UK

The Government has been warned that its flagship post-Brexit fisheries law is “failing” to deliver on promises of revitalised fish stocks and thriving coastal communities.MPs, environmentalists, and inshore fishermen argue the Fisheries Act, introduced after the UK left the EU’s fisheries policy, continues to allow overfishing and inadequately distributes quotas to support local communities.This criticism follows the environmental charity Blue Marine Foundation losing a legal challenge. Courts ruled ministers hold wide discretion in allocating quotas, undermining efforts for stricter sustainable management.Labour MP and chairman of the parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), Toby Perkins, said: “The 2020 Fisheries Act, written by the Conservative government during Brexit, is failing to deliver its promise of ‘world class sustainable management of fisheries’.“Instead, it is allowing the continued overfishing of stocks: more than 50% of fishing opportunities were allocated above scientific advice this year and every year since Brexit.”But, he said: “Following scientific advice to allow fish stocks to recover in the short-term will mean a more profitable fishing industry in the medium or long-term.”Mr Perkins said the case brought by Blue Marine showed the Act was not able to able to hold ministers to account for their decisions.He said the Joint Fisheries Statement, which sets out the policies to achieve the eight objectives in the legislation, including four focused on sustainability, had to be reviewed by law, to assess whether the Act was meeting those objectives.“This will be an opportunity to implement sustainable fishing, stop discarding and distribute quota more equitably so that generational family fishers don’t continue to lose out to corporate industrial trawlers,” he said.Trays of fish at Peterhead fish market in Aberdeenshire (Michal Wachucik/PA) More

The home secretary has condemned speculation around the Labour leadership as “deeply mortifying” as allies of Angela Rayner were forced to deny a bid to topple the prime minister, just days after the health secretary had to do the same.Shabana Mahmood described the past week of Labour infighting, which has dominated the headlines and embroiled the most senior members of the party, as “horribly embarrassing” as she called on ministers to “focus on the job” rather than engage in “tittle tattle”. As she made her plea, a source close to Ms Rayner hit out at “false” reports claiming that the former deputy prime minister was among those plotting a challenge to Sir Keir Starmer. Shadow minister Chris Philp said Labour party was “fighting like rats in a sack”, while a Labour insider suggested it showed the PM was “a man on borrowed time”. The turmoil at the top of government follows a tumultuous week in which Wes Streeting was forced to openly deny that he was planning a coup to overthrow Sir Keir. The bitter row broke out on Tuesday after allies of the prime minister insisted he was willing to fight off any challenges to his leadership, with Mr Streeting singled out as a likely challenger. Home secretary Shabana Mahmood described the Labour leadership row as ‘mortifying’ More

The British government plans to tighten its asylum system in a series of sweeping changes modeled after Denmark that aims to reduce immigration and quell the political storm over migrants making dangerous English Channel crossings to enter the country without authorization. The policy changes to be announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Monday in the House of Commons are yet another an attempt to make the U.K. less attractive to those seeking refuge and easier to remove migrants who don’t qualify for asylum. Mahmood said it was a moral mission to control the borders and reunite a divided country on the flashpoint issue that has helped fuel the rise of the hard-right Reform UK Party, though as the daughter of migrants she denied the ruling center-left Labour Party was adopting far-right talking points.“People can see huge pressure in their communities and they can also see a system that is broken, and where people are able to flout the rules, abuse the system and get away with it,” Mahmood told the BBC. Successive governments have failed to halt the flow of migrants to British shores through a variety of efforts that included the previous Conservative government’s plan to send arrivals to Rwanda for asylum processing that never took effect. That policy was scrapped last year when Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who leads the Labour Party, was elected last year and vowed to crack down on migrant smuggling gangs.More than 39,000 migrants have arrived by boat in the U.K. this year, surpassing the almost 37,000 who arrived in 2024, according to the latest Home Office figures. The number, though, is still shy of the nearly 40,000 who had arrived at this point in the year in 2022, which recorded the highest number ever. Although the numbers arriving by small boat have risen, they represent a fraction of total immigration, with most people entering the U.K. legally, on visas. Net migration — the number of people entering the U.K. minus those who left — topped 900,000 in the year to June 2023, according to official figures. The surge was driven in part by hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war in Ukraine and China’s clampdown in Hong Kong. Net migration stood at 431,000 in the year to June 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics, down 49.9% from 860,000 a year earlier. The issue of migration became more politically volatile this summer as protests that occasionally became violent were held outside hotels housing asylum seekers after a migrant was arrested — and later convicted — of sexual assault for trying to kiss a 14-year-old girl.The new reforms include revoking the U.K.’s legal duty, introduced under EU law in 2005, to provide support for asylum seekers, allowing the government to withdraw housing and weekly allowances that are now guaranteed. Benefits could also be denied to people who have a right to work but don’t and those who break the law, or work illegally. Refugee status will also be regularly reviewed to see if people can safely be repatriated.Safe ways will be designated for migrants to claim asylum without having to pack into overcrowded inflatable rafts and risk crossing the choppy channel.Chris Philp, a Conservative member of Parliament, criticized the policy for “tinkering” at the edges. He said the changes wouldn’t have the impact of the scrapped Rwanda policy and said every migrant entering the country without authorization should be deported within a week.“I don’t object to it in principle, but it’s not going to work,” Philp told the BBC. “It’s gimmicks. It’s rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. It’s not going to stop people getting on boats.”The Home Office said the new policy was modeled Denmark’s success at reducing its asylum applications to the lowest point in 40 years and removing 95% of those who sought to settle there. Denmark was once a haven for refugees. But as Europe and the Western world have struggled to deal with mass migration from people fleeing conflict, famine and poverty, it has imposed strict limits on newcomers that has drawn international criticism for discouraging people seeking refuge. More

Business leaders have called on Rachel Reeves to scrap a proposed levy on university fees for international students, warning it could have major consequences for growth and global competitiveness.In their open letter shared with The Independent, business groups slammed what they call “a university tax” and warned that the planned 6 per cent rise on fees will have “unintended consequences” for the UK. The note piles further pressure on the chancellor ahead of the Budget and comes after ministers brought forward a raft of measures earlier this year designed to tighten up rules around student visas. The letter, signed by 15 groups including UK Music, Business LDN and Tech UK, claims that international students contribute tens of billions to the economy every year, “supporting local businesses and fuelling regional regeneration”. “A reduction in international student numbers could also indirectly affect domestic student opportunities as income from international fees helps subsidise the cost of home students,” the letter said. They added: “We therefore urge the government to pause the implementation of the levy, undertake a full risk assessment and to consult fully with the higher education and business sectors on a sustainable funding model that protects opportunities for disadvantaged students without undermining one of the UK’s most successful export markets.” The government’s immigration white paper, published in May, said ministers would explore introducing a levy on higher education income from international students, and ministers are looking at a 6 per cent charge. International students contribute tens of billions of pounds to the British economy, campaigners say More

Home secretary dismisses Starmer leadership speculation as ‘Westminster bubble tittle tattle’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.”Pete Wishart called the government’s changes to asylum policy “outrageous”. (PA) More