3 h. ago A ferry link between Scotland and France could be one step closer

The proposed route would take up to 20 hours, making it among the longest in Europe

Politics

30 h. ago More migrants arrested under new returns deal with France, confirms Home Secretary

Yvette Cooper said that the first referrals for people who came to Britain in small boats to be sent back across the English Channel have already been made

Economics

4 d. ago Chelsea target Xavi Simons in possible Christopher Nkunku swap deal with RB Leipzig

Nkunku is for sale and could return to Bundesliga clubBlues remain in Garnacho talks and look to sell JacksonChelsea are in talks with RB Leipzig over a potential swap deal for Xavi Simons that could lead to Christopher Nkunku returning to the German club.It is understood Leipzig would like to re-sign the France striker, who moved to Stamford Bridge on a six-year deal in 2023 for £52m but has failed to settle in west London, as a replacement for Benjamin Sesko after his £73.7m move to Manchester United. Chelsea have been in negotiations with the Bundesliga club over a fee for Xavi Simons, with the Netherlands forward having already agreed personal terms despite interest from Bayern Munich. Continue reading...

Economics

6 d. ago So much for a deterrent! Hundreds more Channel crossings pushes total migrant arrivals since Labour's 'one in one out' deal with France past 400

More than 400 small boat migrants have arrived in the first two days of Labour's returns deal, dashing claims it would be a 'new deterrent'.

Economics

6 d. ago BBC Breakfast's Naga Munchetty scolds Tory MP in heated migrant row as he stutters

BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty scolded Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp in a heated clash over Labour's new migrant deal with France, after he spent the day before on a boat in Dover

Events

7 d. ago First migrants detained under new 'one in one out' deal with France to be deported within weeks

Multiple people are understood to have been detained under the new ‘one in, one out’ deal after crossing the English Channel

Economics

7 d. ago First people detained under ‘one in, one out’ deal before being sent back to France – UK politics live

Home secretary says the move ‘sends a message to every migrant currently thinking of paying organised crime gangs to go to the UK’Keir Starmer has also issued a statement about the detention of small boat arrivals (see 9.58am) on his social media feed. He says:We have detained the first illegal migrants under our new deal before returning them to France. No gimmicks, just results.If you break the law to enter this country, you will face being sent back.The transfers to immigration removal centres are under way as we speak, so we won’t provide operational details at this point that criminal gangs can simply use and exploit.But no-one should be in any doubt: anyone who arrives from now on is eligible for immediate detention and return.The pilot has now begun, so the first migrants who have arrived on the small boats are now in detention. We will then swiftly make the referrals to France and that process will now start to be able to return people to France.It’s the beginning of the pil...

Politics

7 d. ago First migrants detained under new deal with France to be deported

Multiple people are understood to have been detained under the new ‘one in, one out’ deal after crossing the English Channel

Economics

7 d. ago First people to be returned to France under UK’s ‘one in, one out’ asylum deal

People detained after arriving in small boat expected to be returned within three weeks, says Home OfficePeople who arrived in the UK on a small boat have been detained under Keir Starmer’s “one in, one out” deal for the first time and are expected to be returned to France within three weeks, the Home Office has said.Detentions began on Wednesday lunchtime, with those identified in the Channel boat being held in immigration removal centres pending their removal. Continue reading...

Economics

7 d. ago First small boat migrants detained for return to France under new deal

Detentions began for those who arrived on a small boat on Wednesday - with those being held expected to be sent back within a fortnight

Economics

7 d. ago ‘Bullies’ Trump and Putin 'must be stopped by UK and France’ from forcing rotten deal on Ukraine to end war

US President says there’s a ‘good chance’ a summit involving Putin and Zelensky will happen soon

Politics

8 d. ago Labour's migrant returns deal with France descends into farce as Cabinet minister appears to contradict terms of treaty

Labour's migrant returns deal with France has descended into farce as a minister appeared to contradict the terms of a new treaty.

Politics

8 d. ago ‘Worrying’ levels of screen time means young people losing confidence to socialise in person, minister warns – UK politics live

Culture secretary Lisa Nandy says ‘majority of young people spend all, or almost all, of their free time alone in their bedrooms, online’Rachel Reeves will need to raise taxes to close a government spending gap that is on course to reach more than £40bn after a slowdown in economic growth and higher-than-expected inflation, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), a thinktank. Phillip Inman has the story.Good morning. Keir Starmer is out on a visit today and he will be doing broadcast interviews. It may be the only time we hear from him this week, and there is no shortage of topics that journalists will want to ask him about. By the end of the day we may get new, or newish, lines on Gaza, the “one in, one out” returns deal with France, tax rises and the black hole in the government’s finances (priced at more than £40bn, according to a report from a well-respected thinktank today), Ukraine, the case for and against disclosing suspects’ immigration ...

Politics

8 d. ago Confusion over whether migrants can use human rights ‘loophole’ to avoid return to France

The treaty contains a clause that says in order for people to be returned to France, the UK must confirm they do not have an ‘outstanding human rights claim’

Events

8 d. ago UK to bear transport costs of ‘one in, one out’ asylum seeker deal with France

Treaty can be ended by either side at a month’s notice and France can refuse returns on certain groundsThe UK will pay the costs of transporting asylum seekers to and from France under Keir Starmer’s “one in, one out” deal with Emmanuel Macron, it has emerged.The deal will have to be renewed by 11 June next year, and can be ended at a month’s notice by either side, documents made public by the government indicate. Continue reading...

Economics

8 d. ago Small boat migrants who lodge human rights claims will DODGE removal to France under Labour's new scheme

Small boat migrants who lodge human rights claims in Britain - or claim to be under 18 - will evade being returned to France under massive loopholes in Labour's new deal.

Events

9 d. ago The Guardian view on asylum myths: when truth loses, scapegoating takes over Britain’s migrant debate | Editorial

Labour’s cautious fixes for immigration and asylum policy face a toxic public mood shaped by fear, falsehoods and far-right provocationIn politics, numbers rarely speak for themselves. They must be framed and interpreted. They are often weaponised. In Britain’s increasingly toxic debate over asylum and migration, the question isn’t just how many asylum seekers arrive on small boats. It’s what those numbers are made to represent – and why polls suggest a large proportion of the public now believes things that are simply untrue.Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, has staked her political credibility on restoring a sense of grip over the asylum system: reducing the backlog by processing cases, accelerating returns of those with no legal claim to stay and launching an as yet small-scale “one in, one out” returns deal with France. In balancing operational realism with symbolic reassurance, Ms Cooper walks a knife-edge between policy and perception. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Migrants will be allowed into Britain from France for up to three months while claims are processed under Labour's new deal

Details of Labour's new scheme reveal migrants in France will be able to come to this country for up to three months while their final application is considered.

Economics

9 d. ago Home Secretary Yvette Cooper refuses to say how many Channel migrants will be returned to France under new 'one in one out' deal because it 'could help smuggling gangs'

Migrants who arrive by small boat from tomorrow could face being selected for the scheme and placed in detention instead of being sent to taxpayer-funded hotels.

Events

9 d. ago Labour's 'one in one out' small boat migrant deal with France will expire in just 11 MONTHS after launch this week

The much-trumpeted deal with Emmanuel Macron 's government will lapse at the end of June next year - just 47 weeks away - unless it is renewed.

Economics