Category Archives: Priti Patel

Windrush report: Demand for inquiry into ‘Home Office racism’

Posted on by

Alliance of 16 anti-racism groups says report on scandal proves ‘institutional failures to understand racism’

An investigation into the extent of institutional racism within the Home Office must be launched in response to a damning report on the Windrush scandal, an alliance of anti-racism groups has urged.

The call came after the long-awaited publication of the independent inquiry into the government’s handling of the scandal, which saw British citizens wrongly deported, dismissed from their jobs and deprived of services such as NHS care.

Continue reading...

Windrush review to call for reform of ‘reckless’ Home Office

Posted on by

Critics fear hard-hitting report on scandal will be buried amid coronavirus crisis

Wholesale reform of a “reckless” and “defensive” Home Office is expected to be recommended in a hard-hitting review into the causes of the Windrush scandal when it is released by the home secretary on Thursday.

The Windrush Lessons Learned review is expected to criticise Home Office staff and government ministers for their continued failure to admit the magnitude of their mistakes and the scale of damage inflicted on thousands of legal UK residents who were wrongly classified as illegal immigrants, with catastrophic results.

Continue reading...

UK government discloses existence of body monitoring foreign spies

Posted on by

Cross-Whitehall team set up in 2017 in response to growing threat of foreign interference

The UK government has established a cross-Whitehall body to monitor the threat from foreign spies, it has been revealed.

The Joint State Threats Assessments Team (JSTAT) was set up in 2017 in response to the growing threat of espionage and subversion by foreign powers.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson says he will ‘stick by’ Priti Patel under fire from Labour

Posted on by

PM backs home secretary amid bullying claims, saying she is doing an ‘outstanding job’

Boris Johnson has given the government’s strongest backing yet for Priti Patel in the wake of fresh bullying allegations, insisting the home secretary was doing an “outstanding job”, as Jeremy Corbyn demanded an independent inquiry into whether she had broken the ministerial code.

Patel was alongside Johnson on the frontbench during prime minister’s questions as he told the Commons she was keeping the country safe by increasing the number of police officers on the streets and bringing in a system to “tackle our migration crisis”.

Continue reading...

Top civil servant begins legal case against Priti Patel and Home Office

Posted on by

Home secretary may have to give evidence under oath if case comes to tribunal

Sir Philip Rutnam, the senior civil servant who resigned on Saturday claiming he was bullied and forced from office, has begun legal action against the government over his treatment by Priti Patel, his union has told the Guardian.

Legal documents name the home secretary, the Home Office and the Cabinet Office as respondents, the FDA said. It would mean that Patel will be expected to give evidence under oath if the case comes to tribunal.

Continue reading...

Cabinet Office to investigate Priti Patel bullying claims

Posted on by

Gove tells MPs government will not set up fully independent inquiry into allegations Patel breached ministerial code

The Cabinet Office is to launch an inquiry into explosive claims that Priti Patel lied and bullied officials in several government departments, Michael Gove has told MPs.

The de facto deputy prime minister said the government would not set up a fully independent inquiry after Sir Philip Rutnam quit as permanent secretary of the Home Office.

Continue reading...

Priti Patel’s future in doubt after senior Home Office civil servant resigns

Posted on by

Sir Philip Rutnam will sue for unfair dismissal, saying the home secretary began a ‘vicious’ campaign against him

Priti Patel’s future as the home secretary is being called into question this weekend after the most senior civil servant in her department resigned in a row over her alleged bullying of staff – and then announced he would sue the government for constructive dismissal.

In a move described as “unprecedented” and “extraordinary” by two former heads of the home civil service, Sir Philip Rutnam accused Patel of orchestrating a “vicious” campaign against him and of “shouting and swearing, belittling people, making unreasonable and repeated demands – behaviour that created fear and that needed some bravery to call out.”

Continue reading...

MI5 rejects claims that officials withhold intelligence from Priti Patel

Posted on by

Informed security source says Sunday Times report quoting unnamed officials is untrue

MI5 has rejected claims that its officials are withholding information from Priti Patel because they do not trust her.

An informed security source said the report about Patel’s relationship with the agency in the Sunday Times was “simply untrue” and that she was getting the same information from the agency as any other home secretary.

Continue reading...

Harry Dunn’s family to meet Priti Patel as Anne Sacoolas extradition considered

Posted on by

Anne Sacoolas has been charged with death by dangerous driving but her lawyer has said she will ‘not return voluntarily’ from US

The family of Harry Dunn will meet with the home secretary, Priti Patel, as her office considers extraditing the US suspect charged with causing the teenager’s death by dangerous driving.

