The home secretary has said she will end the UK’s “golden ticket” for asylum seekers as part of a major immigration crackdown which she claims will prevent division in Britain.
Shabana Mahmood has outlined a raft of radical measures, including introducing a 20-year wait for those who arrive in Britain by means such as small boats or lorries to qualify for a permanent stay.
But her big announcement, which will be finalised in the Commons on Monday, has been overshadowed once again by Labour leadership rumours after a turbulent week for the government involving anonymous briefings about an alleged coup against Sir Keir Starmer.
Ms Mahmood described the row, which centred around disputed claims that Wes Streeting is vying to be prime minister, as “deeply mortifying” and referred to it as a “tittle tattle”.
It comes after allies of former deputy leader Angela Rayner were forced to deny claims she is eyeing up a leadership bid after she said she had “not gone away” when asked about a return to frontline politics.
SNP says the government’s asylum policy is ‘outrageous’
The SNP has called the government’s changes to asylum policy “outrageous”.
Instead, the Scottish party said the government should focus on “helping people with rising costs and investing properly in public services,” Sky News reported.
Pete Wishart, the SNP’s deputy leader in the Commons, said: “It is outrageous that Labour is considering kicking people out who have been in the country for up to 20 years.
“That would mean families torn apart, communities destabilised, and people denied the chance to contribute – and Labour can’t even offer reassurance to Ukrainians who have become part of every community across the country.”
Scottish Government criticises Labour stance on immigration
The Scottish Government has criticised Labour’s stance on immigration as Mahmood prepares to set out details of her asylum crackdown on Monday.
Holyrood Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville called for “collaborative working” with the Scottish Government and local authorities, warning the situation in Glasgow was already “unsustainable” that she was “deeply concerned” the plans would “push people into destitution”.
Ms Somerville said: “We are aware the Home Office will be setting out proposed reforms on asylum. I am deeply concerned these changes will push more people, including families with children, into poverty, while increasing homelessness and destitution.
“The UK Government has an international duty and legal obligation to protect those fleeing violence and persecution around the world.
“The Scottish Government has long-called for collaborative working with the Home Office to ensure families do not have to experience homelessness.
“It is vital that the Home Office work constructively with Scottish local authorities and third-sector partners to ensure any plans developed recognise Scottish interests and avoid placing greater financial pressure on councils such as Glasgow, where the situation is unsustainable.
“Scotland welcomes refugees and people seeking asylum but it is vital that the Home Office provides those who are most in need of support with the proper assistance to start to rebuild their lives.”
ICYMI: Mahmood vows to ‘restore order’ with Denmark-inspired asylum system
The Home Secretary has vowed to “restore order” to the British asylum system with “sweeping changes” modelled on the approach taken by Denmark.
Shabana Mahmood will lay out a series of reforms to the asylum system in the House of Commons on Monday aimed at making Britain a less attractive destination for illegal migrants and making it easier to remove them from the UK.
Billed as the largest overhaul of asylum policy in modern times, tightening British asylum controls will mean the UK is no longer an international outlier, according to the Home Office.
Plans include:
- Revoking the statutory legal duty to provide asylum-seeker support, introduced in 2005 via EU law
- Housing and weekly allowances will no longer be guaranteed for asylum seekers, in a bid to lessen the incentive for migrants to cross the Channel
- Those who have a right to work in the UK and can support themselves, but do not, could also be denied housing and benefits because of the change
- Law-breaking asylum seekers could also have such support removed
Rayner allies rubbish ‘false’ claims of plot to oust Starmer
Allies of Angela Rayner have hit out at “false” claims that she is eyeing up a Labour leadership bid after the ex-deputy PM insisted she has “not gone away” when asked about a return to frontline politics.
A source close to the MP said Ms Rayner is “focussed on representing her local community” as they dismissed reports around her alleged plans to topple the prime minister as “silly games”.
It comes after the Telegraph reported that the ex-housing secretary was laying the groundwork for a leadership bid, at the end of a week which saw a bitter briefing row surrounding Sir Keir Starmer’s future.
The Independent’s Nicole Wootton-Cane and Caitlin Doherty have the full story:
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The Independent’s John Rentoul reports:
Tories blast reforms as ‘tinkering on edges’ and repeat calls to leave the ECHR
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp has condemned the government’s plans to bring down the number of asylum seekers as “very small steps in the right direction with a few gimmicks”.
Mr Philp told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “We want no illegal immigration whatsoever.”
He later told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “It’s tinkering with the edges. It’s not going to make a big difference.
“I don’t object to it in principle, but it’s not going to work. It’s not enough. It’s gimmicks. It’s rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It’s not going to stop people getting on boats.”
He blasted Labour for cancelling a Conservative scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, adding: “Numbers have surged as a result and that is why we need radical action to come out of the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights), which will enable us to deport every single illegal immigrant within a week of arrival and that will have a deterrent effect.”
Recap: What do we know about the Denmark-inspired asylum reforms
Among the major changes set to be announced on Monday, Ms Mahmood is set to revoke the statutory legal duty to provide asylum-seeker support, introduced in 2005 via EU law.
This means housing and weekly allowances will no longer be guaranteed for asylum seekers.
Those who have a right to work in the UK and can support themselves, but do not, could also be denied housing and benefits because of the change, as could lawbreakers.
Other changes expected to be announced include requiring judges to prioritise public safety over migrants’ rights to a family life, or the risk that they will face “inhuman” treatment if returned to their home country.
Elsewhere, AI facial age estimate technology will be rolled out to identify migrants’ age in a bid to find out whether those claiming to be children really are.
Mahmood denies ‘engaging in far-right talking points’
Discussing her immigration crackdown, Shabana Mahmood rejected suggestions that “dealing with this problem is somehow engaging in far-right talking points”.
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the home secretary said: “I am the child of migrants myself, my parents came to this country lawfully in the late 60s, and in the 70s. Immigration is absolutely woven into my experience as a Brit and also that of thousands of my constituents.
“This is a moral mission for me, because I can see illegal migration is tearing our country apart, it is dividing communities.”
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Leadership briefing war ’embarrassing for everyone concerned’, Mahmood says
Shabana Mahmood has described this week’s leadership briefing war as “embarrassing for everyone concerned” as she stood by Sir Keir Starmer.
The furore, which broke out on Tuesday night, saw allies of the prime minister insist he was willing to fight off any challenges to his leadership, with health secretary Wes Streeting singled out as a potential challenger.
Ms Mahmood was asked on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips if the Prime Minister needed to think again about his leadership after a difficult week for No 10.
She said: “No. Keir Starmer is our Prime Minister. We won an election just under a year and a half or so ago, when people thought that we would not win an election for maybe a generation or more.
“I have no time for these things that people say or brief off the record, or any of this, frankly, Westminster bubble tittle-tattle.”
Ms Mahmood added: “If people have things to say, they should have the courage of their convictions and say so publicly, and that is not what is happening.
“I think what happened at the beginning of this week was, with all of those anonymous briefings, unedifying and deeply embarrassing for everyone concerned.”
