Speaking from Gaza, Manar Al Houbi told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show she was informed just days before her evacuation from Gaza that her family would not be allowed to come with her – despite the Labour Government allowing other students' families to enter the UK.

In her recent report, Dame Anne Owers wrote that the prison capacity crisis stems from the “irresistible pressure for more and longer prison sentences.” Read our explainer article to understand how longer sentences have fuelled this crisis:

Children in prisons in England are typically being kept in their cells for about 20 hours per day and receiving less than 15 hours of education per week. Our updated guide with IPSEA highlights an urgent need to improve education for children with special educational needs:

From the President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. opiniojuris.org/2025/08/04/i...

“Prisons cannot go on like this. It is unconscionable to see the huge rise in deaths in custody, as well as continued spikes in self-harm and in assaults." A staggering 401 people died in prison in the last year. Read our response to MoJ's safety in custody stats: howardleague.org/news/shockin...

We have an opening for a one-year Sociology Lectureship in Glasgow focused on teaching the sociology of class. Please share it with anyone interested. www.jobs.gla.ac.uk/job/lecturer...

This is what I was doing, exactly 4 years ago… youtu.be/iqAKuQBF5Qg?...

Congratulations Satnam www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/fellows/satn... @uofgsociology.bsky.social @uofglasgow.bsky.social

"Observations from Howard League members in Lowdham Grange prison" A new blogpost on letters we have received from members living in one of the most troubled jails in the country: howardleague.org/blog/observa...

NEW: SCOTUS shoots down a federal judge’s effort to protect eight men from being expelled—without due process—to South Sudan, where they face torture and death. Dissenting, Sotomayor says the court’s “indefensible” decision makes it complicit in “lawlessness.” www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

📖 Book Talk: 'Desistance, Resistance, & Normalcy' with Tea Fredriksson & Robin Gålnander is now on our YouTube page. @spookademic.bsky.social @robingalnander.bsky.social @stockholm-uni.bsky.social @fergusmcneill.bsky.social @margueritesch.bsky.social youtu.be/UYT-YytzY-c?...

How will the sentencing review recommendations be turned into operational reality? With new legislation expected any day now, this blogpost from our Director of Campaigns, @andrewjamesneilson.bsky.social, looks at what the future may hold: howardleague.org/blog/how-wil...

Critical piece of research on sexual violence in the Scottish folk music scene, please share. www.sccjr.ac.uk/news_item/se...

Here are some of the members of a working group we convened to explore ways to end the IPP scandal. Have you read their recommendations yet? The report was launched last night in the House of Lords, and you can read it here: howardleague.org/publications... 📸 @andyaitchison.bsky.social

"James Timpson, the prisons minister and Labour peer, should accept this workable and detailed plan and seek to close this shameful chapter in the history of British criminal justice." www.independent.co.uk/voices/edito...

Please share this far and wide… esp if you are part of the Scottish folk music scene.

🗣️ Please share/take part in our survey on: Women musicians' experiences of sexual violence & harassment in the Scottish folk scene. We've heard many conversations about ongoing challenges and hope to help develop better understanding and awareness, and pathways to change. ✍️ bit.ly/UofG-Survey

🎉We are delighted that two of our academics have received @erc.europa.eu Advanced Grants- out of five prestigious awards made across @uofglasgow.bsky.social. Well done @fergusmcneill.bsky.social @thesccjr.bsky.social and Prof Ruth Dukes @uofglaw.bsky.social More: www.gla.ac.uk/news/headlin...

Five Professors have been awarded @erc.europa.eu Advanced Grants – the most the UofG has ever received in one round. Congratulations @jadamcarter.bsky.social, @sabrewster.bsky.social, @fergusmcneill.bsky.social, Ruth Dukes and Simon Hanslmayr! More: gla.ac/4lb3FIl #ERCAdG

🥳 Congratulations to our very own @fergusmcneill.bsky.social who has been awarded ERC Advanced Grant funding for his 'Rehabilitation and Reintegration in Europe' project.

We have entered the "The police is saying that if the police is at your door you are not safe call the police immediately" stage of making America great again

Peter Krykant kept the lives being lost to drugs in the public eye & shamed the Scottish gov into action. His van prevented overdoses & and continues to so as, without it, The Thistle wouldn’t exist. It was a privilege to know him. I hope he’s at peace. www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/peter-k...

The media often try to draw battle lines between us, but when it comes to fixing the prisons crisis, we and the POA agree that sensible action to reduce the number of people behind bars is an important first step. www.spectator.co.uk/article/head...

Strange Island.

