Podcasts about Home Affairs Select Committee

Host Sarah Henry is joined by Partner Solicitor Nusrat Uddin, Head of the Public Law and Human Rights department at Wilsons Solicitors. In this episode, Nusrat shares insights into her work, with a focus on modern slavery, forced labour, and human trafficking. She discusses several groundbreaking cases she has worked on, as well as her involvement in Business and Human Rights cases, particularly those addressing forced labour within supply chains. Nusrat Uddin specialises in public law and human rights, with a particular focus on modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking. She brings cases against central and local government bodies for failing their duties, as well as claims against those who have exploited their workers. In 2023 she was awarded Public Law Lawyer of the Year in the Legal Aid Lawyer of the year awards. Nusrat also specialises in Business and Human Rights work. She has provided evidence for several US investigations into complaints against companies, from the fashion industry through to rubber gloves. US authorities have banned products from entering the US where indicators of forced labour in supply chains have been found. She believes the UK's approach is far weaker and is critical of the Modern Slavery Act's approach. Nusrat's team have pioneered the first case against the UK authorities in relation to forced labour in their own supply chains, which settled with the government conceding and agreeing to improve their due diligence. The case was covered widely in the media and Nusrat was interviewed by Channel 4 News which can be seen here. She is currently building a second case in relation to the government's due diligence of Uyghur made products in their supply chain. Nusrat was instructed in the key Supreme Court case of Wong v Basfar 2022 dealing with diplomatic immunity in trafficking civil claims. The Supreme Court established for the first time worldwide, a current diplomat is not protected from claims of human trafficking. The judgment was groundbreaking with global political implications. Nusrat was presented with the 2022 Anti-Slavery Day Award for Outstanding Contribution to Reducing Vulnerabilities, in Parliament, for her work on this case. Nusrat has a particular focus on improving state support for victims of trafficking and modern slavery. Last year she was instructed in the lead case, K and AM v SSHD [2018] EWHC 2951 (Admin), challenging the cuts by the Home Office to subsistence monies paid to support victims. The High Court found the cuts to be unlawful, resulting in victim support being reinstated to the full amount, and rebates being paid of around £1 million. She often advocates for safeguarding support and accommodation for victims who are facing homelessness and risks of further exploitation. Nusrat was profiled as Lawyer in the News in the Law Society Gazette for the successful case. Nusrat was also awarded a Research Fellowship by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust to compare the UK's models of support to those in the US and Europe, for victims of trafficking and modern slavery who are involved with criminal prosecutions against their traffickers. She presented her research findings at the end of last year and made recommendations to improve the UK's systems. The research has been shared widely, including by Anti-Slavery International and endorsed by Luis deBaca who was the US ambassador for trafficking. She also gave oral evidence in Parliament to the Home Affairs Select Committee for their Inquiry into Modern Slavery in 2019. She outlined key issues for victims in relation to support services, immigration and the criminal justice system; particularly highlighting problems of victims being wrongfully criminalised by the police and immigration systems, instead of being correctly identified and protected. Nusrat is also currently instructed in a significant challenge to police policies in relation to this issue. In recognition of her work in this field, Nusrat was shortlisted in the 2019 Anti-Slavery Day Awards, for Outstanding Contribution to the fight against Slavery, in the Enabling and Supporting Survivor Rights and Entitlements category. Nusrat was Highly Commended in the 2019 Law Society Excellence Awards for Human Rights Lawyer of the Year. Nusrat was also shortlisted as a finalist for Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year 2019, in the Children's Rights category, organised by the Legal Aid Practitioners Group. Nusrat has gained international experience having worked in the Human Rights and Legal Aid department of BRAC in Bangladesh, (formerly Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) one of the world's largest NGOs. She also volunteered at Al-Haq, a Human Rights NGO based in Palestine, building potential cases against corporations operating in the West Bank. Nusrat is currently a Trustee of Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights.

