Top story: Rudd damned by her own department
Good morning to you all, I’m Graham Russell and this is the news today.
Cuts to policing under a Tory government are likely to have contributed to a rise in serious, violent crime, leaked Home Office documents show.
As the home secretary, Amber Rudd, prepares to launch her strategy to tackle such crime today, files emerged noting that a shrinking police force was causing problems. After pointing out falling officer numbers, her departmental officials state: “Resources dedicated to serious violence have come under pressure and charge rates have dropped. This may have encouraged offenders. [It is] unlikely to be the factor that triggered the shift in serious violence, but may be an underlying driver that has allowed the rise to continue.”
Since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, police budgets have been cut and officer numbers have fallen by more than 20,000. Figures from November showed a 20% annual rise in gun, knife and serious violent crime across England and Wales, and London has seen more than 50 killings already this year.
On Sunday, before the documents emerged, Rudd dismissed the idea of a link between police cuts and the rise in violent crime, saying “the evidence does not bear out claims that resources are to blame for rising violence”.
Jeremy Corbyn will focus on rising violent crime today as he launches his party’s bid to take over at least four Tory authorities in London local elections.
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‘Animal Assad’ – Donald Trump has warned of a “big price to pay” over the chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb which killed 42 people and injured hundreds more on Sunday. The US president squarely blames Vladimir Putin, Russia and Iran for backing the Assad regime and all eyes will be on whether he will order another retaliatory missile strike, as he said he would after the sarin gas attack a year ago in Khan Sheikhun. The regime said one of its airbases was bombed in the aftermath of the weekend’s attack but it was unclear who had carried out the air strikes. On Monday in New York, the UN security council will hold two emergency meetings on the attack: one called by the UK and France, the other by Russia. Boris Johnson described the matter as “deeply disturbing” and urged Russia not to impede an independent investigation.
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Olivier awards – The musical Hamilton stormed the Olivier awards last night, taking home seven awards and dispelling any wonderings about whether a show about one of the least well-known founding fathers of the US would do well in the UK. It won awards including best new musical, choreography, lighting and sound. The show, which Daily Mail critic Quentin Letts judged to be “so-so”, is booked out till November so you might need to be patient. The Troubles-set The Ferryman won three Oliviers, including best new play. Here are some lovely pictures from the soggy red carpet, plus the best quotes from the night.
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Hungary backs Orbán – Viktor Orbán has won a third consecutive term in office as Hungary’s prime minister after his Fidesz party ran a campaign that almost exclusively focused on stoking immigration fears. With about 93% of votes counted, Fidesz was projected to take 133 of the parliament’s 199 seats, the minimum required for a “supermajority”, which allows changes to the constitution. Claiming victory shortly before midnight, Orbán said: “We won. We gave ourselves a chance to protect Hungary.” Few in Brussels will be celebrating the victory of someone who has chipped away at democratic checks and balances, curbed judicial independence and clamped down on independent media, writes Jennifer Rankin.
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It’s not all about Brexit, y’know – Two years ago, Peterborough was Brexit central. Now, as local elections loom, the big issue is ... fly-tipping. But it is a symptom of a wider problem: a fast-growing population struggling with a lack of housing, school places and what the economy might look like after the UK goes it alone. Ukip still has a toehold but Brexit is not on the ballot paper – deputy political editor Anne Perkins took a look around to find out why. EU withdrawal has similarly moved down the worry list among chief financial officers at some of the UK’s biggest businesses, replaced by weak domestic growth.
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When demolitions go wrong – There was a big bang, dust flew out and the 53-metre silo began to topple. The only problem was it went the wrong way, falling towards a library and cultural centre. Minor structural damage was caused, and there are now a lot of dusty books, but no injuries were reported in the town of Vordingborg, Denmark. The explosives association said preparations for the demolition seemed to be correct.
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Lunchtime read: Famalam, more than the Real McCoy
Famalam’s skits range from a blaxploitation reworking of Midsomer Murders to a group of aunties having a Sergio Leone-style standoff over who gets the last helpings of jollof rice. It’s quickfire, playful comedy rooted in the black British experience, writes Lanre Bakare, but why are black sketch shows such a rarity in British comedy? As the first such show with no white principal cast members, The Real McCoy broke new ground in 1991 but didn’t get any spinoffs, and was not allowed to grow. Lenny Henry was the obvious exception to that rule but, as Stephen K Amos pointed out in 2010, “It’s one in, one out.” There’s a sense, though, that Famalam’s creators want to go beyond the Real McCoy generation, aiming to mix carefully crafted comedy with snippets that are shareable online. “We think of it like a rap mixtape,” says director Tom Marshall. “My absolute dream now is to be on Instagram one day just looking around and I see one of our sketches. I want it to travel in that way.” Famalam is available on BBC Three from 9 April and on BBC Two at 10pm on 15 April.
Sport
Patrick Reed has held off challenges from Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth to win the Masters in Augusta, not bad for someone whose previous Masters record included two missed cuts, a share of 49th and a tie for 22nd. Although Reed studied at Augusta State, and his parents live in the city, but he is hardly a home favourite, writes Andy Bull.
It’s day five of the Commonwealth Games – follow all the action on our liveblog here.
Sad news from the Paris-Roubaix race – Belgian cyclist Michael Goolaerts, 23, has died after suffering a cardiac arrest during the event on Sunday. An action-packed Bahrain Grand Prix saw a Ferrari mechanic run over, Lewis Hamilton overtake three people in a single manoeuvre and and Sebastian Vettel triumph after a battle of the strategies. And finally Pep Guardiola has admitted Manchester City’s inability to maintain a two‑goal lead against United could weigh on players’ minds when seeking to overturn a 3-0 deficit against Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-final second leg on Tuesday night.
Business
Asian stock markets rose on Monday amid uncertainty about the looming US-Chinese tariff dispute after Donald Trump said a settlement was possible but his advisers said other nations might add to pressure on Beijing. The Australian owner of Homebase is flying to the UK for a tour of its stores as the future of the struggling DIY chain hangs in the balance, a month after owner Wesfarmers considered quitting the UK.
The pound is buying $1.409 and €1.148.
The papers
There is one story in town today, the chemical attack carried out by Assad forces that left 42 people dead in the Syrian suburb of Douma.
The disaster makes the front pages of papers from the Mirror (“You animal Assad”) and the Express (“Sick”) to the Telegraph (“Trump’s warning to Putin over Syrian gas atrocity”) and the FT (“Trump warns of ‘big price to pay’ for alleged Syria chemical attack”). The Times also quotes Trump’s warning to the Syrian president.
The Guardian has an image taken from the aftermath of the attack on the front page, but the lead story is an exclusive about violent crime: “Police cuts ‘likely contributed’ to rise in violence, leaked Home Office paper says.”
The Mail, meanwhile, fills its front page with a plea to “Save the Open University!” complete with exclamation mark. The Sun has a story about singer Olly Murs defending his tweets last year about a supposed gun attack in Selfridges.
For more news: www.theguardian.com
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