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<p>Wayne Williams, Leroy Douglas, Abdullahi Suleman, Shaun Anton Lloyd and Joshua McRae are just some of those given IPP sentences</p>
The Independent View

Life in prison for stealing a phone? End this outrage, prime minister

Editorial: The law of open-ended sentencing was abolished 14 years ago, yet it continues to blight lives. Ending IPP injustice for the 2,400 prisoners still in jail is not about being soft on crime – it is about upholding justice itself
<p>Nit Blitz: Mum Laura (Emily Lloyd-Sani) helping to stop the spread of nits as it sweeps the school in BBC’s Motherland in 2021</p>
Charlotte Cripps

Am I being scammed by Big Nits?

<p>How do we teach critical thinking to young children who dismiss history as fake?</p>
Jonathan Margolis

What ‘AI slop’ is really doing to distrusting Gen Alpha kids

<p>Women are leaving the social media platform X due to deepfake sexualisation of their pictures</p>
Olivia Petter

If women quit X over Grok deepfakes, predators win – so I’m staying

<p>Iranian forces use teargas to disperse anti-government protesters in the Tehran bazaar</p>
The Independent View

Regime change in Iran would be welcome

    <p>Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei</p>
    Mark Almond

    This Iranian uprising could be as pivotal as the French Revolution

    <p>US president Donald Trump said the only constraint to his powers is ‘my own morality, my own mind […] I don’t need international law’</p>
    Emir Gürbüz

    If the only thing stopping him is his own mind, how far will Trump go?

      <p>The prime minister’s plan to ease the ‘cost of living’ is a familiar policy </p>
      John Rentoul

      Keir Starmer’s plan for 2026 looks familiar – and risky

      <p>A poster mourning Renee Nicole Good is pasted to a light pole near the scene of her shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota</p>
      David Lister

      Poets are dreamers and idealists: It’s what makes them so dangerous

      <p>Elon Musk is under fire after his AI tool Grok was used to ‘digital undress’ photographs of women</p>
      Jess Davies

      Grok digitally undressed me on X – it’s time Elon Musk was accountable

      <p>Sudanese families displaced from El-Fasher reach out as aid workers distribute food supplies</p>
      Yvette Cooper

      The world must not look away from the horror unfolding in Sudan

      <p>Iranian authorities have used tear gas to quell the anti-regime protests that continue to grip the entire country</p>
      Vahid Beheshti

      I had to flee Iran – now my country is on the brink of freedom

      <p>The City of London prefers greater flexibility over closer ties with the EU</p>
      James Moore

      The City’s message to Starmer: we move faster without the EU

      <p>Alfonso Ribeiro, Will Smith and Daphne Reid in ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air' played a dysfunctional family</p>
      Dear Vix

      A friend has dropped me because of an argument between our kids

      <p>According to research, when drinks units are made slightly smaller, people end up consuming less (Yui Mok/PA)</p>
      Rosamund Hall

      If a pint puts drivers over the limit, it’s time for smaller measures

      <p>Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat leader and our preferred coalition PM (PA)</p>
      John Rentoul

      The surprise winner of the ‘least unpopular’ PM prize? Ed Davey!

      A poll suggests that the Liberal Democrat leader as prime minister, in partnership with Labour, would be the most favoured coalition government – but who in their right mind would ever vote for that, asks John Rentoul

      <p>America the undutiful: ‘Donald Trump’s mass withdrawal from a broad swathe of global diplomacy might be seen as the international counterpart to the Department of Government Efficiency’</p>
      Mary Dejevsky

      America rarely feels it should abide by international rules

      <p>A housing development in Oxfordshire - we need more of these </p>
      James Moore

      Labour’s going to build 1.5 million homes? In their dreams…

      Explore news for you

      More Voices

      <p>A collage of prisoners jailed using IPP</p>
      Voices

      Indefinite jail terms are indefensible – why are thousands trapped?

      Voices

      Indefinite jail terms are indefensible – why are thousands trapped?

