Markus Andrews

Government threats to jail alleged people smugglers involved in English Channel crossings for life have been labelled a “cheap stunt” by campaigners.Priti Patel wants to increase the maximum sentence for the crime of assisting unlawful immigration because she believes the current limit of 14 years’ imprisonment is “not long enough”, The Times reported.The offence is predominantly being used against asylum seekers who steer dinghies, despite an official report finding that there are “no organised crime group members onboard the boats”.The home secretary vowed to make Channel crossings “unviable” in August, but her pledge was followed by record numbers and arrivals have continued.More than 100 people made it to the UK on small boats on Friday and Saturday, bringing the total so far in 2021 to 530 – double the figure at the same point last year.At least 17 migrants who steered dinghies across the English Channel have been jailed since August, for between 16 months and more than three years.Under Ms Patel’s reported proposals, the maximum sentence for the offence they were prosecuted for would be increased to life imprisonment, up from the current 14 years.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayOn Monday, Boris Johnson said the government was determined to crack down on people “putting lives at risk” in the Channel.Speaking on a visit to Stoke-on-Trent, the prime minister said: “It is outrageous that the gangsters, the people smugglers, these thugs, are still putting people’s lives at risk in the way that they are, taking money to help people cross the Channel in unseaworthy vessels, risking their lives.“What we are going to do is to absolutely, ruthlessly stiffen the sentences for anybody who is involved in this kind of people smuggling and trafficking human beings across the Channel.”The Home Office said further details on the sentencing proposals would be set out in the coming weeks, adding: “While criminal gangs continue to put lives at risk it is right we consider every option to stop their exploitation of people.”Bella Sankey, the director of Detention Action, called the plans a “cheap stunt, designed to shift the blame for the chaotic scenes that continue to play out in the Channel”. “Priti Patel has been encouraging the prosecution of those who seek asylum themselves, simply for steering their boat to safety, and now she wants to leave those same people at risk of a lifetime in British prison,” she told The Independent. “Anything to distract from the desperate need for humanitarian visas for those who seek safety in the UK – the only way to truly prevent the further escalation of dangerous crossings”.The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants said the asylum seekers currently being prosecuted for assisting unlawful immigration “are not people smugglers”.The council’s legal policy director Chai Patel added: “Ms Patel has left people who are desperate to reach safety in the UK with no choice, and is now proposing an extraordinary violation of the principles of refugee protection by threatening them with life sentences for trying to claim asylum. “Meanwhile, the real traffickers and smugglers continue to profit from the market she has created by closing off all the legal routes to claiming asylum.” Lucy Moreton of immigration union on migrants crossing Channel by small boatA Home Office spokesperson said: “It is entirely reasonable to simultaneously prosecute the criminals who put lives at risk, while also resettling refugees in a safe and legal way. We will continue to do both as we roll out a new global resettlement scheme in the future as part of a firm and fair asylum system.”Campaign groups have repeatedly asked the government to expand safe and legal routes for claiming asylum in the UK, which have been reduced because of coronavirus and Brexit.The British government’s flagship scheme for resettling refugees from camps outside Europe was paused between March and December 2020, and the end of the Brexit transition period on 1 January has made family reunification harder.Published in November 2019, it called for the government to increase legal routes to seek asylum, improve “dire” conditions in French camps, and address the root causes of migration.“A policy that focuses exclusively on closing borders will drive migrants to take more dangerous routes, and push them into the hands of criminal groups,” the report said.“In the absence of robust and accessible legal routes for seeking asylum in the UK, those with a claim are left with little choice but to make dangerous journeys by land and sea.”But the home secretary has since vowed to “use the full force of the law to put organised criminals behind bars”, and Home Office officials have been targeting migrants who steer boats by identifying them using drones and referring them for prosecution.Until last year, the offence of assisting unlawful immigration was used to prosecute people smugglers who bring migrants to the UK for profit, such as lorry drivers and members of organised crime networks.
