Disclosure challenges Conservative and Reform claims that police are refusing to intervene
The French authorities have halted small boats at sea in the Channel on 10 occasions since the spring, officials said on Friday.
Despite claims from the Conservatives and Reform that the French were refusing to intervene in small boat crossings, maritime prefect officers were using “intervention tactics” to board or control vessels at sea and take asylum seekers back to France.
Exclusive: Rukhsar Ahmed was re-elected as an MP in Pakistan last week despite being on police bail in the UK
A former Pakistani state minister was arrested two years ago on suspicion of raping vulnerable young girls in Manchester in the 1990s, the Guardian can reveal.
Rukhsar Ahmed, who was re-elected as an MP in Pakistan last week after five years out of office, is on police bail in the UK after his arrest in July 2024 on suspicion of rape and trafficking children in care as part of a grooming gang.
Probation inspector for England and Wales says ‘clunky’ system needs huge increase in staff
The electronic tagging system that will be relied upon to monitor thousands of offenders released early from prison is failing to alert the authorities of potential breaches of conditions, a watchdog has warned.
Martin Jones, HM inspector of probation in England and Wales, said the system relied on hard-pressed police and probation officers looking up individual cases and then deciding whether potential breaches needed to be investigated further.
Andy Burnham will also delay release of thousands of prisoners across England and Wales a month, until October
Rapists, child sexual abusers and groomers will be excluded from early release plans to ease critical prison overcrowding in a major intervention by Andy Burnham.
The prime minister said on Tuesday that he would delay the planned early release of thousands of prisoners across England and Wales by a month until October.
Chris Philp says shots were ‘deliberate intimidation’ while he filmed interview on small boats crisis but France says it was training exercise
When Chris Philp heard a volley of shots on the high seas and spun round to see a French gunship, he believed he was the victim of naval aggression – and updated his social media feed accordingly.
The reality appears to be more mundane: it was, the French authorities said, a routine Channel training exercise by officers who had no idea that the shadow home affairs spokesperson was present, or who he was in the first place.
Exclusive: Clinical assessments concluded Rudakubana could not be safely managed in prison, sources say
The Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been moved from prison to a psychiatric hospital after clinical assessment, the Guardian can disclose.
He was transferred to Broadmoor high-security hospital from the category A prison Belmarsh this week after it was concluded that he could not be managed safely in a prison environment, sources confirmed.
Probation union and crime victims had raised doubts over plan to free 6,000 offenders across England and Wales
An early release scheme for thousands of prisoners paused by Andy Burnham after an outcry from victims could still take place this autumn, despite warnings by probation officers of potential chaos.
The prime minister ordered an urgent review into the proposed early release of about 6,000 prisoners, due to begin in September with an initial group of about 700, saying he wanted to “minimise risk to the public” and would not hesitate to make changes.
PM says he wants to ensure ‘everything has been looked at’ amid outrage at policy from family of PC Andrew Harper
Andy Burnham is immersed in a deepening political row after ordering a review of plans for the early release of thousands of killers, rapists and sex offenders from prison in September.
After the family of PC Andrew Harper expressed outrage that his killers may be eligible for release, the prime minister responded by pledging to make sure that “everything has been looked at again” before a fresh tranche of about 6,000 offenders were freed on tags.
Suspension of family reunion route has left many stuck in conflict zones or using people smugglers to reach safety
More than 16,000 refugees have been unable to reunite with families in the UK, leaving them either stuck in conflict zones or resorting to using people-smugglers to reach safety, according to the Refugee Council.
The government suspended the refugee family reunion route last September. It allowed a person granted refugee status to apply to bring immediate family members such as a spouse and their children under 18 to reunite with them in the UK. The indication was that the suspension would last until the spring of this year.
Cross-Channel ferry passengers and the port of Dover face “utter chaos and miles of tailbacks” under the EU’s entry/exit system (EES) unless the technology is fixed or checks suspended by next week, MPs have warned.
The home affairs select committee chair, Karen Bradley, urged the government to “apply maximum pressure” on the French authorities to act on the EES before peak holiday traffic arrives at the port.
Report by HM inspector of prisons for England and Wales comes as spending on frontline education falls by up to 50%
“Brutal” cuts to prison education and training by Labour ministers are leading to an increase in drug use, self-harm and violence, a watchdog’s withering final annual report has said.
Charlie Taylor, who steps down as HM inspector of prisons for England and Wales in the autumn after six years, has also warned the authorities must keep a “close eye” on the impending release of thousands of prisoners later this year.