This week we highlight Alexis Jay's damning verdict on the Conservative government's lackluster response to child abuse inquiry recommendations and the first major test of Northern Ireland's “Stormont Brake” under the Windsor Framework. Plus, we take a look at the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill and how it measures up to its German counterpart. Child abuse inquiry fallout: Professor Alexis Jay, chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse pulled no punches in her evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee, criticising the Conservatives for inaction while in power. We unpack her appeal to MPs to stop treating the issue as a political football and discuss what difference select committees can make in situations like this. Northern Ireland's Stormont Brake: Unionist members of the Assembly triggered the “democratic safeguard” to give Stormont's politicians a say before new EU chemical regulations take effect in Northern Ireland. But Hilary Benn has concluded the provisions do not meet the threshold to invoke emergency arrangements. What does this mean for the UK-EU dynamic and parliamentary politics at Westminster and in Belfast? Armed Forces Commissioner Bill: We take a deep dive into the Government's plan for a new welfare watchdog for service personnel and families—how does it compare to Germany's powerful parliamentary commissioner? ____

The i Newspaper's Chief Political Commentator, Paul Waugh, discusses the biggest political stories of the week with guests. Paul Waugh discusses the public sector pay settlements with former Treasury Minister, Dame Angela Eagle, and the Conservative Chair of the Education Select Committee, Robin Walker. Baroness Catherine Ashton, former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, delivers her assessment of the NATO Summit. Labour Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Dame Diana Johnson, and fellow Conservative Committee member, Tim Loughton, discuss the Illegal Migration Bill. And, former Conservative special adviser Sam Freedman, and The Guardian's Media Editor, Jim Waterson, discuss what the arrival of new social media app 'Threads' means for politicians and journalists.

On Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, we discuss infighting in the Conservative Party after Boris Johnson's resignation as an MP, with an interview with Michael Gove. Ofsted has announced reforms following the death of headteacher Ruth Perry, who took her own life while awaiting a report which downgraded her school from 'outstanding' to 'inadequate' - a headteacher tells Nick the reforms don't go far enough. We hear the latest from Scotland following the arrest of former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. And the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Dame Diana Johnson, speaks to Nick about the number of people from Albania - a seemingly safe country - claiming asylum in the UK.

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome the Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP. In a major speech, the Shadow Home Secretary set out the ways in which a Labour government would take a different approach to law and order and outlined her priorities for the Home Office should Labour win the next general election. In one of a series of speeches setting out Labour's home affairs policies, the Shadow Home Secretary's speech at the IfG saw her discuss Labour's plan to rebuild neighbourhood policing and reverse the collapse in charges and prosecutions over the last 13 years. Following her speech, Yvette Cooper was in conversation with IfG director Dr Hannah White. Yvette Cooper has been the Member of Parliament for Normanton, Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley since 1997. Before her appointment as Shadow Home Secretary, she served as Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee. In Government, she served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Housing Minister. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/yvette-cooper-shadow-home-secretary

Sir Mark Rowley, the Commissioner of the Met gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee this week and it provided a fascinating insight into the bewilderingly complex job that he has taken on. The preoccupations of the MPs and their obvious lack of understanding of the realities of modern policing was alarming but not at all surprising. 

