Britain’s Most Controversial Judge | The Sceptic Ep.99

Steven Edginton on Tan Ikram’s campaign for Pakistani judges and the BBC’s migrant-rape blindspot. Plus: how to solve the prisons crisis and Burnham’s vibes-based energy plan.

In Episode 99 of the Sceptic, host Laurie Wastell speaks to Steven Edginton, investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker, on Britain’s most controversial judge, Tan Ikram, and his campaign for more Pakistani judges – plus, the BBC’s shameful reporting failures on a shocking migrant rape case.

Alexander Baker, Senior Researcher at the Prosperity Institute, on the roots of the prisons crisis – and how to solve it.

And journalist and Daily Sceptic regular Ben Pile on the vibes-based nonsense of Andy Burnham’s ‘Great British Grid’ plan – and why our energy bills keep going up under Labour.

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Read his paper, Making Space for Justice, here.

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Read his article on the Daily Sceptic here.

Produced by Richard Eldred. Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

00:00 Intro 01:25 Stephen Edginton on Tan Ikram’s Dodgy Record 10:35 Judicial Activism & Diversity 17:34 Holding Controversial Judges to Account 19:24 BBC’s Reporting 28:45 Protests Against Illegal Migration 31:56 Returning to Independent Journalism 34:00 Alexander Baker on the Prison Crisis 36:36 Who Is to Blame for the Prison Crisis? 37:35 Shift Away From Punishment 40:26 Impact of Emergency Prisoner Releases 42:44 Failures of Probation 44:41 Prison Conditions & Rehabilitation 57:55 Reform’s Approach to Prison Building 58:53 Political Will to Fix the Crisis 01:00:11 Ben Pile on Labour’s Energy Promise 01:08:38 The Great British Grid 01:09:16 The Promise of Lower Bills and Faster Connections 01:14:16 What Would Really Empower Energy Consumers? 01:15:18 Rising Prices