Prosecutions for strangulation in England and Wales increase sixfold in three years

The number of suspects charged for strangulation and suffocation in England and Wales has increased almost sixfold in the three years since the offence was first introduced, Crown Prosecution Service data has revealed.Brought in under the Domestic Abuse Act, which came into force in 2022, the legislation closed a gap in the existing law, giving courts much greater sentencing powers.Kate Brown, the CPS’s lead prosecutor for domestic abuse, said that previously there had been “a lot of cases for which it didn’t seem like we had the right offence”, and the new legislation marked “a significant shift in recognising the serious nature of the offence”.“There were some thoughts that it might not be necessary and that the act of strangulation or suffocation could be covered by other offences,” she said, but added that the options previously open to prosecutors “didn’t really hit the mark in terms of the seriousness, because strangulation is a really serious offence”.Suffocation and strangulation carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, whereas previously, except for the most serious cases which could be charged as grievous bodily harm or attempted murder, prosecutors were having to charge offenders with common assault, which carries a much lesser maximum sentence of six months

Resident doctors say they will resume talks to avoid further strikes with ‘can-do spirit’

Resident doctors have said they will approach talks with Wes Streeting with a “can-do spirit” to avoid further strikes in the new year, as their five-day action ended on Monday morning.The British Medical Association called on the health secretary to come to the table with the same “constructive” attitude, saying the tone of 11th-hour talks before their stoppage had been encouraging but too late to avoid the strike in England.Streeting also signalled his determination to get back to the talks, saying he did “not want to see a single day of industrial action in the NHS in 2026”, and that he would “be doing everything I can to make this a reality”.“My door remains open, as it always has done, and I’m determined to resume discussions with the BMA in the new year to put an end to these damaging cycles of disruption,” he said.Streeting and Keir Starmer have taken a tough line towards the strike, with the prime minister saying it was “beyond belief” that it should go ahead when the flu-hit NHS was facing its worst crisis since Covid

One in eight of 14- to 17-year-olds in Great Britain say they have used nicotine pouches

One in eight teenagers aged 14 to 17 have used nicotine pouches, a survey has found, adding to health experts’ concern about their growing popularity.Users hold the small sachets, which look like mini-teabags and are often flavoured, in their mouths to enjoy the release of the nicotine they contain. They are also known as “snus”.Unlike smoking the pouches do not raise the risk of cancer, but they have caused alarm because of the fear that users could become addicted to nicotine and suffer mouth and dental problems.A survey of 500 teenagers aged 14 to 17 in England, Scotland and Wales found that 13% have used a nicotine pouch, of whom 30% said they did so at least once a week

From Charles Darwin to Noel Gallagher, here’s inspiration for young stammerers

What a great piece by Ross Coleman about embarking on his speech therapy programme for stammering (My cultural awakening: Jonathan Groff inspired me to overcome my stammer, 6 December). Coleman was inspired by the example of Jonathan Groff, who is not a stammerer, tackling something head-on.The McGuire Programme that Coleman signed up for seems to have helped many people. While Groff served as his inspiration, there are no shortage of actual stammerers who have compelling stories to motivate people as they navigate the choppy waters caused by their speech.The Stuttering Foundation’s website has an intriguing “celebrity corner” with biographical articles of famous stammerers including Marilyn Monroe, Bruce Willis, and BB King

Christmas burnout: why stressed parents find it ‘harder to be emotionally honest with children’

Advent calendars, check. Tree and decorations, check. Teachers’ presents, nativity costumes and a whole new ticketing system for the PTA’s Santa’s grotto, check. But the Christmas cards remain unwritten, the to-do list keeps growing, and that Labubu doll your child desperately wants appears to have vanished from the face of the earth.If you’re feeling frayed in the final days before Christmas, you’re not alone

Labour admits 60% of parents wrongly targeted in HMRC child benefit fraud crackdown

More than 60% of parents who had their child benefit stopped by HMRC using incorrect Home Office travel data were not fraudulently claiming the support from abroad, it has emerged.The scale of the government’s anti-fraud fiasco is four times higher than previously admitted, with 15,000 of the 23,500 parents targeted by HMRC now identified as legitimate beneficiaries living in the UK.It means 63% of parents targeted in the anti-fraud debacle first reported by the Detail and the Guardian were legitimate claimants.The government’s admission was revealed in a written answer to a parliamentary question tabled by the Conservative MP for Fylde, Andrew Snowden.Dan Tomlinson, the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, told Snowden in his written answer that figures revealed that, as of 30 November, 14,994 of the 23,794 cases where benefit had been suspended had since “been confirmed to be eligible to child benefit”