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Here is today's Mancunian Way:
Hello,
An alleged rapist, two men accused of causing grievous bodily harm and an alleged sexual offender have been released on conditional bail as the criminal justice system reaches crisis point.
Court reporter Andrew Bardsley has been looking at the serious effects the barristers’ strike is having on day-to-day business at Manchester’s criminal courts. Most recently, it’s the issue of 'custody time limits' that has come into sharp focus.
Defendants can be held in custody for almost six months after being charged, while awaiting trial - but judges often allow prosecutors to extend the amount of time a defendant remains in custody awaiting trial if there is a 'good and sufficient' reason.
In recent cases, three judges across Greater Manchester have refused to extend the period. Trials in all three cases had been due to take place this month, but had to be abandoned because the defendants had no lawyer to represent them due to barristers taking industrial action in a row over Legal Aid - the scheme which pays lawyers for publicly funded work. The Director of Public Prosecutions has appealed against two of these decisions.
Kirsty Brimelow KC, chair of the Criminal Bar Association previously warned MPs there will 'increasingly' be defendants being released out on bail as their custody time limit expires. "There may be situations where you have people on the streets you would rather not have on the streets," she said.
Bet Lynch or Mick Lynch?
‘Was it something I said?’ joked Andy Burnham as he looked towards rows of empty seats at a fringe event at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool yesterday. The choice of venue for the event was perhaps a bit ambitious.
During the chat with the Guardian’s Katherine Viner, the mayor said nationalising railways was 'a no brainer', backed a proportional system for the Commons and said the party needs to put forward ‘radical’ housing policies.
His ‘King of the North’ credentials were also put to the test with a quick fire round of questions in which he refused to divulge his favourite Gallagher brother and chose Bet Lynch over Mick Lynch.
As ever the mayor was asked about a possible return to Westminster, and as ever, he didn’t rule it out.
Speaking of the mayoral role, Gary Neville has denied that he would run to succeed Mr Burnham. He instead claims that he prefers to be a 'loose cannon on the outside'.
Speaking at the conference, he described the government’s tax cuts as ‘immoral’ and said the Prime Minister is ‘taking the absolute mickey out of us’.
In contrast to Mr Burnham's discussion, it was standing room only for Lisa Nandy’s fringe event on Levelling Up in a tiny event room this morning, with reports of the double doors being wedged wide open so more people could hear her.
The Telegraph reports she vowed to end the 'Hunger Games system' of devolution that sees mayors competing for funding and said Labour could give councils power to spend income tax locally.
The Wigan MP is due to lay out how Labour would give more powers to renters and how they would rebuild social housing in her speech to conference later today.
Deputy Labour leader and Ashton-under-Lyne MP Angela Rayner got a standing ovation after her speech on Sunday.
In it, she gave a less than flattering assessment of the last few years of Conservative rule.
‘Disturbance’ at Islamic Centre
Police patrols have been ramped up around mosques and Islamic centres after a 'disturbance' in the city centre.
A man suffered a cut to his face and walls of the Islamic Centre on Sidney Street were vandalised with graffiti making reference to recent events in Iran during a ‘disturbance involving a large group of people’ on Sunday night. A man has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and remains in police custody.
There were also ‘disturbances’ during protests in the city centre on Sunday, police say. It follows the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody in Iran after being arrested for breaking hijab laws.
Manchester headlines
Tribunal: A former police officer was ostracised by colleagues, verbally abused, assaulted and then unfairly sacked after he complained that standards of work in a 'toxic' gun licence vetting unit were putting the public at risk, an employment tribunal has found. Tim Lumb was subjected to what he describes as a 'horrendous' ordeal after he made allegations about working practices inside Greater Manchester Police's Firearms Licensing Unit, where he worked as a civilian researcher. Full story here.
On the Met: There have been an average of 242 incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour per month on and around Greater Manchester's Metrolink network over the last 12 months. The most common incident type was 'smashed station furniture', followed by damage to trams. Metrolink bosses are now considering replacing glass in shelters with other materials. More here.
A wonderful person: Tributes have been paid to Mohammed Shafiq who ran FreshSave, in Didsbury Village, for more than 23 years. He passed away last month after a battle with cancer. “He was a wonderful person, very happy to have people all of the time, listen to their problems, try to console them,” his wife, Mrs Shafiq, said.
Weather, etc.
- Tuesday: Heavy rain changing to cloudy by nighttime. 12C.
- Roads closed: A57 Eccles New Road westbound from Stott Lane to Gilda Brook Road until October 8. Snake Pass in both directions between Ladybower Reservoir and Hurst Road until October 23.
That's all for today
Email: beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk if you have stories you would like us to look into. If you enjoyed this newsletter, why not tell a friend how to sign up?
