UK

Plans to reform the NHS have “chilling echoes” of the failures around HS2, MPs have said as they warn Labour is at “serious risk” of not meeting its pledge to cut waiting lists. The public accounts committee (PAC) warned that “poor practices” seen in the troubled project to build the high-speed rail link were being replicated in the health service and could lead to “wasted effort” to overhaul the NHS. HS2 has been described by politicians as an “appalling mess” after billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money were wasted amid years-long delays. The criticism came as MPs warned that initiatives to reduce waiting times for pre-planned care in England have not met their goals under “extremely variable” management of programmes.MPs on the cross-party committee highlighted how billions have been spent to transform diagnostics and surgical services, yet the pace of change is still “too slow”.The report also highlights plans to axe NHS England and absorb its functions into the Department of Health and Social Care, while reducing local health management teams, with the health department set to take responsibility for managing the initiatives to cut waiting lists. “Unless it gets a grip on the programmes, there is a serious risk that it will not meet its target for 92 per cent of the waiting list to be treated within 18 weeks by 2029,” MPs wrote. The public accounts committee is warning that billions have been spent on the NHS without a focus on making sure the investment pays off More

A Labour peer who fled from the Nazis as a child refugee has accused home secretary Shabana Mahmood of using “children as a weapon” under her plans to make Britain less attractive to asylum seekers. Less than 24 hours after Labour MPs described the proposals as “performative cruelty” and “immoral”, Lord Alf Dubs slammed the government’s proposals as “shabby”. Under sweeping measures unveiled on Monday, the home secretary said Britain could deport families, including those with children, if they refuse monetary incentives to leave. The Home Office has also claimed that children are being sent to the UK on small boats so their families can “exploit” laws by putting down roots, thereby blocking removal.Asked about this suggestion, Lord Dubs told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think that’s a theoretical statement – I just don’t accept that.” Home secretary Shabana Mahmood made a statement to the House of Commons on the asylum system More

The number of asylum claims in the UK has hit a record level, latest official data shows, as Shabana Mahmood plots a sweeping overhaul of the system to make the country less attractive to refugees.The home secretary’s radical package of measures, which would see the deportation of failed asylum seekers fast-tracked, has triggered a Labour rebellion with MPs accusing the minister of “ripping up the rights and protections” of people fleeing conflict.Other proposals would see people granted refugee status returned home if their country is deemed safe. They would also have to wait 20 years to apply to settle permanently in the UK, unlike the current five years.Families with children could also be forced to leave under measures to remove those with no right to be in the UK, while visas would no longer be granted for family reunion.In her statement to the Commons, Ms Mahmood said the asylum system was “out of control and unfair”, adding: “These measures are designed to tackle the pull factors that draw people to this country.”Migrants wade into the water in an attempt to board a small boat on the shoreline in northern France. Unveiling her asylum system reform, Shabana Mahmood said the UK’s generosity was a factor that draws people to the UK More

Chinese spies are posing as headhunters on LinkedIn to target MPs as part of a “widespread” operation to access information about the UK government, MI5 has warned.The security service issued a new alert over Chinese espionage after it found two recruiters were using the online profiles to contact those in Westminster on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS). In a letter to MPs about the issue, Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said Chinese state actors were “relentless” in their attempts to “interfere with our processes and influence activity at Parliament”.He said profiles under the names of Amanda Qiu and Shirly Shen were being “used to conduct outreach at scale” on behalf of China, will similar profiles also acting as fronts for espionage. Security minister Dan Jarvis said the government would not tolerate “covert and calculated” attempts by Beijing to interfere with the UK’s sovereign affairs as he vowed to “disrupt, degrade and protect” against China’s “dangerous and unrestrained offensive cyber ecosystem”. Sir Lindsay Hoyle said he was ‘very angry’ over the case More

Keir Starmer has been urged to tackle a “dangerous brain drain” harming the UK economy just days before next week’s make-or-break Budget after official figures showed the number of Britons leaving the UK is far higher than previously thought. A total of 257,000 British nationals are now thought to have left the country last year – 180,000 more than the initial estimate of just 77,000, according to the statistics, which also revealed net migration reached a new record high. In the three years between the end of 2021 and the end of 2024, a total of 344,000 more Brits emigrated than previously thought, after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) updated its methodology. The extent of people leaving the UK comes as a blow to Sir Keir just a week before his government’s crucial Budget, amid claims Downing Street is panicking to save his premiership. More Brits left the UK than previously thought, new figures show (Alamy/PA) More

