Munira Wilson told party’s conference many men could not afford to spend time with their babies
The Liberal Democrats have said they would double statutory shared parental pay (ShPP) and extend the amount of leave new parents can take if the party form the next government.
Speaking at the party’s autumn conference in Bournemouth, education spokesperson, Munira Wilson, said not enough men were taking leave, while many “simply can’t afford” to spend time with their babies.
Continue reading...Pontiff says rescuing those making Mediterranean crossings is a ‘duty of humanity’ on first visit by a pope to Marseille in 500 years
Pope Francis has decried what he called the “fanaticism of indifference” as people risked their lives on dangerous journeys by boat from north Africa to Europe, amid growing political debate over migration.
Opening an overnight visit to Marseille, the pontiff presided over a silent moment of prayer at a memorial dedicated to sailors and people who died at sea, surrounded by faith leaders and migrant rescue organisations from the Mediterranean port city.
Continue reading...Commission says it is ‘cracking down’ on smuggling networks as NGOs say more assistance is needed from Europe’s leaders. This live blog is closed
The Paris public prosecutor’s office said today that far-right leader Marine Le Pen and 24 others should stand trial over alleged misuse of EU funds, Reuters reports.
The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, have used the situation in Lampedusa “for political campaigning,” according to Dutch European parliament member Sophie in ‘t Veld.
Continue reading...Foreign affairs chief in clash with Ursula von der Leyen as he issues broadside against ‘unilateral action’
EU member states expressed “incomprehension” when the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, rushed into a migration pact with Tunisia, it has been revealed.
The concerns were raised in July both verbally and in writing, the EU’s chief diplomat responsible for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, wrote in a letter dated 7 September that has been seen by the Guardian.
Continue reading...Far-right Giorgia Meloni says crisis cannot be ‘just resolved within Italian borders’ on visit to island where 8,500 arrived in days
Italy’s prime minister has said that European countries must work together “to stop departures [from Africa]” and swiftly deport those turned down for asylum, who she said “threaten the future of Europe”, after thousands of people seeking refuge arrived on Lampedusa in the last week.
Giorgia Meloni toured the tiny Sicilian island, which for years has been the first port of call for people making the treacherous journey by sea from north Africa, on Sunday morning alongside Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer dismisses Tory claims of plan to oversee 100,000 extra arrivals as ‘complete garbage’
Labour will not say how many more migrants it would accept under a returns deal with the EU if it comes to power, as senior party figures insist that they do not want to be bound by quotas.
Keir Starmer said this week that if he became prime minister, he would seek a deal with the EU to return some new arrivals to mainland Europe while allowing others to enter Britain.
Continue reading...Small vessel rescued en route to island of Lampedusa, which has received 8,500 people this week
A newborn baby has been found dead on a boat carrying people to the Italian island of Lampedusa during a rescue operation, the Ansa news agency has reported.
The baby was born during the journey and died soon after birth, Ansa reported, adding that about 40 people were onboard.
Continue reading...Diplomatic and media blitz for Labour leader will include appearances on Sunday morning political shows
Keir Starmer has arrived in Canada to set out his doctrine for tackling international threats at a gathering of world leaders, the latest step in the Labour leader’s move to flesh out policy in politically turbulent areas such as immigration.
Amid continued efforts by Starmer and his team to push back against the “nonsense” that closer cooperation with the EU would involve the UK having to accept 100,000 asylum-seekers a year, the Labour leader was in Montreal for the Global Progress Action Summit of centre-left politicians.
Continue reading...PM says breed, responsible for series of attacks, will be banned once it has been properly defined
Here is the full text of what Rishi Sunak said in his video statement about banning American XL bully dogs. (See 11.50am.)
The American XL bully dog is a danger to our communities, particularly our children.
I share the nation’s horror at the recent videos we’ve all seen. Yesterday we saw another suspected XL bully dog attack, which has tragically led to a fatality.
It’s clear the American XL Bully dog is a danger to our communities.
I’ve ordered urgent work to define and ban this breed so we can end these violent attacks and keep people safe.
Continue reading...Trip by foreign affairs committee blocked with no reason given, raising questions about country’s partnership with EU
A group of MEPs from the European parliament have been refused entry to Tunisia, raising questions about the controversial partnership on migration that Tunisia signed with the EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen and the Italian leader, Giorgia Meloni, this summer.
The foreign affairs committee, chaired by the German MEP Michael Gahler, was due to arrive in the country on Friday. “We have cancelled the trip. We have not been given reasons for the refused entry, that would be speculation,” he said.
Continue reading...Labour leader working on ‘quid pro quo’ deal of migrant quotas from bloc in return for sending back those who arrive illegally
Keir Starmer has revealed that he would seek an EU-wide returns agreement for asylum seekers who come to Britain, as he vowed to “smash the gangs” behind small boat crossings.
