From BBC London today:
A men’s prison in south-west London has been deemed “unsafe and inhumane”, a watchdog report has warned. HMP Wandsworth has seen “no real progress” in the past year and reflects “the failures of the prison system as a whole”, its Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) said.
The report was written before the alleged escape of Daniel Khalife from the prison. A Prison Service spokesperson said it had taken “decisive action” to address the “serious issues” raised.
The report does mention ‘the government’ but only to defend them, in this:
A spokesperson for HM Prison Service said it had increased frontline staffing at the prison by almost a quarter in the past six years.
They said the government was spending more than £8m on new CCTV for the prison, “tougher” gate security and specialist staff with dogs.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67065800
The report does not offer a platform for the Labour Party opposition to attack the Conservative Government.
On 13 September, BBC Scotland had:
The chief inspector for Scottish prisons has warned the number of people in custody is projected to soar in the next year. Wendy Sinclair-Gieben said inmate numbers had fallen during the Covid pandemic – but were on the rise again.
In her annual report she said they were likely to go above 8,000 over the coming year.The Scottish government said it was taking action to reduce the prison population.
but then allowed this:
Scottish Conservatives justice spokesman Russell Findlay MSP described the report as “damning”, stating it should serve as a “wake-up call for SNP ministers”.
He added: “Crumbling Victorian-era prisons, rampant drug use and a lack of basic resources is endangering staff and making rehabilitation impossible, thereby continuing the cycle of crime on our streets.
“Yet this complacent SNP government has no sense of urgency, with the desperately needed Glasgow and Highland prisons already subject to significant delays.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66794838
This tendency only by BBC Scotland to politicise, public services reports, is well-demonstrated. For more than 20 examples and one research report, see:
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Talking-up Scotland 
One of the most persistent unionist tropes against independence is that Scots are just not very good, or, in the words of former Scottish labour leader Johan Lamont, “we are not genetically programmed to run our own affairs.”
The persistent negative stories on BBC Scotland, STV, The Daily Ranger, Herald, Scotsman, etc overwhelmingly are about failures in Scottish life. The message is that “We are not very good. We fail at most things.”
And many of these articles are written by ‘proud Scots’. What is it that they are proud of since they spend their working lives creating stories which show how bad we are.
Since the Scottish Parliament was set up, with a Lab/LibDem coalition the media with very few exceptions have waded in with tacketty boots, stamping down any ideas and proposals and sneering at any speeches made by MSPs – of any party. The message from the strat has been “Yese ur shite! Yese ur shite! Yese ur shite!”
This disassociation of themselves from their Scottishness and their presentation of themselves as ‘Brits’, is the ultimate sign of the colonised mentality, the Uncle Tom syndrome. But, they tell us, they are ‘proud Scots.’
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Has HMP Wandsworth been privatised ???
And if so where exactly is all the money from the public purse going ???
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Austerity caused a rise in knife crime in London. Austerity causes hardship. Food retailers making increased profits. The wealthy getting tax cuts. Brexit caused cost of living and mortgage/rent rises. Brexit cost £100Billion. £10Billion to Scotland.
UK Gov £731Billion raised in tax/revenues. Spends £1090Billions. 2020/21.
2019/20 £817Billion was raised. UK Gov whole counts. Published June 2023.
Scotland raises £87Billion. Spends £54Billion. UK Gov spends the rest?
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UK the most unequal place. Highest prison pop in Europe. Too many vulnerable people in prison. On the spectrum. Neurodiverse Not receiving proper support of diagnosis.
People who should be in rehab. Less costly than prison. Alcohol/drug consumption is linked to crime.
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