Rishi Sunak has denied reports that the government is preparing to seek a “Swiss-style” deal with the EU over the next decade to rebuild economic ties with the trading bloc.Rachel Cunliffe, Rachel Wearmouth and Freddie Hayward discuss why the Prime Minister is incurring the wrath of hardline Tory Brexiteers, the signs of rising public discontent with Brexit, and whether this is a window of opportunity for Labour.Meanwhile Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, has once again come under fire as she struggled to explain to the MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee how someone fleeing persecution would legally seek asylum in the UK. The team discuss how long Braverman can hold on as Home Secretary and why she is a symptom of a government in disarray.Then in You Ask Us a listener asks: should England have boycotted the Qatar World Cup?If you have a question for You Ask Us, go to newstatesman.com/youaskusPodcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer: visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to learn more Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mum from Edenbridge who spent 18 months in agony has finally been diagnosed, after flying to Poland to see a doctor. Agnieszka Gray spoke to her GP, a gynecologist and even went to A&E four times - but says no one took her pain seriously. A doctor in Poland almost immediately realised she had endometriosis which affects the ovaries - hear from her and our reporter who covered the story. Also in today's podcast, there's been a sharp rise in the number of households in need of emergency housing in Kent's most deprived district. A total of 542 people in Thanet have had to be given the support during the last financial year - that's almost double than the previous one. Chris Thomas from homelessness charity Porchlight warns of a "crisis" this winter. The Home Secretary says it's becoming incredibly difficult to find accommodation for asylum seekers who are crossing the Channel in small boats. A controversial processing site in Thanet has now been cleared following concerns about overcrowding and poor conditions. Suella Braverman's been giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee in Parliament. The MP for Dartford has called for Just Stop Oil to be classified as a criminal organisation. Gareth Johnson's spoken out in the Commons after two men climbed the Dartford Crossing last month as part of a climate protest. The winter season is officially under way for the people who make sure our roads are clear of frost and snow over the next few months. The KentOnline Podcast's been told how almost 120 gritters are on standby along with more than 63,000 tonnes of salt.  We've been chatting with Matt Salt from National Highways. And in football, hear from manager Neil Harris following Gillingham's draw at Crawley Town. It means the Gills have been unable to climb out of the League Two relegation zone.

Yesterday I gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on how the present passport palaver is hurting prospective travellers.I told them how, in the last century, the Passport Office at times of stress would give people an extra six months or year on their passport, for free and instantly, on the spot. Now it seems that idea could be reborn.Of course, this podcast is free, much like my newsletter that you can have arrive in your inbox every Friday. Sign up at https://www.independent.co.uk/newsletters See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

'Enough'. That's the name of a new communication campaign launched by the Home Office this week to tackle violence against women and girls. It comes in the week of the anniversary of the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard in London, by a serving police officer. So one year on, where are we in the fight to deal with violence against women and girls? We speak to Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson who is the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, and to Woman's Hour listeners Polly and Rebecca about their concerns. The Winter Paralympics begin tomorrow in Beijing and ParalympicsGB are sending 24 athletes to compete - the biggest British Winter Paralympic team in nearly thirty years. There are five female athletes including alpine skier Menna Fitzpatrick, who won four medals in Pyeongchang four years ago. Jessica discusses our medal prospects with Andy Stevenson, 5 Live's Paralympic Winter Games reporter; and the International Paralympic Committee's decision not to allow Russian or Belarussian athletes to take part with Rebecca Myers, journalist at The Sunday Times. On Sunday the BAFTAs red carpet rolls out to recognise the very best in British film. One of the nominees in the short film category is about a small and unique community in the heart of South London - locals at the London Palace Bingo Club. Their beloved club is being forced to close down, and the film follows the regulars who have depended on it for years. Jessica speaks to the director Jo Prichard. The film is available to stream on the Bertha DocHouse website this weekend. Danielle Marin is the author of Top Girl, a book exploring her first-hand experiences with drug dealing, gangs and violent crimes. Danielle wants people to know about young women who get caught up in this kind of lifestyle, and how she found a way out. She joins Jessica.

Do women make better leaders? If so, what can they teach us? Strong Female Lead - Lessons From Women in Power, a new book by the journalist Arwa Mahdawi, argues that a rigid and masculine model of leadership is not up to tackling the complex problems we are facing in the world today. Arwa says ‘If we want to save the world, it's time we stopped telling women to act like men and started telling everyone to lead like women.' She draws on the pandemic and beyond, to showcase the leadership skills women are displaying that she believes everyone can learn from. This week MPs have backed a ban on virginity testing in England, after the government called it "indefensible". Anyone helping girls or women get the tests, which includes an intrusive vaginal examination, could face up to five years in prison. But campaigners have also said they want a ban on hymenoplasty, a practice involving cosmetic surgery to reconstruct the hymen. Natasha Rattu, CEO of Karma Nirvana, an organisation that supports victims of honour-based abuse and forced marriage, tells us why this further step needs to be taken. Presenter Zara McDermott's new BBC documentary explores sexual harassment, teenagers, and what impact school is having. We speak to Zara and two contributors who feature in the documentary - activist Zan Moon and 14 year old Trinity. This week the Home Affairs Select Committee released a report revealing that only one in five of an estimated 15,000 eligible claimants had applied to the Windrush Compensation Scheme, and only 5% of victims have been compensated. They've called for the scheme to be transferred from the Home Office to an independent organisation. We're joined by lawyer Jacqueline McKenzie to discuss the findings. We discuss the ongoing appeal of the Cinderella story with Faye Campbell who is playing Cinderella at York Theatre Royal and Dr Nicola Darwood who recently co-edited a new book with Alexis Weedon called Re-telling Cinderella: Cultural and Creative Transformations.

