The massacre of Red Crescent and civil defence aid workers has elicited little coverage and no condemnation by major powers — this is the age of lawlessness, warns JOE GILL
Our criminal justice system in crisis – we need a royal commission
STEVE GILLAN explains why the POA is calling for a royal commission, with a wide range of voices, on the desperate state of our prisons system

THE escape from Wandsworth prison is a timely reminder of how far the criminal justice system has fallen.
The Prison Officers Association at this year’s TUC Congress in Liverpool will be calling for a royal commission into the whole criminal justice system from probation, courts, policing and prisons.
There seems to be much more interest in prisons among the public, press and politicians since some high-profile incidents — and that can only be a good thing in getting our message across regarding the savage cuts that our service has endured since the austerity cuts which we have not recovered from.
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The pressure is now on the government to deliver its promises, and that pressure is not just from the unions, but from a working class that will look to the right if things under Labour don’t markedly improve, writes STEVE GILLAN