Category Archives: Migration

Scott Benton faces Commons suspension over lobbying to give Tories potential byelection headache – UK politics live

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Commons standards committee recommends 35-day suspension for Scott Benton, who had Conservative whip suspended in April

Rishi Sunak has said that he is open to considering ways in which his Rwanda bill can be “improved”.

With Conservative rightwingers and centrists both wanting to amend the bill, in opposite directions, when it returns to the Commons in the new year, Sunak signalled that the government would be open to accepting some changes.

I’ve been very consistently clear, as have all ministers, if there are ways that the legislation can be improved, to be made even more effective — with a respectable legal argument and maintaining the participation of the Rwandans in the scheme — of course we would be open to that, who wouldn’t be?

This is a damning report from the cross-party standards committee, clearly concluding that Scott Benton seriously breached parliamentary rules in flaunting his position as a parliamentarian in exchange for remuneration.

This is not an isolated case, but comes off the back of a wave of Tory sleaze and scandal.

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Rights groups decry Greek investigation into migrant shipwreck that left more than 500 dead

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Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International claim that authorities failed to mobilise ‘appropriate resources’, while Greece says the ship’s crew refused assistance

Human rights groups have deplored the lack of progress made by Greek authorities in their investigation into the controversial circumstances in which a migrant ship sank off the Peloponnese – leaving more than 500 dead – in one of the Mediterranean’s worst ever boat disasters.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International claim there are credible allegations that the Hellenic Coast Guard’s “actions and omissions” contributed to the 14 June shipwreck.

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Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer clash over homelessness and the UK economy at PMQs – as it happened

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The prime minister faced PMQs for the final time before the Christmas recess

Rishi Sunak is about to take PMQs. It will be the last of 2023.

Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.

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Rwanda bill ‘pushing at edge of the envelope’ but ‘within framework of international law’ says home secretary – UK politics live

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James Cleverly says deportation bill contains ‘novel measures’ as MPs debate it

Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, a former lord chief justice of England and Wales, has said the government should not try to ignore the jurisdiction of the European court of human rights. In an interview for a podcast called the Judges, he said:

If you have subjected yourself to a court, and it was our voluntary decision to do so, then you have to take the rough with the smooth and if they’ve decided [the court] have this jurisdiction then you ought to follow it.

You can’t expect others to respect the law if you say you won’t respect the law of someone else.

You ought to actually be able, within a set period of time, say a fortnight, to investigate, decide, give him one right of appeal – why you should have more than one right of appeal I simply don’t understand – and remove them.” But, he concedes, it costs money.

Britain is a practical nation – always has been. People can’t afford Christmas. If they call an ambulance this winter – they don’t know if it will come. 6,000 crimes go unpunished - every day. Common sense is rolling your sleeves up and solving these problems practically, not indulging in some kind of political performance art.

This goes for stopping the boats as well. It’s not about wave machines, or armoured jet skis, or schemes like Rwanda you know will never work.

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French government vows to push on with immigration bill despite defeat

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Emmanuel Macron faces political crisis after opposition parties refused to debate it in parliament

The French government has said it will push on with a planned immigration law in the face of a political crisis after opposition parties from the left to the far right refused to even debate it in parliament.

The president, Emmanuel Macron, and the centrist government were surprised by a humiliating defeat on Monday – the first time in 25 years that a government bill was rejected before even being debated by parliament.

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One Nation Tory MPs vow to drop support for Rwanda bill if there are amendments as ERG calls for it to be rewritten – as it happened

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Damian Green says government must ‘stick to guns’ but chair of European Research Group calls for bill to be pulled and rewritten

Sunak says the PM had to balance competing interests during Covid.

Only he could do that, because only he saw all the competing arguments made by different cabinet ministers.

Your phone, you said, doesn’t retain, and nor do you have access to, text messages at all relating to the period of the crisis.

In addition, you said although on occasion you use WhatsApp to communicate around meetings and logistics and so on, you generally were only party to WhatsApp groups that were set up to deal with individual circumstances such as arrangements for calls, meetings and so on and so forth. You don’t now have access to any of the WhatsApps that you did send during the time of the crisis, do you?

I’ve changed my phone multiple times over the past few years and, as that has happened, the messages have not come across.

As you said, I’m not a prolific user of WhatsApp in the first instance – primarily communication with my private office and obviously anything that was of significance through those conversations or exchanges would have been recorded officially by my civil servants as one would expect.

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MPs throw out French government’s immigration bill

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Unlikely alliance of opposition MPs deal humiliating defeat to Emmanuel Macron and Gérald Darmanin

Opposition MPs have succeeded in scuppering the French government’s highly controversial immigration bill by having it thrown out before any debate began.

In a humiliating defeat for Emmanuel Macron, a motion to reject the law – known as the Darmanin law after the interior minister, Gérald Darmanin – was passed on Monday by five votes.

