What are the rules around police giving out a suspect's nationality?

Ministers have said police should be more transparent about the nationalities of people who are charged. But what exactly are the rules?

When a police force in England and Wales arrests or charges a suspect and they are thinking of giving information to the media, they need to have two things in mind: the laws about contempt of court which are designed to make sure suspects have a fair trial, and the College of Policing guidance on media relations.

Contempt of court laws are quite simple in this context. No-one should make public any information that might make a future trial unfair, for example giving out details of the evidence that police officers have collected.

In most cases publishing the nationality of the person charged is unlikely to make the trial unfair, so the contempt of court laws are not often applicable.

The College of Policing guidance is more complicated. Before 2012 police forces made decisions on what information to give to the media on a purely case by case basis.

These decisions were often nuanced, but were based on how much that information was considered relevant, and were sometimes simply dependent on the force's relationship with an individual journalist. But after Lord Leveson published his report into the ethics of the press in 2012 police forces became much more cautious abut what information they released.

This culminated in the College of Policing guidance on media relations which says that if someone is arrested (but not yet charged) police should only give the suspect's gender and age. The guidance does not say anything about nationality or asylum status at this stage. Once a suspect has been charged the guidance says police can give out information such as the name, the date of birth and the address of the suspect.

Again, nationality and asylum status are not mentioned, but the guidance says: "The media are aware of automatic reporting restrictions and it is their responsibility to follow them. Any information permitted under such restrictions should be released upon charge, including the following: name, date of birth, address, details of charge, and date of court appearance.

"The person's occupation can be released if it is relevant to the crime - for example, a teacher charged with the assault of a pupil at the school where they work."

So there is nothing in the guidance that prevents police giving information about that nationality, asylum status or even ethnicity of someone who has been charged. But there is nothing that specifically mentions them either.

When Warwickshire Police charged two men in connection with the rape of a 12-year-old girl, the force would not say whether the men were asylum seekers.

The force said: "Once someone is charged with an offence, we follow national guidance. This guidance does not include sharing ethnicity or immigration status."

While this last sentence is true, the guidance does not actually make suggestions one way or another on ethnicity and immigration status.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accused the police of a cover-up.

In response, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday: "We do think there should be greater transparency. We do think more information should be provided, including on issues around nationality including on some of those asylum issues."

The prime minister's official spokesman had earlier said: "Our position is that authorities, whether it is the police or whether central government, should be as transparent as possible on these issues."

In truth, what information should be released to the media is largely at the discretion of the police force.

As events in Liverpool in May showed, when forces think it is in the public interest they will release information about a suspect's ethnicity even before they have been charged. When a car ploughed into crowds celebrating Liverpool FC's winning of the Premiership title, Merseyside Police quickly said the man arrested was white and British, in order to quash rumours of a terrorist attack.

The College of Policing said: "Police forces make challenging and complex decisions on a case-by-case basis and transparency is essential to prevent misinformation and reassure the public."

It said that its guidance was "already under review" and that police forces were considering how to balance their legal obligations with "their responsibility to prevent disorder".

The issue of what information police can release about a suspect came sharply into focus last summer when Axel Rudakubana was arrested for murdering three young girls, Alice Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, in Southport.

At first Merseyside Police did not release any information about him or his religion, which allowed false information that he was a Muslim asylum seeker to spread. Such disinformation was at least partly responsible for last summer's riots. At the time Merseyside Police said it was not giving out more information because of the contempt of court rules.

The Law Commission has also been looking at contempt of court laws, with a review due to report next month.

Netanyahu to propose full reoccupation of Gaza, Israeli media report

9 minutes ago Share Save Yolande Knell BBC News, Jerusalem Share Save

Reuters Netanyahu's plan reportedly faces opposition from military chiefs

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to propose fully reoccupying the Gaza Strip when he meets his security cabinet, Israeli media say. "The die has been cast. We're going for the full conquest of the Gaza Strip – and defeating Hamas," local journalists quote a senior official saying. Responding to reports that the army chief and other military leaders oppose the plan, the unnamed official said: "If that doesn't work for the chief of staff, he should resign." The families of hostages fear such plans could endanger their loved ones, with 20 out of 50 believed to be alive in Gaza, while polls suggest three in four Israelis instead favour a ceasefire deal to return them.