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Rishi Sunak has said his Wednesday budget will be characterised by “honesty and fairness” in a new promotional video that has been mocked by opponents.The slick taxpayer-funded clip runs for more than five minutes and includes an interview with the chancellor and a dramatic soundtrack.Mr Sunak says that support for people during the Covid-19 crisis is “not going to stop” as he looks back over the past year in office.The video was ridiculed by opposition MPs, with shadow health minister Jonathan Ashworth joking “the ego has landed”.Labour MP Chris Lesley accused Mr Sunak of being “vain”, while his colleague Darren Jones asked if there is another “leadership election” in the Conservative Party. “I can’t keep up…,” he added.”One year ago I was preparing for my first ever Budget,” the chancellor says in the video. “A lot has happened since then, but the promises that underpin our plan remain unchanged.”Some observers counted more than 100 shots of Mr Sunak in the film, which is intercut with footage of the year’s events and a dramatic soundtrack.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayLabour MP Karin Smyth noted the video did not include any footage of the chancellor launching his Eat out To Help Out scheme, which subsidised diners to go to restaurants in the weeks before the UK’s second wave of Covid infections.She said: “Seems the images of him waiting tables didn’t make the final cut, or indeed any acknowledgement of the appalling loss of life in late autumn/winter.” Mr Sunak was given the job by prime minister Boris Johnson after his predecessor as chancellor, Sajid Javid, quit in February 2020 rather than agreeing to demand to fire his closest aides.He delivered his first Budget after less than a month in office and just weeks before coronavirus forced a national lockdown.Mr Sunak said he could not sleep before the launch of the furlough scheme and described the “amazing moment” when the first Covid-19 vaccine was approved.In the video, Mr Sunak said he wanted young people not to be a “generation scarred by coronavirus” but the “kickstart generation” – a reference to his programme to help them into work.He also used the video to indicate that coronavirus support schemes would be extended as the country begins to exit lockdown.”Throughout this crisis I have always been determined to make sure the government is doing what it can to provide support to get through this enormously difficult time and that’s not going to stop,” he said.”People should be reassured that we are going to continue to be there to support them as we get through this difficult period and emerge – hopefully, stronger – on the other side.”Mr Sunak praised the “spirit of resilience” shown by the British people and promised: “At the heart of this Budget will be honesty and fairness – honesty about our situation, both in the short term where we are still grappling with coronavirus and we want to keep providing support, but also honesty about our long term with the exciting opportunities we have to drive new growth across the country.”But he was challenged online by self-employed workers and freelancers who have missed out on support from the government’s schemes.Twitter user Craig Hazell said: “Lovely video. Now what about the millions of us you (excluded) when you promised we wouldn’t be forgotten.”The ExcludedUK campaign has been calling for Mr Sunak to address gaps in his support schemes.Additional reporting by Associated Press More

Every time a people trafficker loads a refugee or an economic migrant on to a flimsy dinghy and launches them into the English Channel, they are passing a potential death sentence on those they exploit. Should the people traffickers themselves not be subject to a commensurate sentence of life imprisonment? It is already a serious offence, carrying a jail sentence of 14 years as a maximum. However, the home secretary, Priti Patel, is not satisfied with how this has worked in practice, pointing to what she says is an average sentence of three years. Natural justice might demand a more punitive sanction. Patel also has highly attuned political instincts for what her party and its electoral base would wish to see. Immigration is obviously an issue that has climbed up the political agenda during the Brexit process, and the home secretary must be aggrieved to see Nigel Farage and his Reform Party making political capital out of the continuing arrival of migrants at the shores of Dover. More

Trade unions and housing campaigners are urging the government to write off debts for the 840,000 tenants who have fallen behind with their rent during the pandemic. There is speculation that Rishi Sunak is readying a bailout for landlords in Wednesday’s Budget speech. But unions including Unite, Unison, GMB, the IWGB, NASUWT, CWU and NEU have backed a call by renters’ groups to make sure the burden of paying back debt does not fall on tenants who lost their jobs because of lockdown.There is speculation that the government might cover landlords’ lost income with loans but arrange a payment plan for renters to pay it back gradually.But in a letter to the government, the groups, which also include the London Renters Union, Acorn, and Generation Rent, say any solution must “resolve rent debt in a way that shares costs fairly between landlords and taxpayers”.”Handing over public money to wealthy landlords who can afford to absorb the cost of missed rent payments will only make the problems in our rigged housing system worse,” said Amina Gichinga from London Renters Union said.”Government-backed loans would help underwrite landlord profits but would leave renters pressured to take on massive debt repayments they can’t afford. Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday”If you can’t afford your rent, how can you afford loan repayments? There’s nothing in the proposals for grants or loans to pay off rent debt to stop landlords taking the cash and evicting their tenants anyway. “Before we start talking money, the law should be changed so people in arrears due to pandemic can’t be evicted.”While the government has an “eviction ban” in place, it introduced a loophole in February that allows landlords to evict people with more than six months rent arrears – including any accrued during lockdown. The letter says the the government “needs to redress the current imbalance in Covid-related financial support, which has largely flowed to landlords rather than renters”.The organisations cite the “significant financial support” for landlords from the government over the past 12 months, including the stamp duty cut, low interest rates, and landlord eligibility for mortgage holidays with no requirement to pass this on to tenants. Instead of a loan scheme, the groups say the chancellor should instead create a Covid rent debt fund to clear debts to landlords of up to 80 per cent of what they are owed – mirroring the furlough scheme. They say smaller landlords who cannot absorb costs should be prioritised over institutional investors. Average arrears are £730 per person who owes money, according to the charity Citizens Advice.
