Politics (Page 23)

T he Government has announced a new “task force” to identify unscrupulous lawyers after reports that false asylum claims are being submitted for a fee. The Home Office said the unit would bring together regulatory bodies, law enforcement teams and other Government departments to take action against advocates found to be deceiving the courts. It comes after the Daily Mail reported that a number of solicitors agreed to help an undercover journalist posing as an economic migrant submit a false application in exchange for thousands of pounds. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) prohibits lawyers from deceiving courts, and any act of dishonesty or lack of integrity may result in them being struck off. Crooked immigration lawyers must be rooted outContinue Reading

T he Government has been accused of “disastrous failure” over its pledge to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats after asylum seekers started to board a barge moored in Dorset. Campaigners were seen waving at coaches carrying passengers as they drove into Portland Port on Monday, while pictures showed men with luggage accompanied by staff in high-vis jackets as they walked up a gangway onto the barge moored on the Dorset coast. Cheryl Avery, the Home Office’s director for asylum accommodation, said 15 people have been moved onto the vessel so far as part of the Government’s bid to cut the cost of hotel bills by finding other accommodation, which also includes former military bases. Ms Avery toldContinue Reading

T he Government is reportedly considering reviving plans to fly people who arrive to the UK by unauthorised means to Ascension Island. Multiple reports say ministers and officials are considering the island as a “plan B” if the scheme to send migrants to Rwanda fails. The small, volcanic island could host an asylum processing centre in an attempt to reduce the number of small boats crossing the Channel. Where is Ascension Island? Ascension Island is a British Overseas Territory, located about 4,000 miles from the UK and situated in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is east of Brazil and west of Angola. The island is around 807 miles northwest of St Helena and just under 34 square miles in size.Continue Reading

T he Government is reportedly considering reviving plans to fly people who arrive to the UK by unauthorised means to Ascension Island. Multiple reports say ministers and officials are considering the island as a “plan B” if the scheme to send migrants to Rwanda fails. The small, volcanic island could host an asylum processing centre in an attempt to reduce the number of small boats crossing the Channel. – Where is Ascension Island? Ascension Island is a British Overseas Territory, located about 4,000 miles from the UK and situated in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is east of Brazil and west of Angola. The island is around 807 miles northwest of St Helena and just under 34 square miles inContinue Reading

E mployment remains lower in the UK than before the pandemic, new analysis shows as Labour accused the Conservatives of “failing” to get people back to work. The research on official figures up to May showed the employment rate is lower now than it was in nine out of the 12 regions and nations pre-pandemic. But the Conservatives pointed out that Labour-run Wales was among those experiencing the deepest dip since December 2019. Britain is the only G7 country to have a lower employment rate than before the pandemic London had the largest fall with 80,000 fewer in employment in a more than 2% fall since before Covid-19 struck, according to the analysis by Labour. The East Midlands and theContinue Reading

A bandoning green policies could cost the Conservatives the next general election, the Environment Secretary has warned colleagues vying for a rethink of key commitments. Therese Coffey said the party must show it cares about the environment in order to win, but cautioned it must not be in a way that “burdens” the public. The Tories’ narrow victory to hold on to Uxbridge and South Ruislip last month has led to calls to rethink the way policies to alleviate the climate crisis are implemented. Rishi Sunak has sought to portray himself as being on the side of “motorists” after London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Ulez anti-emissions charge was linked to Labour’s failure to win the seat. There have been indications theContinue Reading

W rongly convicted people will no longer face having living costs covering their time in prison docked from compensation payments after ministers issued fresh guidance. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk KC made the reform with immediate effect on Sunday after the outrage sparked by the miscarriage of justice case centring on Andrew Malkinson. Mr Malkinson, who spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, welcomed the scrapping of the “unjust rule”. But he said it is the “first of many changes we need in our justice system to protect the innocent”. Last week, appeal judges quashed his conviction after DNA linking another man to the crime was produced. The 57-year-old quickly expressed concern that the rules meantContinue Reading

F ormer Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told an audience at the Edinburgh Fringe he will “have a think about” standing for election as an independent mayor of London. Mr Corbyn appeared alongside former Unite general secretary Len McCluskey as part of the All Talk event by broadcaster Iain Dale at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on Saturday. Asked if he was considering a run for the mayoralty as an independent, Mr Corbyn told audience members: “Well let’s have a think about it, shall we? “I want to see change in our society. I’m not disappearing, I’m not going away. “I look at my diary and I’m more active than I have ever been at any other time in my life.”Continue Reading

M inisters must “rocket boost” fostering to tackle a shortage of carers, the Children’s Commissioner for England has said. Dame Rachel de Souza suggested the Government could learn from its Homes for Ukraine scheme to access an “untapped well” of possible carers. The UK needs 7,200 more foster families, with the problem being particularly acute in England where 6,000 are required, according to the Fostering Network charity. Dame Rachel warned bureaucracy may be a problem, citing figures suggesting nearly three quarters of people who complete a fostering form do not go on to look after children. She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Of course children need to be safe and of course all the checks need to be carriedContinue Reading

B oris Johnson has pledged to “do whatever it takes” to protect newts which may scupper his plans to build an outdoor swimming pool at his Oxfordshire country manor. The former prime minister said if needed he could create “newt motels” or a haven, dubbed “Newtopia,” at the Grade II-listed Brightwell Manor he shares with wife Carrie and their three young children. His planning application for the pool was met with a holding objection, raising concerns that the local population of great crested newts (GCN) could be threatened by the construction. It comes after Mr Johnson in 2020 blamed “newt-counting” red tape in the UK’s planning system for delays in national housebuilding. A planning application was lodged in June with South Oxfordshire District Council forContinue Reading