Some interesting points at [163]

The claim was dismissed.

From the press summary, the Court was not impressed by much of the evidence offered by the claimants

I don't think I had previously seen it reported anywhere that the mistaken identity case concerning Shaun Thompson involved him being matched with an image of his brother, who was on the police watch list on the day.

The judgment in the judicial review case brought against the Metropolitan Police's use of Live Facial Recognition www.judiciary.uk/judgments/sh...

Looking at the latest DfE schools census data, it's v striking how segregated London's primary schools are. Eg one local area where the % of pupils with English as a first language ranges from around 50 to 90%, and the % White British from 5 to 45%, in about a half mile radius.

And that while accidental prison releases are clearly bad, there are probably other things that are even more deserving of outrage, but they are hidden in a pot of slowly boiling frogs and so much less visible.

To say nothing of the number of people who could have been convicted were it not for the many compound consequences of a horrendously slow judicial system.

More generally, and as I've observed before, I reckon there's a very good chance there are more people who should be in prison but aren't because they are wanted by the courts but can't be/haven't been found, than have ever been released in error.

On the broader point about early releases in error, I gather calculating release dates can be very complex, compounded by constant tinkering with sentencing policy.

I've wondered before how many people are released late vs early, and to what extent they cancel out.

They didn't know their ERS from their elbow

Surely not?!?

‘Huge’ increase in kennelling and vet spending by police after XL bully ban Data from 22 police forces shows spending has more than tripled since the ban came into force in 2024

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

It might be interesting to know if the law is cost effective, eg assessed as a public health intervention according to NICE guidelines for the approval of medicines www.nice.org.uk/news/article...

Not specifically mentioned in the article, the Met's kennelling costs have risen sharply in recent years www.met.police.uk/foi-ai/metro...

Interesting example of the direct costs associated with a new law

Interesting details here re the ability of police to solve shoplifting cases.

Though it wouldn't surprise me if the shoplifters being caught where good CCTV exists are mostly the same people not being caught elsewhere where it does not.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/04...

Have you seen this? britishprogress.org/briefings/du...

It's effectively a random inheritance tax (though not random to the extent that degenerative diseases are heritable).

How Artemis II’s Earthset photo compares with the iconic Earthrise image from 1968 Artemis II astronauts updated the iconic 1968 image during their 2026 loop around the Moon.

Fascinating.

The thought this reminded me of is the relative loss of shared British cultural reference points between my childhood and my own children's. As an example, the significance of 1980s Blue Peter (eg raising money to buy lifeboats) vs today's streaming/YouTube world.

It's also heavily entangled with the debate about immigration.

Would it be more popular if people understood that £2k/week fees seem fairly standard?

As an aside, I imagine such a tax would also alleviate the impact of care home fees on local authorities (my closest care home, with 100 beds, has an entire floor effectively block booked by the LA).

UK supermarket chains typically only make around a 2-4% operating margin assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66a332...

The media HATES that explanation, but changes in counting rules and recording practices matter:

Changes detailed here hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/publication-...

Article in the Guardian on increases to police-recorded stalking offences almost completely fails - apart from a passing reference - to discuss changes to police recording practice. The giveaway is the huge jump between 2020 and 2021.

Estimates of stalking from the Crime Survey for England and Wales show "The trend has been relatively stable over the last 10 years."

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...

*sigh*

It would obviously help if the Home Office (a) didn't keep fiddling with the counting rules, and to the extent that isn't possible (b) published a change log that explained the impact of the changes (an idea I have suggested to the relevant people in the past, so far to no avail).

Estimates of stalking from the Crime Survey for England and Wales show "The trend has been relatively stable over the last 10 years."

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula...