BBC Breakfast was hit with a breaking news alert as hosts Sally Nugent and Ben Thompson abruptly paused the programme to address “emergency measures”
BBC Breakfast presenters Sally Nugent and Ben Thompson abruptly interrupted programming this week to deliver a critical breaking news update.
Sally drew audience attention towards newly implemented “emergency measures” being taken on the show, all while the word BREAKING was splashed across the screen in massive capitals.
The sudden shift in reporting came just as a sports segment was concluding, with Sally adopting a more serious tone on Monday morning, reports the Express. She revealed the urgent news to viewers, detailing: “Now, the government has activated emergency measures to ease prison overcrowding as more rioters are sentenced.”
Ben quickly interjected: “Let’s talk to our political correspondent Henry Zeffman who joins us now. Now what exactly do these measures involve?”
BBC Breakfast came to an abrupt halt (Image: (Image: BBC))
Henry, joining through a video link, elucidated: “Practically, what this means is that some people who are awaiting trial in a police cell will be kept in a police cell until prison space is available. That’s highly unusual. It’s an emergency measure, but it’s an emergency measure that the government this morning is saying is necessary in parts of the country because prisons are so overcrowded.”
He disclosed that the emergency protocol had been initiated overnight in areas including the north east, Yorkshire, Cumbria, Lancaster, Manchester, Merseyside, and Cheshire.
Continuing his commentary, Henry suggested the situation might indicate a “prison system in crisis”, with Prisons Minister Lord Timpson remarking: “We inherited a justice system in crisis and exposed to shocks. As a result we have been forced into making difficult but necessary decisions to keep it operating.”
The talk of prison overcrowding was all over the news (Image: (Image: BBC))
Henry explained that it will be a “short-term measure” as Ben quizzed him: “Is there a danger here that the emergency measure puts strain on the rest of the system, that effectively it grinds to a halt if people can’t be processed in the way they would normally be processed?”
Henry admitted: “That’s the fear, and I think potentially that’s why the government will have been reluctant to make this decision. They are trying to reassure people today that that is not something that’s going to happen, that the system won’t be gummed up further back the chain.”
Follow us to see more useful information, as well as to give us more motivation to update more useful information for you.
Source: USA Today
