Human rights official says politicians are playing into the hands of the populist right as they seek to tackle migration

Keir Starmer and Europe’s hardline governments risk creating a “hierarchy of people” as they seek to address migration by curbing fundamental rights, Europe’s most senior human rights official has said.

Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, said that “middle-of-the-road politicians” are playing into the hands of the populist right.

Exclusive: PM calls for members of European convention on human rights to allow tougher action to protect borders

• We must protect our borders to defend our democracies – here’s how

Keir Starmer has called on European leaders to urgently curb joint human rights laws so that member states can take tougher action to protect their borders and see off the rise of the populist right across the continent.

Before a crucial European summit on Wednesday, the prime minister urged fellow members to “go further” in modernising the interpretation of the European convention on human rights (ECHR) to prevent asylum seekers using it to avoid deportation.

Only cases such as murder and rape or offences carrying sentence longer than three years would face jury under plans

David Lammy has been accused of making a “massive mistake” by Labour MPs and peers after announcing radical plans to cut thousands of jury trials across England and Wales.

Defendants will no longer have the option to choose to have their cases heard before a jury, the justice secretary told the Commons. Magistrates’ powers will be extended from dealing with maximum sentences of one year to at least 18 months, he said, and a new judge-led court will be established.

Home Office accused of putting criminality before dignity with rule seeking intelligence on people-smugglers

Children who arrive in the UK on small boats could be searched to check if they are concealing phone sim cards in their mouths under new Home Office rules.

New measures will allow immigration enforcement officials to seize phones at the border if it is believed they contain useful intelligence about people-smugglers.

Figure of 204,000 in 12 months to June 2025 is lowest since 2021, statistics body says

• UK politics live – latest updates

Net migration to the UK has fallen by more than two-thirds to 204,000 in a single year, the lowest annual figure since 2021, according to the latest official statistics.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show there was a 69% drop from 649,000 in the number of people immigrating minus the number of people emigrating in the year to June 2025.

Senior lawyers criticise justice secretary’s radical plan, saying it could ‘destroy justice as we know it’

Jury trials for all except the most serious crimes such as rape, murder and manslaughter are set to be scrapped under radical proposals drawn up by David Lammy.

In proposals that drew a swift backlash from senior lawyers, who said that they would not reduce court backlogs and could “destroy justice as we know it”, the justice secretary has proposed that juries will only pass judgment on public interest offences with possible prison sentences of more than five years.

Health secretary says he is not comfortable with some elements of policy but that it is the right thing to do for the country

Wes Streeting has admitted he is not comfortable with forcibly deporting families under the home secretary’s migration plans, while maintaining it is still the right thing to do.

The health secretary said he thought the number of forced removals would be low under the proposed model, which is similar to Denmark’s, because there would be an increased financial incentive for people entering the UK illegally to return to their country of origin.

British Transport Police say LNER worker ‘undoubtedly saved lives’ as suspect remains in custody

A “heroic” rail staff member who intervened in a mass stabbing to save the lives of high-speed train passengers suffered life-threatening injuries, police said on Sunday, as a suspect remains in custody.

The member of LNER staff was recorded on CCTV attempting to stop the attacker as the train travelled between Peterborough and Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, British Transport Police said.

Additional reporting: Harry Taylor and Vikram Dodd

Guidance to combat misinformation puts pressure on police to release details, says former senior Met officer

Police are being forced to disclose the ethnicity of suspects in response to a rise in far-right speculation on social media, a former senior officer in the Metropolitan police force has warned.

On Sunday morning at 10.30am, British Transport Police said two men had been arrested after multiple stabbings on a train in Cambridgeshire: a 32-year-old black British national and a 35-year-old British national of Caribbean descent. The 35-year-old was released with no further action, and “was not involved” in the attack, BTP said in a statement later on Sunday evening.