Category Archives: Immigration and asylum

‘Most of this is symbolic’: the new wave of anti-migrant vigilantes in Europe

Posted on by

‘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...

Home Office bans asylum seekers from buying luxury goods and services

Posted on by

Purchase of snowmobiles, timeshares and furs prohibited, despite asylum seekers receiving only £9.95 a week

Are you an asylum seeker and are you considering buying an armoured car, a snowmobile or a timeshare using your Home Office pre-paid cash card? If so, think again, for these are just some of the luxuries on a list of banned items and activities drawn up by the government.

Quite how asylum seekers living in hotels who are banned from working but are provided with meals and receive £9.95 a week are expected to afford any luxuries is unclear. Similarly, those in self-catering accommodation who receive £49.18 a week may find it tricky to foot the bill for flowers (also on the list).

Continue reading...

Labour won the legal battle over asylum hotels, but the right is running the story

Posted on by

Ruling has bought government time to plan closures but Farage and Tories have more fuel for their grievances

Protesters were already gathering outside the Bell hotel by Friday evening with union flags and St George’s flags waving. This court ruling was never going to end as a quiet legal moment.

For the Home Office, the court of appeal’s decision was a practical win. If the ruling had gone the other way, the government would have been forced to rehouse 138 asylum seekers in a matter of days, opening the floodgates to similar legal challenges from other councils. Since there is scant alternative accommodation available, this ruling buys the government time.

Continue reading...

Asylum seekers to remain at Epping hotel after court of appeal revokes ban

Posted on by

Judges say decision to allow injunction was ‘seriously flawed’ and contained several ‘errors in principle’

More than 130 people seeking asylum will be allowed to remain in the Bell hotel in Epping after the court of appeal overturned a high court ban on housing them there, leaving police braced for further angry protests.

While the decision was a technical victory for the Home Office, as other local councils could have brought legal challenges against the use of hotels, it has already been seized on by Labour’s political opponents.

Continue reading...

Judges due to rule on Epping hotel injunction – UK politics live

Posted on by

Home Office and Bell Hotel owner have challenged injunction granted to council that would stop dozens of asylum seekers being housed there

UK bank shares tumbled on Friday, cutting the stock market value of the sector by almost £8bn in morning trading, as fresh calls for a windfall tax on large lenders in the autumn budget spooked investors.

Calls for a tax grab, in a paper written by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) thinktank, took a toll on some of the UK’s biggest high street banks. NatWest Group suffered the biggest drop on Friday morning, registering a decline of as much as 5% in its share price, while Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays followed close behind, falling 4.5% and 3.6% respectively. HSBC dropped more than 1%.

Continue reading...

Minister orders immigration centre to remove ‘balloon craft’ job ads

Posted on by

Outsourcing firm Mitie listed several roles aimed at providing ‘safe and productive’ environment for detainees

Jobs aimed at improving the wellbeing of people at an immigration detention centre, including holding workshops in floristry and balloon craft, are unnecessary and should be removed, a government minister has said.

The outsourcing firm Mitie, which manages the Heathrow immigration removal centre (IRC) in west London, listed several roles online, including a painting and decorating tutor and gym manager, for salaries ranging between £31,000 and £38,000.

Continue reading...

Reform councillor works on asylum claims for Home Office, investigation reveals

Posted on by

Paul Bean may have breached civil service impartiality rules over alleged social media posts

Campaigners have complained to the Home Office after it was revealed a councillor for Reform UK also works for the government department processing asylum and immigration claims.

Paul Bean, who serves as a councillor for Crook ward at Durham county council, declared his day job as a civil servant at the Home Office in his register of interests.

Continue reading...

Home Office promises ‘big surge’ in asylum hotel closures in new year

Posted on by

Angela Eagle accuses other parties of offering ‘fag packet plans’ as ministers face mounting pressure on immigration

The Home Office has promised a “big surge” in asylum hotel closures in the new year, with five more to shut in the coming months, as ministers face mounting pressure over the government’s record on immigration.

Speaking after a weekend of protests and counter-protests over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, Home Office minister Angela Eagle said the government had inherited a “border security system in tatters” and accused opposition parties of offering “the fag packet plans without the substance on delivery”.

Continue reading...

Checked out: Jenrick’s migrant hotel record haunts his rightwing bid for attention

Posted on by

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...

Dozens of protests planned outside asylum hotels as Labour defends record on immigration – UK politics live

Posted on by

Labour has pledged to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of this parliament in 2029

In an interview on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Friday, MSP Jeremy Balfour who has resigned from the Scottish Conservatives (see 9.13am BST), said he feels the party has “lost its way in Scotland” and “I don’t think it represents true Conservative values”.

According to the PA news agency, when asked if Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay is the right person for the job and whether he should stay in the post, he said:

Clearly I’m no longer a member of the party so that’s no longer a decision for me to make.

I get on very well as an individual with Russell, I think he’s a good individual. Whether he’s the person to lead the Scottish Conservatives is obviously for MSPs, for the membership, to decide.

What I’m very clear about is that those with disabilities, other minorities and the people of Lothian need a voice for people to hear what we require within our country.

I’m not sure any party is actually offering that at the moment but whether I stand or not I’ll come to a view in the next few weeks.

It’s the party that’s moved, not me.

We are disappointed to read these comments but grateful for Jeremy’s service and wish him well.

The Scottish Conservatives, under Russell Findlay’s leadership, recognise that many people feel completely disconnected from politics. It is absolutely critical that our party continues to champion commonsense Conservative values and policies that focus on the issues of concern to hard-working Scots.

