The Green MP said witnessing PMQs in person made her feel the culture of Westminster needs to change

New Green MP Hannah Spencer has branded Prime Minister’s Questions a ‘pantomime’ after her first two weeks in Westminster. The Gorton and Denton representative said the ‘facade’ and ‘theatrics’ of the weekly debates are ‘worse than I was expecting’.

The MP criticised what she described as politicians trading ‘pre-prepared insults’ during the Commons session. She said the spectacle risks wasting politicians’ time that Ms Spencer argues should be focused on improving people’s lives.

PMQs is a 30-minute weekly session in the House of Commons where the Prime Minister answers questions from MPs. While designed to hold the government to account, it is often characterised by loud exchanges and jeering during debate.

Get MEN Premium now for just £1 HERE – or get involved in our WhatsApp group by clicking HERE. And don’t miss out on our brilliant selection of newsletters HERE.

Ms Spencer made the comments during an interview with the Manchester Evening News on Friday (March 13) as the new MP was visiting a community food club in Gorton run by The Bread and Butter Thing.

Reflecting on her first fortnight in Parliament, she said one of the biggest surprises had been witnessing the weekly Commons clash in person. Ms Spencer said she had expected the confrontational atmosphere but found it more ‘theatrical’ than she anticipated.

“A lot of us see Prime Minister’s Questions and the pantomime of it all,” she said. “That’s why people are so fed up, because it’s just the worst use of anyone’s time to listen to people come up with pre-prepared insults.”

“Even though I knew what it was going to be like, I think it’s actually worse than I was expecting,” she added. “That whole facade that people put on, this theatre of playing a certain way.”

Ms Spencer said MPs should focus on the reason they were elected to Parliament, adding that the Commons should be a place where politicians work together to improve people’s lives.

“That’s not what we’re there for,” she said. “We’re there because people have elected us to do the things that we told them.”

The Green MP said witnessing PMQs and speeches in the Commons in person made her feel the culture of Westminster needs to change.

“When I saw it with my eyes, I was like, this has got to change,” she said. “Some of the daft stuff like that, that I think people are clearly fed up with.”

Spencer argued that politicians could challenge each other’s policies without resorting to personal attacks. She said debates should focus on holding governments to account rather than trading insults.

“You can challenge each other’s policies…without that,” she said. “It’s really hard to describe, because I wish everyone could go in and see that.”

The MP said she believes the political system is already beginning to shift following her recent by-election win.

“I do think now politicians are going to have to start changing how they do things to become in line with how the rest of us live,” she added.

In what appeared to be an appeal to the UK and other nations, the US leader added: “Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint will send ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a nation that has been totally decapitated.

KAPIKOY BORDER CROSSING, Turkey (AP) — After bombs exploded near her home in the eastern Iranian city of Golestan, hairdresser Merve Pourkaz decided to leave.

Pourkaz, 32, said she traveled nearly 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) to an alpine border crossing in the hopes of reaching the safety of the nearby Turkish city of Van.

“If they let me, I will stay in Van until the war ends,” she told The Associated Press recently while waiting at the crossing. “If the war doesn’t end, maybe I’ll go back and die.”

Pourkaz is one of the 3.2 million people in Iran who the U.N. refugee agency estimates have been displaced since the U.S.-Israel war with Iran started. While some are seeking shelter in safer parts of Iran or one of its neighboring countries, others are returning from abroad, heading toward the fighting to protect their families and homes.

So far, relatively few people have chosen to leave: The U.N. estimates that only about 1,300 Iranians have fled via Turkey each day since the war started, and on some days, more people return to Iran than depart. But Iran’s neighbors and Europe are growing increasingly concerned about a possible migration crisis should the war drag on and are making contingency plans.

As Pourkaz was entering Turkey, Leila Rabetnezhadfard was headed the other way.

Rabetnezhadfard, 45, was in Istanbul preparing to marry a German university professor when the fighting started. She postponed the ceremony and left for home in Shiraz, in southern Iran.

“How can I feel safe in Istanbul when my family is living in Iran during the war?” said Rabetnezhadfard, explaining that bringing her family to Istanbul wasn’t an option because her apartment is small, her brother needs medical care, and life there is expensive.

“I will not leave Iran until the war ends,” she said.

Fleeing the fighting

The U.N. has warned that continued fighting will likely push more Iranians to flee their homes.

