Category Archives: Refugees

Sunak suggests plan to stop small boats won’t fully succeed before general election but claims it is working – politics live updates

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Prime minister says he is ‘not complacent’ and figures showing fall in crossings compared with 2022 show his approach is working

Rishi Sunak and Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, were both given a chance to show off their painting skills when they visited a nursery in Harrogate this morning. According to PA Media, they were both painting bees. Keegan’s bee would merit a gold star. Sunak’s looks more like a parrot with a squint.

In his pooled TV interview, Rishi Sunak also stressed the government’s commitment to extending access to free childcare. He said:

It is really important to me that young families have access to high quality affordably childcare. That is why the government is expanding its offer of free childcare.

Currently working families can access 30 hours of free childcare for three and four-year-olds. As part of our big reforms we are extending that all the way down to little ones as young as nine months.

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Government’s ‘small boats week’ backfires as Labour lead on immigration rises

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Tory attempt to capitalise on Channel crossings draws attention to immigration and strengthens opposition lead on issue

Government attempts to make capital out of the issue of Channel crossings in a special “small boats week” appear to have backfired with the public, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.

“Small boats week”, earlier this month, was dogged by a series of disasters, including figures showing record numbers of crossings; the evacuation, due to a health scare, of the Bibby Stockholm barge used to house migrants, and the deaths of at least six people when a small boat capsized and sank in the Channel.

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Four arrested in France after deaths of six men in Channel crossing

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At least two of detained Iraqis and Sudanese suspected to have links to human trafficking networks

Four people have been arrested in France after the deaths of six men whose boat capsized while crossing the Channel.

French judges are considering charges including involuntary manslaughter against the Iraqi and Sudanese suspects, according to reports.

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Cape Verde boat disaster: vessel drifted for month after alarm raised, says NGO

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Walking Borders said it told authorities in four countries on 20 July about vessel with more than 100 asylum seekers onboard

A Spanish NGO alerted authorities from four countries on 20 July about a boat carrying an estimated 130 asylum seekers that was found earlier this week with just 38 survivors and the bodies of seven dead people on board.

Relatives of those onboard said the large fishing vessel had left Fass Boye, a seaside town in Senegal on 10 July, and was heading for Spain’s Canary Islands. The boat was spotted on Monday about 150 nautical miles (277km ) north of the Cape Verdean island of Sal.

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Bibby Stockholm: Home Office ‘should accept blame’ for delay in removing people

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Mayor of Portland says ‘buck stops with Suella Braverman’ after it took three days to inform ministers about outbreak

The Home Office should accept responsibility for failing to immediately remove asylum seekers from a giant barge after the detection of a dangerous bacteria, the mayor of Portland has said.

Carralyn Parkes said the “the buck stops with Suella [Braverman]” after Whitehall briefings over the weekend claimed that contractors on the Bibby Stockholm were to blame for delays as it took three days to inform ministers about the outbreak of legionella.

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French coastguards mobilise six boats and a helicopter after Channel deaths

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Improving weather and sea conditions have raised fears of further attempts to reach the UK on small boats

French coastguards have mobilised six patrol boats in the Channel and a helicopter in anticipation of further attempts by migrants to cross as weather and sea conditions improve.

The high alert comes as prosecutors opened an investigation for manslaughter after at least six people died as a result of a small boat capsizing and sinking in the early hours of Saturday. Rescuers are still searching for at least one other missing person presumed drowned.

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Australia settles with family of refugee Reza Barati, murdered on Manus Island in 2014

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Exclusive: The government has reached a confidential settlement with Barati’s family, who say they ‘fought for justice for Reza’

The Australian government has reached a confidential settlement with the family of the refugee Reza Barati, nine years after he was murdered by guards inside the Manus Island detention centre, and two years after his parents sued over his death.

Barati was 23 when he was beaten to death by guards and other contractors during a violent rampage inside the Australian-run offshore detention centre in February 2014. His assailants attacked him with a length of timber spiked with nails, repeatedly kicked and punched him once he had fallen and dropped a large rock on his head.

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We risk being seen as the ‘nasty party’ again, warn senior Conservatives

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Moderate Tories fear the party’s attack on human rights will alienate many voters and damage the UK’s global standing

The Conservatives risk being seen once again as the “nasty party” by trying to win votes with a divisive attack on human rights, senior party figures have warned.

Rishi Sunak is under increasing pressure from his party this weekend over his pledge to stop the boats crossing the Channel. It follows another week that ended in Channel deaths after the capsizing of a boat, while the total number of people making the dangerous crossing since 2018 rose above the 100,000 mark.

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Channel boat deaths prompt fresh anger over asylum policy

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Hunt is on for survivors after at least six people die, while activists call for more safe and legal routes

The government’s controversial asylum policy faced renewed criticism on Saturday when at least six people died after a small boat crossing the Channel capsized and sank.

Another two people are still believed to be missing after the sinking, prompting fresh calls for the government to urgently introduce safe routes for asylum seekers to prevent further tragedies.

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Calls for safe routes for refugees mount after six more Channel drownings

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Lack of safe passage described as ‘moral disgrace’ as helpers say legal routes would end dangerous crossings

Calls are mounting in the UK and France for the introduction of safe routes for refugees crossing the Channel after a French organisation said it had received multiple distress calls from people making the crossing in recent days.

At least six people lost their lives early on Saturday trying to cross the Channel in a small boat and the organisation issued warnings that more lives would be lost in future unless there were significant government policy changes.

