2 w. ago The UK is set to impose some of Europe’s toughest asylum laws – but how does it really compare to the continent?

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood is carrying out one of the largest reforms to the asylum system the UK has ever seen. But is the overhaul really proportionate to the numbers arriving on UK shores? Alex Croft reports

Events

2 w. ago The UK is set to impose some of Europe’s toughest asylum laws

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood is carrying out one of the largest reforms to the asylum system the UK has ever seen. But is the overhaul really proportionate to the numbers arriving on UK shores? Alex Croft reports

Events

2 w. ago Mahmood to ban migrants without citizenship from claiming benefits in latest asylum crackdown

Shabana Mahmood said to settle in Britain for good is ‘not a right, but a privilege’

Events

2 w. ago Education Secretary says asylum reforms ‘will be a fair system’ amid concerns

A raft of measures were set out on Monday to overhaul the asylum system.

Society

2 w. ago Shabana Mahmood hits out at Tommy Robinson’s backing of Labour’s migration policy

Shabana Mahmood has said she finds it “deeply offensive” when MPs quote Tommy Robinson at her in the Commons, after the far-right activist backed the government’s sweeping asylum reforms.

Events

3 w. ago Albanian PM accuses Shabana Mahmood of ‘ethnic stereotyping’’ in asylum reforms

Edi Rama was furious that Ms Mahmood had singled out 700 Albanian families to justify ending the right to family reunions

Events

3 w. ago Shabana Mahmood accused of ‘ethnic stereotyping’ by Albania’s PM

Edi Rama says home secretary using ‘rhetoric of populist far-right’ after 700 Albanian families singled out for deportationUK politics live – latest updatesShabana Mahmood has been accused of “ethnic stereotyping” and “indecent demagoguery” by Albania’s prime minister after the home secretary singled out Albanian families and children for refusing to return to their homeland.Edi Rama, the Socialist party leader, has questioned why a Labour politician can “so poorly echo the rhetoric of the populist far-right” after Mahmood’s officials singled out 700 Albanian families for deportation. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Police chief says St George's flags are 'tools of division' being used to spread fear on the streets

The display of national flags on Britain's streets has become a 'tool of division' and 'intimidation', a policing leader said yesterday.

Events

3 w. ago Police chief says St George's flags are 'tools of division' being used to spread fear on the streets as they admit the asylum system is in 'desperate need of reform'

The display of national flags on Britain's streets has become a 'tool of division' and 'intimidation', a policing leader said yesterday.

Events

3 w. ago Britain’s migration crisis: Is Labour’s crackdown targeting the right people?

As Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood faces a Labour revolt over her planned overhaul of the asylum system, Alex Ross looks at how effective the measures would be

Events

3 w. ago Labour peer accuses Shabana Mahmood of ‘using children as a weapon’ in asylum reforms

Lord Alf Dubs, who fled from the Nazis as a child refuge, described the government’s proposals as ‘shabby’ after the Home Office said it could deport children of failed asylum seekers

Events

3 w. ago Chinese spying amounts to interference in UK democracy, minister says, after MI5 warns MPs – politics live

Dan Jarvis, the security minister, says China is trying to contact MPs and peers to get sensitive information about parliamentBack at the Reform UK press conference, Zia Yusuf, the party’s head of policy, has just finished outlining his plan to cut spending on foreignersAs he finished, Yusuf claimed this was “treachery”.Labour is making the conscious and deliberate decision to continue funding extortionate amounts to foreign nationals, to the detriment of British citizens.And I don’t know what to call that. Frankly, in my view, it’s treachery. I think it’s appalling. British people are sick and tired of it.Just a few months ago, Rachel Reeves was saying she couldn’t afford to scrap the two-child benefit cap. Now it looks like becoming her latest U-turn.This isn’t because the economic circumstances have improved. Quite the opposite. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Daily Mail readers back Shabana Mahmood's migrant crackdown as 90% approve of her bid to overhaul human rights laws and the asylum system

Out of more than 18,000 votes, 88 per cent of Daily Mail readers replied 'yes' to the question: 'Do you support Shabana Mahmood's proposed asylum reforms?' and 12 per cent said 'no'.

Events

3 w. ago POLL OF THE DAY: Are Labour right to offer asylum seekers more than £3,000 to leave Britain?

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled a series of controversial asylum reforms yesterday, which came under fire from many within her own party.

Economics

3 w. ago Shabana Mahmood tells Nigel Farage to ‘sod off’ after he invites her to join Reform

It came after Nigel Farage said the home secretary sounds like a Reform supporter following her controversial proposals to overhaul the asylum system

Politics

3 w. ago Farage backs Labour’s asylum crackdown after Mahmood tells Reform leader to ‘sod off’

Reform UK leader also quips that home secretary’s sweeping overhaul of asylum system could have been pitch to be ‘next defector’ to his party

Politics

3 w. ago Shabana Mahmood tells Nigel Farage to ‘sod off’ after invite to join Reform

It came after Nigel Farage said the home secretary sounds like a Reform supporter following her controversial proposals to overhaul the asylum system

Politics

3 w. ago Reform’s plan to cut EU citizens’ benefits would risk trade war with Europe, Labour claims – UK politics live

As Reform announces what it claims are £25bn in savings through cuts, Labour says ‘Farage’s fantasy numbers don’t add up’ Good morning. Yesterday, as the government announced drastic plans to curb the number of asylum seekers able to stay in the UK, it was accused of adopting the politics of Reform UK, the anti-immigration party with a big lead in the opinion polls. In response, ministers argued that Labour would be doing even worse if it just ignored the legitimate concerns of voters who are supporting Nigel Farage’s party.But, when mainstream parties move on to the territory of the more extreme parties, those parties often respond with a further lurch to the right, and we will see an example of that today. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, is holding a press conference where he is going to announce proposals that cover immigration and the budget (the other huge story preoccupying Westminster politics at the moment). As Peter Walker reports, Farage will propose spending cuts whic...

Events

3 w. ago UK asylum reforms will harm community cohesion, says Scottish minister

The plans have also been criticised by some Labour backbenchers.

Politics

3 w. ago Shabana Mahmood says Nigel Farage can 'sod off' as she defends sweeping asylum system reforms

The Home Secretary has hit back at Nigel Farage after he suggested her plan to shake up the asylum system was her ‘audition to join Reform’

Events