      Lord Thomas
      <p>A collage of prisoners jailed using IPP</p>
      <p>Donald Trump demonstrated last weekend, in the new world order, that ‘international law is for chumps’</p>
      Voices

      Trump has ushered in a new era of chaos and mindless militarism

      <p>Vladimir Putin</p>
      Voices

      Russia’s shadow war with us is just starting – be ready for trouble

      <p>Many of us will have done our best to erase the memory of her ill-fated 49 days in No 10</p>
      Voices

      The Liz Truss Show is deeply odd – but prompts this serious question

      <p>A domestic owl tests the idea of tundra and returns to the warmth of the kitchen </p>
      Voices

      The snowy owl who chose the Rayburn

      <p>A domestic owl tests the idea of tundra and returns to the warmth of the kitchen </p>
      Voices

      The snowy owl who chose the Rayburn

      <p>Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Sir Keir Starmer pictured at the summit </p>
      Home News

      Have your say: How ready is the UK to send troops to Ukraine?

      <p>Voters must wonder what happened to judicious policymaking that Labour once promised</p>
      The Independent View

      Rachel Reeves’s pub reprieve is nothing for Labour to cheer about

      Most commented

      Minneapolis ICE shooting live updates: Thousands of protesters march nationwide

      1055 comments

      Iran protests latest: Trump briefed on ‘strike options’ as military tightens grip

      472 comments

      Trump warned his threats to take Greenland put critical US defence agreements at risk

      184 comments

      Ukraine war latest: UN to hold emergency meeting over Russian Oreshnik missile attack

      792 comments
      Join the Conversation

      More Voices

      <p>Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis</p>
      Voices

      ICE killing takes America a step closer to George Orwell’s nightmare

      <p>Nigel Farage with Reform’s candidate for the 2028 London mayoral race, Laila Cunningham</p>
      Voices

      Sadiq Khan – and Labour – must see that Reform is no longer a bad joke

      <p>Teetotal? Independent readers have been debating plans to lower the alcohol limit for driving</p>
      Motoring News

      ‘Road safety is more than drink-driving’: Readers debate lower limit

      <p>US president Donald Trump has is discussing options for acquiring Greenland</p>
      Voices

      What if Trump’s not bluffing about invading Greenland?

      The Independent View

      Megaphone diplomacy with Trump only makes things worse for Greenland

      <p>Young people not in employment, education or training are paying the price for the national wage increase</p>
      Voices

      I’ve always backed the minimum wage – but not anymore

      <p>US president Donald Trump has is discussing options for acquiring Greenland</p>
      Voices

      What if Trump’s not bluffing about invading Greenland?

      The Independent View

      Megaphone diplomacy with Trump only makes things worse for Greenland

      <p>Young people not in employment, education or training are paying the price for the national wage increase</p>
      Voices

      I’ve always backed the minimum wage – but not anymore

      <p>Keir pressure: ‘Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves, on either side of the prime minister, looked as if they were wondering whether to resign’</p>
      Voices

      Badenoch had Starmer on the ropes – so why no knock-out blow?

      Voices

      Badenoch had Starmer on the ropes – so why no knock-out blow?

      John Rentoul
      <p>Keir pressure: ‘Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves, on either side of the prime minister, looked as if they were wondering whether to resign’</p>
      <p>We are still a long way from ‘reversing Brexit’, insists Keir Starmer</p>
      Brexit

      ‘Benefits for everybody but us’: Readers on UK’s post-Brexit struggle

      <p>Polls suggest Kemi Badenoch’s Tories – not Starmer’s Labour – are now best placed to dent Reform </p>
      Voices

      Are the Conservatives now the official opposition to Farage’s Reform?

      <p>Jonathan Carley, 65, has been fined £500 after admitting to dressing as a navy admiral without permission</p>
      Voices

      I’m troubled by the Fake Admiral’s excuses for dressing as a war hero

      <p>French president Emmanuel Macron and prime minister Keir Starmer at the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ summit</p>
      The Independent View

      A divided coalition of the willing is no use to anyone

      <p>French president Emmanuel Macron and prime minister Keir Starmer at the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ summit</p>
      The Independent View

      A divided coalition of the willing is no use to anyone

      <p>Health secretary Wes Streeting has hailed the rollout of new NHS online hospitals as ‘everyone wins’</p>
      Voices

      NHS online hospitals are a good idea – but they can’t save Starmer

      <p>The UK’s FTSE 100 has risen above 10,000 points (John Stillwell/PA)</p>
      Voices

      Does the FTSE 100 breaking the 10,000 barrier mean a prosperous 2026?