As in the 12-day conflict last year, many Iranians are now sheltering in place, without money to flee or perhaps because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Feb. 28 warning.

“Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere,” he said.

Although large numbers of Iranians haven’t fled the country yet, people have been leaving major cities for the relative safety of the countryside bordering the Caspian Sea north of the capital, Tehran, according to the International Organization for Migration.

“Movement out of Iran appears limited mainly because people are prioritizing staying with their families, as well as the safety of their families and property, and due to security conditions and logistical constraints,” said Salvador Gutierrez, chief of the IOM’s mission in Iran.

If Iran’s critical infrastructure is destroyed, that could lead to waves of people trying to cross into one of Iran’s neighbors: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey and Iraq.

“If Tehran, a city of 10 million people, doesn’t have water, they’re going to go somewhere,” said Alex Vatanka, a fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington.

Iran is already grappling with one of the world’s largest refugee populations: roughly 2.5 million forcibly displaced people mostly from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Neighbors brace for impact

If the crisis deepens, aid groups say the most likely destinations for refugees are Iran’s borders with Iraq and Turkey, which stretch roughly 2,200 kilometers (1,367 miles) through rough alpine terrain that is home to many Kurdish communities and are difficult to police.

Turkey had a so-called open-door policy that allowed millions of Syrian refugees to enter the country during their country’s long civil war. But it has abandoned that approach for various reasons.

Instead, it has prepared plans to shelter Iranian refugees in “buffer zones” along the border, or in tent cities or temporary housing inside Turkey, the country’s Hurriyet newspaper quoted Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci as saying.

Iranians who have fled the war will likely not seek refugee status in Turkey because asylum claims might take years to process, if at all, said Sara Karakoyun, an aid worker at the independent Human Resource Development Foundation based near the border.

“They don’t want to wait in limbo for years for a refugee status they might not get,” she said.

Turkey’s defense ministry said in January that Turkey had hardened its border with Iran by adding 380 kilometers of concrete walls, 203 optical towers and 43 observation posts.

Turkey will likely send troops to secure its border and tightly control the flow of people into the country while seeking European Union funds to help deal with refugees, said Riccardo Gasco, an analyst at the IstanPol Institute.

Europe taps network to prepare for the worst

The relationship between the EU and Turkey was redefined by the Syrian refugee crisis a decade ago. Nearly two-thirds of the 4.5 million Syrians fleeing the civil war ended up in Turkey. Many then made their way to Europe via small boats.

In 2016, Brussels and Ankara forged a migration deal where the EU offered Turkey incentives and up to 6 billion euros ($7.1 billion) in aid for Syrian refugees on its territory to persuade Ankara to stop tens of thousands of migrants from setting out for Greece.

Aid groups said that deal created open-air prisons with squalid conditions. But for the EU leadership, the deal saved people, kept many migrants from reaching EU territory, and bettered the lives of refugees in Turkey.

Renewal of that deal is up this year, but Turkish citizens have soured on Syrian refugees and anti-immigrant right-wing parties have surged in popularity in parts of Europe.

And another refugee crisis is already underway even closer to Europe, with fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah displacing more than 800,000 people so far.

“We’ve got a situation (in the Middle East) that could have grave humanitarian consequences right at a time where humanitarian funding has been completely slashed,” said Ninette Kelley, chair of the World Refugee & Migration Council, pointing to the Trump administration’s gutting of USAID. “Is the world ready for another humanitarian disaster?”

___

McNeil reported from Brussels. Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, Fay Abuelgasim in Cairo, and Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this report.

This article discusses the topic of baby loss and its content may be upsetting to some readers.

Last summer, a Co Tyrone family experienced the heartbreaking loss of beautiful twin boys. Tiernán Joseph & Padraíg (Paudí) Francis McConnell arrived at 23 weeks and five days in late June 2025.

The boys were born 22 seconds apart but tragically passed away 22 hours apart in the arms of their mummy Orlágh at the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospitals’ Neonatal Unit.

Almost nine months on, the two boys remain lovingly cherished in the memories of their parents Niall and Orlágh, siblings Caít, Shaunagh, Aoibhínn and Oisín and the wider family circle.

