‘Overjoyed’ justice and son, who spent two years in hiding in Pakistan, reunited with family after landmark case
A female Afghan judge who was in hiding in Pakistan after fleeing the Taliban has won a landmark right to sanctuary in the UK.
The 53-year-old judge, whose true identity cannot be disclosed due to security concerns but is referred to as Yosra, was granted the right to come to the UK after a long legal battle with the Home Office.
Continue reading...Government reportedly hands back two vessels after ports in the Wirral, London and Scotland deny permission to dock
Controversial plans to house asylum seekers on redundant cruise ships have been thrown into disarray after two vessels were unable to find somewhere to dock.
There had been tentative reported plans for cruise ships to be housed in the Wirral, just outside Edinburgh and in London, but the proposals were all rebuffed. Sky News reported that two ships have been returned to their prior owners after their acquisition by the government.
Continue reading...Rishi Sunak’s legislation faced challenges from peers including the archbishop of Canterbury
A barge that will be used to house 500 asylum seekers has belatedly arrived in a port on England’s southern coast after voting in the House of Lords paved the way for the government’s small boats and migration bill to become law.
The arrival of the Bibby Stockholm, which was pulled by a tug into Portland port in Dorset on Tuesday morning, coincided with condemnation of the previous night’s drama in which the Conservative frontbench saw off five further changes to the bill peers were seeking, including modern slavery protections and child detention limits.
Continue reading...Murals at Manston and Kent Intake Unit understood to have been painted over last week by MoJ estates team
The Home Office ordered the removal of child-friendly murals from the controversial Manston detention camp near Ramsgate, as well as a separate reception centre, the Guardian has learned.
The i newspaper revealed last week that the immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, had ordered the removal of colourful murals of Disney cartoon characters including Mickey Mouse and Baloo the bear painted on the walls at the Kent Intake Unit (KIU) at Dover.
Continue reading...Theresa May and Tim Loughton among more than a dozen backbench Tories criticising bill
Rishi Sunak’s immigration bill was heavily criticised by senior Conservative MPs as the government overturned amendments made by the House of Lords.
Theresa May and Tim Loughton were among more than a dozen backbench Tories seeking further changes to the illegal migration bill, which the prime minister says is crucial to stopping small boats from crossing the Channel.
Continue reading...NGOs behind report suggest minimal savings for Home Office if Bibby Stockholm barge used in place of £5.6m-a-day hotels
Controversial plans to house asylum seekers on a barge to reduce reliance on expensive hotels will save less than £10 a person a day, according to a report.
The report, Bibby Stockholm – At What Cost? from the NGOs Reclaim The Seas and One Life To Live, provides the first detailed estimated costings of the Bibby Stockholm, the barge the Home Office is planning to use in Dorset to accommodate asylum seekers.
Continue reading...Fearing defeats, government expected to limit plans to detain children and pregnant women arriving on small boats
Ministers are offering rebel Conservative MPs concessions on key anti-asylum legislation amid growing concern it could face defeats in the Commons.
The government is expected to limit plans to detain children and pregnant women who arrive in the UK by small boats and drop some of the retrospective applications of the illegal migration bill’s measures, the Guardian understands.
Continue reading...Radically different outlooks of four parties on immigration ‘unbridgeable’, says four-time prime minister
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has presented his government’s written resignation to King Willem-Alexander, who returned from holiday to receive it.
It was Rutte’s fourth government – a fragile, four-party coalition of his People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), the liberal democratic Democrats 66, the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and centrist ChristenUnie. It took 10 months to agree its formation and it lasted less than 18 months.
Continue reading...Rose Hudson-Wilkin, bishop of Dover, calls for ‘compassionate’ treatment of those seeking asylum in UK
A senior Church of England bishop has accused the British government of planning to engage in “trafficking” of people to Rwanda, as part of its efforts to tackle people smugglers.
The bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, who was the first black woman to serve as chaplain to the speaker in the House of Commons, told Sky news on Thursday: “We have to deal with them compassionately, we have to deal with them justly,” when asked about the backlog of asylum seekers’ claims
Continue reading...West Lindsey council votes down proposal to relocate dog, named after a racial slur, to Norfolk airbase
Councillors have rejected proposals to exhume and relocate a dog buried at the former base of the Dambusters put forward amid concerns about the suitability of the grave’s location once the site is repurposed as accommodation for asylum seekers.
During an extraordinary planning meeting on Wednesday evening, West Lindsey district councillors unanimously voted down an application by RAF Heritage to relocate the dog to an airbase in Norfolk.