Sir Keir Starmer has warned Cabinet members against talking “about ourselves” after civil war and a series of Budget leaks rocked the government.The prime minister told ministers that “distractions” in recent weeks meant the government’s focus had “shifted from where it mattered most” and called for unity after an extraordinary briefing spat suggesting Health Secretary Wes Streeting was plotting a leadership bid.It comes after a chaotic series of briefings last week, in which the PM was said to be ready to defend any leadership challenge, and after the government U-turned on its apparent plans to increase income tax at the Budget later this month, as Rachel Reeves looks to plug the gap in the public finances. A readout of the cabinet’s weekly meeting issued by Number 10 on Tuesday said: “The prime minister opened cabinet by setting out the importance of the government’s mandate to renew the country. “He said distractions meant our focus shifted from where it mattered most – working every day in the service of the British people. Health Secretary Wes Streeting looks on as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer delivers a speech (Leon Neal/PA) More

Shabana Mahmood tells Nigel Farage to ‘sod off’ as she defends asylum reformsNigel Farage has backed Shabana Mahmood’s asylum crackdown after the home secretary told the Reform UK leader to “sod off”.Mr Farage told a central London press conference on Tuesday: “Rhetorically we would agree with a lot of what the Home Secretary said.”He also quipped it might have been a pitch by Ms Mahmood to be the “next defector” to his party.His comments come after the home secretary told both Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson to “sod off” when Sky News highlighted that the Reform leader said it seemed as if she was “auditioning” for a place in his party, while the far-right activist pledged support for her plans.Meanwhile, speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Lord Dubs, a Labour peer who arrived in the UK as one of 600 Jewish children rescued from the Nazis, accused Ms Mahmood of “using children as a weapon”.Ms Mahmood faces backlash from Labour MPs over her sweeping reforms to the asylum system, which will see the government overhaul human rights laws in a bid to ramp up deportations.The home secretary’s plans have been labelled “repugnant” by her colleagues on the backbenches, and she has been accused of “chasing Reform”.Home Office ready to ‘disrupt and degrade’ against Chinese espionageThe Government said it would robustly defend the UK’s national security and democracy.Home Office minister Dan Jarvis said his department would “stand ready to … disrupt, degrade and protect against the dangerous and unrestrained offensive cyber ecosystem that China has allowed to take hold”.Mr Jarvis said the recent Cyber Security and Resilience Bill would provide safeguards and he did not rule out sanctions as a penalty against those involved in spying.MPs heard that China is the UK’s third largest trading partner as the minister said it was in the UK’s “long-term strategic interest” to trade and work with China on shared interests, including the environment, research and crime.However, he added: “We will always, always, challenge any country, including China, that attempts to interfere, influence or undermine the integrity of our democratic institutions, and we will take all necessary measures to protect UK national security. “That is why we have taken the action today and I am clear that further steps can absolutely be taken. Disrupting and deterring China’s espionage activity wherever it takes place, updating our security powers to keep pace with the threat, helping those who work in politics to recognise, resist and report the threat, and working with partners across the economy to strengthen their security against the threat.“Our strategy is not just to co-operate. We will engage China where necessary, but we will always act to defend our interests and challenge where our values are threatened.”Bryony Gooch18 November 2025 14:45’Perfectly reasonable’ to pay migrant families denied asylum to return to home countries, Cabinet minister insistsIt is “perfectly reasonable” to pay migrant families who have been denied asylum in the UK to return to their home countries, a Cabinet minister has said.Steve Reed would not be drawn on how much the Government might offer, telling Times Radio: “We will consult on that.”The Housing Secretary continued: “I think it’s perfectly reasonable to give people financial support to make the journey back to their home.“In the long run, it’s cheaper for the British taxpayer to do that.“We need to look at the overall cost of the Tory asylum-seeking system that we inherited.”Mr Reed stressed that families would not be separated as he defended the plans.“We cannot have a system that incentivises people to put their children on boats like that. We know that we need more safe and legal routes so that families who have the right to come here and seek asylum can get into the country, but we can’t continue to allow incentives to exist that result in children drowning in the Channel.”Tara Cobham18 November 2025 14:30Iain Duncan Smith: China should be on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration schemeA list of threats posed by China makes a mockery of the country not being on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme (Firs), a Conservative MP has said.Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who is a co-chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, listed a series of ways Beijing has posed a risk.Addressing ministers, he said: “Bringing forward this whole issue, the China espionage case, following on from the collapse spy case.Sir Iain Duncan Smith took part in a protest over the plans for the embassy in February (PA/Jordan Pettitt) More

“If we fail to deal with this crisis, we will draw more people down a path that starts with anger and ends in hatred,” declared home secretary Shabana Mahmood, after her overhaul of asylum policy in the UK was unveiled.Following days of speculation, the sweeping reform of the system was presented to MPs on Monday, with the measures set to make the country’s asylum rules among the toughest in Europe.Ms Mahmood told the Commons it was the “uncomfortable truth” that the UK’s generous asylum offer was drawing people to its shores, and for British taxpayers the system “feels out of control and unfair”.But Ms Mahmood faces a significant backlash from Labour MPs on the plans – although enough Tory MPs offering to back the Bill would squash a backbench rebellion in a vote.People thought to be migrants attempt to board a small boat in France – where many wait the opportunity to travel across the English Channel to the UK More