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Boris Johnson is battling to save his plans for Britons to enjoy foreign summer holidays, after the arrival of a Brazilian strain of Covid-19.Labour politicians criticised reckless promises to tourists, as a leading scientist accused the prime minister of “complacency” and another said people should be “worried” about the new P1 variant.At a Downing Street press conference, Jonathan Van-Tam, the deputy chief medical officer, said its discovery had created “a zone of great uncertainty about what the virus will do next”.“On top of that, many of the vaccination programmes in Europe, which is a place where we frequently go on holiday abroad, are running behind ours,” he pointed out.But a bullish Mr Johnson brushed off fears of a delay to his roadmap for easing the lockdown, which would see international travel allowed after mid-May if key tests are met.“Our whole strategy is to go forward in a way that is cautious but irreversible. And we don’t think that there’s any reason on this basis to change that now,” he said.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayMr Johnson insisted there was “no reason” to think vaccines would not work against new “variants of concern” and that health officials did not believe there is “a threat to the wider public”.His spokesperson declined to say that it is too early to book holidays, instead pointing to “what we said in the roadmap”, which envisages lifting the foreign travel ban after 17 May.But Labour’s Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales, said: “It worries me hugely to hear the prime minister say that he intends to reopen international travel in May of this year.”Yvette Cooper, the chair of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, said: “There is a concern about whether the government is raising expectations about summer holidays that they may not be able to meet.”And Jeremy Hunt, the Tory former health secretary, while not directly criticising the timetable for holidays, warned the Brazilian variant scare proved the need for tougher border restrictions.“If we are going to protect the roadmap out of lockdown, then the name of the game is going to be: stop new variants coming in, some of which may end up being immune to the new vaccines,” he said.No 10 has also said officials will discuss EU proposals for a “vaccine passport”, which Brussels hopes will rescue international travel ahead of the summer holidays.The “digital green pass” would contain testing and vaccination data as well as information on Covid-19 recovery, said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.But, in the UK, a scramble was underway to find the missing traveller – and to track down hundreds of passengers on a series of connecting flights into the UK from Brazil earlier this month.The individual, who was infected with the “variant of concern”, provided no information on a test card, prompting appeals for him or her to come forward. Five other people have tested positive for the same strain in the UK.Mr Johnson rejected Labour charges that the hotel quarantine policy was too little too late. He claimed the government had “moved as fast as we could” to launch the regime.Downing Street also said schools will reopen from next Monday as planned – even in South Gloucestershire, where two cases of the Brazilian variant have been found.“We have deployed the extra surge testing in Gloucestershire to ensure that if there are any other cases in that local area we can identify them and ensure those people are isolated,” a spokesperson said.But Dr Deepti Gurdasani, an epidemiologist at London’s Queen Mary University, said the discovery highlighted “failures in quarantine policy”, telling the BBC: “Unfortunately, it’s something that we’ve been quite complacent about.”And Danny Altmann, a professor of immunology at Imperial College London, said people should be “somewhat worried” about the Brazilian variant, telling Times Radio: “It covers the double whammy, we think, of being more transmissible and somewhat better at evading neutralising antibodies.” More

Today’s daily politics briefingLabour has warned chancellor Rishi Sunak against raising taxes in his Budget, urging him instead to focus on securing the recovery. Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds said now is “not the time” for tax rises, but signalled the party could support an increase in corporation tax in future.Trust in Boris Johnson’s government to “do the right thing” has tumbled from 60 per cent at the first lockdown to just 44 per cent, according to a new survey. Poll analysts said the integrity of the UK “may now be under threat”, with voters expressing more trust in devolved leaders.Elsewhere, the DUP has defended its controversial move to halt work on inspection posts for Brexit checks in Northern Ireland. The DUP’s Brexit spokesperson has declared “guerrilla warfare” against the protocol, but Sinn Fein has accused the party of “foolish” games.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayShow latest update
1614610195European Arrest Warrant replacement facing ‘multiple’ legal challengesThe post-Brexit replacement for the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) is facing multiple legal challenges, Police Scotland has said. Brexit has left forces with “suboptimal measures” for dealing with crime across the continent, MSPs have been told.Holyrood’s policing committee heard that the legality of the fast-track arrangement introduced to replace the EAW is now facing challenges in the courts.Police Scotland deputy chief constable Will Kerr told MSPs: “There’s a number of ongoing legal challenges to the UK in respect of extradition and the European Arrest Warrant, they will take some time to resolve.”He explained that the replacement system retained “mandated time limits for surrender” to return suspects to Scotland quickly and an executive power of arrest for warrants issued from the start of January.Adam Forrest1 March 2021 14:491614608475PM: UK has one of the world’s ‘toughest’ border regimesBoris Johnson said he was “absolutely confident” that the Budget would “build on everything we have done to look after the businesses” and paves the way for a “strong, jobs-led recovery”.During a visit to Stoke-on-Trent on Monday morning, the PM also insisted the UK has “one of the toughest border regimes anywhere in the world” despite the Brazilian coronavirus strain being detected.Among his other interesting remarks to reporters, Johnson claimed the government “moved as fast as we could” to launch its quarantine hotel policy – despite criticism from Labour he has been too slow. More