READ MORE: Co Down family rallies around ‘precious’ Paige battling one of the world’s rarest illnessesREAD MORE: Co Down playgroup a lifeline for parents navigating developmental delay with children

Now Paudí and Tiernán’s aunt Beth and her dad Terry, from Omagh, are planning to raise money for Remember My Baby, a charity that provides professional remembrance photography to families like theirs who have lost a baby.

Remember My Baby receives no statutory funding and relies entirely on donations to continue offering this support free of charge.

Orlágh’s sister Beth, 24, will be running the Omagh Half Marathon on March 29 while Terry, 53, will be taking on the incredible challenge of the London Marathon on April 26. This fundraiser is deeply personal for their family following the heartbreaking loss Beth’s nephews and Terry’s grandsons.

Beth told Belfast Live: “It’s been a hard few months. Like any grieving family and we’re a big close-knit family too, it was a struggle at the start. We all had to support each other in a sense, just be whoever needs your shoulder to cry on but we are very strong and we’re just looking at the positives of it.

Advertisement

“The boys are together now and they obviously just couldn’t be apart so at least they have each other. We just look for the goodness in it and that keeps you going. They’re looking down on us and always going to guide us in the right direction. My sister looks for like wee butterflies and things like that, just to remind her that they’re there.

“No parent ever wants to lose their child. It’s the worst thing a parent can go through but they’ll always remember their boys. Paudi and Tiernan were two precious lives, two little boys who will always be loved, always part of our family, and always remembered.”

Now Beth and her dad Terry are in training for their upcoming marathon challenges, a fundraiser that is deeply personal.

Beth explained: “We’re raising funds for Remember My Baby, which provides professional remembrance photography to families who have lost a baby. In the most devastating moments of their lives, when time feels frozen and hearts are breaking, these volunteers step in to create beautiful, sensitive photographs, memories that families can hold onto forever.

“No parent ever expects to need this kind of service. But for those who do, it means everything. Remember My Baby does not receive any statutory funding. The charity relies entirely on donations and fundraising to continue offering this incredible service free of charge to families when they need it most.

“So when I’m out running the roads of Omagh, and when my dad is pounding the streets of London, we won’t just be running races. We’ll be running for Paudi and Tiernan. We’ll be running for our family. We’ll be running in memory of all those who have lost their precious angels far too soon.

“We are hoping that our contribution, no matter how big or small, can go on to help other families who are facing this devastating loss, and support them by getting the most precious gift of photos, to remember their babies by.

“There will be tough miles. There will be moments when we feel exhausted and question ourselves. But that effort is nothing compared to the strength shown by parents and families who carry loss with them every single day.”

Beth has set up as GoFundMe page as part of the challenge: “Every donation through our GoFundMe page helps Remember My Baby continue their vital work. You are not just sponsoring a run, you are helping create lasting memories, honour precious lives, and support families during their darkest moments.”

You can donate here.

To ensure you don’t miss out on all the latest from Belfast Live, be sure to make us your preferred source on Google.

The series, hosted by Bradley Walsh and his son Barney, is almost coming to an end, but first, contenders will do all they can to secure a place in the final.

Tonight’s episode will start at a later time than usual due to the scheduling of a Six Nations match – here’s what we know.

Why is Gladiators on later tonight?

BBC One is broadcasting the Wales v Italy match tonight from 4pm, ahead of the 4.40pm kick off.

This means, Gladiators’ usual slot will be occupied, however, fans won’t totally miss out as it will be available to watch from 7.15pm on its usual channel, BBC One.

Some fans may have already seen the episode as it was uploaded to iPlayer at 6am today.

Who will take on the Gladiators tonight?

Tonight, the first set of contenders taking on the Gladiators to secure their spot in the final is as follows:

Mo, 35, from Swansea
Finn, 23, from Lake District
Ella, 28, from Bournemouth
Naomi, 40, from Birmingham

Sharing a snippet of what fans can expect in tonight’s episode, the official Gladiators Instagram page said: “With the finish line in sight, the pressure is on.

“In this semi-final the referees are on point in Collision, unbeaten Comet returns to Hang Tough, and Cyclone gets bored waiting on top of Everest.

“Only the strongest will survive the Arena and book their place in the Gladiators Grand Final.”

Fans shared their excitement, commenting on the post: “Looking forward to this semi final.”

Another said: “YESSSSS COME ON SEMI FINALISTS”.