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At least two dead and five missing after boat sinks off Tunisia

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Thirteen people rescued after Europe-bound vessel sank near city of Gabes, says coastguard

At least two Tunisians including a baby died when their Europe-bound boat sank off the north African country’s south-eastern shores, the coastguard said, adding five others were missing.

The vessel carrying 20 Tunisians went down at 2am 120 metres (395ft) from the beach in Gabes, a statement said, as search operations continue.

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At least 17 people dead after boat carrying Rohingya refugees capsizes off coast of Myanmar

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Search for survivors continues in latest tragedy as persecuted Muslims make perilous sea journeys in search of better lives

At least 17 people have drowned and 33 are missing after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to Malaysia capsized on Monday.

The bodies of 10 women and seven men have been recovered after being washed up on the coast of Myanmar, said Bya Latt, a spokesperson for the rescue group Shwe Yaung Matta Foundation. Eight people who were rescued are being held at a local police station, Latt said.

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More than 40 feared dead after boat sinks in Mediterranean near Lampedusa

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Four people rescued say vessel had set off from Sfax in Tunisia and had taken on water in stormy conditions

At least 41 people are feared to have died after a boat sank in rough seas off the Italian island of Lampedusa in the central Mediterranean, Italian authorities and the UN said on Wednesday.

Four survivors who were rescued on Wednesday morning by a Maltese bulk carrier and eventually moved to a patrol boat from the Italian coastguard, said they had been on a vessel that set off from the Tunisian port of Sfax six days ago and sank on its way to Italy’s shores.

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First asylum seekers arrive on Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset – UK politics live

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No 10 backtracks on minister’s claim 500 asylum seekers could be on barge by end of week

According to a report in the Times, Liz Truss named 16 people on her original honours list – four for peerages, and 12 people getting other honours. Two people have declined, but there are still 14 names on the list, the Times says, one person for every four days she was in office.

The Labour MP Chris Bryant says resignation honours lists should be abolished.

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Bodies of woman and toddler found after migrant boats sink off Lampedusa

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Italian coastguard says two bodies recovered, amid reports of at least 30 people missing from two vessels that sailed from Tunisia

The bodies of a woman and toddler were recovered by the Italian coastguard after two shipwrecks overnight off the southern island of Lampedusa.

Fifty-seven people were rescued and more than 30 were believed to be missing as of Sunday afternoon in what was described as “more tragic news” regarding those making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean in search of refuge in Europe.

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Bibby Stockholm will be housing people within weeks, says Oliver Dowden

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Deputy PM ‘confident’ asylum barge will soon be used and that fire safety concerns will be taken into account

Checks are still taking place on a barge designed to house asylum seekers, with the first group due to be housed there within “weeks”, the UK’s deputy prime minister has suggested.

Oliver Dowden said he was confident the Bibby Stockholm in Portland, Dorset, would become operational soon and that the government would “take into account those concerns” when pressed over fears raised about fire safety.

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Bibby Stockholm asylum barge is ‘potential deathtrap’, say firefighters

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FBU to write to Home Office with overcrowding concerns after first group’s arrival delayed due to safety issues on Dorset-based vessel

Firefighters have accused ministers of attempting to house asylum seekers on a “potential deathtrap” after health and safety officials prompted a further delay to the use of a giant barge until next week.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said it is planning to write to the Home Office about overcrowding and access to fire exits on the vessel. The health and safety officials’ intervention had already led to the postponement of the arrival of the first men who were due to stay on the 222-bedroom Bibby Stockholm in Portland, Dorset.

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Home Office delays moving asylum seekers to barge over fire safety fears

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Exclusive: Officials carry out last-minute inspections after reports Bibby Stockholm could become ‘floating Grenfell’

The Home Office has been forced to delay moving people seeking asylum on to a controversial giant barge in order to carry out last-minute fire safety checks amid concerns the vessel has not received approval from inspectors.

The Guardian understands the initial plan to move refugees on to the Bibby Stockholm in Portland, Dorset, has been moved from Tuesday to Wednesday for officials to give a final survey.

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Lithuania and Poland ‘may close Belarus borders’ due to Wagner fighters

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Lithuania says move may be needed as Poland warns mercenaries are in Belarus to bring crisis to neighbours

Poland and Lithuania are considering closing their respective borders with Belarus amid concerns over the presence there of the Wagner mercenary group, a Lithuanian deputy interior minister said on Friday.

“The considerations are real. The possibility of closing the border exists,” Arnoldas Abramavičius told reporters.

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Khan dismisses Sunak’s attack on his housebuilding record in London as ‘desperate nonsense’ – UK politics live

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Mayor of London hits back at prime minister over ‘pathetic gesture politics’

Rishi Sunak has failed to give his full backing to Sir Howard Davies, chairman of NatWest, in interviews this morning, PA Media reports.

PA says that Sunak did not back calls for the resignation of Davies in a pooled interview this morning – but also that Sunak would not say whether he had confidence in him.

What I said right at the start of this was that it wasn’t right for people to be deprived of basic services because of banking, because of their views.

This isn’t about any one individual, it’s about values – do you believe in free speech and not to be discriminated against because of your legally held views?

As a result of this policy, a dozen classrooms of children, including some of the most traumatised and vulnerable children in the world, have gone missing and, sickeningly for us, 50 children are still missing from the hotel used in Brighton and Hove.

Importantly the high court also makes clear that the home secretary already has the power to require local authorities across the country to take children into foster care via a statutory rota system called the national transfer scheme.

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