Many of Israel's close allies would also condemn such a move as they push for an end to the war and action to alleviate a humanitarian crisis. Within Israel, hundreds of retired Israeli security officials, including former heads of intelligence agencies, issued a joint letter to US President Donald Trump on Monday, calling for him to pressure Netanyahu to end the war. One of the signatories, ex-domestic intelligence agency chief Ami Ayalon, told the BBC that further military action would be futile. "From the military point of view, [Hamas] is totally destroyed. On the other hand, as an ideology it is getting more and more power among the Palestinian people, within the Arab street around us, and also in the world of Islam. "So the only way to defeat Hamas's ideology is to present a better future." The latest developments come after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage deal broke down and Palestinian armed groups released three videos of two Israeli hostages looking weak and emaciated. The footage of Rom Blaslavski and Evyatar David, both kidnapped from the Nova festival on 7 October 2023, has shocked and appalled Israelis. David is shown digging what he says is his own grave in an underground tunnel.

There has been some speculation that the latest media announcements are a pressure tactic to try to force Hamas into a new deal. Israel's military says it already has operational control of 75% of Gaza. But under the proposed plan it would occupy the entire territory – moving into areas where more than two million Palestinians are now concentrated. It is unclear what that would mean for civilians and for the operations of the UN and other aid groups. About 90% of Gaza's 2.1m people have been displaced, some repeatedly, and are living in overcrowded and dire conditions. Humanitarian groups and UN officials say many are starving, accusing Israel of impeding the distribution of crucial aid. The Israeli military has previously held back from some areas, including parts of central Gaza, because of an assumption that there are living hostages held there. Last year, six Israeli hostages were executed by their captors after ground forces moved in. There has not been a formal response but officials from the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank, denounced the Israeli proposal, calling on the international community to intervene to prevent any new military occupation. Palestinians point out that far-right Israeli ministers have been openly advocating for the full occupation and annexation of Gaza and ultimately want to build new Jewish settlements there. In 2005, Israel dismantled settlements in the Gaza Strip and withdrew its forces from there. But alongside Egypt, it maintained a tight control of access to the territory. The new occupation idea comes amid growing international moves to revive the two-state solution – the long-time international formula to resolve the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict. It envisages an independent Palestinian state being created alongside Israel in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Nasa to put nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2030 - US media

24 minutes ago Share Save Georgina Rannard Science correspondent Share Save

NASA A concept image of NASA's Fission Surface Power Project

US space agency Nasa will fast-track plans to build a nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2030, according to US media. It is part of US ambitions to build a permanent base for humans to live on the lunar surface. According to Politico, the acting head of Nasa referred to similar plans by China and Russia and said those two countries "could potentially declare a keep-out zone" on the Moon. But questions remain about how realistic the goal and timeframe are, given recent and steep Nasa budget cuts, and some scientists are concerned that the plans are driven by geopolitical goals.

Nations including US, China, Russia, India and Japan are rushing to explore the Moon's surface, with some planning permanent human settlements. "To properly advance this critical technology to be able to support a future lunar economy, high power energy generation on Mars, and to strengthen our national security in space, it is imperative the agency move quickly," US transport secretary Sean Duffy, who was appointed temporary head of Nasa by President Donald Trump, wrote to Nasa, according to the New York Times. Mr Duffy called for proposals from commercial companies to build a reactor that could generate at least 100 kilowatts of power. This is relatively small. A typical on-shore wind turbine generates 2-3 megawatts. The idea of building a nuclear reactor as a power source on the Moon is not new. In 2022 Nasa issued three $5m contracts to companies to design a reactor. And in May this year, China and Russia announced they plan to build an automated nuclear power station on the Moon by 2035. Many scientists agree that it would be the best or perhaps only way to provide continuous power on the lunar surface. One lunar day is equivalent to four weeks on Earth, made up of two weeks of continual sunshine and two weeks of darkness. That makes relying on solar power very challenging.

