoners Act reduces the period that IPP prisoners have to wait before they can apply for their licences to be terminated. A brief explainer thread…

This is essential reading and viewing for anyone who has wilfully or otherwise airbrushed the events of January 6th 2021 and thinks that Trump pardoning the rioters is normal. Recommended listening also - the excellent podcast series by @restispoliticsus.bsky.social on January 6th.

Adam Kinzinger@adamkinzinger.substack.com · 2y ago

The truth of January 6th can't be erased. Watch the pardoned criminals brutally attacking police inside the Capitol and see what some call 'patriotism.' No spin, just facts. adamkinzinger.substack.com/p/revisiting...

Oh come ON now. This new JWST image is just ASTOUNDING. I feel like I’m falling looking into it, and that I would fall forever, and that I would enjoy it. NASA, ESA, CSA, K. McQuinn (STScI), J. DePasquale (STScI)

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock left the government meeting, refusing to be photographed with Chancellor Olaf Scholz after his decision to block the allocation of a new aid package for Ukraine, - Bild. Instead of a thousand words.

Hoping that I manage to have a fine Lynch tribute dream tonight. But nothing too terrifying. I’m not up for a visit from Frank or Bob.

David Lynch gave us the language we needed to better articulate the indescribable strangeness of our shared reality. “Lynchian” is so overused because it’s a viscerally understandable word without any known synonyms. I can’t imagine a more beautiful artistic legacy than that.

One of my favourite things anyone has ever said about art. You'll be missed, David. 🌹

I absolutely loved David Lynch. He changed the way I look at life. And made me laugh a lot. It’s hard to believe that there won’t be any more of his wonderful imagination and creativity in the world.

Throughout 2024, the Guardian aimed to report on every woman allegedly killed by a man. Here are the 80 women whose deaths have led to a man being charged. Let us say their names. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-i...

Killed women count: 80 women allegedly killed by men in UK in 2024

Throughout the year the Guardian aimed to report on every woman whose death has led to a man being charged

theguardian.com

This is such a distressing read. Yet another IPP prisoner losing their life in prison. It’s an important finding that the delays to his parole hearing contributed to his mental distress. Parole delays have had a devastating impact on many people. www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

Delays and neglect led to death of prisoner serving IPP sentence, jury finds

Inquest concludes that Haydar Jefferies took his own life after Surrey prison’s ‘serious failure’ to put him in place of safety

theguardian.com

We strike again tomorrow and Friday. Please support us SHARE our posts WRITE to guardian.readers@theguardian.com JOIN US - the picketline was packed last week. Will be the same tomorrow. The strength of feeling is undimmed 💪⬇️

The National Union of Journalists@nujofficial.bsky.social · 2y ago

Third day of Guardian & Observer strikes on Thurs 12 and Fri 13 to feature carols, protest songs & a festive picket line as campaign to #SavetheObserver continues. Please show your support by re-posting & joining us at the Guardian’s HQ, details 👇 www.nuj.org.uk/resource/thi...

I see The Daily Mail refuses to take any responsibility at all for this entirely predictable result of their reporting. Patel, Johnson, Braverman all queued up to whip people up against lawyers doing their jobs. ‘Activist’ lawyers could well have been dead lawyers.

Daniel Trilling@trillingual.bsky.social · 2y ago

In 2020 a neo-Nazi attacked an immigration law firm named in the Mail off the back of government briefings and criticism of "activist lawyers". Priti Patel, at least, should have been made to resign. But the trial took so long it can only be fully reported now. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

“Prisons are still expected to reach critical capacity again by July, with fresh prison population projections due to be published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on Thursday.” www.bbc.com/news/article...

Prisons plan will fall short by 2027, watchdog warns

Boris Johnson's pledge to create an extra 20,000 cells spaces is now not expected to be met until 2031.

bbc.com

Post you from a different era

This is my advent calendar for 2024. I just discovered it so I’m a week behind.

Memorial Device@memorialdevice.bsky.social · 2y ago

Choose 20 albums that have stayed with you or influenced you. One album per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. 1/20