This person commented: “😍👏🔥🙌❤️ so looking forward to this amazing Gladiators 🤝🫶💪💪”.

Who are the Gladiators in the 2026 cast?

The Gladiators taking part in this year’s series include:

• Athena
• Comet
• Cyclone
• Diamond
• Dynamite
• Electro
• Fire
• Fury
• Sabre
• Apollo

Gladiators fans take to Reddit to share what they miss about the original series

• Bionic
• Giant
• Hammer
• Legend
• Nitro
• Phantom
• Steel
• Viper

Who do you want to see make it to the final? Let us know in the comments.

The ex-England international discussed departing the BBC and stuck the boot into his former employers

Former Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has taken aim at the BBC over their World Cup coverage this summer. The ex-England striker revealed he’ll be fronting this year’s tournament live from the USA, whilst the broadcaster will have to settle for its base in Salford.

Lineker had intended to remain with the broadcaster to front the competition for them, despite departing his role as host of the beloved highlights programme in May 2025.

However, he left the BBC sooner than anticipated. This came after a controversy where he posted on social media about Zionism that featured a rat emoji, which was deemed an anti-Semitic slur.

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest news, analysis and much more on Mirror Football’s Facebook page

The former England player issued an apology for the post and departed with immediate effect. In an ironic turn of events, Lineker will be stationed in North America for the tournament this summer as his podcast, The Rest Is Football, has landed a daily show deal with Netflix to be filmed in New York City.

Speaking to James O’Brien on the LBC podcast Full Disclosure in late February, the ex-Leicester striker made certain to have a dig at his former employers whilst discussing his departure.

READ MORE: Man Utd are paying for Ruben Amorim’s mistake as Gary Lineker sticks the boot inREAD MORE: Gary Lineker reveals White House talks over World Cup visa application amid US ban fears

He said: “I was already doing the [podcast] anyway and then other offers started to come in reasonably quickly and, again, because people recognised it was a genuine error [his social media post].

“The truth is now, in hindsight, and I never would’ve wished this, but things have transpired. I’ve had Saturdays off, I’m going to do the World Cup for Netflix, in New York, whilst the BBC are doing the World Cup in Salford but things have turned out alright.”

Following his exit from Match of the Day, Lineker has remained occupied with his podcast, which he presents alongside Micah Richards and Alan Shearer. He has also taken part in the Ballers League.

Goalhanger, the podcast firm Lineker co-established and which produces other major brands such as The Rest Is Politics, recently secured an agreement with Netflix to transform its football edition into a daily television programme on the platform during this summer’s World Cup, held across North and Central America.

The former Barcelona player is also fronting a new game show, The Box, which arrives on ITV later this year. Discussing his new position as presenter, he told O’Brien: “I’ve got a new series… a reality show, actually, which I’m hosting. I’ve always been asked to go on reality shows and I’ve always said not until Ant & Dec retire or Claudia gives up.

“It’s called The Box and it’s a lot of fun. It’s genuinely something completely different to what I’ve done before. I liked the look of this idea. I think it’s really clever. It’s light-hearted and a lot of fun.”

Apologising for the post that led to his departure from the BBC in May last year, Lineker asserted he did not see the image and “would never consciously repost anything anti-Semitic”.

He added: “However, I recognise the error and upset that I caused, and reiterate how sorry I am. Stepping back now feels like the responsible course of action.”

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more

£49

£35

Sky

Get the deal here

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle for the 2025/26 season, saving £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.

Advertisement

Sky shows at least 215 live Premier League games each season, an increase of up to 100, plus Formula 1, darts, golf and more.

Dolly Parton has said she’s been building herself back up “spiritually, physically and emotionally” after facing a series of health issues while grieving her late husband, Carl Thomas Dean.

The 80-year-old country star, who postponed a string of concerts last year to undergo unspecified medical treatment, appeared in good spirits during a keynote speech at her Tennessee theme park, Dollywood, on Friday (March 13), saying she had been “worn down and worn out” in past months.

“I’ve not been touring, as you know,” Parton told the audience, as seen in footage shared by WVLT 8. “I’ve had a few little health issues, and we’re taking good care of them.”

The “9 to 5” singer said she had needed to rebuild her strength after her husband of 58 years died in March 2025 at age 82.

