Group of people who crossed Channel by boat understood not to have been on Air France plane after legal challenge
The first flight to France carrying people who crossed the Channel under Keir Starmer’s “one in, one out” deal has not taken place as planned, according to reports.
A small group of individuals were removed from an Air France flight on Monday due to travel from Heathrow to Paris after a legal challenge, according to multiple newspaper reports.
Continue reading...Number of attempts to cross Channel has been particularly high for several days, say French authorities
Four people including two children have died in two separate incidents while trying to cross the Channel to the UK in the last 24 hours, while three others are missing in a third incident.
On Tuesday night off the coast of Sangatte, France, three people lost their lives while travelling on a dinghy with 38 people onboard. Three others are missing after an incident in Neufchâtel-Hardelot, France, on a boat with 115 people onboard.
Continue reading...The MP said police should be focusing on people who are members of the group, not those who ‘recklessly express support’ for it
Paul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, used his speech to conference this morning to say that the TUC expected the government to deliver its workers’ rights bill “in full”. He said employment rights were “overwhelmingly popular with voters across the political spectrum”.
And he condemned Reform UK for its stance on employment rights. After saying that Nigel Farage claimed to represent working class people, he went on:
Here’s the truth – there is a world of difference between what Nigel says and what Nigel does.
Every single Reform MP, including Mr Farage, voted against outlawing fire and rehire, against banning zero hours contracts and against day one rights for millions of workers.
Ask yourself this fundamental question. Do you believe in your gut that that Nigel Farage really cares about the people of Clacton when he’s off collecting his speaker’s fees in the United States?
Do you believe that Richard Tice really worries about the people of Skegness while he’s living it up at home in Dubai, or are they just rightwing conmen lining their own pockets?
I just have to say this. No amount of TikToks, or ozempic, or expensive haircuts, will ever hide the eager inner ugliness of Robert Jenrick.
The man who ordered murals painted over in a reception centre for children seeking asylum is indeed a xenophobe, an opportunistic xenophobe hoping to create a political climate that ends up with far right folks laying siege to hotels and black and Asian people being threatened and harassed on our streets.
If we look at the powerful geopolitical push factors, they’re things like regime change. We think Afghanistan, war, civil conflict. And when we look at people crossing in small boats, where do they come from? Well, the top nationalities: Afghan, Eritrea, Iranian, Syrian, Sudanese – just those five nationalities account for almost two thirds of all small boat arrivals, and these individuals are from some of the most chaotic parts of the world.
But there are also some pull factors, and the question is, why not claim asylum in France, why come to the UK? A number of reasons recur there when we speak with asylum seekers. It’s the presence of family members, the English language.
In those circumstances, typically, flagged upon the system, the UK government would be able to issue a speedy refuse refusal and try and effect removal.
As it is, people arrive, we don’t have that record, so we don’t know who they are.
Continue reading...Home affairs department reveals just-signed transfer deal, worth $408m upfront to Nauru, forecast to cost Australia $2.5bn over 30 years
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The group of noncitizens set to be banished by Australia to Nauru for 30 years face a potentially hostile reception because they have been described as “violent” and “appalling” by the Australian government.
The forcible transfer of the so-called NZYQ group – and potentially thousands more under legislation currently before parliament – to the tiny island is being quietly resented by Nauruans, sources on the island have told Guardian Australia.
Continue reading...Home secretary earlier suggested warehouses could be used instead of hotels, while PM will urge ministers to go ‘further and faster’ on immigration in Tuesday meeting
Lamb says the Greens are “the antidote to Reform”.
That gets a big round of applause.
We’re a home for all those people across the country holding their heads in their hands as the Labour government lets them down again and again and again, whether it is switching from the aid budget or from people with disabilities and not bringing in taxes … we need.
And that is why, in reaction, a new Green wave is sweeping the country as people turn to us.
It’s already become a bit of a cliche, but we are really moving into a multi-party system, with the Greens poised to help create the next government.
And, like all the best cliches, it has the distinct advantage of also being for true.
Continue reading...Yvette Cooper says rules were designed years ago to help families separated by war but are being used in a different way now
And while we are talking about Blair-era Labour aides, Peter Hyman, who wrote speeches for Tony Blair and later worked for Keir Starmer in the run-up to the general election, has launched a new Substack blog. It is called Changing the Story, which tells you quite a lot about what he thinks is going wrong with No 10. Here is an extract from his first post.
Starmer is an ‘opportunity’ prime minister forced to become a ‘security’ one. And that’s why the government’s narrative is seen by some to be elusive.
Let me explain.
I remember well Tim Allan’s leaving drinks at Number 10 in the earlyish Blair era. In his fulsome farewell speech Tony Blair noted only half jokingly “Tim’s even more right wing than me..”
The same Tim Allan who as head of Portland had a contract to polish Vladimir Putin’s reputation?
Continue reading...At least 50 men, mostly clad in black, approached Camp Sovereignty as sun was setting on Sunday. Four people were injured
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A group of women in Melbourne have been injured, and a police officer in Sydney was allegedly assaulted, after anti-immigration marches across Australia on the weekend.
A group of men, including some members of neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Network, attacked the standing First Nations protest site, Camp Sovereignty, in Melbourne’s Kings Domain on Sunday evening, according to video footage seen by Guardian Australia.
Continue reading...‘Citizen patrols’ and self-styled protective forces are fuelling social fears and the far right, say experts
Sporting black shirts emblazoned with an iron cross, a dozen or so men marched through the centre of Reykjavík, courting attention on a buzzy Friday night. In Poland and the Netherlands, vigilantes thronged along the German border, ready to turn back any asylum seekers they came across. In Belfast, they roamed after sunset, demanding to see the identity documents of migrants and people of colour.