Continue reading...Purpose of the bill is now ‘dead’, says crossbench peer Alex Carlile after yesterday’s vote in House of Lords
Rishi Sunak has posted a message on Twitter saying that he looks forward to continuing working with Jens Stoltenberg, who has had his term as Nato’s secretary general extended.
According to the Sun’s Harry Cole, at cabinet Sunak praised Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, as the only other credible candidate for the job who was not a former prime minister. Stoltenberg is a former Norwegian PM.
Continue reading...Peers voted against government-proposed measures on detention and deportation of asylum seekers
The government’s small boats bill has suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords, as Channel crossings in June by people seeking asylum set a new record.
Peers voted on Monday to limit the time that children and pregnant women who claim asylum after arriving by irregular means can be detained, and backed preventing LGBTQ+ people from being deported to a country where they would have a well-founded fear of persecution.
Continue reading...Home Office sent 24,083 letters of intent warning refugees they were being considered for forcible removal
More than 24,000 asylum seekers from about one-third of the world’s countries could face removal to Rwanda by the UK Home Office in the future, even though the scheme was found to be unlawful in the court of appeal on Thursday.
Home Office data obtained under a freedom of information request shows that, between January 2021 and March 2023, 24,083 asylum seekers were issued with letters warning them that they were being considered for forcible removal to Rwanda.
Continue reading...Sunak insists Rwanda is safe country to be sent to after court rules in favour of charities and 10 asylum seekers
The bitter legal battle over the government’s flagship immigration policy is set to reach new heights after Downing Street insisted it would fight to overturn a ruling that sending refugees to Rwanda was unlawful.
Charities and others were jubilant on Thursday after judges at the court of appeal ruled in favour of campaign groups and 10 affected asylum seekers, while the opposition claimed the policy at heart of Rishi Sunak’s “Stop the Boats” pledge was now unravelling.
Continue reading...Council of Europe team raised a wide range of concerns based on visit to Kent detention centre last year
Many asylum seekers may have been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment at Manston holding facility in Kent, according to a report.
A seven-strong delegation from the Council of Europe’s prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment committee carried out a “rapid reaction” visit to Manston over 25-28 November due to concerns about conditions there, a visit that officials described as “relatively rare” in these circumstances.
Some people absconded from Manston.
One-sixth of those who arrived in small boats were lone children.
Some people were detained at Manston for up to 15 days after being granted bail.
Three different Home Office databases did not communicate well with each other.
There were two documented cases of migrants trying to strangle themselves with seatbelts while segregated in a cell van on the site. The delegation invoked human rights legislation to ensure that the cell van was removed from the site, a stipulation that the Home Office has complied with.
There were cases of people being detained for up to 43 days at Manston.
Continue reading...Labour leader presses prime minister to admit his party will not meet promised targets over house building
PMQs is coming up soon.
Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.
We remain seriously concerned about the potential implications of the illegal migration bill on human rights and the safety of individuals.
Careful consideration should continue to be given to the impact of the bill on different groups with protected characteristics – including children, pregnant women, disabled people, torture survivors, and victims of trafficking.
Continue reading...Children are being left in limbo so long that they are at risk of harm, social workers warn
Lone child asylum seekers are facing fivefold increases in delays in having their claims processed by the Home Office, with devastating consequences, according to a new report.
Social workers, legal professionals and the children themselves have warned that the impact of being left in limbo about their future for so long includes the risk of suicide, self-harm and persistent insomnia.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie.
Continue reading...‘Impact assessment’ of the illegal migration bill reignites bitter rows over the controversial scheme
The cost of sending a single person seeking asylum to Rwanda could be nearly £170,000, according to government analysis, which has immediately reignited bitter rows over the controversial scheme.
A long-awaited “impact assessment” of the illegal migration bill has conceded that ministers do not know the overall costs of implementing plans to detain and deport anyone who arrives in the UK by irregular means.
Continue reading...Dozens of people at Harmondsworth site in west London are complaining about overheated cells and lack of healthcare
Guards at an immigration detention centre close to Heathrow airport are trying to end a protest involving dozens of detainees at the facility.
Those held at Harmondsworth say they are protesting about conditions including poor access to healthcare services and soaring temperatures in cells.
Continue reading...The site, set up as a standard asylum seeker hotel, has no care workers or nurses there as part of the contract
The Home Office has been accused of abandoning 55 asylum seekers with a range of severe disabilities and life-limiting conditions at a former care home in an Essex seaside town.
The asylum seekers, who fled various conflict zones including Sudan and Afghanistan, are struggling with a range of health conditions they have suffered from since childhood or life-changing injuries suffered in war zones.
Continue reading...