Panel: Ruth Edwards (Chair), CEN MP and member of the Home Affairs Select Committee; Lord Goldsmith, International Environment Minister and CEN Alumni; H.E Malik Amin Aslam, Pakistan's Federal Minister for Climate Change; Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP, former Chancellor of the Exchequer; Kate Norgrove, Executive Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at WWF; and Stanley Johnson, CEN International Ambassador and former Conservative MEP. The UK has the opportunity to play a leading role in securing ambitious international agreements at the two major environmental summits this year - on nature in China and on climate in Glasgow. Climate change and biodiversity loss continue to worsen around the world, with the world's surface temperatures in 2020 tied with 2016 as the warmest year on record and average wildlife populations falling by two-thirds since 1970. We know that nature provides significant services for people, from the food we eat, to the air we breathe and beyond. Its loss threatens our very existence, and so the success of these summits will be crucial if we're to hand on a healthy environment to future generations. Post-Brexit, Britain rightly wants to take an increasingly active role on the world stage; no issue is more important for UK global leadership than the environment. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meets in Kunming, China this year to agree on a new set of global biodiversity targets to protect and restore the natural world. While politicians and the public increasingly recognise the importance of the UN climate summit which the UK is hosting in Glasgow, the equally important nature summit in China isn't as well publicised. As president of the COP26 climate summit and the G7 this year, we have the opportunity and responsibility to better link up international negotiations on climate and biodiversity. What does a successful outcome from the nature summit look like? How can we secure a global agreement to deliver the Prime Minister's commitment to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, and protect 30% of land and seas for nature's recovery by 2030? This webinar will also consider how to ensure stronger recognition of the integrated climate and biodiversity crises, what role the UK can play in securing these ambitious global agreements, and if we are doing enough to restore nature domestically to lead by example. It will also consider the importance of the recently published Dasgupta Review into the economics of biodiversity, and how we should better account for nature in economic decision-making to strengthen our resilience to future shocks and improve public wellbeing.

On today's podcast we hear from the man who's been put in charge of tackling small boat crossing in the Channel... He's been giving evidence to MPs today after a record number of migrants arrived in Kent yesterday. More than 400 people made the journey - the most in a single day. The Home Affairs Select Committee is trying to understand why it's happening. Also in the podcast, there's been a big increase in the number of online child sex crimes in Kent according to figures obtained by the NSPCC. And, Kent's top police officer is leading a national drive to improve safety.

Sarah Brown talks to guests at Theirworld’s sixth International Women’s Day event, where women from all walks of life, with a few men dotted around, gathered to talk and share their experiences, contacts and ideas on how to unlock big change for girls and young women. We hear Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Nigerian finance minister and World Bank managing director, nearly moved to tears as she accepted our first Unlock Big Change award. We hear from other inspiring women, including Jo Brand, self-proclaimed ‘comic, writer, mother and super-model’; Amrit Kaur Lohia, musician and Theirworld Global Youth Ambassador; Sophie Walker, chief executive of the Young Women’s Trust; Yvette Cooper MP, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee; Leena Nair, Chief HR Officer at Unilever; Rosemary Leith Berners-Lee, co-founder of the Web Foundation; Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, mathematician and co-founder of the Stemettes, and not forgetting, of course, Theirworld’s very own Jamira Burley, who hosted the event.

