Category Archives: Home Office

UK deportation of Eritrean man to France under ‘one-in, one-out’ halted by judge

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The 25-year-old claims to be trafficking victim and won high court challenge in what may prove major blow to Labour policy

An Eritrean man has had his deportation to France under Labour’s “one-in, one-out” scheme halted at the 11th hour after he won a high court challenge.

The 25-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is the first to win a challenge in the high court against the removal scheme, which is itself new. The first removal flights were due to take place on Monday and Tuesday of this week but were cancelled. The man had been due to be on a flight to France at 9am on Wednesday.

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No 10 denies ‘one in one out’ migrant deal with France is ‘shambles’

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Plans to forcibly remove people who arrived in small boats abandoned for second day

Downing Street has denied that the government’s returns deal with France is in chaos after plans to forcibly remove from the UK people arriving in small boats were abandoned for a second day.

Asked by reporters if the latest delay meant the so-called “one in one out” agreement was “a shambles”, the prime minister’s spokesperson said “No”.

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Brother of Briton jailed in India asks why UK border police are stopping him

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Gurpreet Singh Johal wants to know if stops are linked to his efforts to find out whether UK intelligence played a role in sibling’s arrest

The brother of Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh jailed in India, has written to the Home Office to ask why he is being repeatedly stopped at the airport by British border police.

Gurpreet Singh Johal, a Labour councillor in Dumbarton, asked if it was linked to his legal efforts to discover whether British intelligence played a role in his brother’s arrest eight years ago.

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Shabana Mahmood expected to unveil plans to move asylum seekers from hotels to barracks

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New home secretary is expected to unveil plans to use military sites as Labour seeks to harden immigration policy

Shabana Mahmood is expected to unveil plans to move asylum seekers from hotels into military barracks as Labour seeks to harden its immigration policy amid rising numbers of crossings in the channel.

The new home secretary is reportedly set to announce the use of Ministry of Defence sites to house people after a wave of protests outside migrant accommodation over the summer.

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Home Office wins right to challenge Palestine Action’s terror ban appeal

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Court of appeal ruling means Yvette Cooper can try to block move by protest group to have its proscription overturned

The Home Office has won a legal decision which means it can attempt to block a move by Palestine Action to have its ban under terror laws overturned.

The latest legal twist in the battle between the government and the protest group – now proscribed as a terror organisation - saw the court of appeal rule that Yvette Cooper can challenge the decision to grant a judicial review of the organisation’s proscription that was due to be heard in November.

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Home Office bans asylum seekers from buying luxury goods and services

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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).

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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”.

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Anyone showing support for Palestine Action ‘will feel full force of the law’, justice minister says – UK politics live

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Government defends decision to proscribe protest group after mass arrests at a demonstration in Westminster over the weekend

Richard Adams is the Guardian’s education editor

Students in England are expected to receive A-level grades that are closer to normal for the first time since the Covid pandemic triggered school closures and exam cancellations.

If the student, for instance, needed three As [and] gets AAB, as long as the B is not in something that’s absolutely crucial for the course, I think there’s a very strong possibility the student would find they’d be getting a place.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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UK to bear transport costs of ‘one in, one out’ asylum seeker deal with France

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Treaty can be ended by either side at a month’s notice and France can refuse returns on certain grounds

The UK will pay the costs of transporting asylum seekers to and from France under Keir Starmer’s “one in, one out” deal with Emmanuel Macron, it has emerged.

The deal will have to be renewed by 11 June next year, and can be ended at a month’s notice by either side, documents made public by the government indicate.

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Ministers to spend extra £100m on stopping small boat crossings to UK

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Home Office’s announcement follows growing number of protests outside asylum seeker hotels

Ministers will spend an extra £100m on measures to deter Channel crossings, including on the planned “one in, one out” returns agreement with France, the Home Office has said.

In a third immigration policy pledge within 24 hours, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the money would pay for up to 300 more National Crime Agency officers, as well as new technology and equipment to step up intelligence-gathering on people-smuggling gangs.

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Social media ads promoting small boat crossings to UK to be banned

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Change to border security bill will also make it a crime to advertise fake passports, visas and work opportunities

Ministers are to outlaw social media adverts promoting journeys on small boats across the Channel to asylum seekers.

The government will create a UK-wide criminal offence that could lead to perpetrators being sentenced for up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.

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Social media ads promoting small boat crossings to UK to be banned

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Change to border security bill will also make it a crime to advertise fake passports, visas and work opportunities

Ministers are to outlaw social media adverts promoting journeys on small boats across the Channel to asylum seekers.

The government will create a UK-wide criminal offence that could lead to perpetrators being sentenced for up to five years in prison and a hefty fine.

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Channel crossings in 2025 pass 25,000 – faster than any year since records began

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As ministers aim to ‘smash’ people-smuggling gangs, milestone passes almost a month earlier than previous record of 2022

The number of people arriving in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats has passed 25,000 faster this year than since records began.

As ministers aim to “smash the gangs” involved in people-smuggling, 898 people made the journey in 13 boats on Wednesday, bringing the total for 2025 so far to 25,436.

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Number of asylum seekers at ex-RAF base in Essex to rise by more than 50%

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Home Office to move 445 more people to MDP Wethersfield site, scene of previous anti-migrant protests

The Home Office is increasing the number of asylum seekers accommodated at a controversial military base by more than 50%.

There are about 800 asylum seekers housed at the remote former RAF base MDP Wethersfield in Essex and the Home Office is moving in 445 more.

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Ministers urged to help students trapped in Gaza with places at UK universities

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Forty people who have been offered scholarships unable to travel without biometric data they have no way of getting

Pressure is mounting on ministers to intervene on behalf of 40 students in Gaza who have been offered full scholarships to study at UK universities, but are unable to take up their places this September because of government red tape.

A high-level meeting is understood to have taken place at the Home Office on Tuesday after MPs and campaigners highlighted the students’ plight, calling on ministers to take action to help secure their safe passage to the UK. Some students are reported to have been killed while waiting, while others are said to be in constant danger.

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