CNSA/CLEP In 2020 China planted a flag on the Moon on its Chang'e-5 mission

"Building even a modest lunar habitat to accommodate a small crew would demand megawatt-scale power generation. Solar arrays and batteries alone cannot reliably meet those demands," suggests Dr Sungwoo Lim, senior lecturer in space applications, exploration and instrumentation at the university of Surrey "Nuclear energy is not just desirable, it is inevitable," he adds. Lionel Wilson, professor of earth and planetary sciences at Lancaster University, believes it is technically possible to place the reactors on the Moon by 2030 "given the commitment of enough money", and he highlights that there are already designs for small reactors. "It's just a matter of having enough Artemis launches to build the infrastructure on the Moon by then," he adds, referring to Nasa's Artemis spaceflight programme that aims to send people and equipment to the Moon. There are also some questions around safety. "Launching radioactive material through the Earth's atmosphere brings safety concerns. You have to have a special license to do that, but it is not insurmountable," says Dr Simeon Barber, planetary science specialist at the Open University. Mr Duffy's directive came as a surprise following recent turmoil in Nasa after Mr Trump's administration announced cuts of 24% to Nasa's budgets in 2026. That includes cuts to a significant number of science programmes such as the Mars Sample Return that aims to return samples from the planet's surface to Earth.

Former star fund manager and company fined £46m

22 minutes ago Share Save Karen Hoggan Business reporter, BBC News Share Save

PA

Former star fund manager Neil Woodford and his investment firm have been fined a total of almost £46m by the financial watchdog. Some 300,000 people lost out when Woodford Equity Income Fund collapsed in 2019 after investors tried to withdraw money faster than the fund could pay out. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has provisionally fined Mr Woodford nearly £6m and banned him from holding senior manager roles and managing funds for non-professional investors. It has fined his fund, Woodford Investment Management (WIM), £40m. Mr Woodford and WIM are appealing against the decisions, so all the FCA's findings are provisional.

Once a high-flying city fund manager, Mr Woodford was variously described as the man who made middle England rich and the UK's answer to Warren Buffet. He made his name at the fund management giant Invesco Perpetual, before leaving in 2013 to set up his own company. He was as close to a household name as is possible in the world of investing and people piled into his flagship UK Equity Income Fund. At its peak, it had £10bn of people's money in it. The Woodford Equity Income Fund was managed by Mr Woodford and WIM, but was suspended in June 2019 meaning investors, most of whom were ordinary retail investors, were unable to get hold of their money. The fund had fallen in value from a high of £10.1bn in May 2017 to £3.6bn in the run-up to its suspension. The FCA said between July 2018 and June 2019 WIM and Mr Woodford made "unreasonable and inappropriate investment decisions". The watchdog said they had sold off liquid investments, which were easier to sell, and bought ones that were harder to sell.

BP to review oil and gas projects to boost profits

BP has been under ongoing pressure from investors for underperforming compared to its rivals in recent years.

The pledge comes after the company revealed it has made its largest oil and gas discovery this century off the coast of Brazil.

Chief executive Murray Auchincloss said the UK-based firm would review how it manages its oil and gas assets and will consider cost cutting plans to boost returns for shareholders.

BP has said it "can and will do better" to develop and monetise its oil and gas production as the energy giant continues to shift away from renewables and back to fossil fuels.

In February, BP slashed its planned investments in renewable energy projects and said it would spend billions of dollars more a year on its oil and gas operations in a bid to improve investor confidence.

On Tuesday, Mr Auchincloss said BP would conduct a "thorough review" of its businesses to make sure it was "maximising shareholder value moving forward".

"We are also initiating a further cost review," he said. "BP can and will do better for its investors."

The comments came after BP revealed on Monday that it was conducting tests at a new oil and gas site in deep water off Brazil's east coast. The discovery could play a major role in BP's plans to increase crude oil production.

Company executive Gordon Birrell says the discovery is "BP's largest in 25 years" and that the firm will explore building a production hub there.

BP said it had found a roughly 300-square-kilometre area of oil and gas at the Bumerangue block in the Santos basin, 250 miles (400km) off Brazil's east coast.

It said the discovery was the company's biggest since the Shah Deniz gas field in the Caspian Sea in 1999.

The find adds to BP's several other discoveries of energy reserves this year, including those in the Gulf of Mexico, which is called the Gulf of America by the administration of US President Donald Trump, and Egypt.

"This is another success in what has been an exceptional year so far for our exploration team", said Mr Birrell, the firm's executive vice president for production and operations.

BP's attempt to transform itself into a "net zero" energy producer has faced major hurdles since it put the plan into action five years ago.

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic pushed it to a $5.7bn (£4.29bn) annual loss.

It also took a $25bn hit two years later from writing off a stake in its Russian energy business after the start of the Ukraine war.

However, on Tuesday it revealed better-than-expected results for the second quarter of 2025.

Underlying replacement cost profits fell by 15% compared with the same six months in 2024 to $2.4bn, but that was better than the $1.8bn analysts had forecast - and an improvement on the first quarter figure.