In November 2018 the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims, chaired by Anna Soubry MP, published its report, Islamophobia Defined, to establish a working definition of Islamophobia. Subsequently the definition has been adopted by local councils and political parties, even before the Home Affairs Select Committee concluded their assessment of the proposed definition. In the wake of this our guest, Emma Webb, produced an anthology that brought together concerns about the APPG definition of Islamophobia from a variety of perspectives. It included atheist, secularist, religious and academic assessments of why the Islamophobia definition is not only unfit for purpose, but also poses a danger to civil liberties in the United Kingdom, particularly freedom of expression, and journalistic and academic freedom. It may be downloaded here: http://www.civitas.org.uk/content/fil... Emma Webb is director of the Forum on Integration, Democracy and Extremism (FIDE), a project of Civitas. She was formerly a research fellow at the Centre on Radicalisation and Terrorism (CRT) at the Henry Jackson Society. Her published work focuses on Islamist extremist networks and their abuse of civil society, the education and charitable sectors, and domestic funding. She has been published in The Times, the Telegraph, Independent and Spectator, among others and has appeared on international media discussing the risks posed by terrorism and extremism in Europe. Emma holds degrees from the University of Cambridge and King’s College London.

Sophy asks Yvette Cooper, the Labour Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, whether the Home Office is fit for purpose and ready for Brexit. Plus Conservative vice-chair Kemi Badenoch explains how she sees the future of her party, and tells Sophy about her less-than-traditional upbringing. #Ridge

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, to discuss immigration policy and Brexit. She explained her committee’s work on migration policy, including their most recent inquiries into consensus building on immigration, and the Government’s preparedness for immigration after Brexit. She was in conversation with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government. The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper is MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford and Chair of the Home Affairs Committee. She has previously held a number of posts in the Cabinet, including Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Chief Secretary to the Treasury. She has also held posts in the Shadow Cabinet, such as Shadow Home Secretary. #IfGBrexit Follow @ifgevents

5 live Investigates reveals startling new figures on the number of strip searches carried out by police. The Metropolitan Police alone carried out more than 76 thousand strip searches in the last three years - that's one every 20 minutes. Among them were 4,000 children.The programme has uncovered cases across England and Wales where searches appear unjustified, rules for children haven't been followed and even apparently racially motivated searches. The Home Office is now looking at whether extra safeguards are needed because it says many police forces don't have sufficient records to show if they're being carried out fairly or adequately supervised. Yvette Cooper MP, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, says the figures are worrying and police need to demonstrate whether so many searches are justified. Only 13 of the 45 forces in the UK we contacted could tell us how many strip searches they'd carried out.

On this week's Murnaghan podcast - We hear from David Mundell, the Secretary of State for Scotland who has – controversially - been denied a seat on Theresa May’s Brexit cabinet committee and Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. Revelations have emerged that Boris Johnson, prominent Brexiteer, wrote unpublished newspaper columns supporting Britain staying in the European Union just two days before he announced he would support the Leave campaign. We hear from Tim Shipman, political editor of the Sunday Times, in whose recent book on Brexit this exposé was made. A cross-party committee of MPs has criticised Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for failing to do enough to tackle anti-Semitism in the party. We hear from Tim Loughton, Acting chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, which authored the report, and Jeremy Newmark, National Chair of the Jewish Labour Movement. And finally we hear from the queen of punk, Dame Vivienne Westwood, who has recently published her memoirs. All on this week's Murnaghan podcast.

This week's Murnaghan podcast features interviews with the Shadow Foreign Secretary and Shadow Secretary for Brexit, Emily Thornberry MP; Conservative MEP and prominent Leave campaigner, Daniel Hannan and chair of Vote Leave Watch and candidate for Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Chuka Umunna MP. Finally, a team of top political pundits share their insight on this week’s news. Matt Chorley, editor of the Times’ Red Box; Rowena Mason, deputy political editor at the Guardian; and Joe Twyman, head of political and social research at YouGov. All on this week's Murnaghan podcast! #Brexit #Murnaghan #Skynews #EURef

