Police backlash over Johnson’s new crime plan

Latest updates and essential advice from The Independent [View in browser]( [Alternate text] Daily briefing July 28, 2021 Today’s essential news from the source you trust This morning’s headlines Britain’s most senior police officers [were not consulted about Boris Johnson’s new plan to “beat crime”]( - or even aware it was being drawn up, The Independent can reveal. The measures, which the prime minister unveiled on Tuesday, include electronic tags on burglars, longer sentences for some crimes and an extension of controversial blanket stop-and-search powers. But police bodies and victims’ advocates say they were not involved in the formulation of the “beating crime plan” and were only sent the full details on Tuesday - a day after it had been distributed to members of the media. The 50-page document is believed to have been written by central government in a matter of days and contains some measures that had not been requested by criminal justice agencies or experts. Anger is also growing among rank-and-file police officers, who lashed out at government “gimmicks” days after a vote of no confidence in the home secretary, Priti Patel, over a pay freeze. A government scheme to beat the “pingdemic” by exempting essential workers from self-isolation has been [denounced as a shambles](, as small businesses warned they were facing frustration and delays in trying to sign up staff. Ministers last week announced 800 daily testing sites would be set up around the country to allow double-vaccinated workers in the food industry and emergency services to show they are safe to work and a further 1,200 were announced on Monday as the scheme was expanded to include jobs including binmen, prison warders and energy workers. Some 500 are supposed to be operational by the end of this week, with only a few dozen thought to be up and running now. But representatives of small businesses said they had struggled to find lists of venues for workers to take PCR tests and the Department of Health was unable to provide The Independent with a figure for how many have so far been set up. US gymnast Simone Biles has [withdrawn from the final individual all-around gymnastics]( at the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health. The 24-year-old, widely considered the greatest in her discipline of all time, pulled out of the women’s gymnastics team final on Tuesday, citing mental health concerns, with Team USA going on to win silver behind the Russian Olympic Committee. Biles will continue to consider her participation on a day-by-day basis with the prospect of her competing in Tokyo at one of the other four finals she has qualified for. Follow the latest updates from the Games [in our liveblog](. . We need your support The Independent employs over 100 journalists around the world to bring you news you can trust. Please consider showing your support with a contribution. [Contribute]( . Top stories [Trump could be forced to testify over Capitol riot, says Liz Cheney]( [Border to open for double-jabbed EU and US travellers, says report]( [Earth’s liquid hot interior ‘swallowing up’ more carbon than thought]( . . Stories chosen for you - [Hi-vis chain gangs? This is what happens when a newspaper columnist becomes prime minister | Tom Peck]( - [Labour MP on trial for housing fraud is ‘good person’ says John McDonnell]( - [Do you legally have to self-isolate if pinged by the NHS Covid app?]( - [UK mulls loosening travel restrictions for jabbed Americans]( - [EU pauses legal action over UK breach of Northern Ireland protocol]( . News you can trust The Independent has a 100% NewsGuard trust rating [NewsGuard] [Find out more]( . If you can spare two minutes we’d love to hear your [feedback]( on our newsletters [Alternate text] Join the conversation or follow us [Twitter]( [Facebook]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's News email. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent News Daily Briefing email, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Headlines_Masterlist_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345. Read our [privacy notice]( and [cookie policy](.