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Australia news live: Shannon Fentiman announces tilt at Queensland Labor leadership

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Palaszczuk made decision ‘in the interest of the state’, Swan says

ALP national secretary Wayne Swan has spoken to ABC RN about Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s resignation announcement yesterday.

That’s always ever present for any leader at any time but I think she made the decision in the interest of the state and I think in her own interest as well.

I think people are sensibly discussing what the options are and if one candidate has a pretty clear majority then I think it would be unlikely that you’d see a battle, because it would simply be very difficult for the government over a period of time when they need to re-establish a leader in the job.

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Labor targets student and some worker visas in overhaul of Australia’s temporary migration program

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Government says temporary migration system is ‘broken’ and changes to student and skilled worker visas are needed to address exploitation

The Albanese government will lift the bar for international students and some workers to get a visa and as it seeks to overhaul what it says is Australia’s “broken” temporary migration program.

A new 10-year temporary migration strategy to be released on Monday will include moves to crack down on the use of student visas as a “back door” entry for employers looking to import low-skilled workers, while the government will also create new visas targeting highly skilled workers, particularly those in growth industries. It comes with the government flagging that overseas migration has peaked and is set to fall in the next 12 months.

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Tories warn Rishi Sunak that his Rwanda plan ‘will never be law’

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As Tuesday’s crucial vote looms, MPs from both wings of the party say PM has tied his future to a bill that cannot succeed

• Read more: The UK’s deal with Rwanda must stay within the rule of law

Senior Tories from across the party are warning that Rishi Sunak’s emergency Rwanda plan will never become law in its current form, ahead of the most critical vote of his premiership.

Liberal Tories confirmed last night that, despite their desire to back the PM against the right, “serious concerns” remain about the plan and more reassurances will be required. Meanwhile, a self-styled “star chamber” of legal figures examining the proposals for the Tory right is understood to have found problems that are “extremely difficult to resolve”.

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Tory right deliver legal rebuke to Sunak’s Rwanda plan

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ERG lawyers conclude plans will not forestall court challenges, echoing concerns of goverment’s own legal team

Rishi Sunak has been dealt a fresh blow over his Rwanda legislation as a legal assessment for the Tory right has concluded that the prime minister’s plans are not fit for purpose.

Bill Cash, who chairs the “star chamber” of lawyers for the European Research Group, wrote in the Daily Telegraph that “at present” the legislation is not “sufficiently watertight to meet the government’s policy objectives” such as circumventing individual legal challenges by people seeking to remain in the UK.

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Rishi Sunak defends Rwanda asylum policy as Tory split deepens – UK politics live

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PM’s press conference follows criticism from Braverman and the resignation of Robert Jenrick

Rishi Sunak says he is holding this press conference to explain why the government is publishing its Rwanda bill.

He says he is the child of immigrants. He understands why people want to come to the UK.

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Asylum seekers can be housed at former RAF bases, high court rules

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Council says it will apply to appeal court after judge rules in favour of government plans citing high risk of migrants being made homeless

Council bosses are planning to appeal against a high court ruling that gives the government the green light to use two military sites to accommodate thousands of asylum seekers.

Lawyers representing West Lindsey district council in Lincolnshire argued that plans to use the disused RAF Scampton, where the “dambusters” were based during the second world war, were unlawful. Lawyers for Braintree district council where Wethersfield airfield is based, made similar arguments. A local Braintree resident, Gabriel Clarke-Holland, was also involved in the legal challenge.

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Wednesday briefing: Inside the Home Office’s new Rwanda plan – and why it might not work

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In today’s newsletter: James Cleverly has signed a treaty aimed at fixing its deportation plan, but there are questions whether its safeguards will change the supreme court’s mind

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Good morning. Whoever it was that bequeathed the Conservative government its current dog’s dinner of a policy on immigration and asylum, be in no doubt: the people in charge now are going to do things differently! After setting out draconian new limits on legal migration on Monday, home secretary James Cleverly yesterday turned to irregular migration and the small boats crisis.

In Kigali, he signed a new treaty with the Rwandan government that is supposed to help overcome the supreme court’s recent decision that the existing Rwanda deportation plans are unlawful. Next, the government will proceed with the second part of its plan to fix the Rwanda scheme: legislation that could prevent new court challenges. As he finalises plans that could be published tomorrow, Rishi Sunak must decide whether he wants to infuriate his party’s moderate MPs or those rallying around Suella Braverman on the right.

Israel-Hamas war | The UN’s top aid official has said the Israeli military campaign in southern Gaza has been just as devastating as in the north, creating “apocalyptic” conditions and ending any possibility of meaningful humanitarian operations. Meanwhile, the UN heard accounts of sexual violence during the 7 October attacks by Hamas in a meeting where speakers accused women’s rights activists and UN officials of not doing enough to address the crimes.

