NEWS_KF17THMAY20240800

Calls are being made to re-examine the convictions of around 100 sub-postmasters after flawed prosecutions by the Post Office. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is being questioned as their cases relied on discredited information from the Post Office. The DWP claims its cases did not solely rely on faulty IT evidence. Thousands of police officers in England and Wales have received specialist training in investigating rapes, a move praised by the Home Secretary. Kharkiv, Ukraine, was attacked with drone strikes, marking the longest air raid alert since Russia's invasion in February 2022. The funeral for a 14-year-old boy who was killed in a sword attack in East London is taking place. Scottish singer Katie Tunstall will receive an award for Outstanding Song Collection and a demo of her track will be released. With the latest, I'm Kyle Fraser. There are calls for the previous convictions of around 100 sub-postmasters to be re-examined after a series of separate prosecutions, but not by the Post Office. Sir Robert Neill, Chair of the Justice Select Committee, fears the investigation by the Department for Work and Pensions may have been flawed. That's because cases were supported by largely discredited information from the Post Office. What's troubling in the DWP cases is that this is a different lot of prosecutors. Does that mean it wasn't just a cultural and systemic failure within the Post Office and their prosecutions team? I think we'll need to keep looking at those. The DWP says its cases didn't rely solely on evidence from the faulty Horizon IT system. The Home Secretary's vowed to put more sex offenders behind bars after thousands of police officers were specially trained in investigating rapes. James Cleverley hailed the figure as a significant milestone in the bid to overhaul how rape and sexual offences are handled. According to the College of Policing, over 4,500 officers in England and Wales have completed the specialist training, but labours call the progress limited. The Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has been attacked overnight, with the region's governor reporting at least five drone strikes. It was under an air raid alert for more than 16 hours. That's the longest since Russia's invasion began in February 2022. Kir Jeyes is a specialist in Russian politics at Chatham House and says there's been a recent increase in military activity in the Kharkiv region. That, of course, is deeply uncomfortable for the Russian leadership. But, of course, it's only part of the offensive operations that Russia is undertaking all the way along that front line. And Ukraine is also watching for where it may come under pressure next. A funeral will be held later for the 14-year-old boy who died in a sword attack in East London two weeks ago. Daniel Andrean was killed as he walked to school in Hainault in an attack which left four others injured, including two police officers. A GoFundMe page set up in his honour has already received more than £150,000. And in showbiz, Scottish singer Katie Tunstall is set to receive the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Song Collection. To commemorate the honour, a demo of her track, Suddenly I See, which she recorded alone in her basement flat 20 years ago, will be released on Amazon Music. The 48-year-old will accept the trophy at the awards ceremony in London next week. There's more news online at gado.co.uk