Labour believes that any agreement with Brussels would have to be “quid pro quo”, meaning accepting quotas of migrants from the bloc in return for sending back people who arrive illegally. The system would reportedly work via applications in UK embassies on the continent, and prioritise people with family already in the UK.
Continue reading...Boat travelling from north Africa capsized near tiny Italian island, with all other passengers rescued
A five-month-old boy has drowned during a rescue operation off the Italian island of Lampedusa after a boat carrying people from north Africa capsized.
The tragedy occurred as migrant landings on Lampedusa surged, leaving the small island struggling to cope. About 1,850 people landed on Wednesday, bringing the total number of migrants in Lampedusa to more than 6,700, the Ansa news agency said.
Continue reading...Frontex deal would be Sunak’s third with EU as prime minister but would not address small boats crisis
Rishi Sunak is on the verge of securing an agreement for cooperation between the UK and the EU’s border protection agency, Frontex in a further sign of thawing post-Brexit relations.
The deal is expected to mirror other agreements Frontex has with “third country” states, including one with Albania, which agreed to renew its 2019 accord.
Continue reading...Prime minister says he told Li Qiang, the Chinese prime minister, at G20 that Chinese interference with the work of parliament will ‘never be tolerated’
Simon Clarke, who was the levelling up secretary during the Liz Truss premiership, has defended the government’s decision not to explicitly label China as a threat. In posts on X, or Twitter as many of us still call it, he said:
There are legitimate reasons why it is difficult for ministers to say China is a threat – that’s the nature of international relations. What matters more than words is that our policy choices change to reflect the undoubted danger of China’s actions.
Here I think the Government’s record stands up pretty well. You have the soft power of our new Pacific trade bloc membership in the CPTPP (which notably does not include China) and you have the hard power of the new AUKUS alliance - itself a response to Chinese aggression.
Continue reading...Exclusive: 2020 report told of risk to detainees’ health from indefinite detention and sending ‘prison hardened’ cohort into system
Peter Dutton’s home affairs department was warned that immigration detention was “failing” by an independent review but options to reduce reliance on detention were “not progressed”.
The report by the former secretary of the attorney general’s department, Robert Cornall, found that visa cancellations sent “prison hardened detainees” into immigration detention and warned this may breach the Australian government’s duty of care to other detainees including asylum seekers.
Continue reading...Children risking lives to migrate across Latin America and Caribbean, with aid groups warning they cannot cope
Record numbers of children are migrating across Latin America and the Caribbean with more than 60,000 children risking life and limb to cross the treacherous Darién Gap jungle pass this year, according to a new Unicef report.
Sounding the alarm over the rising number of youngsters on the move, the UN’s children’s agency said at least 92 migrant children had died or gone missing last year – more than any other year since 2014.
Continue reading...Preliminary order issued by judge David Ezra requires the floaters to be relocated to an embankment on the state side of the river
A US judge ordered Texas to move a line of floating buoys that were placed in the middle of the Rio Grande to block migrants from crossing the US-Mexico border. The ruling is a tentative win for the Biden administration after the Department of Justice (DoJ) sued the state.
The federal judge David Ezra on Wednesday issued a preliminary injunction in the state capital of Austin that requires Texas to relocate the controversial buoys, currently near the city of Eagle Pass, to an embankment on the Texas side of the river.
Continue reading...Akif Rasuli spent more than two years behind bars after being accused of people smuggling
A Greek court has awarded thousands of euros in compensation to an Afghan refugee who spent more than two years in prison after being wrongfully accused of people smuggling, in a rare step hailed by campaigners.
A three-member appeal court sitting on the Aegean island of Lesbos ruled that Akif Rasuli had not only been unjustly jailed, but should be recompensed for the ordeal he had been made to endure.
Continue reading...In August, 50,000 people fleeing northward were met with long lines for medical attention, a lack of water and sleeping spaces
Medical non-governmental organizations (NGOs) attending to injured and sick migrants crossing the Darién Gap are increasingly unable to manage the record number of people taking the perilous journey, according to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the United Nation high commissioner for human rights.
In August 50,000 people took the week-long trek through the dense jungle connecting Colombia and Panama, outstretching the capacity of MSF’s staff at medical treatment posts on the Panamanian border.
Continue reading...Ruling against man who claimed family were ‘pushback’ victims seen as blow to efforts to make Frontex accountable
A Syrian refugee has lost a landmark case against the EU’s border protection agency, Frontex, after he and his family were forcibly deported from Greece before his asylum application was processed.
The ruling is seen as a major blow to efforts to make the operations of Frontex in Greece and other countries more transparent and accountable to the member states who employ them.
Continue reading...