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Illegal mini-marts, barbers and vape shops could be shut for up to a year under new powers announced by the UK government, following lengthy investigative reporting by BBC News into organised crime on British high streets.

The investigations have exposed drug gangs, child sexual exploitation, money laundering and immigration crime linked to shops selling illegal cigarettes, vapes and drugs.

As the law stands in England and Wales, authorities can only close a shop for three months, with an option to extend closure to six months using anti-social behaviour legislation. The government’s planned change will double the potential closure time.

Making the announcement, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood praised the BBC’s reporting, saying that people felt high streets were being taken over by “organised crime [and] immigration criminality”. The government was “not prepared to tolerate it”, she said.

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Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news …

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Hundreds, if not thousands, of people’s homes are being taken over by criminals every week in the UK, usually to store and deal drugs, police chiefs have told the BBC.

Perpetrators of so-called cuckooing often target vulnerable people, including the elderly or disabled, by forcing themselves into homes to carry out illegal acts. In some cases drug users are exploited by gangs who move in and refuse to leave.

Cuckooing is not yet a specific criminal offence so there is limited data on how widespread it is.

If you are affected by any of the issues in this story, information and support is available at BBC Action Line (https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline/).

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Will opposition to data centres remake the political landscape in America?

These enormous buildings are being built to house the computers that process and store the huge amounts of data that AI companies work with.

But in places such as Utah, where a 62 square mile data centre has been approved, voters are voicing their concerns. These concerns range from the environmental impact; the effect on property prices and electricity costs; the constant noise and the aesthetic impact of these enormous buildings on the landscape.

This opposition is bi-partisan – affecting both Democrat and Republican voting areas and politicians in Washington have started to take note. Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders has sponsored a bill calling for the immediate moratorium on the building of new data centres, arguing that the federal government needs time to better regulate the AI industry.

In this episode, Anthony and Justin discuss whether this issue has the potential to impact the crucial Mid Term elections in November. And we hear from energy journalist Robert Bryce who has been tracking these protests across the United States and ask, are American voters turning against Big Tech?

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