      <p>The American-born Pope Leo XIV has been a vocal critic of his country’s president, Donald Trump</p>
      Voices

      The only person who can stop Donald Trump now is Pope Leo

      <p>Readers broadly agreed that weight loss is not complicated in theory</p>
      Fitness and wellbeing

      ‘Ban empty calories’: Readers on the UK’s weight loss problem

      <p>China’s president Xi Jinping and Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro arriving at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China 2023</p>
      China

      From Caracas to Taiwan: How Venezuela has changed China’s calculations

      <p>Keir Starmer is one of the Western leaders who manages to command Donald Trump’s respect and attention</p>
      The Independent View

      Even after Venezuela, the West must speak softly to Donald Trump

      <p>President Nicolas Maduro was captured by Donald Trump’s US Delta Force in his compound in Caracas and extradited to New York on Saturday</p>
      Voices

      Venezuelans like me are too busy celebrating to worry about Maduro

      <p>US president Donald Trump posted over 80 times in the early hours following Nicolas Maduro’s capture</p>
      Voices

      After Venezuela, does Trump’s social media use hint at what’s next?

      <p>Research shows 20 per cent of Mumsnet users intend to vote Reform UK at the next election, which would put the party ahead of Keir Starmer’s Labour</p>
      Voices

      If Mumsnet is now backing Reform UK, it’s over for Starmer’s Labour

      <p>According to a survey, one in 10 British workers plan to quit their jobs this month </p>
      Voices

      It’s ‘resignation day’! But don’t quit your job before you read this…

      <p>Many argued that Burnham’s appeal stems from his role outside Westminster</p>
      UK Politics

      ‘Burnham is not the answer’: Readers on Labour’s leadership dilemma

      UK Politics

      ‘Burnham is not the answer’: Readers on Labour’s leadership dilemma

      Independent
      <p>Many argued that Burnham’s appeal stems from his role outside Westminster</p>
      <p>US president Donald Trump capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has triggered alarm among some allies</p>
      Voices

      After Venezuela, it will be even harder to change Donald Trump’s mind

      <p>Keir Starmer was left in the dark over the capture of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela</p>
      The Independent View

      Starmer’s Venezuela dilemma exposes Britain’s post-Brexit weakness

      <p>‘I live in London. I work. I pay taxes. I contribute. I speak, write, explain, justify, contextualise my own grief endlessly so that others might find it comfortable. And yet I remain trapped in a world that demands Palestinians be patient, polite, and silent – even as it excuses the machinery that crushes our lives’</p>
      Voices

      My new year’s resolution is to hug my parents before they die

      <p>The ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march in London went beyond protest and challenged the moral fabric of our society</p>
      Voices

      Extremism is tearing Britain apart - we should choose hope over hate

      <p>The ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march in London went beyond protest and challenged the moral fabric of our society</p>
      Voices

      Extremism is tearing Britain apart - we should choose hope over hate

      <p>‘Trump has announced a policy not of blissful isolationism, as his Maga movement yearned for and expected, but of neo-imperialism. America will not only “run” Venezuela, but make the Venezuelans pay for it from their own oil wealth’</p>
      Voices

      The people of Venezuela are exchanging one old tyrant for another

      <p>Venezuelan president Nicolas Madura was captured in a US-led operation</p>
      The Independent View

      Trump’s Maduro gamble must be turned to Venezuela’s advantage

      <p>’How many national leaders will be tempted to ask themselves why, if the US can mount such unilateral action against a sovereign country in pursuit of what it may justify in terms of its own national security, they should not do the same?’</p>
      Voices

      How the capture of Nicolas Maduro will upend the global order

      <p>Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro has been captured during a US operation</p>
      Voices

      Who is Nicolás Maduro? From Chávez’s heir to Venezuela’s undoing

      <p>Nigel Farage has questioned whether the UK would be better off without the OBR</p>
      Voices

      Scrapping the OBR could be Nigel Farage’s Liz Truss moment

      <p>‘Was Alaa wrong to make those remarks? Indisputably. But to somehow suggest that he should therefore have his citizenship revoked is the height of political cynicism’</p>
      Voices

      The Alaa Abd el-Fattah I know is a humanitarian

      <p>Actor Claire Foy says she doesn’t have “authority to discuss or proclaim about anything other than what I do as an actor”</p>
      Voices

      Claire Foy is right – stars should try philanthropy, not deep speeches

      <p>In October, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled plans that could see the company spend more than $100bn on AI projects this year</p>
      Voices

      Zuckerberg is taking a huge bet on AI. The results will be spectacular

      <p>‘We’ll hear a lot about American Exceptionalism over the coming year ahead, but it is exceptionalism for all the wrong reasons’</p>
      Voices