Continue reading...

‘Don’t call this racist’: row grows over motives behind England flag campaign

Posted on by

Organisers say they are just being patriotic but some suspect far right is behind ‘dangerous’ lamp-post movement

“This is NOT racist never has been never will be,” reads the fundraising page of a group calling itself the Wythall Flaggers, which by Tuesday afternoon had raised more than £2,000, mostly in small donations of £5 and £10. “We have members of the community of all ethnicities and religions stopping by and praising what we are doing so please don’t call this racist.”

The money, according to the page’s organiser, will be used for “coating the local community in England flags as this is home and we should be patriotic and proud … We need help to cover every street in Wythall with our beautiful St George’s cross.”

Continue reading...

Labour condemns Robert Jenrick’s visit to rally attended by far-right activist

Posted on by

Shadow minister posts picture of himself at protest outside Essex hotel that has become anti-immigration flashpoint

Robert Jenrick has been severely criticised by Labour after the shadow justice secretary was pictured at an anti-asylum rally in Essex attended by a veteran far-right activist.

Jenrick posted photos on X showing himself visiting the protest outside the Bell hotel in Epping, where police have been attacked and police vehicles vandalised by groups of men taking part in the demonstration. The MP met protesters including a woman with a T-shirt bearing the message: “Send them home.”

Continue reading...

Tory MPs complain party attack ad on asylum hotels ‘makes us look silly’

Posted on by

Backbenchers say party leadership is criticising Labour government for policies introduced by Conservatives

Conservative MPs have expressed frustration at their party’s “piss-poor” messaging over hotels housing people seeking asylum.

Leaked WhatsApp messages show members are concerned that the party’s leadership is attacking Keir Starmer’s government for policies introduced by the Conservatives.

Continue reading...

Anti-racism and anti-immigration protesters in Falkirk face off outside asylum hotel

Posted on by

Counter-demonstration offers welcome to refugees as anti-migrant protesters gather outside Cladhan hotel

Anti-racism campaigners held a counter-demonstration against people protesting against “uncontrolled illegal immigration” outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Scotland.

Stand Up to Racism Scotland, Falkirk Trades Union Council and local people said they organised the gathering in Falkirk on Saturday to show that refugees are welcome in the town.

Organisers described it as a “safely stewarded community event with music, speeches from the local community, the trade union movement, local campaigns, faith groups and others”.

Demonstrators held placards with messages such as “stop the far right”, “refugees welcome” and “migrants make our NHS”.

Continue reading...

UK visa services firm sues ex-boss for £6m over alleged improper use of profits

Posted on by

Exclusive: Ecctis alleges Cloud Bai-Yun used profits from government contract to buy out her shares in breach of fiduciary duty

The company that runs visa services for the UK government is suing its former chief executive for £6m over her alleged improper use of profits earned during a period of record immigration.

Cloud Bai-Yun, who once represented the UK on an international ethics and fraud advisory body, is accused by Ecctis of a breach of fiduciary duty, according to court filings.

Continue reading...

Canadian who could not renew visa due to mental health crisis faces UK ban

Posted on by

Academic Heather Scott has been told by Home Office that being ‘acutely ill’ is not an exceptional circumstance

The Home Office is threatening to ban a Canadian academic from the UK after she was unable to renew her visa in time during a mental health crisis.

Dr Heather Scott has lived in Britain since she came in 2011 on a study visa. The renowned academic, whose area of research relates to Victorian cemeteries including Highgate, Brompton and Abney Park, is required to be based in London.

Continue reading...

Police in England brace for disorder as far right promote anti-migrant protests

Posted on by

Restrictions in place on Friday in areas including Norwich and officers will monitor at least 12 other towns and cities

Police are braced for potential disorder in towns across England this weekend amid the far right’s promotion of a range of protests against asylum seekers, with anti-racism activists planning counter-protests.

Restrictions will be in place on Friday at locations including Norwich while officers will police at least 12 other towns and cities that evening.

Continue reading...

UK politics live: Gordon Brown calls for extra defence spending to be exempt from fiscal rules

Posted on by

Former PM says ‘exceptional’ aim to spend 5% of GDP should be a joint Nato and European initiative financed via bonds or a defence fund

This is what Gordon Brown said in his Today programme interview when asked to give more details of his plan to exempt from extra defence spending from the fiscal rules. He said other European countries were already looking at this, and that having a European-wide initiative would persuade the bond markets that in this case the rise in borrowing was justified. He said:

If you look around Europe at the moment, you’ll see that the Germans are looking at what they can do outside the fiscal rules. The European stability and growth pact is exempting a lot of defence money from the normal fiscal rules. The French are looking at other ways of doing it. The Polish have already done that.

What I’m actually asking for is a European-wide initiative where individual countries will come together and say, Look, we all have to do this. We all have to find, let’s say, an extra 1%, because 5% of course is building on some of what’s already been spent.

Continue reading...

First people to be returned to France under UK’s ‘one in, one out’ asylum deal

Posted on by

People detained after arriving in small boat expected to be returned within three weeks, says Home Office

Migrants who arrived in the UK on a small boat have been detained for the first time under Keir Starmer’s “one in, one out” deal and are expected to be returned within three weeks, the Home Office has said.

Detentions began on Wednesday lunchtime, with those identified in the Channel boat being held in immigration removal centres pending their removal.

Continue reading...

Starmer declines to rule out election pledge-breaking tax rises in budget after claim Treasury must fill £40bn deficit – as it happened

Posted on by

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...