Now available on all the usual streaming platforms. Would love to hear if any of these 3 songs sticks with you… open.spotify.com/album/4HGWMx...

"Gaza is a crime scene. Dust it off, and you will find the fingerprints of British editors and British journalists amongst the apocalyptic rubble." @owenjones.bsky.social Congratulations on the award of the Amnesty People's Choice Award for journalism www.owenjones.news?utm_source=n...

⏺️ The recording of Tom Daems @eurocriminology.bsky.social workshop on 'Body Searches and Europe's Struggle with Degradation' is now available on the SCCJR YouTube channel. youtu.be/wcMyF9vFYMo?...

The last of the three tracks on the new EP. All on my own for this one, which is about mistakes, and the struggle to avoid repeating them: youtu.be/i2SavlHERHk?...

"Warehousing people in overcrowded and violent prisons without any access to rehabilitation, with ready access to drugs, is very much a threat to public safety." Our Director of Campaigns @andrewjamesneilson.bsky.social tells the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 why sentencing reform is urgent.

👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

📕Book Talk: 'Desistance, Resistance, and Normalcy' with Tea Fredriksson @spookademic.bsky.social & Robin Gålnander @robingalnander.bsky.social Commentators: @fergusmcneill.bsky.social & @margueritesch.bsky.social @uofgsocsci.bsky.social 🗓️ 11 June, 1pm (UK time) 📌 Online 🔻Register bit.ly/3HdaR89

Today marks five years since George Floyd was killed by police. Our June 22, 2020 cover “Say Their Names,” by Kadir Nelson, illustrated how Floyd’s murder embodies the history of violence inflicted upon Black people in America. nyer.cm/UmfefJw

"Words alone mean nothing. They simply bounce off Israel’s iron dome of impunity." Nesrine Malik calls for an EU trade embargo, sanctions on the politicians who enable the settlers, & the observation of the ICC's rulings. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

There's still time to apply for this p/t post on project comparing penal supervision across 5 nations. Working with great team @bethweaver.bsky.social @fergusmcneill.bsky.social @drhannahgraham.bsky.social @jakephillips.bsky.social Fern Gillon & Sarah Doxat-Pratt. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DMY924/r...

📣 Job opportunity 📣 We’re hiring a legal administrative officer to support us with the smooth and efficient running of the legal team. Find out more: howardleague.org/about-us/vac...

Sausalito Blue is out today. fergusmcneill.bandcamp.com/album/3live-...

Wrote this one for @keirstarmer.bsky.social

Children are being starved to death in Gaza. The Labour government said nothing until the IDF shot at UK diplomats. And yet the Brits target an Irish group for "terrorism" for speaking up. i may have some issues with Kneecap's actions but I will defend Irish artists over spineless British leaders.

Next song and video drops tomorrow at 9am, timed to meet your morning coffee. This one is for all my American friends in these craziest of times… youtu.be/HMl03tdsgXs?...

That was fast. @nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...

“This is a vital review that makes the case for change by focusing on the evidence on what will reduce reoffending and prevent more people becoming victims of crime. Our response to David Gauke's sentencing review: howardleague.org/news/a-vital...

Expect to read many news headlines about sentencing and prisons in the next few days. We're here to help. Please share our article, which cuts through the jargon and explains how longer sentences have contributed to the prison capacity crisis: howardleague.org/what-is-sent...

Off to Edinburgh tomorrow to give a talk “Howie Becker Mixtape” on the life and craft sociological maverick Howard S Becker 22nd May Time: 3pm-4.30pm Venue: Violet Laidlaw Room, Chrystal Macmillan Building. Hope to see you there.

A sheriff has ruled Jack McKenzie's Polmont suicide was preventable. He also said 2 prison officers who failed to carry out a proper hatch-check an hour before Jack's body was found should have been disciplined/retrained. My @heraldscotland.bsky.social story. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2517634...

Our letter before claim, sent to the Secretary of State for Justice, challenges her decision to make PAVA available for use in prisons holding children. The letter asks the Secretary of State to withdraw her decision. Our press release: t.co/y1At628oTA

When the government announced the use of PAVA in prisons holding children, we said we would take any steps necessary to challenge it. Today, we sent a letter before claim to the Secretary of State for Justice challenging the decision. Our press release: t.co/y1At628oTA

It's been almost 5 years since police in Minneapolis murdered George Floyd. Each year is a chance to remember + reflect. In the first two years, I blogged about the initial efforts to secure Justice for George. (Find those at: scatter.wordpress.com/2021/05/24/o...) Now we can trace a longer story...

At last - some action