      Why 2026 is the year Trump and Maga could be in trouble

      <p>This most stoic of prime ministers must be wondering what he can do to lift his government and his party out of its unprecedented unpopularity</p>
      Voices

      Keir Starmer’s promise to deliver should have brought results by now

      <p>Nigel Farage was visibly campaigning ahead of the Caerphilly Senedd by-election to spread the party’s plans ahead of the Welsh elections next year</p>
      UK Politics

      ‘Tired of broken promises’: Readers on the rise of Reform in Wales

      UK Politics

      ‘Tired of broken promises’: Readers on the rise of Reform in Wales

      Independent
      <p>Nigel Farage was visibly campaigning ahead of the Caerphilly Senedd by-election to spread the party’s plans ahead of the Welsh elections next year</p>
      <p>Frieda Hughes hits the gym</p>
      Voices

      Pumping iron has the power to lift my spirits

      <p>Lotte Jeffs has returned to university after a high-flying media career</p>
      Voices

      Why over-40s like me are quitting careers and heading back to school

      <p>People leave flowers in Crans-Montana, the upscale ski resort in southwest Switzerland where 47 people were killed in the New Year’s Day fire</p>
      Voices

      I use psychics – I’m taking Nostradamus’s 2026 predictions seriously

      <p>Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran</p>
      Voices

      Is this the endgame for Iran’s ayatollahs?

      <p>Protesters march in downtown Tehran, Iran</p>
      Voices

      Is this the endgame for Iran’s ayatollahs?

      <p>‘The close proximity of Christmas to birthday seemed to somehow make both feel less generous. Having two brothers didn’t help. I was once given a left-handed glove for Christmas and the right-hand one for my birthday’</p>
      Voices

      Winter is the best time to have a birthday. Romance is for the spring

      <p>To manage new year anxiety, focus on gentle, realistic goals instead of overwhelming resolutions</p>
      Voices

      How do I stick to my 2026 resolutions without feeling like a failure?

      <p>‘Franz Kafka and Joseph Heller described absurd moral universes of totalitarianism and war that seem a long way from Britain in 2026. Yet there are people in this country, this year, who are trapped in an unjust system as extreme as any in fiction’</p>
      The Independent View

      The nightmarish catch-22 at the heart of a burning injustice

      <p>Over 40 political parties, including the NLD, have been dissolved by the regime and banned from contesting the elections</p>
      Voices

      The UK must act against Myanmar’s shameful sham election

      <p>‘The Queen talked publicly for the first time of her own attack at the hands of a young man on a train when she was just a teenager’</p>
      Voices

      Queen Camilla’s radical honesty shows the good this monarchy can do

      <p>Bingo for the future: 2026 looks set to be filled with fireworks</p>
      Voices

      On my bingo card for 2026? No alarms and no surprises, please

      <p>Making new year’s resolutions often leads to guilt</p>
      Voices

      New year, same me: my resolution for 2026? Not to make any

      <p>Between 2020/21 and 2024/25, almost 1.4 million A&E attendances were for a cough, while 1.2 million sought help for a sore throat</p>
      Health

      ‘Only way to be seen early’: Readers on A&E visits for minor problems

      <p>‘If anything justified the decision to call a halt, however, it was the history of the appalling project management of a scheme that had become a boondoggle for construction companies and a vast secondary economy of consultants’</p>
      The Independent View

      The never-ending fiasco of HS2 is a case study in how not to build

      <p>‘Putin may be contemplating raising another army of up to one and a half million over two years – and prepared to lose a large part of it’</p>
      Voices

      The 5 signs Putin is preparing for a bigger war in Europe

      <p>’When something happens once, it can be considered unfortunate, but when it happens twice, it looks an awful lot like careless misogyny’</p>
      Voices

      What the Lionesses’ new year honours list snub tells us about women

      Voices

      What the Lionesses’ new year honours list snub tells us about women

      Victoria Richards
      <p>’When something happens once, it can be considered unfortunate, but when it happens twice, it looks an awful lot like careless misogyny’</p>
      <p>The real threat to trust isn’t fake news, it’s the information that spreads without challenge</p>
      Voices

      Why 2025 was the year trust died

      <p>‘The upset of the year will be Labour doing better than expected in the Scottish parliament elections in May, and the Scottish National Party falling so far short of a majority that the Greens cannot not save them’</p>
      Voices

      Scandal, folly and surprise: My political predictions for 2026

      <p>Frankie says relax: Should you dress up for the airport, or prioritise comfort?</p>
      News & Advice