Health officials are hunting for a mystery patient, one of six people infected with the “variant of concern” – but the only one who provided no information about themselves.Asked how many passengers fail to fill in cards, Boris Johnson’s spokesman said there were only “very few rare cases” – but admitted he did not “have a percentage”. A scramble has begun to try to find the missing person, as well as to track down hundreds of passengers on a series of connecting flights into the UK from Brazil earlier this month.The Brazilian variant – called P1 – has sparked particular concern because its mutations share features with a South African variant which has been found to respond less well to vaccines.Asked how many passengers similarly fail to provide details, the spokesman said: “In a very, very few rare cases individuals do not complete that information, which means that extra action has to be taken to track them down.“That is what we are currently doing with regards to the Brazil variant.” Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayThe spokesman was unable to say what the punishment was for failing to fill in a registration card, or whether the government had any plans to tighten up the procedures. It is believed the missing person either completed a home test, or one provided by a local authority, as officials at testing centres should check that contact details are submitted. Keir Starmer said the discovery of the Brazilian variant in the UK showed ministers had not “secured our borders in the way we should have done”.“It demonstrates the slowness of the government to close off even the major routes, but also the unwillingness to confront the fact that the virus doesn’t travel by direct flights,” the Labour leader said.“We know from last summer that a lot of virus came in from countries where it didn’t originate in, but people were coming indirect – and that’s the way people travel.”British nationals or residents have continued to be allowed to return to England – but not Scotland – from Brazil using indirect fights, without going into a hotel.But Mr Johnson rejected the charge, claiming the government had “moved as fast as we could” to launch its hotel quarantine policy.“We have got one of the toughest border regimes anywhere in the world for stopping people coming in to this country who may have variants of concern,” he said. Downing Street also said schools will reopen from next Monday as planned – even in South Gloucestershire, where two cases of the Brazilian variant have been found.“We have deployed the extra surge testing in Gloucestershire to ensure that if there are any other cases in that local area we can identify then and ensure those people are isolated,” he said. More

Pressed on Monday whether the government was too slow to implement the hotel quarantine policy, he replied: “I don’t think so — we moved as fast as we could to get that going”.He also stressed that a “massive effort” was under way to prevent the strain spreading further and said that Public Health England (PHE) “don’t think there is a threat to the wider public”.“If you look at what we have done in the case of the South African variant, a massive effort when in there,” Mr Johnson said. “The same is going on now to contain any spread of the Brazilian variant.”But the Labour leader, who has previously pushed for a blanket hotel quarantine policy for all arrivals in the UK, said the discovery of the new variant showed the government had not “secured our borders in the way we should have done”.Sir Keir added: “It demonstrates the slowness of the Government to close off even the major routes, but also the unwillingness to confront the fact that the virus doesn’t travel by direct flights.Inside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekdayInside Politics newsletterThe latest news on Brexit, politics and beyond direct to your inbox every weekday“We know from last summer that a lot of virus came in from countries where it didn’t originate in, but people were coming indirect, and that’s the way people travel. I still think we haven’t secured our borders in the way we should have done, and the sooner that’s done the better.”Last month, ministers introduced a mandatory 11-day quarantine in government designated facilities for travellers from 33 countries, including Brazil, which have been placed on the so-called “red list”. In total, PHE has identified six UK cases of the concerning P1 variant first detected in the Brazilian city of Manaus – three in England and three in Scotland.Three cases are Scottish residents who flew to Aberdeen from Brazil via Paris and London, who all tested positive while self-isolating. Other passengers who were on the same flight to Aberdeen are now being traced.The other two cases in England are from the same household in South Gloucestershire after one person returned from Brazil on 10 February – just days before the government’s hotel quarantine rule came into force. Previous requirements forced individuals to self-isolate at home.Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, earlier told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We need to look at how these cases have arrived in the country in the first place in order to prevent others doing so.”Mr Cooper said many travellers would have taken indirect flights from Brazil, and that the situation highlighted “gaps” in the system.“These cases seem to have arrived a month after the Brazil variant was first identified and we were raising with the Government the need for stronger action,” she said.Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr Johnson also described the plan for easing restrictions — published last week — as a “one-way roadmap to freedom”, adding: “It is designedly cautious in order to be irreversible.”He added: “That is what we are hoping to achieve. Some people say we should go faster, some people say we should be more hesitant. I think we are going at the right pace, education is the priority, getting all schools open on 8 March is something that we have set our hearts on for a long time and I am confident we will be ready.” More