Refugee Council says Home Office figures show safe and legal pathways are ‘disappearing when most needed’ The number of refugees allowed to settle in the UK under UN-facilitated schemes has dropped by more than a quarter in a year, according to figures released by the Home Office. Just 7,271 people were granted protection through refugee … Read more
Move, which is part of a crackdown on costs, comes after it emerged Home Office spends £15.8m a year on service Asylum seekers will be banned from taking taxis to medical appointments after it was revealed the Home Office spends about £15.8m a year on the service. From February they will have to use alternative … Read more
The British Future thinktank’s data predicts net migration to the UK will fall to about 300,000, less than a third of 2023’s figures Net migration figures due on Thursday are predicted to drop to pre-Brexit levels of about 300,000, according to a thinktank. British Future, which calculated the drop in overall migration, also found that … Read more
Many of the 30 people taking part in the protest are scheduled to be forcibly returned to France on Thursday Thirty asylum seekers in detention in the UK have gone on hunger strike in protest against their imminent removal to France under the Home Office’s controversial “one in, one out” scheme. The Guardian understands the … Read more
Watchdog says force being applied ‘inconsistently, disproportionately, and without adequate justification’ Home Office contractors are over-using restraint in immigration detention centres and failing to tackle the toxic culture behind bars, according to the findings of a new watchdog report described as “deeply concerning”. By Force of Habit: How the Use of Force in Immigration Detention … Read more
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 … Read more
As the government imposes stricter rules for families of asylum seekers coming to the UK, one mother tells how her son is growing up without her “My son says ‘I miss you, when am I seeing you?’ Sometimes I lie to give him false hope. There’s a growing detachment there, because he knows I have … Read more
Bishop of Edmonton says people coming to UK are being ‘scapegoated’ for years of policy failures UK politics live – latest updates A Church of England bishop has said Shabana Mahmood’s comments on asylum seekers had shaken him “to the core” and argued people coming to the UK were being “scapegoated” for years of government … Read more
Danish journalist Nilas Heinskou and Syrian refugee Agob Yacoub discuss Denmark’s harsh immigration and asylum policies – reportedly the inspiration for changes to be announced by the UK government this week The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, is expected to announce a radical overhaul of the UK’s asylum and immigration system, modelled in part on what … Read more
Home secretary expected to announce changes on Monday Ukrainians are in the UK on a “bespoke scheme”, Mahmood says, and it is on a temporary basis. If Ukraine becomes a safe country again and the conflict ends, “the principle of the new reforms are that if your country becomes safe then you will return,” she … Read more