Former head of Foreign Office Olly Robbins applied for judicial review after Keir Starmer dismissed him in April

Olly Robbins, the former head of the Foreign Office sacked by Keir Starmer over his role in vetting Peter Mandelson, has received a six-figure payout from the government over his dismissal.

Robbins had applied to the high court for a judicial review of the prime minister’s decision to remove him as the top civil servant at the Foreign Office after he was dismissed in April.

Exclusive: Devon and Cornwall police formally apologise to nine women and settle claim without admitting liability

A police force alleged to have promoted and protected male officers despite knowing they were accused of domestic abuse has formally apologised and paid compensation to nine women, the Guardian has learned.

The women allege they were subjected to a range of abuse including rape, assault, threats, harassment and coercive control while in relationships with male officers from Devon and Cornwall police.

As violent spirits are unleashed in Sky’s Possession, observers see confident creatives reclaiming the island’s narratives in a form of ‘cultural reparation’

A woman opens a 300‑year‑old box, unleashing a violent spirit – it is the spirit of colonialism and oppression roaring back to life. It is a pivotal scene in Sky’s supernatural series Possession and symbolises a wider shift in Jamaica’s film industry, where directors are increasingly using the landscape to tell Jamaican stories – including those that confront enslavement, trauma and historical memory.

The series is about a biracial British lawyer who travels to Jamaica to investigate a multimillion-pound inheritance dispute, only to uncover a dark, vengeful spirit tied to the plantation’s brutal colonial past.

Here is everything I’ve learned from my container gardener days – from the best plants to choose for low-maintenance gardening to why it pays to go big

When I was a container gardener, this was the time of year I’d start to think about sprucing up my pots. It’s similar to a seasonal wardrobe switcheroo: putting shorts and summer dresses away until next year; getting jumpers out from under the bed and inspecting for moth holes. The pots, which usually had some late summer goodies in them, would be looking a bit worse for wear and I’d heave them all up, replace the compost and put in new things to perk up the balcony for the cooler months.

The more I gardened, the more I left the pots alone. They became their own annual microgardens, with bulbs and perennials that rose and died back like little symphonies. Far less hard work, aside from a heavy mulch now and another in the spring, occasionally removing a bit of dead foliage and watering in the summer.

The current system is unable to quench the public thirst for locking people up – and certainly doesn’t ensure proper care once they are released

Public services need more investment across the board. Every day, another wretched story. Look at the Institute for Government’s (IFG) Public Services Performance Tracker for a plain assessment of A&E corridor care, councils struggling to meet the demands of social care and the Send system, the courts backlog, GP caseloads or families lost in temporary accommodation. A chancellor approaching a budget is besieged by need. It’s easy for us journalists to pick out shock stories and claim each one is an absolute priority, but how should a chancellor choose?

Today it’s the probation officers, whose conference in Newcastle is launching a ballot for industrial action. Their caseloads overflowed long ago, but now thousands of prisoners released early – 2,000 this month – have been thrust upon them. The responsibility is overwhelming, with officers blamed for crimes their clients commit.

Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

‘Unfair’ immigration and asylum bill could fail to support sexual violence survivors, anti-slavery commissioner says

Survivors of sexual violence could wrongly be denied recognition as victims of human trafficking under credibility tests in a new UK law, the independent anti-slavery commissioner has warned.

Eleanor Lyons said the measures in the immigration and asylum bill were fundamentally unfair and could lead to many more victims of slavery and trafficking, including those allegedly abused by Mohamed Al Fayed, being denied support.

Use of death penalty against people for crimes committed when they were children a ‘new low’, say rights groups

A young man faces imminent execution in Saudi Arabia for attending protests and funerals when he was aged 15 to 17, say human rights groups, in the latest example of the kingdom’s surging use of the death penalty for non-violent crimes.

Youssef al-Manasif was arrested in 2017 and accused of crimes including joining demonstrations for religious freedom by the Shia minority and attending funerals that the Saudi authorities deem to be protests. He was convicted and sentenced to death by the specialised criminal court, a secretive tribunal set up for terrorism-related cases.

More than 11,400 drivers last year were fined for offences they did not recognise as RAC says system needs reform

The number of reported “cloned” vehicles involved in offences on UK roads has reached a record high, official data shows.

More than 11,400 drivers contacted the DVLA last year after being issued with fines for offences they said they did not recognise or accept responsibility for – most of which are believed to be down to cloning, where a number plate is copied fraudulently on similar vehicles to avoid enforcement cameras.