A pilot scheme launched by the Home Office gives the police new powers to prevent suspected domestic abusers from returning to a victim's home.

Greater Manchester, West Mercia and Wiltshire police will run the 12 month trial of Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs), which officers can use to stop perpetrators from contacting victims or returning to their home for up to 28 days.

The scheme is designed to provide protection in the immediate aftermath of a domestic violence incident, before civil proceedings can be progressed.

Domestic violence is a widespread problem and comprised 14 per cent of all violent incidences reported in the British Crime Survey last year.
 

Proposals in the Justice bill could deny 650,000 people legal aid and advice to help them with housing, employment and immigration problems, Unite has said.

The largest union in the country with members in advice centres across the UK, said that the plans unveiled by Justice Secretary Ken Clarke represented “the raw cruelty and cynicism” underpinning the coalition’s claims that “we are all in this together”.
 

Ed Miliband has admitted that the last Labour government "lost touch" with the public as he insisted his party has to "change" to win the next general election.

In a speech to activists, the Labour leader set out plans to reform the party to make it less "inward-looking" and ensure that it is more responsive to the concerns of the public.

They included scrapping elections to the shadow cabinet, putting the ideas of local communities in front of Labour's national policy setting body and throwing open its annual conferences to non-members and the wider civil society.
 

Malmström: “I can see that xenophobia is on the rise”

European countries should show “more solidarity, tolerance and responsibility” in their asylum and migration policies, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström has said. “We need to translate these principles into concrete action.”

She observed that solidarity, tolerance, and mutual respect between countries and people are values that have been cherished and protected by politicians and citizens in the EU for more than half a century.