Chris Mullin shares his insights into the leadership traits behind some of the UK's most successful Prime Ministers. Chris has enjoyed a fascinating career comprising of journalism, advising Tony Benn, editing Tribune, writing novels, campaigning for the release of the Birmingham Six, serving as a Labour Member of Parliament for 23 years, chairing the influential Home Affairs Select Committee, being a government minister, and most recently as a much admired diarist of the New Labour years. These experiences have given Chris a ring-side seat from where he has observed many leaders, and how they handled difficult situations and, more generally, exercised power. Chris reflects on leaders he has observed and the lessons that can be gleaned from his life in politics. He will also discuss key issues facing society and make a case for the importance of politics and public service in an age of mistrust and scepticism. Listen to podcast

The BBC has come under criticism for the way it covered a police raid on Sir Cliff Richard's home. BBC News decided to film and broadcast a search of the singer's home last week, using a helicopter flying over his home in Berkshire. Since then, the organisation has been accused of breaking editorial guidelines, and will now face questions by the Home Affairs Select Committee. Steve Hewlett talks to Professor Stewart Purvis, former Editor-in-Chief of ITN, about the decision making taken in newsrooms, and crime correspondent for the Times, Fiona Hamilton, about the relationship between crime reporters and the police, especially in a post-Leveson age.Sky TV has announced plans to improve the representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people across its entertainment channels, including Sky1 and drama-focused Sky Atlantic. It's pledged that by the end of 2015, all new shows on Sky entertainment channels will have people from BAME backgrounds in at least 20% of significant on-screen roles, while all original programming will have someone with a BAME background in at least one senior production role. Steve talks to Stuart Murphy, Sky's director of entertainment, about how they'll go about sourcing the talent, and to Simone Pennant who is the founder of the TV Collective, a membership organisation which works to improve diversity on and off screen.A press freedom group says journalists attempting to report on the protests in Ferguson in Missouri are being restricted by police. We speak to Gregg Leslie from The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in the US, and Channel 4 reporter Kylie Morris, on her experience of having an officer pointing a gun at her whilst reporting from the protests. Producer: Katy Takatsuki.

The Poet and Reggae star, Benjamin Zephaniah, wrote an article in The Guardian saying anyone who attended the San Fermin Festival of the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona in Northern Spain would have blood on their hands. Yesterday, dozens were injured following a horrific pile-up at the infamous Spanish bull running festival. One Irish victim is suffering from traumatic asphyxia caused by crushing. Runners taking part in the San Fermin festival in Pamplona were trampled on in a massive crush as the animals they were fleeing from tried to climb over them from behind. A Spanish man was said be "very gravely ill" with serious internal injuries after his chest was crushed. UK MPs have revealed it will take 37 YEARS to clear a new backlog of half a million immigration cases. The Home Affairs Select Committee said it is “staggering” that 502,462 applications are still outstanding. The devastating verdict comes in an inquiry into the failed UK Border Agency, which has now been scrapped and broken up. The scandal plunges border bosses back to the dark days of the 1990s when a secret backlog of 460,500 asylum cases built up. The number of foreign offenders living in the UK awaiting deportation also rose last year to 4,102 THE heartbroken parents of a trainee doctor who died at a notorious seaside resort have blamed their son’s death on Britain’s binge-drinking culture. Tim and Jeane Doy told an inquest 26-year-old Oliver would still be alive if bar staff had refused to serve him more booze. Most of the reaction to the story seems to show that the readers feel it was his own fault and being a trainee doctor he should have known better. Finally, to lighten the podcast a milkman in the UK has been banned from whistling on his rounds and a lollipop man has been banned from giving 'high fives' to the children as he helps them cross the road outside their primary school......