Each of the groups, who are part of a renewed wave of anti-migrant vigilantes that have sprung up in recent months across Europe, have sought to cast themselves as a sort of protective force. But those who have studied vigilantes warn that their actions often exacerbate security concerns, sow fear and fuel the far right.
Continue reading...Tighter family reunification laws are causing long separations, traumatising children, and can push people towards traffickers, campaigners say
Standing outside Germany’s parliament in June, Ahmad Shikh Ali fought back tears as he held up a blurry photo of his three-year-old son. Since fleeing Aleppo more than two years ago, Shikh Ali had done all he could to secure his son a safe future: moving to Hanover, getting full-time employment and wading through endless paperwork so that his wife and son could join him.
He was close to reuniting with his family, with just two cases in front of his in the queue. That was, until Germany’s lower house of parliament passed a bill in June to suspend family reunifications for migrants like him for at least two years.
Continue reading...Far-right agitator or leadership hopeful? MPs call hypocrisy as former minister rails against system he expanded
Robert Jenrick had been migration minister for just a few days in 2022 when he gave a broadcast interview that could easily have been given by a minister in the current government.
“Suella Braverman [the former home secretary] and her predecessor, Priti Patel, were procuring more hotels,” he told Sky News. “What I have done in my short tenure is ramp that up and procure even more. Because November, historically, has been one of the highest months of the year for migrants illegally crossing the Channel.”
Continue reading...Group of NGOs claim deal was unconstitutional and violated the imprisoned men’s human rights
A group of NGOs is challenging Eswatini’s acceptance of five people deported by the US, arguing the deal was unconstitutional and violated the imprisoned men’s human rights.
The men from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba, who the US said were dangerous criminals, were flown to the small southern African country in July, as the Trump administration attempts to deport millions of migrants and asylum seekers.
Continue reading...UN refugee agency says more people could still be missing at sea, with between 70 and 80 believed to have survived
At least 20 people have died after a boat capsized off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, a United Nations agency and local media reported on Wednesday.
Rescuers have recovered 20 bodies so far and operations were continuing, according to initial reports by Ansa news agency. Between 70 and 80 people were believed to have survived.
Continue reading...Seven children reach shore as dozens of people intercepted on risky route, which authorities say is now used more often
About 100 people, including several children, risked their lives by trying to swim from Morocco into Spain’s north African enclave of Ceuta early on Saturday morning, as the territory’s authorities warned that its overwhelmed reception system was close to collapse.
Recent weeks have seen a rise in the number of people trying to reach Ceuta, with more than 50 children swimming across from Morocco on 26 July alone.
Continue reading...Prime minister defends government’s handling of economy but will not give assurances over not raising income tax, employee NI or VAT
Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, has urged Keir Starmer to call Donald Trump to encourage him to use his influence to block Israel’s plans for a “full occupation” of Gaza.
In a statement, Davey said:
[Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu’s latest proposals for the occupation of all of Gaza are utterly horrifying.
If realised, they will only wreak yet more destruction on Gazans - while gravely endangering the lives of the hostages still held in Hamas’ captivity.
I see NIESR is talking today about a £41.2bn hole in the UK public finances
Two things are newsworthy:
Continue reading...Rupert Matthews, elected to post as Conservative in 2021, claims police are ‘fighting crime with one hand tied behind their back’
George Finch, the Reform UK leader of Warwickshire county council, goes next. (Aged 19, he is the youngest council leader in the country.)
He claims the police have opposed his attempts to expose the immigration status of someone arrested in connection with an alleged crime.
It was dirty, run down and had major drug issues. My attitude to the task was assertive and no nonsense. That’s the approach that I will take for my role within Reform UK [advising on crime].
Continue reading...Home Office’s announcement follows growing number of protests outside asylum seeker hotels
Ministers will spend an extra £100m on measures to deter Channel crossings, including on the planned “one in, one out” returns agreement with France, the Home Office has said.
In a third immigration policy pledge within 24 hours, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the money would pay for up to 300 more National Crime Agency officers, as well as new technology and equipment to step up intelligence-gathering on people-smuggling gangs.
Continue reading...Change to border security bill will also make it a crime to advertise fake passports, visas and work opportunities
Ministers are to outlaw social media adverts promoting journeys on small boats across the Channel to asylum seekers.
The government will create a UK-wide criminal offence that could lead to perpetrators being sentenced for up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.
Continue reading...Change to border security bill will also make it a crime to advertise fake passports, visas and work opportunities
Ministers are to outlaw social media adverts promoting journeys on small boats across the Channel to asylum seekers.
The government will create a UK-wide criminal offence that could lead to perpetrators being sentenced for up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.
Continue reading...Change to border security bill will also make it a crime to advertise fake passports, visas and work opportunities
Ministers are to outlaw social media adverts promoting journeys on small boats across the Channel to asylum seekers.
The government will create a UK-wide criminal offence that could lead to perpetrators being sentenced for up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.
Continue reading...Home Office orders diversion from usual landing place to Ramsgate to avoid clashes with far right
Charities have warned of the increasing danger to asylum seekers posed by far-right protesters after small boat arrivals were moved from their usual landing place in Dover to further along the coast to avoid clashes.
The Guardian understands that Home Office officials received intelligence that some of those participating in what was billed the Great British National Protest in Dover on Saturday afternoon could have been planning to target Kent Intake Unit, where small boat arrivals are initially processed after being escorted to shore in Dover by the Border Force.
Continue reading...