More than 3,600 nursing posts have been axed in London in the past 18 months, figures show today. Hospital managers have been forced to reduce workforce numbers as they face massive debts and pressure from NHS trusts to save money.

An investigation by an undercover reporter working as a prison officer has exposed conditions in a private jail where inmates have easy access to drugs and mobile phones and subject overstretched staff to intimidation if they are too diligent in their work.

Ministers face a fight to get controversial new laws on detaining mentally ill people through Parliament. The bill, which will allow people to be held against their will even if they have not committed a crime, has been attacked by the Tories as “punitive”.

{mosimage}They joined forces with the Lib Dems and mental health experts to condemn the plan which they said would prevent sufferers from seeking help. Shadow health minister Tim Loughton predicted that the controversial legislation could “ping pong” between the two chambers.

He said that it was nine years since the government first said it would address mental health legislation, but after two drafts of the bill and pre-legislative scrutiny, including evidence from mental health practitioners, it appeared “the government did not listen”.

“This will only add to the stigma of mental health. It will drive people underground and prevent people from getting the help that they need.” He called on the government to retain the Lords amendments, which he said he was “quite happy with”.

Decades of Government attempts to control illegal drugs have had “minimal” impact on levels of use and led to a position where Britain has the worst addiction levels in Europe, a report will say this week.

MI5 is adopting tactics used by the police to keep tabs on paedophiles and other sex offenders to monitor the activities of known or suspected Islamic extremists, The Times has learnt.