The Poet and Reggae star, Benjamin Zephaniah, wrote an article in The Guardian saying anyone who attended the San Fermin Festival of the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona in Northern Spain would have blood on their hands. Yesterday, dozens were injured following a horrific pile-up at the infamous Spanish bull running festival. One Irish victim is suffering from traumatic asphyxia caused by crushing. Runners taking part in the San Fermin festival in Pamplona were trampled on in a massive crush as the animals they were fleeing from tried to climb over them from behind. A Spanish man was said be "very gravely ill" with serious internal injuries after his chest was crushed. UK MPs have revealed it will take 37 YEARS to clear a new backlog of half a million immigration cases. The Home Affairs Select Committee said it is “staggering” that 502,462 applications are still outstanding. The devastating verdict comes in an inquiry into the failed UK Border Agency, which has now been scrapped and broken up. The scandal plunges border bosses back to the dark days of the 1990s when a secret backlog of 460,500 asylum cases built up. The number of foreign offenders living in the UK awaiting deportation also rose last year to 4,102 THE heartbroken parents of a trainee doctor who died at a notorious seaside resort have blamed their son’s death on Britain’s binge-drinking culture. Tim and Jeane Doy told an inquest 26-year-old Oliver would still be alive if bar staff had refused to serve him more booze. Most of the reaction to the story seems to show that the readers feel it was his own fault and being a trainee doctor he should have known better. Finally, to lighten the podcast a milkman in the UK has been banned from whistling on his rounds and a lollipop man has been banned from giving 'high fives' to the children as he helps them cross the road outside their primary school......

Mark Thompson and Emma Burnell discuss recent political events in the House of Comments podcast. This week they discuss the Chancellor's Autumn statement and try to work out who the strivers and skivers are, whether Starbucks are a fair target for tax protests, pluralism with respect to the new "Labour for Democracy" movement and speculate on how the government will respond to the imminent Home Affairs Select Committee report on drug policy.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is under pressure on several fronts. It's being investigated by the Home Affairs Select Committee and is re-examining some of its serious cases. Is the IPCC up to the job - and if not, what are the problems? Simon Cox investigates.

This week Libby Purves is joined by Jeremy Wade, Jacqui Thompson, Chris Mullin and Professor Roger Kneebone. Jeremy Wade is a former science teacher turned extreme fisherman. He presents the award-winning TV series 'River Monsters' in which he travels to remote rivers in the Congo, Amazon rainforest and the mountains of India tracking down large, weird and little-known fish. His book 'River Monsters' is published by Swordfish. Jacqui Thompson's husband Gary, a reservist with the RAF Regiment, was killed in Afghanistan on 2008. Since his death, Jacqui and her five daughters have been helped by the RAF Benevolent Fund. Money raised at this years British Military Tournament will go to the three armed forces charities; ABF The Soldier's Charity in association with The Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity and The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund. Chris Mullin was Labour MP for Sunderland South from 1987 to 2010, serving as chairman of the influential Home Affairs Select Committee and as Minister in three departments. For sixteen years he kept a witty and irreverent diary of the daily life of an MP and it is now a play A Walk On Part at the Soho Theatre. His diaries have appeared as three books, A View from the Foothills, Decline and Fall, and A Walk on Part - all published by Profile Books. Roger Kneebone is Professor of Surgical Education at Imperial College London. He's presenting his first 'Professor Kneebone's Incredible Inflatable, Pop-Up Anatomy Lesson' at the Wellcome Collection as part of the Performing Medicine season, a series of performances, conversations and workshops exploring the fertile relationship between performance and anatomy. Producer: Lucinda Montefiore.

There were cheers and jeers in the House this week when Elizabeth Filkin was named as head of the enquiry to advise on cleaning up the relationship between the Met and the media following the hacking scandal.As former Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards she challenged vested interests at Westminster, until she was 'hounded out' by MPs in 2002 after questioning the probity of some of their number. She took on Keith Vaz - who this week chaired the Home Affairs Select Committee's questioning of recently resigned Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson - during her investigation into his links with the Hinduja family and accused him of deliberately trying to thwart her enquiries.Supporters describe her as "fair but firm... someone who cannot be bribed, bought or bullied."Filkin doesn't come with the typical background for a Government-appointed inquisitor. She is a former community worker, having worked in the London Borough of Brent back in the 1970s. She went on to to be an academic, as well as Chief Executive of the Citizens Advice Bureau.Now over 70, in recent years Elizabeth Filkin may have been out of the limelight, but as Shari Vahl reports, her antecedence suggests she's someone who wants to get at the truth - and isn't too concerned who she upsets along the way.

Does screen violence breed violence in Britain's youth? Expert Professor Kevin Browne has the answer. Professor Browne is a forensic psychologist at the University and this year presented a report to a Home Affairs Select Committee investigating knife crime.