Exclusive: Health worker Sara Rowbotham fears for women and girls because of ‘weak’ probation service
The impending release of the Rochdale grooming gang leader is “really scary” for local women and girls because of failings in a “weak” probation service and his lack of remorse, a former health worker who exposed the paedophile ring has said.
Sara Rowbotham, whose team gathered evidence that led to the imprisonment of Shabir Ahmed and eight other men in Rochdale, said she is “terrified” by the prospect of meeting him in the street.
Labour leader-in-waiting wants to close loophole preventing deportation of sex offender
Andy Burnham will explore “all possible options”, if he becomes prime minister, to close a legal loophole that prevented the deportation of a “vile” Rochdale grooming gang leader.
In his first significant intervention as Labour leader-in-waiting, Burnham said nothing would be “off the table” in the case of Shabir Ahmed, 73, who is expected to be released from prison on Thursday.
Critics call proposed limits on asylum claims a ‘quick fix that will create long-term chaos’
More than half of the people whose asylum and visa claims will be rejected under tightened human rights laws will continue to live in the UK, according to the Home Office’s own assessment.
Documents released on Tuesday show that plans to set new limits on article 8 of the European convention on human rights are expected to result in another 11,700 people having their claims rejected annually.
Means-tested scheme included in immigration and asylum bill condemned by charities for placing tax on refugees
Asylum seekers will be ordered to pay about £10,000 to cover their state-funded living costs or be denied settled status in the UK under a new law to be considered by MPs on Tuesday.
The means-tested scheme, compared by officials to student loans and included in the immigration and asylum bill, has been condemned by charities for placing a tax on refugees fleeing war, torture and famine.
Home secretary speeds up major part of bill governing asylum and refugees as new prime minister set to take over
Shabana Mahmood will seek to shore up support for her controversial immigration bill on the progressive left of Labour, as she sets out plans to speed up the opening of new safe and legal routes that will permit thousands of refugees to come to the UK.
The home secretary, who is the leading contender to stay in her job if Andy Burnham becomes prime minister, will next week introduce the legislation, which will also set new limits on immigration claims on human rights grounds and under modern slavery law.
Removing modern slavery protections for any foreign national who has committed a crime and received a sentence, scrapping the previous 12-month threshold.
Rejecting last-minute modern slavery claims where an objection could have been raised earlier or where there is evidence of false documentation.
Allowing immigration claims to be brought under the right to a family life only if the family member is a parent, spouse or child under 18 except in exceptional circumstances.
A new test to make clear that deporting foreign national offenders is in the public interest and should only be blocked in the most exceptional circumstances.
Applications for family reunion under the right to a family life will in future have to be brought by a UK-based sponsor, not the overseas family member.
Giving every trafficked and exploited child a dedicated independent guardian to support their safeguarding and recovery.
Shabana Mahmood should be moved out of the Home Office and her asylum policies of “performative cruelty” ripped up by Andy Burnham’s administration, Alf Dubs has said.
The veteran Labour peer, who came to the UK aged six in 1939 fleeing the persecution of Jews in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, said the home secretary’s talents “would be better used elsewhere in the cabinet”.
Planning permission has been sought for three additional military sites
Home Office plans to use three more former military sites to house thousands of asylum seekers have been condemned as “arrogant”, “costly” and “a political fix” by refugee charities and local stakeholders.
Planning permission is being sought to build “basic” accommodation at MOD Bicester in Oxfordshire, RAF Barnham in Suffolk and RAF Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, a statement said. These new sites could house 3,750 claimants, the government has claimed.
Mike Tapp wrote unauthorised article saying new settlement rules should not cover overseas care workers
Shabana Mahmood is locked in an extraordinary standoff with Keir Starmer after Downing Street refused to immediately sack her junior minister for breaching the ministerial code.
The home secretary has demanded that Mike Tapp, the immigration minister, should be sacked for writing an unauthorised article calling for overseas care workers to be exempt from hardline immigration changes.
Inquiry will compel individuals and institutions to explain what they did or did not do to protect children from sexual abuse
London, Oldham, Bradford and Keighley will be the first towns and cities investigated by an independent grooming gangs inquiry, it was announced on Wednesday.
The independent inquiry into grooming gangs has confirmed that its three-part hearings will investigate Whitehall departments and politicians alongside local councils, the NHS and national police institutions.
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