This is one of the most shocking, heinous cases I have seen - and I have dealt with many extremely serious sex abuse cases. That this poor child was entrusted into the care of two, seemingly ordinary professional men - only to be repeatedly abused and harmed to the extent that he was killed - is nauseating enough, but for so many authorities and agencies to ignore telltale signs makes it even worse. I have had innocent men and families wrongly accused of serious crimes have access to their children and homes restricted with far, far less justification. Was it sheer incompetence or political correctness that caused social services and others to turn a blind eye?

I’ll be joining @MartinDaubney on @GBNEWS to discuss Henry Nowak and explain the referral of his killer’s case to the Court of Appeal. Join us at 16.30.

I have been very critical of the government, but this is a good idea in theory. I have seen countless cases where children and teenagers have been abused, extorted or otherwise harmed on social media, with some of the biggest brand names being the biggest culprits. Objectively, the risks of your child accessing social media seem far greater than the benefits, and a change in the law should embolden parents to take a stronger role in what their children are doing online. What remains to be seen is how well this policy can be enforced. If last year’s porn reform teaches us anything, then it is now adept kids are in circumventing these regulations to see what they want to see - through VPNs or the dark web. What we also need to know is how far this will go - it is true that I have seen many child sexual abuse cases that involve Snapchat and Kik, but also many that take place on online forums and gaming platforms, which may or may not be restricted. I have also seen a worrying number of cases involving direct messaging apps, though these are often used by predators after building a relationship with their victims elsewhere. Ultimately, it seems to me that a ban alone will not be a silver bullet, but it would be amiss of me not to acknowledge that this is a positive step.

Interestingly, another huge issue with the jury semi-abolition plan. Judges tend to come from the same sort of background, class, education institutions. Juries are designed to reflect the population of the community in which the crime took place. By scaling back juries, this diversity-obsessed government actually risks making justice less diverse.

Lawless Britain. Authorities more likely to target law abiding citizens who have made a mistake, whilst habitual petty criminals are allowed to walk free.

Horrible footage coming out of Belfast. Major parallels to the Nottingham killing spree in 2023. Attacks like these are only becoming more common, and severely degrading the public’s faith in the authorities to keep them safe. Nobody would claim that our streets were safe enough even 40 years ago, but this spectre of ‘random’ marauding violence is something new and highly troubling. Who is this man? What were his motives? Where was he living? Was he known to the authorities? Urgent questions for the PSNI to answer. As an aside, so much for the Online Safety Act as a moderator of ‘harmful’ online content …

The Nowak family have shown great courage and dignity in the shocking treatment and murder of their son. But that they even have to say this is absurd - the racialisation of politics and justice has destroyed public faith in the system and made our society much more dangerous.

Most of us have seen that video now, and it is deeply, deeply shocking. I personally did not expect us to see that footage for months to come.  An IOPC investigation is now underway, and that must be allowed to run its course. However, I cannot see any way the officers at the scene or Hampshire Police escape from this unscathed. The way Mr Nowak was treated seems entirely contrary to how police officers are supposed to behave, and the strict rules set out under PACE. The home secretary must immediately order a full publication and audit of the force’s training and policies, and the chief constable must be summoned to explain the actions of his staff.  If any evidence of failings is found - as I expect it to be - then this cannot remain a professional disciplinary matter, and prosecutions must follow.

'Is releasing text messages and streams of emails is the right thing to do?' Emily Carver and Marcus Johnstone discuss the upcoming release of a second batch of the 'Mandelson files'.

Serious questions for the CPS to answer here. I’ve always been skeptical of any mechanism that allows the authorities to conceal any piece of evidence from the defence/ the courts - it is a fundamental contradiction of what the justice process is supposed to be. If it was simply a case of stage managing the public response to Calocane’s appalling murders, then many would see that as a gross exploitation.

There’ll doubtless be some very interesting stuff disclosed in the latest file drop, but it’s important to remember that everything of substance that relates to the ongoing investigation into Mandelson will be kept back. That’s standard procedure in criminal cases, though the police can be very selective in what they let the media report and what they do not. The prime minister will likely be thankful of this - but I doubt some of his ministers and backbenchers will feel the same way. Thank you for having me @CarverEmily and @CameronDLWalker.

I’ll be live on @GBNEWS to discuss the Peter Mandelson file drop at 13.05 this afternoon. We’ll be asking what is expected to be included in the 1,000 documents due to be released by the government - and perhaps more importantly, what is not.

Vickrum Digwa - the killer of Henry Nowak - will be sentenced today, after being convicted of murder. His mother will be sentenced later this month for assisting an offender. I lose count of how many sentencing hearings I have been involved with, but it must be thousands. What Mr Digwa’s lawyers will likely be looking at today is mitigation - he has been found guilty of the crime, and their role now is to seek the most amenable sentence possible. This won’t be easy. There’s been immense public backlash to this case that I predict will only get worse as the IOPC investigation into the three police officers involved proceeds. What the public will want to see is a very significant minimum sentence, though judges of course do not operate according to what the public want.

A clip from my interview with @Daily_Express earlier this year. I have dealt with grooming gangs for over 20 years. Many people do not appreciate the sheer degree of organisation and sophistication these groups have, and just how pervasive they actually are. You can watch the full episode here: youtu.be/1I5e1pcD1Us?si=qg5M…