A threat to kidnap and murder a serving West Midlands police officer led to a security alert being issued to staff, the BBC understands. The force has confirmed counter-terror officers are investigating an ‘anonymous but credible’ tip-off. Staff were first told on Monday night after the force received the call. Assistant Chief Constable Garry Forsyth said the force was taking the threat ‘extremely seriously’, but there was no increased risk to the public. Officers have been urged to take extra precautions, including not wearing uniform during journeys to and from work. West Midlands Police said it had ‘implemented additional security measures’ after obtaining the information but the force declined to confirm the exact nature of the threat. A spokeswoman said counter-terror officers were continuing to assess the anonymous information the force had received. Officers were held on duty while they were given the security reminder as they started their shifts.

A survey was carried out by the family lawyers’ association, Resolution. Its chair, Jo Edwards commented on the scale of the problem, saying: ‘Each year around 100,000 children under 16 see their parents divorce. Almost half of all break-ups (48%) occur when there is at least one child in the relationship, and with 230,000 people in England and Wales going through a divorce each year (and many more separating), this is an issue that affects hundreds of thousands of families in Britain every year.’ She went on to say that it was clear that ‘children are suffering as a result of parental separation and that in some cases it’s exacerbated when parents place additional stresses on their children during their break-up.’ According to the survey, 32% said that one parent ‘tried to turn them against the other’ whilst more than a quarter (27%) said their parents ‘tried to involve them in their dispute’.

The former Bishop of Oxford has suggested there should be ‘reasonable accommodation’ for religious belief in law, during a House of Lords debate. Lord Harries initiated the debate on the role of belief in public life, in which he referred to recent cases in Europe where human rights appear to have clashed with fundamental religious views. He said: ‘My own view is that human rights should prevail in areas of dispute but that the law should be formulated and enforced with what the Equality and Human Rights Commission once termed ‘reasonable accommodation’. ‘That seems to be in the spirit of the culture of the United Kingdom’. He maintained that there are certain ‘fundamentals’ on which there can be ‘no compromise’, but on some issues ‘there ought to be some scope for latitude’. Speaking earlier this year, Lady Hale said, ‘it is not difficult to see why the Christians feel that their religious beliefs are not being sufficiently respected’.

A new report, the first scientific estimate of the scale of modern slavery in the UK, has shown that the number is four times what was previously thought. Victim levels are estimated to be between 10,000 and 13,000 including women forced into prostitution, domestic staff and workers in fields, factories and fishing boats. Home Secretary Theresa May said the scale of abuse was ‘shocking’. She added: ‘The first step to eradicating the scourge of modern slavery is acknowledging and confronting its existence. The estimated scale of the problem in modern Britain is shocking and these new figures starkly reinforce the case for urgent action. That is why I have introduced a Modern Slavery Bill, the first of its kind in Europe. But I have always been clear that legislation is only part of the answer. Everyone must play their part if we are to consign slavery to history where it belongs.’