“I just kind of got worn down and worn out, grieving over Carl and a lot of other little things going on,” she said. “But, all is good. It didn’t slow me down.”

open image in gallery

Parton then made a joke that fans shouldn’t confuse Dollywood Company President Eugene Naughton, who was on stage with her, as her “new husband.” She clarified that she is “not dating anybody” since Dean’s death.

“I think Carl Dean’s waiting for me,” she said. “If I should show up at the pearly gates with somebody else, he would not like that. He’d be saying, ‘Who’s that little pisser? You leave him outside the gates.’”

Fans were concerned about Parton when she cancelled a series of public appearances to undergo medical treatment at the end of last year, including postponing her Las Vegas residency by a year until September 2026.

open image in gallery

In October, Parton’s sister, Freida Parton, sparked further concern among fans when she shared a Facebook post asking fans to pray for Parton. She later clarified that she didn’t mean to scare anyone or imply anything serious with her message.

The “Jolene” singer then issued a statement, telling fans she appreciated their prayers and that she was doing “okay.”

“Back when my husband, Carl, was very sick, that was for a long time. When he passed, I didn’t take care of myself. So I let a lot of things go that I should’ve been taking care of,” she said in an Instagram video shared in October.

“Nothing major but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home and closer to Vanderbilt [University Medical Center], you know, where I’m kind of having a few treatments here and there.

“There’s just a lot of rumors flying around, but I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was okay,” Parton concluded. “I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me and I ain’t done working. So I love you for caring, and keep praying for me.”

In November, when Parton was absent from her theme park’s induction to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Hall of Fame, she told fans she had been “dealing with a few health challenges this fall.”

“My doctors told me to take it easy for just a little while, and I’m truly sorry I can’t be there,” she said in a video clip. “I sure wanted to take the chance to say thank you for this incredible honor.”

The UFO-like building was a favourite for people to visit in the 1990s

There are thousands of McDonald’s restaurants across the world, but Cambridgeshire was once home to a very unusual one. McDonald’s has been on the scene for around 86 years, with at least one restaurant guaranteed in every UK town and city.

There are many across Cambridgeshire, and there was one in Alconbury that people actually mistook for something else. A former McDonald’s in Alconbury used to be mistaken for a UFO due to its space-inspired architecture.

Officially built in 1990, this was initially going to be known as the Megatron restaurant. It was going to be the first of a chain of restaurants.

However, the restaurants didn’t work out and in 1993, this UFO-themed building was turned into a McDonald’s. Sadly, the building’s purpose as a McDonald’s was short-lived as well as it closed in 2000.

The building remained empty for several years and then it was demolished in 2008. Although the building no longer exists in bricks and mortar, people can still see a glimpse inside the building.

The video shows its futuristic exterior, and then it heads inside. People shared their memories of the unusual building on the video.

One person said they “loved” to go there as a child, while another said the “UFO was a constant in my life”. The person added: “Started my 21st birthday night in there, broke down in the car park several times (in my car, not mentally on the same night…), ended up having lunch there quite a lot because I worked just down the road.”

In 2021, former worker David Meridith revealed things he remembered from his time at the UFO-inspired restaurant. He said there were “futuristic ordering systems”, which would probably seem quite old-fashioned to us today.

He said: “You ordered on a computer at your table and waited for your food to come.” David also said the restaurant had a “dark and gloomy” atmosphere, but it was popular with people in the military.

David also revealed the reason the restaurant closed. He said it was due to rising maintenance costs. He added: “There was a downturn in sales and maintaining it was costing more than sales in the last year. The outside was just a plastic shell and it started getting leaks. It was impossible to keep it in working order.”

The fatal attack on Ian Huntley may have emboldened other prisoners to launch their own attacks on inmates.

After Soham killer Ian Huntley was brutally beaten to death in a prison attack, other inmates – including infamous and notorious murderers – fear “they could be next”.

A source has warned that the fatal attack on child killer Huntley, 52, may have emboldened other inmates who have seen that staff cannot protect high-profile prisoners. Huntley spent several days in hospital after the attack before his life support was turned off last week.

Dubbed “Monster Mansion”, the notorious prison’s other infamous inmates include former Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens – a man who could be the prime target.

He and the likes of Levi Bellfield, will be “looking over their shoulders” according to the source, reports the Mirror.

