In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, there are scores of urgent questions for the Secret Service to answer. Chief among them is how a man with a rifle was able to get so close to the former president.
It is simply extraordinary that a gunman could secure rooftop access just 150 metres from Trump’s podium. That this was outside the security zone will only lead to further scrutiny of the FBI, not least with the Republican National Convention set to begin in Wisconsin today.
One fundamental truth is beyond doubt: politicaldifferences cannot be determined by political violence. Yet the temperature in the US has been at or near boiling point for some time. In the past few years, we have seen violence perpetrated against Congressional representative Steve Scalise, the husband of former speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol itself — an attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.
In his speech this week, Trump has an opportunity to try to bring that temperature down. For the sake and safety of all Americans, he should take it.
Prisons on the brink
Violence and overcrowding. Recidivism and rats. Britain’s prison system is not simply creaking, it is in full-blown crisis. And while most citizens will not see the inside of a jail, the state of the sharp end of the criminal justice system affects — and perhaps should shame — us all.
The entire system “stands on the precipice of failure” says the Prison Governors’ Association. Statements such as these come as the UK prison population has hit a record high of 88,000, a rise of 93 per cent since 1990.
No doubt Sir Keir Starmer has a case when he blames the previous government for bequeathing him a situation where the prisons are effectively full. Yet this is his responsibility now. And while reform is required over the long-term — as signified by the appointment of James Timpson as a justice minister — this qualifies as an urgent crisis.
Emergency measures to speed the release of prisoners may seem like the only option, but they are far from risk-free, even for the shiniest of administrations.
England’s heartbreak
There can be no shame in losing to a side as talented as Spain. Yet for England fans waking up with sore heads and broken hearts, that may be of little consolation.
For the second Euros in succession, the Three Lions made the show-piece event but came away on the losing side. Still, only a month to go until the Premier League opening day.
