Prisons: Overcrowding, Operation Early Dawn, and child strip-searches

‘UK PRISONS OVERCROWDED AFTER RACIST RIOTS!’

‘A CHILD IS STRIP-SEARCHED EVERY 14 HOURS’

‘SCORES OF CRIMINALS COULD BE FREED IN DAYS’

Headlines this week spotlight the UK’s criminal justice system, as prison overcrowding triggers emergency measures. Amazingly, serious talks about prison reform have entered the mainstream media - but a key voice is missing from the coverage: prisoners themselves.

This week, people with inside knowledge of the system join Helena and Mathilda for the week’s top stories. Lady Unchained and David Navarro talk prison overcrowding, child strip-searching, and the new prisons minister, James Timpson. We also ask: was this really all caused by Keir Starmer’s ‘clampdown’ on far-right rioters?

Plus, other Media Storms of the week: Superyacht shipwreck, migrant ‘superheroes’, and Steven van de Velde's post-Olympics interviews.

Hosts: Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia)

Music: Samfire (@soundofsamfire)

Assistant Producer: Katie Grant

Episode research: Camilla Tiana

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