Category Archives: Priti Patel

UK Rwanda plan for asylum seekers decried as inhumane, expensive and deadly

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Politicians, legal experts and refugee groups condemn Johnson’s plan to ‘offshore’ Channel crossing crisis

Boris Johnson’s plans to send unauthorised asylum seekers on a one-way ticket to Rwanda have been roundly condemned amid warnings that it will be challenged in the courts and could result in further deaths in the Channel.

After the prime minister outlined plans to hand an initial down-payment of £120m to the Rwandan government in the hope that it will accept “tens of thousands” of people, politicians and refugee groups condemned the move as inhumane, unworkable and a waste of public money.

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What are the Tories trying to achieve by offshoring asylum seekers?

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Analysis: Tories keen to shore up support with tough immigration policy but there are concerns about the detail

When Boris Johnson’s position was at its most precarious two months ago, he had to convince Conservative MPs sticking by his side was worth it.

A plan was devised – dubbed “Operation Red Meat” – to give those losing faith in his administration some belief that there was a higher purpose than just defending their leader through scandal after scandal.

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‘Inhumane’: some Tories criticise plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda

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Small but vehement group have already expressed doubts about government’s outsourcing plan

Conservative opposition to plans to send asylum seekers for processing in Rwanda is likely to be led by a small but vehement group of peers and MPs who have already criticised outsourcing the issue overseas.

The House of Lords has now twice amended the nationality and borders bill to block the idea of non-UK processing for asylum claims. However, these government defeats were largely caused by Tory members staying away, giving opposition and crossbench peers a majority.

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UK plans to send thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda, says Boris Johnson – UK politics live

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Latest updates: opposition parties denounce plan as ‘shameful’ and ‘evil’; home secretary Priti Patel in Kigali today to unveil more details

Simon Hart, the Welsh secretary, made a rare appearance on the morning broadcast round earlier today. He said the plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda would mark a “humane step forward”. He told Sky News:

We have to deal with this problem. We have a very good relationship with Rwanda: it’s an up-and-coming economy, it has got a very good record with migrants in this particular issue.

And it’s an arrangement which I think suits both countries very well and provides the best opportunities for economic migrants, for those who have been in the forefront of this particular appalling problem for so long now.

We’ve put forward proposals to make it more difficult for smuggler gangs to advertise online on social media, which is partly how they do it.

We think there should be safe and legal routes that people need for family reunions and so on, so that they don’t have to arrive through these illegal routes in order to make their asylum claims.

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Using Windrush to justify UK visa rule for Ukrainian refugees baffles experts

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Analysis: Windrush scandal wrongly categorised people as illegal immigrants, while most Ukrainian refugees have documentation

Why has Britain, unlike every other country in Europe, insisted on requiring all Ukrainian refugees to obtain visas before travelling here?

In justifying the decision, Priti Patel has again pointed to the Windrush scandal as a key factor in the government’s refusal to waive visas for people fleeing Ukraine. But it is a reasoning that has left immigration experts baffled.

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Priti Patel’s immigration bill suffers multiple defeats in Lords

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Peers find fault with many aspects of nationality and borders bill, in particular proposal to divide refugees into classes

Priti Patel’s nationality and borders bill has been ripped apart for a second time by the House of Lords as the government suffered more than 10 defeats over controversial proposals to tighten immigration rules.

Peers supported proposals to ensure that the bill complied with the 1951 Refugee Convention and challenged the government’s plan to redefine refugees into two classes based on how they arrived in the UK.

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Cressida Dick to leave Met police role in April, says Priti Patel

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Home secretary says deputy commissioner Sir Stephen House will cover until successor appointed

The Metropolitan police commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick, will leave her job in April, months before her replacement is named, the home secretary has confirmed.

Dick resigned last month but agreed to stay on in the post until arrangements to appoint her successor had been finalised.

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Stranded and desperate, Ukrainian refugees wait for the Home Office reply. But it never comes

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Evacuees queue for hours but still can’t get past bureaucratic chaos – and flights to Britain leave with empty seats

Inside the cavernous confines of the airport in Iași, Romania, volunteers were offering food, drink and translation services to the continuous influx of Ukrainians fleeing war.

Those arriving knew that bagging a place on a flight required patience, tenacity and no little luck. Routes to Italy, Austria, Poland and Ireland were all fully booked. Yet one destination stood out.

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UK visa red tape distracting fighters on frontline, says Ukraine’s former PM

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Volodymyr Groysman suggests worry over safety of families who have fled could disrupt those left behind to fight

Red tape holding up refugees from reaching the UK could be distracting husbands and fathers left behind to fight Russian forces as they worry about the safety of their families who have fled, a former prime minister of Ukraine has said.

Volodymyr Groysman was Ukraine’s premier between 2016 and 2019, and has been warning about the threat from the Kremlin for many years.

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UK politics live: Boris Johnson says government will keep tightening ‘economic vice around Putin regime’

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Latest updates: prime minister suggests further sanctions to come in future

Chelsea FC will still be allowed to play matches despite its owner, Roman Abramovich, being sanctioned, the government says. It explains:

Given the significant impact that today’s sanctions would have on Chelsea football club and the potential knock on effects of this, the government has this morning published a licence which authorises a number of football-related activities to continue at Chelsea. This includes permissions for the club to continue playing matches and other football related activity which will in turn protect the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans and other clubs. This licence will only allow certain explicitly named actions to ensure the designated individual is not able to circumvent UK sanctions. The licence will be kept under constant review and we will work closely with the football authorities.