Patel is expected to sit down with Harry’s mother, Charlotte Charles, and father, Tim Dunn, on Sunday, just days after the Crown Prosecution Service said they had authorised Northamptonshire Police to charge US citizen Anne Sacoolas.

Continue reading...

Rescue of all 60 children of the ‘caliphate’ urged as winter nears

Posted on by
Relatives and councils offer sanctuary to get children home before winter closes in

Homes for all the 60 British children still stranded in north-east Syria have been found in the UK as councils and relatives of the minors step forward to offer sanctuary, sources have revealed.

So far, three British orphans have arrived home and are understood to have been made temporary wards of court, but will not be placed into care after UK relatives contacted the Foreign Office and said that they wanted to house them.

Continue reading...

Tories aim to distract from Brexit with crime-focused Queen’s speech

Posted on by

Heavier sentences for violent criminals among policies aimed at wooing Labour voters

Violent and sexual criminals as well as foreign national offenders who return to the UK will face drastically heavier penalties under measures that will form the centrepiece of a Queen’s speech aimed at wresting the agenda away from the delicate Brexit negotiations.

With just days to go before the deadline for Boris Johnson to clinch a last-ditch Brexit deal in Brussels, the Queen will on Monday set out his government’s priorities for a new session of parliament, including 22 new bills.

Continue reading...

U-turn over plan to end freedom of movement on 31 October

Posted on by

Legal experts warned against Priti Patel’s decision to change law immediately after Brexit deadline

The government has been forced to scrap plans for a law that would end freedom of movement at midnight on 31 October in a no-deal scenario, according to reports.

In a shift of policy, the home secretary, Priti Patel, had planned secondary legislation to stop freedom of movement for EU citizens into the UK, but has been forced to accept that the move could have landed the government in court.

Continue reading...

Home Office planning to end family reunion for children after Brexit

Posted on by

Exclusive: Current system for asylum-seeking minors set to end the day after UK leaves EU

The Home Office is preparing to end the current system of family reunification for asylum-seeking children if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the Guardian has learned.

The government has privately briefed the UN refugee agency UNHCR and other NGOs that open cases may be able to progress, but a no-deal Brexit would mean no new applications after 1 November from asylum-seeking children to be reunited with relatives living in the UK. Even if there is a deal, the future of family reunion is not certain.

Continue reading...

Westminster looks at giving France money to curb Channel crossings

Posted on by

Priti Patel discusses increasing financial support amid hike in attempted crossings

The UK government is considering increasing the amount it pays France to help deal with people trying to make the perilous Channel crossing to England using small boats, Paris has said.

The proposal was discussed during talks on Thursday between the British home secretary, Priti Patel, and her French counterpart, Christophe Castaner, that were prompted by an increase in the number of such attempted crossings over the summer.

Continue reading...

‘Five Eyes’ nations discuss backdoor access to WhatsApp

Posted on by

Countries focus on increasingly effective encryption of communications

British, American and other intelligence agencies from English-speaking countries have concluded a two-day meeting in London amid calls for spies and police officers to be given special, backdoor access to WhatsApp and other encrypted communications.

The meeting of the “Five Eyes” nations – the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – was hosted by new home secretary, Priti Patel, in an effort to coordinate efforts to combat terrorism and child abuse.

Continue reading...

Self-interest must not guide UK aid | Letters

Posted on by
Britain’s aid budget must be about altruism, not narrow self-interest say the Rt Rev John Arnold and the Rt Rev Dr Christopher Cocksworth

Your article (Aid budget: Ex-minister joins calls for shake-up, 18 March) on the report by the TaxPayers’ Alliance offers an opportunity to reflect again on what we want and expect from our government.

In the suffering of men, women and children caught up in conflict, dealing with the worst effects of climate change or leaving their homes in search of a safer future, we see the face of Jesus Christ.

Continue reading...

Priti Patel’s brazen anti-aid agenda is ultimately all about Brexit | Peter Beaumont

Posted on by

Backing calls from the TaxPayers’ Alliance to face down ‘NGO cartels’ shows a profound misunderstanding of how the aid system works

Priti Patel is not known for her transparency or her subtlety.

The former international development secretary was forced to resign over misleading prime minister Theresa May over an undeclared “family holiday” to Israel that – among other things – saw her fail to tell the British embassy that she would be meeting with Israeli politicians and visiting the occupied Golan Heights, against all British government conventions for a serving minister.

Continue reading...