Climate | Many of the gravest threats to humanity are drawing closer, as carbon pollution heats the planet to ever more dangerous levels, scientists have warned. Five important natural thresholds already risk being crossed, according to the Global Tipping Points report, and three more may be reached in the 2030s if the world heats 1.5C above pre-industrial temperatures.

Nuclear leaks | Sellafield, Europe’s most hazardous nuclear site, has a worsening leak from a huge silo of radioactive waste that could pose a risk to the public, the Guardian revealed. Concerns over safety at the crumbling building have caused diplomatic tensions with countries including the US, Norway and Ireland.

Covid inquiry | The mystery of Boris Johnson’s Covid-era WhatsApp messages has taken another twist before the former prime minister begins his evidence to the inquiry today, after it was reported that nearly six months of messages could not be retrieved. A spokesperson for Johnson blamed a “technical issue”.

NHS | Thousands of junior doctors are to stage new strike action in England after failing to reach a deal with the government in talks over pay. They will walk out for 72 hours from 7am on 20 December, and again for six days from 3 January.

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Robert Jenrick says immigration crackdown may not go far enough and further measures may be needed – UK politics live

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Immigration minister says there could be ‘merits’ to an annual cap on net migration

Last night Suella Braverman, the former home secretary and the most prominent voice on the Tory right for tighter immigration controls, gave a qualified welcome to the immigration crackdown. It was “a step in the right direction”, she said in a thread on X. But she said it was too late to have an impact on numbers before the general election, and she said further measures were needed.

Among other things, she called for an annual cap on immigration numbers.

As well as these proposals, we should go further: shortening the graduate route - not just reviewing it again; & we need an annual cap, set by Parliament, across all visa routes, so we don’t get into this terrible situation again & government can be properly held to account.

There are merits to ideas like that. But what matters now is action. The public wants to see us actually deliver reducing levels of net migration, as I’ve been very clear, that people are sick of talk on this topic.

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Tory plan to cut net legal immigration is bolder than most MPs expected

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Clampdown announced by James Cleverly is a shift in strategy by the government, which is rated poorly by the public on the issue

Soon after James Cleverly was announced as the new home secretary, one Labour frontbencher expressed surprise at the appointment.

“This must be the most liberal home secretary we’ve had in years – including during the Labour years,” the person said.

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James Cleverly tells MPs crackdown will cut annual immigration numbers by about 300,000 – as it happened

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Home secretary to announce big hike in salary requirement for migrants to the UK as Rishi Sunak tries to cut net migration figures

Hunt says the government wants to speed up the time it takes to get a connection to the national grid by 90%.

Zanny Minton Beddoes, the editor of the Economist, is interviewing Hunt. She says he has mentioned the 110 policies, but she wants to know what the growth strategy is.

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Spanish police investigate deaths of four migrants forced off speedboat

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Vessel was near Andalucían shore when passengers, believed to be from north Africa, were apparently pushed overboard

Spanish police have opened an inquiry after four people were killed as a result of being forced out of a moving speedboat into the sea just metres from the southern shores of Andalucía.

In a tactic the EU border agency has said is becoming increasingly common, the people who died on Wednesday were among 27 passengers apparently forced off the fast-moving vessel by its drivers near Camposoto beach in the province of Cádiz, officials said. Another eight were left near Sancti Petri beach.

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Home Office ‘loses’ 17,000 people whose asylum claims were withdrawn

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Tory MP queries claims marked withdrawn as government tries to clear backlog by end of year

Rishi Sunak has been accused of losing control of the UK’s borders after the Home Office admitted that it does not know the whereabouts of 17,000 people whose asylum claims have been withdrawn.

Amid a stalled Rwanda deportation scheme and rising costs for housing people seeking refuge in hotels, senior civil servants in the department were told by the Conservative MP and deputy party chair Lee Anderson they “hadn’t got a clue” after failing to provide answers on people seeking refuge in the UK or foreign offender removals.

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Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer clash over immigration and Parthenon marbles at PMQs – UK politics live

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Prime minister’s record shows he has the ‘reverse Midas touch’, Keir Starmer says

Back at the home affairs committee, Tim Loughton (Con) has just had another go at getting answers about the number of asylum applications that have been withdrawn. (See 10.38am.)

He said, when he said earlier 95% of withdrawn applications were categorised as withdrawn for “other” reasons (and not because the claims were not substantiated), he was quoting figures for the last quarter.

Whilst the prospect is perhaps what none of us would wish to plan for, I believe the reality will be that we will need to discharge Covid-19 positive patients into residential care settings for the reason you have noted.

This will be entirely clinically appropriate because the NHS will triage those to retain in acute settings who can benefit from that sector’s care.

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