Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

UK police warn no-deal Brexit will make their job harder

British police chiefs said Tuesday (18) they are preparing for a no-deal Brexit but warned that losing access to dozens of EU-wide tools will make it "harder" to protect UK and European citizens.

National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) Chair Sara Thornton announced the creation of a new national unit to help her forces adapt to alternative data-sharing and cooperation systems.


But she warned the fallback options to tools like the European arrest warrant and Europol will be inferior.

"The fallbacks we're going to have to use will be slower, will be more bureaucratic and it would make it much harder for us to protect UK citizens and... EU citizens," Thornton said.

"We are determined to do everything we can to mitigate that, but it will be hard."

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Martin, NPCC lead for Brexit, noted Britain is among the biggest EU contributors of intelligence and action on warrants -- and its absence would be felt on both sides of the Channel.

"Would we like to keep keep everything we have? Of course," he added.

Britain will leave the European Union on March 29, 2019, and has pressed to continue participating in up to 40 databases and mechanisms for sharing information and enacting cross-border arrests used by bloc members.

The EU has repeatedly warned it will lose access to the various tools.

London and Brussels are currently locked in negotiations to reach a withdrawal agreement, which would see Britain retain access during a 21-month transition period.

But both sides have also talked up the possibility of the country crashing out without any deal.

The new national operations centre, to be created through £2 million in Home Office funding and staffed by around 50 officers, will help British police transition to using replacements.

Police identified the key instruments that could be lost in a no-deal scenario as sharing real-time alerts for wanted criminals and the ability to map transnational terrorist and crime networks.

Police chiefs said certain heavily-used tools would be the most sorely missed.

They include the Schengen information sharing system, which British police checked 539 million times last year, and the European arrest warrant, which has led to over 10,000 individuals being returned to EU members since its rollout in 2004.

Future warrants would be pursued through a 1957 convention or bilateral agreements, police said.

No access to a European criminal records database could see a six-day average waiting time for suspects' records jump to 66 days under the fallback tool.

Charlie Hall from the NPCC said forces were preparing simulations for various Brexit-related outcomes, including changes in crime patterns and public disorder.

AFP

More For You

Air India

The Amritsar-Birmingham and Amritsar-London Gatwick routes will each increase from three to four weekly flights, while Ahmedabad-London Gatwick will go from three to five weekly flights.

Air India to increase flights between UK and India from March 30

AIR INDIA will increase flight frequencies on key routes as part of its Northern Summer schedule, effective 30 March 2025.

In the UK, the airline will add three more flights on the Delhi-London Heathrow route, increasing from 21 to 24 weekly flights using a mix of A350-900 and upgraded B787-9 aircraft.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pablo-Escobar-merchandise-Getty

Escobar, killed by security forces in 1993, remains a figure of global interest, with his image appearing on souvenirs like T-shirts, mugs, and keychains. (Photo: Getty Images)

Colombia considers ban on Pablo Escobar merchandise

COLOMBIA’s Congress is considering a bill that would ban the sale of merchandise featuring drug lord Pablo Escobar and other convicted criminals.

The proposed law aims to curb the glorification of Escobar, who was responsible for thousands of deaths during his time leading the Medellín cartel, reported BBC.

Keep ReadingShow less
Assisted dying bill: Judge approval scrapped for expert panel safeguard

Polls show most Britons back assisted dying, with supporters calling for the law to reflect public opinion.

Assisted dying bill: Judge approval scrapped for expert panel safeguard

Eastern Eye

THE proposed new assisted dying law for terminally ill people will be amended to remove the requirement that a high court judge sign off on each case, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater said on Tuesday (11).

Opponents of assisted dying said the change would weaken the safeguards around protecting vulnerable people from being coerced or pressured into taking their own lives.

Keep ReadingShow less
Andrew Malkinson

Malkinson, 59, has been struggling financially since his release and has been on universal credit for 19 months. (Photo: X/@NotThatBigIan)

Wrongful rape conviction: Andrew Malkinson to get 'significant' compensation

ANDREW MALKINSON, who spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, will receive a six-figure interim compensation payment from the Ministry of Justice.

The payment comes more than a year after his conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal in July 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
IMF team visits Pakistan to assess governance and corruption reforms

The assessment will shape structural reforms and examine protections for property rights and foreign investments

IMF team visits Pakistan to assess governance and corruption reforms

Eastern Eye

A TECHNICAL team from the International Monetary Fund met Pakistan’s chief justice Yahya Afridi on Tuesday (11) to conduct a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment under the 2024 Extended Fund Facility programme.

The IMF team is in the country for a week-long trip to scrutinise the judicial and regulatory framework tackling governance and corruption as part of a £5.6 billion loan agreed last year.

Keep ReadingShow less