      ‘Treated like cattle’: Readers reject calls for smarter airport dress

      <p>The Reform UK leader’s supporters seek to dismiss his behaviour as, in effect, youthful folly that he has long since put behind him</p>
      The Independent View

      Even Nigel Farage should welcome fierce scrutiny of his school days

      <p>The Reform UK leader’s supporters seek to dismiss his behaviour as, in effect, youthful folly that he has long since put behind him</p>
      The Independent View

      Even Nigel Farage should welcome fierce scrutiny of his school days

      <p>Teachers could follow resident doctors and strike next year unless Labour hikes pay and plugs school funding gaps</p>
      Home News

      ‘A recruitment crisis is coming’: Readers on teacher strike threat

      <p>‘Donald Trump seems to assume that Vladimir Putin would want to bask in the glory of a victorious peacemaker, but peace is probably a threat to Putin and his system’</p>
      Voices

      This ‘drone attack’ shows paranoid Putin will never be a peacemaker

      <p>The price of gold will rise to new records in 2026, predicts James Moore</p>
      Voices

      My 2025 predictions fell short – and six calls for the 2026 economy

      <p>‘President Trump, though always upbeat about his own supposed unique diplomatic gifts, no longer even pretends that a truce, let alone a lasting peace settlement, is in sight’</p>
      The Independent View

      Zelensky can buy Europe 15 years to finally get its act together

      <p>Swimming champion Adam Peaty has changed his name on Instagram following his wedding to Gordon Ramsay’s daughter, Holly</p>
      Voices

      Adam Ramsay Peaty has done the right thing in taking his wife’s name

      <p>’What began as a quirky Soho sandwich shop has curdled into a beige cathedral of culinary capitalism. Nothing tastes of anything. Everything costs too much. And yet the faithful still file in’</p>
      Voices

      Why 2025 was the year I finally fell out of love with Pret

      <p>Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un photographed together in September at an event to commemorate the end of the Second World War</p>
      Voices

      Five flashpoints that could spark World War Three in 2026

      <p>‘My plans did not include peeling swedes and a fruit pudding until 24 hours before the advent calendars had opened their last tiny glitter doors, and the final delivery of seasonal cards had hit the hallway floor’</p>
      Voices

      Christmas is not for the birds

      <p>’What began as a quirky Soho sandwich shop has curdled into a beige cathedral of culinary capitalism. Nothing tastes of anything. Everything costs too much. And yet the faithful still file in’</p>
      Voices

      Why 2025 was the year I finally fell out of love with Pret

      <p>Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un photographed together in September at an event to commemorate the end of the Second World War</p>
      Voices

      Five flashpoints that could spark World War Three in 2026

      <p>‘My plans did not include peeling swedes and a fruit pudding until 24 hours before the advent calendars had opened their last tiny glitter doors, and the final delivery of seasonal cards had hit the hallway floor’</p>
      Voices

      Christmas is not for the birds

      <p>‘It seems to be the year of the “Get ready with me” video,’ says William Hanson. I do not want to get ready with you. I’d rather be dead. I don’t even want to get ready with myself, let alone anyone else. So these have to stop’</p>
      Voices

      William Hanson: 5 ways manners changed forever in 2025

      <p>Jailbroken’ devices can be packed with illegal streaming apps – and with malware</p>
      Lifestyle

      ‘Rip-off Britain’: Readers clash over rise of illegal streaming

      <p>Late-night marking has become a symbol of the pressures driving teachers out of the profession</p>
      The Independent View

      Market forces, not militancy, are pushing teachers towards strikes

      <p>Could the economy be hit by another black swan event?</p>
      Business

      From AI to Trump, the biggest threats to the economy in 2026

      <p>Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump in Florida to discuss a peace deal</p>
      The Independent View

      Zelensky still has cards to play in Trump’s Ukraine poker game

      <p>Single people are declaring that nobody even fancies anyone any more</p>
      Voices

      2026 will be the year of the ‘crush recession’ – here’s why

      <p>Women responding to anything with anger was taboo - until now</p>
      Voices

      She-volution: why 2025 was the year women’s rage took centre stage

      <p>That a ceasefire was agreed and formally came into effect has by no means stopped either the slaughter or the suffering of those hundreds of thousands of people remaining in Gaza, even if it has diminished them</p>
      The Independent View

      The shocking brutality behind Gaza’s crumbling ceasefire

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