Bellfield, who raped and murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, is reported to have converted to Islam in the hope Muslim gangs will protect him. Couzens, who abducted, raped and killed Sarah Everard in 2021, has been told it’s “only a matter of time” before he is seriously hurt.

Both have been warned that they could be slashed, beaten or ‘kettled’ – where someone has boiling water mixed with sugar thrown in their face.

The prison source said: “Couzens is already getting abuse and threats every day. You look at someone like him, murderer, rapist, and worst of all a copper, and you know it’s only a matter of time.”

HMP Frankland, in County Durham, has experienced a series of violent incidents recently.

Hashem Abedi, jailed for life for helping his brother carry out the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, allegedly attacked three prison officers with boiling liquid and an improvised weapon in April last year. He has been charged in connection with the incident and pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.

Former school caretaker Huntley was jailed for life after he murdered 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in August 2002.

Anthony Russell, 43, has been charged with Huntley’s murder and, earlier this week, appeared via video link from the prison at Teesside Crown Court this week

According to the prison source, some inmates regard themselves as “above Huntley both morally and in the prison food chain” which could encourage attacks on other notorious prisoners.

“Others will be thinking ‘how can I put myself on the map too?’ That’s why in the days and weeks after an attack like this, things get extra dangerous,” the source said. “High-profile inmates will want to stay in the cells or be looking over their shoulders thinking they could be next.”

Urfan Sharif, 43, who beat his 10-year-old daughter Sara to death, and David Fuller, 71, who was jailed for life in 2021 after sexually assaulting more than 100 female corpses in NHS hospital morgues, are other inmates said to be at risk.

The source said: “These people are hated both inside and outside of prison, but the difference inside is that you can earn kudos from other inmates by getting one over on them. You have to remember that prison life is incredibly boring. It’s also hierarchical and a lot of these people have nothing to lose.”

Paedophile and Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins, 48, was also killed in prison in October last year when he was stabbed in the neck at HMP Wakefield, another high-security prison. Two men have been charged with his murder.

Weeks later at the same prison Kyle Bevan, 33, jailed for murdering his partner’s two-year-old daughter, Lola James, was also killed. Three fellow inmates have been charged with his murder.

The head of the Prison Governors’ Association has said prisoners like Huntley are facing increasingly violent attacks from inmates with “nothing to lose”.

Tom Wheatley, the president of the PGA, which represents governors in England and Wales, said those serving lengthy sentences or whole-life tariffs in high-security institutions had “no fear” of being given additional time in prison. They could even earn status by singling out famous child murderers and paedophiles.

Mr Wheatley, who was the governor at HMP Wakefield for nearly five years until March 2024, said that prisoners are serving longer sentences, so there was little incentive to resist committing a vicious attack

He said: “As prison sentences have become longer, and as more prisoners are given whole-life tariffs or given minimum sentences of 20, 30 or 40 years, it is harder to persuade them to hold back on their violent instincts. They have nothing to lose.

“If you are serving a long sentence, you can feel as if you don’t have a life ahead of you – your family may well have disowned you, your relationships may have broken down. And in those circumstances, you have to make your alliances among the people you live with – your fellow inmates – to survive

“In those circumstances, making yourself notorious, being well-known by committing a violent act, might help. If you murder a high-profile child murderer or paedophile, you can establish yourself as a dangerous man. That has some value.”

Ministry of Justice figures show there were seven homicides in prisons in England and Wales in 2025, up from six in 2024. From 2019 to 2023, there were between one and three each year.

Andrea Coomber, the chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said vulnerable prisoners, such as sex offenders and high-profile murderers, are often seen as easy targets.

She said: “There are hierarchies in every prison, and sex offenders are right at the bottom. We are hearing from many sex offenders that they are spending more time self-isolating in their cells because they do not feel safe.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said: “This government inherited a prisons system in crisis, overcrowded and with significant staffing shortages. We are recruiting more officers and deploying them where they’re most needed, as well as investing £40m in new security measures to clamp down on the contraband that fuels violence behind bars.”

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE.

That is not as straightforward as it might sound, as one former No 10 official described it. “There’s no good, clear correlation between wealth and energy bills.” An elderly person might live alone with a tiny income, in a draughty, big old family home that costs a fortune to heat, while a big family with a middle-sized income might live in a modern, well-insulated flat.