There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine.

Today’s sanctions are the latest step in the UK’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people. We will be ruthless in pursuing those who enable the killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals and illegal occupation of sovereign allies.

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UK ministers considering climbdown on Ukraine visa restrictions

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Change would mean Ukrainians with temporary visas would be able to bring their relatives to Britain

Ministers are considering a climbdown to allow Ukrainians with temporary visas to bring relatives to the UK after Ukraine’s ambassador called for an easing of restrictions.

Amid scenes of chaos and despair at a visa application centre in Poland, government insiders said Ukrainians in the UK on work and student visas might also be allowed to bring their relatives to the UK.

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Priti Patel under fire over chaotic Ukrainian refugee policy

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Home Office sources contradict earlier government denials that third way to enter Britain may be introduced

Priti Patel has been accused of presiding over chaos after Ukrainian refugees arriving in Calais were greeted by posters telling them to get their UK visas in Paris or Brussels, while her pledge to expand the visa scheme was contradicted by Downing Street.

On a day of confusion and uncertainty for Ukrainian refugees making the 1,400-mile journey to Britain, the home secretary admitted that she has not yet set up a visa application centre (VAC) near the French port of Calais where refugees have gathered.

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‘Golden visa’ lawyers call for UK to rethink blanket ban

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Critics say end of scheme risks billions in overseas investment due to myth that ‘foreign money is dirty money’

London lawyers who help the global super-rich apply for “golden visas” to enter the UK have called on the government to reconsider its decision to abolish the Tier 1 investor visa scheme, warning that it would be “enormously damaging” to the economy.

Kyra Motley, a partner at the law firm Boodle Hatfield, said the UK was jeopardising billions of pounds in overseas investment “because of a popular myth that foreign money is dirty money”.

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UK ministers plan to scrap ‘golden visa’ scheme amid Russia concerns

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System has previously been criticised as a ‘backdoor loophole’ to funnel dirty money into UK

Ministers are preparing to scrap the “golden visa” system that allows wealthy foreign investors a fast track to living in the UK, amid concerns over links with Russia.

Given concerns about how the system is being taken advantage of, and against a backdrop of souring relations with Moscow given its military buildup on the border with Ukraine, the home secretary, Priti Patel, is to axe the residence route.

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Sadiq Khan pledges to end toxic culture at Met police and signals showdown with Priti Patel

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The London mayor vows to oppose anyone who fails to understand deep problems at beleagured force, in wake of Cressida Dick resignation

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, today sets the stage for a dramatic showdown with the home secretary, Priti Patel, over who should be the next Metropolitan police commissioner as he vows to oppose anyone who does not understand the deep “cultural problems” within the beleaguered force.

Writing in the Observer, three days after his intervention forced Cressida Dick to abruptly resign, Khan says recent revelations of officers bragging about violence towards women and exchanging racist and Islamophobic messages rekindled personal memories of the “bad old days of the Met” during his own childhood.

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Priti Patel says Macron ‘absolutely wrong’ over Channel crossings

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Home secretary rebuffs French claim UK immigration policy encourages people to risk dangerous journey

Priti Patel, the home secretary, has said Emmanuel Macron is wrong to say the UK’s immigration policy is encouraging people to risk their lives crossing the Channel from France.

In a further escalation of the row between the two countries, Patel has dismissed claims by the French president that Britain’s immigration system favours clandestine migration and does not allow for asylum seekers to seek legal ways into the country.

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Brexit leaves furious British citizens stranded in EU countries

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Thousands of people say their rights have been compromised despite government promises

A 67-year-old British woman who planned to return to Britain with her 80-year-old French husband after 30 years in France has told how Home Office delays have left them waiting almost a year for the Brexit paperwork they need to set foot in the country.

Carmel and her husband, Louis, who asked that their real names not be used, sold their house last year and packed up all their belongings having read that it would take 15 days to get a family permit.

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Psychiatrists warn of police and crime bill’s impact on young people

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Academics and clinicians say bill ‘will have a profound negative impact on young people’s mental health’

Hundreds of clinical psychiatrists and psychologists have warned that the police and crime bill reaching its final stages in parliament “will have a profound negative impact on young people’s mental health”.

“We cannot think of better measures to disempower and socially isolate young people,” they say in an open letter signed by more than 350 academics and clinicians and published online.

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After rightwing attacks on rescues, UK lifeboat charity has record fundraising year

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The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has had ‘significant’ increase in annual donations after it went to the aid of asylum seekers

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is on course for the highest annual fundraising total in its near 200-year history. Donations swelled after the charity attracted huge public support following rightwing attacks for helping save the lives of asylum seekers at risk of drowning in the Channel.

The RNLI said it has received a significant increase in support, with online donations rising by 50% this year.

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UK’s ‘double talk’ on Channel crisis must stop, says French interior minister

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Exclusive: Gérald Darmanin says UK ministers must stop saying one thing in private while insulting his country in public

The French interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, has said British ministers including his counterpart, Priti Patel, should stop saying one thing in private while insulting his country in public if there is to be a solution to the crisis in the Channel.

In an interview with the Guardian, Darmanin strongly criticised what he called “double talk” coming out of London and said France was not a “vassal” of the UK.

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